Thursday, November 30, 2006

52 Infinite Civil Crisis War - Mega-Events


I have read in comic news that DC and Marvel both are planning a weekly or perhaps bi-weekly comic to come out next year. Also Marvel has at least one "mega-event" coming up with Mark Millar and some 36 book extravaganza and a major "Hulk" event. DC seems to have some rumored big project that is being worked on behind the scenes.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

With my budget I can actually follow these events and do for the most part, but these are the things that are short term strategies that drive me away from anything connected to a major universe. In the 90's Valiant, Image, Dark Horse joined in with mega events and cross-overs and it burned me out on comics for awhile. I didn't stop totally, but I really didn't care and cut back on my buying.

I enjoy some of these events, but if they happen every other day they aren't special.

52 is working because it is a one time deal filling in some of the one year later gap stuff. But another weekly comic becomes a stunt.

The problem is the sales numbers on Civil War stuff and 52 are the best sales numbers they have, so they are afraid to back off for fear of losing their market.

I want more solid good series or mini-series. Talent was great, Local has been very good as has Fell, Nextwave, Batman and the Mad Monk, Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes, All Star Superman and other books. They all are just solid series that stand on their own.

I would love to see a three month period with no major event books and see how each book fares. Of course sales for these books are for pre-sold to the direct market. What are the sell through numbers on these books could be dramatically lower. The market is set up to make "smaller" books only have limited sales. A retailer only has so much of a budget, so upping his orders on an independent like Talent is a huge gamble.

Anyway a quick rant against copying success in order to save having to be creative and have a new success. Why is it that when one "new" or unconventional idea succeeds we see it 10 more times in imitation?

1 comment:

  1. It's corporate nature. You see the same thing in TV, movies, books and every other entertainment medium. If it works, and works big, copy it. Hell, you see it in the non-entertainment corporations, too. Look at the car models that copy each other. Any sales success is bound to spawn pale imitations, and sometimes even greater variations.

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