Will Marvel want to try something similar to the DC deal with Walmart?

[MajorHoy]

In case people haven't heard, Walmart is going to be selling some special DC comic books that will have some material that's exclusive (for now) to Walmart.

DC to produce original comics for Walmart starting July 1
By Michael Sangiacomo, The Plain Dealer, msangiacomo@plaind.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- DC Comics has made an agreement with Walmart to produce a line of new $4.99 monthly comics featuring Superman, Batman, Teen Titans and the Justice League to be sold exclusively at Walmart beginning July 1.
The books will be 100 pages long each and include one new story and three reprints of old stories.

You can read more at: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainm...al_comics.html, plus there are other sites with more information.

And, again, these are comic books that contain one new story as well as reprinting three older stories with various characters.

some of the covers:






Thoughts and comments?
Do you think Marvel may want to try something similar, or maybe wait and see how this works out first?

[responsarbre]

They used to sell stuff like Spider-Girl and Runaways digests in supermarkets, I think. And they do still have these sort of digests overseas. I think reviving them is a decent idea, especially if DC's approach works out.

[Frontier]

They're already doing digests with Archie right? The main difference seems to be that DC is publishing original stories in their books by some of their top-tier talent.

[Gaastra]

That's great. Anything to bring new readers to comics.

[capandkirby]

Diamond Distributors is trying to outfit drug and toy stores with comic racks, which will feature Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and Dynamite titles.

https://www.newsarama.com/40453-diam...retailers.html

Meanwhile, Gamestop is also going to start selling comics, including both Marvel and DC. Only tent-pole characters, though, so probably Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Black Panther.

“We have partnered with Diamond to carry a small selection of comics in 40 stores utilizing their new spinner rack. The comics are mostly from Marvel and DC with a focus on key series and titles.”

https://www.cbr.com/gamestop-selling-marvel-dc-comics/

[MajorHoy]

They're already doing digests with Archie right? The main difference seems to be that DC is publishing original stories in their books by some of their top-tier talent.

Well, it's one new story out of the four in each issue.
The rest of the stories will allow DC extra exposure (and $'s?) for previously published material.

[kilderkin]

Both marvel and dc sell reprint material in shops in the UK under license, some graphic books too

It seems to bring in younger readers, ease of purchase and price point are good

Anything that gets new readers and wider access is sound imo

[Digifiend]

Yeah, here's a couple of examples of what you'll find in WHSmith:

[Daniel22]

This is great. This is exactly the kind of thing Marvel and DC should both be doing. DC is really stepping it up with their new labels, formats and means of distribution and I hope Marvel follows suit. There's no reason not to do things like this.

[Blunt Guy]

[QUOTE=capandkirby;3743913]Diamond Distributors is trying to outfit drug and toy stores with comic racks, which will feature Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and Dynamite titles.

https://www.newsarama.com/40453-diam...retailers.html

Funny how the publishers have finally realized that comics need to be in view and readily available for impulse buys, after throwing that away years ago.

[Username taken]

[QUOTE=Blunt Guy;3744551]

Diamond Distributors is trying to outfit drug and toy stores with comic racks, which will feature Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and Dynamite titles.

https://www.newsarama.com/40453-diam...retailers.html

Funny how the publishers have finally realized that comics need to be in view and readily available for impulse buys, after throwing that away years ago.

I think it was the stores that decided the comics weren’t worth the floor space.

[leokearon]

Didn't they try that with the MC2 titles and it failed

[JKtheMac]

Diamond Distributors is trying to outfit drug and toy stores with comic racks, which will feature Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and Dynamite titles.

https://www.newsarama.com/40453-diam...retailers.html

Meanwhile, Gamestop is also going to start selling comics, including both Marvel and DC. Only tent-pole characters, though, so probably Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Black Panther.



https://www.cbr.com/gamestop-selling-marvel-dc-comics/

This is really fascinating and encouraging. A big but. I find it very odd that one of the highlighted ‘incentives’ offered is access to limited variants. For the kind of retailer they want to attract this incentive would be baffling and entirely lacking of context.

[JKtheMac]

I think it was the stores that decided the comics weren’t worth the floor space.

I suspect the reasons were multifaceted, but IMO the ‘positive feedback’ from the early days of the Direct Market drove the publisher decisions. The new distribution model became far more lucrative in a very quick time period. This did lead to many problems including the huge reduction in comic shops when the bubble burst. Indeed the phenomenon of bubbles and the way they lead to crashes is a tell-tale economic sign that decisions are being made based on positive feedback.

Now that online retail has ridden out its own bubble and settled into a mature business model, physical retail has to adapt, and we really are in the end game of the direct market, which I am fully aware many have been forecasting for decades. The reason this time is for real, is that we have seen multiple attempts to keep retail alive or to diversify retail. It remains to be seen if spinner racks are a lifeline or a sign of an encroaching apocalypse. Let’s hope it is the former, and comic stores can find a way to survive.

[Prof. Warren]

This is definitely an interesting move on DC's part. Whether it will be a success or not, who knows, but it's certainly worth a shot.

As others have noted, Marvel already has collections and digest-sized books in big box stores. This is slightly different as there's the added incentive of having original material in them.

Would Marvel do the same? I'm sure some of what would decide that is seeing how well this does for DC first. One thing I would say is that I think Marvel would be reluctant to assign their top talent to do a project like this. While it's cool that creators like King and Bendis are involved, the argument might be that they should be focused on assignments in the main line. And, of course, conversely you could say that it's important that DC put it's best foot forward as far as trying to appeal to new readers.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I guess I'm most interested to see how these books are displayed in store. I think it's imperative that they be put in a very visible place, ideally in the magazine racks at the check out line, where they can be a impulse buy on the way out of the store. If they're stuck back in the toy department or in some other area where they aren't going to immediately stand out, that'll be a problem.