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  1. #1
    Baby Thanos Member catbellysqueezer's Avatar
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    Default Should Marvel focus more on mini-series?

    I don't have a problem with on-going series; my favorite comics right now are Venom, Immortal Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel. I would also love to have an on-going Ant-Man series.

    But with that said, I was thinking about how Marvel has had to cancel a bunch of series and how everyone is saying Marvel is trying different ways to appeal to different audiences, and it seems logical to me that they should release more minis, even though I have seen a lot of people post here that they hate them.

    Here's why I think this way:

    -The first few issues of runs always seem to get a lot more sales
    -Minis create obvious jumping on points for new readers which is way less daunting then researching where to start on something hundreds of issues in
    -I feel like I am WAY more likely to keep buying bad/mediocre comics in a mini-series even if the first couple issues aren't great because at least I know there will be a conclusion (e.g. I bought every Ant-Man and the Wasp issue even though I didn't really like it from the 2nd issue on), whereas I will cancel on-goings as soon as I realize I am not enjoying them
    -It makes it easier for people to go back and read old series digitally (I haven't gone back on any on-goings on Marvel Unlimited or the digital comic store, it's all been events and short runs)
    -They wouldn't have to keep randomly doing fresh starts to spark interest if every story arc is it's own self-contained series
    -I am at least a thousand times more likely to read a mini-series about characters I don't know much about (e.g. Sentry, Multiple-Man, etc.)

    I am not saying they should stop on-goings if they are selling well, I just think they should release a lot more minis alongside of them for people who are new to comics like me.

    What do you guys think? Am I alone here?
    Baby Thanos

  2. #2
    Extraordinary Member
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    This isn't a bad idea. It would make it easier to collect certain books, and certain books, like the Avengers and X-Men and Spiderman, books that are guaranteed an audience, can sort of be a hub.

  3. #3
    I am BLACK GUY dreyga2000's Avatar
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    Here's the thing... I feel like they have been doing that.

    Most of the ongoing that put out are really mini-series that have the option of becoming an going. Think of the first arc like a pilot episode/tv season. If the series hits a chord they green-light another season until it is no longer popular to warrant it's budget. A lot of the time writers on cancelled going will say in an interview that the series was always planned to be 12 issues. Other times they state there joy when they have been green lit for another arc or two.

    The model described above combines the best aspects of mini-series and ongoing series. The only real difference is that they tell you ahead of time when the story ends when it is marketed as mini-series.

  4. #4
    Uncanny Member MajorHoy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dreyga2000 View Post
    Here's the thing... I feel like they have been doing that.
    If not "mini-" then "limited-" for quite a few titles that aren't the biggest selling characters.
    Marvel does love its "1st Issue!" and the variant covers / multiple purchases slapping that label on a book usually generate. By issue #6 or #7, they're already trying to figure out how soon they can relaunch the series with a new "Issue #001"!

  5. #5

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    more minis for sure. 3 issue minis. more diverse character lineups. Keep the creative team intact for the whole arc, for once. Get in, get out.

  6. #6
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Mini's which aren't events typically don't sell well.

    So I think they just launch books they likley know will end up as mini's even though they're not marketed as such, and if they happen to sell well enough they can just keep them going.

  7. #7
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    They already do. They just don't admit they're mini's when they market them.

  8. #8
    insulin4all CaptCleghorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ed2962 View Post
    They already do. They just don't admit they're mini's when they market them.
    And really, being prepared for a book cancelling soon isn't the same as planning a mini outright. Marvel seems to want to make themselves out to claim "it was a mini all along as opposed to saying it didn't sell. I'm cool with that. Whenever I start a new series, I know it probably won't go on forever. That was never the case for comic books. It's just that with the preponderance of mini and such, the books can be packaged to give the company the best public persona. Like it always was.

  9. #9
    Relaunched, not rebooted! SJNeal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    Mini's which aren't events typically don't sell well.

    So I think they just launch books they likley know will end up as mini's even though they're not marketed as such, and if they happen to sell well enough they can just keep them going.
    This.

    As much as people seem to go apesh!t over a shiny new #1, it seems to be the opposite for a (non-event) mini/limited series. For some reason our brains tell us it's an inconsequential story if the ending has already been written, I guess...?
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  10. #10
    Extraordinary Member Raye's Avatar
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    As a few have said, they kinda already do, but they don't market them as such. The core fanbase, at least among the direct market readers, has a history of turning up their nose at anything marketed as a limited series. To some people, if it has a planned ending then it won't 'matter' to the larger MU, so they ignore it. So Marvel has been doing stealth minis to get around this bias of some fans against minis.

  11. #11
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    I don't think that fans so much turn their noses up at mini-series as much as a lot of them will just wait until it's over and then read it collected. That hurts the initial sales the single issues, so Marvel plays coy about if a title is a mini, maxi, or ongoing series.

  12. #12
    Mighty Member scourge's Avatar
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    I think that sometimes writers act like they don't have to put effort into mini series and only phone it in.

    But that aside, I do think that publishing some extra minis is something Marvel should do. But only if they focused on characters that didn't already have on-goings or starring roles in team books.

  13. #13
    Relaunched, not rebooted! SJNeal's Avatar
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    Waaay back in the 80's and 90's, letter columns were filled with requests to give Character X a shot at a mini series. It was commonly accepted that that was the best way to test the waters if said character had the potential to support an ongoing.

    But, as these things do, the mentality of today's readers has changed.
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  14. #14
    Astonishing Member pageturner's Avatar
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    only in so much as they will make for better TBP to sell down the road. A self contained product like Cloak and Dagger that fans of the show can buy without the weight of past stories and future stories.

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