Thelogan Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I don't remember. I think that was comics alliance though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Print Math Posted on: April 4th, 2012 by Mark Waid Some very harsh truths about comics’ current existence and its future burrowed their way into my thick head about three years ago, back when I was Editor-In-Chief of a comics publisher called BOOM! Studios. I learned a lot at that job about the current state of comics publishing--not just from BOOM! but also from comparing notes with friends-turned-bigwigs like Nick Barrucci at Dynamite Comics or Filip Sablik over at Top Cow. Here are two especially big and scary bits of math. One: American comics are distributed almost exclusively by one company, Diamond, which--whether you like Diamond or not--is, in a free market system, madness. Diamond has no serious competition (nor--given various distributor-publisher exclusives and the thin margins in the industry on the whole--will it likely ever). Therefore, it can pretty much set whatever terms it likes with publishers, particularly the smaller ones. The “Premier Publishers” --DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, IDW--can get more favorable terms because they account for so much market share, but the smaller ones have no negotiating leverage. Moreover, Diamond can decline to distribute any new comic it feels won’t make a significant profit or doesn’t show enough “promise,” as is their right. Now, none of this is a condemnation--Diamond’s built its business from the ground up and seems to be very good at what it does, and I’m not suggesting they haven’t earned their status--but because they’re a monopoly, this makes Diamond a very powerful gatekeeper in the industry, and that’s not changing. You want to sell comics to anyone, you sell through Diamond. (Newsstand publishing is a whole blogpost in and of itself, which I’ll do soon, but here’s the short version: it’s a dying racket deliberately designed to pay out less often than a slot machine. No matter how crooked you suspect it is, I’ve seen spreadsheets and can promise you that you’re underestimating by half.) So...Diamond. Typically, a non-Premier publisher sells its wares to Diamond at 40-45% of cover price. Let’s say 40%. You’re one of those publishers. That means that if your comic is cover-priced at $3.99 (which, at the moment, seems to be the average bottom threshold), you’re making roughly $1.60 per copy. Which actually doesn’t sound too awful, right? Let’s say you’re not a Bendis- or Millar-level sales superstar but neither are you a total unknown, so you’re selling 5000-6000 copies of each issue, very respectable in this day and age. Less if you’re a brand-new creator with no track record among retailers, but for argument’s sake, let’s say 5-6K. That’s, what, eight or nine grand gross? But here’s the big bite: at those print-run levels, that comic is costing you around a dollar a copy just to print. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less. What’s that? You’ve decided to forego expensive color for cheaper black and white? You’d be surprised how little that lowers the cost. Printing, shipping, and various related charges--that’s where you’re spending more than half your income. More than half. Not on creative, not on marketing, not on advertising, not on all of that put together. On printing the damn thing. And...and...as the printing industry continues to contract, the per-unit costs will--basic law of supply and demand--continue to escalate. Big And Scary Bit Of Math #2: How many retail outlets nationwide does Diamond serve? If you’re a small publisher, how many stores can you hope to get your comic into? If you guessed more than two thousand, you’re dreaming. Maybe two thousand, and that includes every tiny sports-card shop or private individual who maintains an account with the distributor by ordering the bare minimum amount of merchandise monthly for their own collections, not for resale. It’s pretty sobering to realize that four regions--California, New York, Texas and the Chicago area--account for a jaw-dropping majority of comics stores across America. Last time I looked, for instance, if you live anywhere between Memphis, Tennessee and Jackson, Mississippi, there are no comics stores to be found. And that’s just one example of their scarcity. Those of us who live in major metropolitan areas lose sight of how hard it is just to find a damn comic book at all in, say, Prattville, Alabama or Tupelo, Mississippi. Distribution is awful, and it’s only getting worse as stores struggle. More bad news: of those let’s-charitably-say-two-thousand, a high percentage of those won’t even order your book. They use Diamond’s monthly Top 100 listing as a menu and won’t even order most of the bottom 50. That doesn’t make them evil, just necessarily thrifty--they’re buying wholesale from Diamond at maybe a 45% discount if they're a small store, 53% at best if they have multiple storefronts, and what they ordered can’t be returned to Diamond, so they don’t have a whole lot of leeway to take risks on “unproven” material. I don’t have concrete numbers before me, but I would make an educated guess that INCORRUPTIBLE, the lowest-selling of my monthly comics, gets shelved in maybe 500 stores across the world. And, as with most all print comics, fewer stores every month. That’s the cold, hard math of print comics. I know that math. What I don’t know nearly as well--what none of us yet knows reliably--is the math of digital comics. I’m going to learn it the hard way over the next few months: face-first. I’ll report back with my findings. Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 that was...shit, that was why i used to read the shit out of Ellis' insights. heartbreaking shit, but important nonetheless...i mean, im here not buying print except for TPB's either, so he's preaching to the choir...but if i ever did fancy making a comic? it'd be digital. im eager to see his reporting back post, but by definition, the picture he paints here...shit, shipping physical copies feels like it'd be an exercise in vanity wit those #'s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 For anyone with a Gamestop Rewards card, they recently added Atomic Robo Vol. 1 for 1,000 points, redeemable on Comixology. This is the first thing I've gotten from it. I have like 20,000 points, been waiting for something worthwhile. This was like the first thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Jesus, look at me throwing out how many unused points I have and then being a fuckin' Scrooge McDuck. 2 free digital copies of Atomic Robo Vol. 1 on Comixology up for grabs. First cum, first serve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keth Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Easy there tiger, you don't wanna miss out on those sweet Portal earrings. is atomic robo good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Yes! It's pretty excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 i keep meaning to get my own card, ive been using gunsmith's all year. ill never have enough points for that Kung-Fu cartridge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 They have tickets to that Zelda Live concert for like 40,000 points. I was surprised, that's actually really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganny McVagflaps Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Too busy looking for photos of cocks. I wish this were the first time I had this dilemma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 yeah, those tickets went through the roof but there's a good deal on groupon for them right now, too. i forget, how much is that cart? kinda mad i bought my first 3DS without getting points now that i think about it, but everything id want is crazy expensive anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 My problem is it's mostly just random little knick knack swag. I'm pretty much over accumulating worthless little shit I have to find a place for. I could maybe go for a T-Shirt or a wallet at some point, but I realize I don't need a Walking Dead lunchbox. After about 15,000, there's some pretty cool stuff. Controllers and headphones and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 logans/bish/comixology fans: if you're interested, Ultimate Comics Spidey, X-Men and Ultimates are on sale today for $1/each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 So I bought Scott Pilgrim awhile back during a sale. It's in black and white, but they just rereleased it in color. I got an email saying I could upgrade to the color version for $1.99. I don't want to, I like B&W, but I think it's pretty cool that it's an option, and something that could only really be done digitally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 So I bought Scott Pilgrim awhile back during a sale. It's in black and white, but they just rereleased it in color. I got an email saying I could upgrade to the color version for $1.99. I don't want to, I like B&W, but I think it's pretty cool that it's an option, and something that could only really be done digitally. For two dollars I will colorize your black and white comics with markers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Touché Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Image #' 1's free on comixology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 also, thought this was pretty cool/bold: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Hellboy/B.P.R.D. 99 cent sale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Comixology is giving away a free book every day as they reach 100 million issues sold. Today's is The Shadow #1. No code required, just a direct link. http://www.comixology.com/The-Shadow-1/digital-comic/FEB120897?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=freeshadow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrizzle Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1 is free on Comixology today! Alternate link . I dunno if the first one might be fucked up since I already own it. GET IT GET IT GET IT! EVERYBODY! FOR REALS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keth Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 So I guess they're doing free comics every day til christmas or something? Issue one is free today... this one looks to be fun so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keth Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 ^that wasn't very good btw 700 free #1 issues!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrizzle Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I thought Happy was entertaining while I was reading it, but then I had no desire to get any of the other issues, so I guess I didn't like really it that much. And oh shit! There are a lot of pretty recent #1's there. Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrizzle Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Aaand after trying to add 300ish comics, Comixology died. I hope this promotion didn't end today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.