Politely, what you are talking about is essentially the equivalent of asking "Why aren't you taking that there are not enough urinals in this convent seriously?".
If there is any real spill over in the numbers(which is what you seem to suggesting happens), it is absolutely not there in the numbers you just cited.
Since that pull is seemingly non-existent, there being(or not being) a "TWD" title doesn't really matter when it comes to what those titles sell.
Which is before you even seriously consider if the company is in a position that it believes is anything other than where it wants to be.
You are essentially fretting over the solution to a problem that does not exist.
Last edited by numberthirty; 06-03-2018 at 09:38 PM.
Here is a link to Merge records current website. Since they are currently releasing new music, we have no reason to believe that they are(or have been) in really serious trouble in the time since Arcade Fire left the label.
https://www.mergerecords.com/
Erik, I think the guy's main point was to defend old Image vs. current Image. I see nothing wrong with other posters in this thread saying, "Old Image is garbage". So there's nothing wrong with thinking the opposite and saying current Image can't hold a candle to old Image.
I believe in a lot of weird things: Sasquatch exists, Lochness Monster exists, Elvis is still alive, and the Nazis saved Hitler's brain. However, there's no chance in Hell yer gonna get me to believe current Image can hold a candle to old Image. Yes, there is good stuff. But old Image was a blast. Yes, I admit I'm looking at them thru biased nostalgia goggles. But I don't care. That's how I feel. And I'm not alone.
That poster wasn't trying to trash Image. He was merely defending old Image to current Image by pointing out the sales and quality of the books. Yes, we've seen East of West, Kill or Be Killed, Snotgirl, and the like. It's good. However, when someone says that stuff is better than 90s Image with Gen13, CyberForce, and WildCATS??? Somebody needs their head examined pronto.
Sure and that is completely fine. But there is a difference between that and thinking someone needs their head examined because you think some of the current stuff is better then the stuff from the 90s.
And comparing sales is pretty silly considering the speculate boom in the 90s too. If that stuff really still is as popular as back then why is it you can literaly find 10-15 copies of the same no. 1 book from back then in a most stores?
True, I have no idea.
I can only see that today‘s interest in comics is low, dramatically low given the spotlight they receive from movies and T.V. shows.
Comparing this with the excitement of Image at the beginning I can‘t really see where the positive aspects lie, but, as stated above, I‘m just a reader and have no insight whatsoever.
Another confession, yes, I‘m horribly nostalgic looking back to the beginning days, and surely enough, quite a lot of what came out was not deep, but it really was so full of energy and fun, something I clearly find lacking in today‘s comics.
And I‘m not alone, quite a few feel like too much politics and social issues drain comics of their entertainment.
Being European I‘m more than aware that comics offer all ranges of stories, but for me most popular US comics were a nice way of ecapism, they have lost their innocence. For some it‘s great, and to a certain extend I agree, but nostalgia gets the better of me.
You said, "without TWD Image would probably be dead by now" which makes no sense. Image doesn't profit from the book. Whether it sells two copies or two million copies makes no difference whatsoever to Image's bottom line.
As for enjoying the books more or less then--that's up to readers. Certainly enthusiasm was high back in 1992 but those books were heavily criticized as well for being shallow and simpleminded. Current books are more critically acclaimed and more substantive. If that's not your cup of tea--well, that's your business.
I miss a lot of the energy of the early stuff myself. At that point I was reading every Image book--at this point I don't. But we put out considerably more titles as well. So...there's that.
Sure enough, but Image as a publisher needs money, for this you need an audience in proper numbers to run your business profitably. As such as title like TWD works in as much as attracting new readers trying out all the other diverse titles.
Again, I‘m just an outsider, but the way I see it without such a title Image‘s abilities to publish such an amount would not be given.
Last edited by dimo1; 06-11-2018 at 02:23 AM.