posted January 15, 2003 10:57 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Michael Bise:
But, Bob, the most exciting thing about the WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES Spectacular is the wrap-around Neal Adams cover!

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I just picked this up a few months ago, and was disappointed to find that the bulk of the book was a JLA/JSA story I'd just bought in the Crisis on Multiple Earths trade. Love the spectre story and Adams cover, though.

A better choice to reprint, IMO, would be the Superman 100-pager (251? 252?) with the Adams wraparound featuring all of the flying heroes. It contained both parts of the Powerstone story, as well as lots other great golden age stuff. Or maybe one of the Batman issues with Wildcat, Plastic Man, Sargon, etc. And I'd love to see the Superman 80 PG Giant devoted to Clark Kent stories reprinted. And Bob, I'd like a pony for my birthday.

posted January 15, 2003 11:12 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:

Our goal is not to piss off the retailer nor is it to make the fan feel short-changed.

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Actually, DC's goal appears to be to treat retailers like valued partners: you guys are class acts all the way around, Bob. Best wishes.

posted January 15, 2003 11:14 AM            

Thank you for your responses. I'll digest them a bit before I reply.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by macleanalan:
[B] Hear, hear. I get annoyed at the speed with which the collections come out at Marvel now as without things like the letters page which made the monthly unique, the only incentive to buy the monthly nowadays is that it comes out first, and due to it being available in installments, costs less at a time and can be used as a taster to test if I actually like a series.

>>>Do you have to buy the collections? If you enjoy the monthly installments, then fine, skip the collections. No one is forcing you to buy them. This is the strangest argument I hear from readers. Skip the collections, leave them for us.

"The only thing I have left to add is that I would love to see a second volume of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. I have the first one and I think a second trade collectiong issues 26-34 would be wonderful and great value since it collects some of the best stuff in the series and issues that are particularly hard to get hold of nowadays (I'm still trying to find them). I was also informed that pages were cut out of the first trade as they led into the following storyline so I would like to see those also."

posted January 15, 2003 12:16 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:

Anyway, yes, Strange Sports Stories sales from the 1960s beat today's Superman sales. But it's all relative. Their appearances in B&B paled compared to Hawkman, which preceded it.

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quote:

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Quickie/cheaper reprints of older materialis an interesting idea but the candidates mentioned don't work. Most of them are licensed materials so the added costs would probably makes these riskier propositions. This is not an open call for ideas, just reality-checking the enthusiasm. And me, I keep putting BAT LASH on the list so one day....

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quote:

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We almost did a replica of the WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES spectacular but realized the core was recently included in the JLA Archives. Some day, maybe.

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Yes, the JLA/JSA story is attainable, but the Neal Adams cover, as well as some of the Golden Age stories are incredible...(I'D buy it...ESPECIALLY if the Neal Adams cover is included as a "fold out" sans cover copy...)

posted January 15, 2003 12:52 PM               

Any plans to release the next (third) collected editions of Planetary, Top 10, and Tom Strong?

Thanks in advanced.

posted January 15, 2003 02:07 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Coleo:
I just picked this up a few months ago, and was disappointed to find that the bulk of the book was a JLA/JSA story I'd just bought in the Crisis on Multiple Earths trade. Love the spectre story and Adams cover, though.

A better choice to reprint, IMO, would be the Superman 100-pager (251? 252?) with the Adams wraparound featuring all of the flying heroes. It contained both parts of the Powerstone story, as well as lots other great golden age stuff. Or maybe one of the Batman issues with Wildcat, Plastic Man, Sargon, etc. And I'd love to see the Superman 80 PG Giant devoted to Clark Kent stories reprinted. And Bob, I'd like a pony for my birthday.

Cole

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posted January 15, 2003 02:33 PM               

"Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey sent us this comment on the scheduling of the Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra trade paperback:

"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of how to operate with Marvel. Don't speculate at all on sales ... order what I KNOW I can sell, and wait for the trade paperback, it'll be out any minute now.

"After selling out of Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra #1, I refused to increase my orders for the rest of the issues - in fact I lowered my numbers after seeing a listing for the TPB. So, how does this work out? Issue #3 came out 2 weeks ago, issue #4 came out this week, and the TPB comes out next week.

"Another brilliant marketing idea from "the house of ideas". Well, to be fair nobody ever said "the house of GOOD ideas"."

He's one retailer out of thousands and that's 1 collection out of dozens, but you see my concern.

posted January 15, 2003 03:20 PM               

The trade one week after the last issue seems rather extreme. Is this common?

posted January 15, 2003 03:26 PM               

Let me just say up front, I'm NOT a deadbeat comic fan. I buy 25-35 new DC comics per month at my local comics shop. I buy 80% of the DC Direct Action Figures. Tons of trade paperbacks.

And Archives...all of them. However, I try (whenever possible) to purchase Archives at a discount. A BIG discount, if possible. Lately, I've noticed that a number of "new" Archives are not available through my usual channels. At least not yet. Specifically, I've got ALL STAR 8, BATMAN IN WF, THUNDER AGENTS, TOR 2, ENEMY ACE, SHAZAM 3 and SPIRIT 9 on backorder. Is there any reason that the Archives might not be available yet in the usual places?

posted January 15, 2003 03:35 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GaryUK:
Hi Bob,

Any plans to release the next (third) collected editions of Planetary, Top 10, and Tom Strong?

Thanks in advanced.

Gary.

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There are only 3 issues of Planetary not in a trade at this time, so it's probably a little premature to ask bob about it. I'd wait till later in the year when a few more have been published.

posted January 15, 2003 04:46 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Parsifal:
There are only 3 issues of Planetary not in a trade at this time, so it's probably a little premature to ask bob about it. I'd wait till later in the year when a few more have been published.

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The case is the same with Tom Strong (only 3 or 4 issues not in HC). And I don't think there have even been any more issues of Top Ten that aren't in the two hardcovers.

posted January 15, 2003 04:57 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by BillNolan:
The case is the same with Tom Strong (only 3 or 4 issues not in HC). And I don't think there have even been any more issues of Top Ten that aren't in the two hardcovers.

- Bill

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posted January 15, 2003 05:12 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GaryUK:

So are the three series now cancelled, or are they still coming out albeit veerrrryy slowly? I know there's a 'Tom Strong Stories' which I presume replaces the original series?

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Planetary was put on hold after Warren Ellis got sick and fell very far behind on scripts over a year ago. The artist, needing to eat, took other work (Capt. America). Now that Ellis is healthy and the artist free again, work is restarting. Wildstorm plans to solicit the book only after it has enough material in its hands to guarantee some sort of regular publication. I believe the series is set to end at 24 or 25.

Tom Strong has been coming out extremely slow. To sort of make up for that, the other title (Tom Strong's Terrific Tales) was developed. It features several short stories each issue by different artists and sometimes different writers. It was meant to come out on an alternating bi-monthly schedule with the regular series, but that hasn't really been happening. The regular series is constantly late. Neither is canceled.

Top Ten was a finite series. I think a sequel and a graphic novel are planned, but none are scheduled.

posted January 15, 2003 05:39 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
I stole this ICv2.com, a retailer site, but it helps illustrate my earlier point.

"Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey sent us this comment on the scheduling of the Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra trade paperback:

"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of how to operate with Marvel. Don't speculate at all on sales ... order what I KNOW I can sell, and wait for the trade paperback, it'll be out any minute now.

"After selling out of Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra #1, I refused to increase my orders for the rest of the issues - in fact I lowered my numbers after seeing a listing for the TPB. So, how does this work out? Issue #3 came out 2 weeks ago, issue #4 came out this week, and the TPB comes out next week.

"Another brilliant marketing idea from "the house of ideas". Well, to be fair nobody ever said "the house of GOOD ideas"."

He's one retailer out of thousands and that's 1 collection out of dozens, but you see my concern.

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That's one thing I hate about Marvel publishing trade paperbacks and hardcovers the past year or year and a half. They put out recent mini-series immediately as those oversize hardcovers (like Daredevil: Yellow) or recent storyarcs from regular monthly titles fast tracked as paperbacks or hardcovers. I think they do it a little too fast in my opinion.

posted January 15, 2003 05:41 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
I stole this ICv2.com, a retailer site, but it helps illustrate my earlier point.

"Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey sent us this comment on the scheduling of the Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra trade paperback:

"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of how to operate with Marvel. Don't speculate at all on sales ... order what I KNOW I can sell, and wait for the trade paperback, it'll be out any minute now.

"After selling out of Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra #1, I refused to increase my orders for the rest of the issues - in fact I lowered my numbers after seeing a listing for the TPB. So, how does this work out? Issue #3 came out 2 weeks ago, issue #4 came out this week, and the TPB comes out next week.

"Another brilliant marketing idea from "the house of ideas". Well, to be fair nobody ever said "the house of GOOD ideas"."

He's one retailer out of thousands and that's 1 collection out of dozens, but you see my concern.

---

That's one thing I hate about Marvel publishing trade paperbacks and hardcovers the past year or year and a half. They put out recent mini-series immediately as those oversize hardcovers (like Daredevil: Yellow) or recent storyarcs from regular monthly titles fast tracked as paperbacks or hardcovers. I think they do it a little too fast in my opinion.

In the case of the Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra mini-series just being finshed with all 4 issues out, then a week later a trade paperback collecting the whole series already. That is a little way too fast, and the only reason I think that happened is no doubt for the anticipation for next month's Daredevil movie, to have this paperback available in the direct market and bookstores for any potential new readers to hop aboard.

posted January 15, 2003 06:28 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by macleanalan:
With a mini like The Truth, now expanded to 7 issues at $3.50 each (or £2.60 to me) I will be spending $24.50 (or £18.20) and will no doubt find that a week later, the hardcover or TPB will come out, both with improved design values, the hardcover costing a little more than I originally paid and the TPB costing much less.

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posted January 15, 2003 08:31 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
The recent Westfield order form

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posted January 15, 2003 10:15 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
I stole this ICv2.com, a retailer site, but it helps illustrate my earlier point.

"Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey sent us this comment on the scheduling of the Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra trade paperback:

"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of how to operate with Marvel. Don't speculate at all on sales ... order what I KNOW I can sell, and wait for the trade paperback, it'll be out any minute now.

"After selling out of Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra #1, I refused to increase my orders for the rest of the issues - in fact I lowered my numbers after seeing a listing for the TPB. So, how does this work out? Issue #3 came out 2 weeks ago, issue #4 came out this week, and the TPB comes out next week.

"Another brilliant marketing idea from "the house of ideas". Well, to be fair nobody ever said "the house of GOOD ideas"."

He's one retailer out of thousands and that's 1 collection out of dozens, but you see my concern.

---

I don't know. I'm personally of the opinion that the monthly, "floppy" comic format is doomed. Shrinking readership, rising prices, continuity and fewer kids being sucked into the hobby have created a downward spiral that I don't think has any escape.

Could Marvel's rapid pace of trade/hardcover release be a calculated plan to de-emphasize the importance of the monthly comics? It's certainly working in my case. Over the last six months I've been reevaluating my monthly purchases, and I've stopped buying about a dozen Marvel comics that I still enjoy, but I know they'll be collected in six months.

I wish DC would pump the collections out a bit faster, as I've stopped buying about ten DC/Vertigo/Wildstorm titles, in favor of waiting for the trades.

posted January 15, 2003 11:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by datalore:
Still hope SOMEDAY to see the B&B Suicide Squad issues in some form.

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Me too.

It's another verse of the same old song:

Had 'em all when I was a kid.
Sold them 25 years ago.
Been kicking myself ever since.

With only six issues, they're perfect size for a TPB.

They're quirky in that wonderful Kanigher way — "must haves" for any Silver Age collector.

posted January 15, 2003 11:52 PM               

Given that you say Green Lantern is a big seller for DC. And given that John Stewart has recently gained far more attention in the GL monthly, as well as on television in Justice League. Has any thought been given to collecting Mosaic? Or is 18 issues too much to commit to, considering the title's age and near-forgotten status?

posted January 16, 2003 03:23 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bob Greenberger:
I stole this ICv2.com, a retailer site, but it helps illustrate my earlier point.

"Ron Catapano of Comics Plus in Mount Holly, New Jersey sent us this comment on the scheduling of the Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra trade paperback:

"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of how to operate with Marvel. Don't speculate at all on sales ... order what I KNOW I can sell, and wait for the trade paperback, it'll be out any minute now.

"After selling out of Ultimate Daredevil / Elektra #1, I refused to increase my orders for the rest of the issues - in fact I lowered my numbers after seeing a listing for the TPB. So, how does this work out? Issue #3 came out 2 weeks ago, issue #4 came out this week, and the TPB comes out next week.

"Another brilliant marketing idea from "the house of ideas". Well, to be fair nobody ever said "the house of GOOD ideas"."

He's one retailer out of thousands and that's 1 collection out of dozens, but you see my concern.

---

But this retailer is no doubt not one of the inner circle of Quesada and Jemas and therefore, they could care less what he thinks.

posted January 16, 2003 06:43 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by David Vega:
>>>Do you have to buy the collections? If you enjoy the monthly installments, then fine, skip the collections. No one is forcing you to buy them. This is the strangest argument I hear from readers. Skip the collections, leave them for us.

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The argument is not that I have to buy the collection, more that it devalues the monthly format. Good reviews and word of mouth are built up on monthly series, not on trades. If the monthlies did not come out, a lot of series would not take off as readers would be much more reluctant to spend their money on a series that they know nothing about and with long gaps between trades (and no monthly reviews to build word of mouth), much of the momentum would be lost in the gap. Comics do not work the same as books (with long gaps between collections) because they cost less for the amount of time it takes to read them.

If readers did not know that a trade was almost certain to come out not long after a series finished, more of them would buy the monthlies. As it is, many fans are now 'waiting for the trade' which pushes numbers on the monthlies down. Because of low numbers, the prices on the monthlies go up as the publishers want to make a profit on those.

This does not usually affect the trade prices - see Wolverine/Hulk by Sam Keith, 4 issues at $3.50 ($15) with a cardstock cover, one of the most expensive 22 page comics around while the trade only costs $9.99. I would rather have the trade at that price (more permanent, high production values, easier to reread) but I have already spent my money on the original issues. One example of many of how the trade devalues the monthly comic but at the moment the trade cannot survive without the monthly so why piss off the monthly readers?

Also, for whoever mentioned the Daredevil colleciton;
Daredevil: Underboss collects issues 26-31 (which I assume is what you were talking about) and costs $14.99 but the original 6 issues would have cost $17.94. Also, the Daredevil volume 2 hardcover collects issues 26-37, original issues price $35.88, hardcover price $29.99. No doubt the hardcover contains more than just the issues as well. I like the idea of the hardcovers but the fact that they can cost less than the original issues seems ludicrous to me. I am not suggesting that the hardcovers should cost more but that the monthlies should cost less in comparison.