How will the coronavirus affect comics?

[Digifiend]

I really don't know what most of this post is about.

I said CREATORS can't wait 6 months to get paid. I didn't say anything about Marvel publishers waiting to get paid.

And no, not everyone knows what they are getting into in this industry, at all. That's why there's the stereotype of young creators getting ripped off in their contracts, etc. Publishers are about getting the best deal for themselves, NOT about making sure their creators get the best deal.

??? So, your contention is that all creators should be holding TWO jobs? That if they CHOOSE to work in comics, they have to have another stream of revenue?

Yes, a work for hire contract, which pays for pages WHEN DELIVERED, not when the book comes out. I can't think of any US comic publisher that pays IN ADVANCE. It's not like it's a contract that can be negotiated by every creator hired. If that were the case, I'm sure they'd all be getting paid more AND getting benefits.

And I don't think Marvel actually does that many OGN, so it's sort of a moot point.

Yeah, artist pay won't be affected. Doesn't matter if it's 20 pages a month for a floppy, or 120 pages every six months for an OGN, delivered to the publisher in 20 page installments every month. Either way the artist gets paid the same way.

Here in the UK, Beano (an weekly anthology humour comic that's been running since the 1930s) is still publishing, and this week's issue features a Pup Parade story that hadn't appeared before, but was actually drawn and paid for four years ago. For some reason it's run then ended with two pages unused, and one of them was used this week.
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.co...rn-of-pup.html

[Reviresco]

Yes it did cause that crash.

There was several reasons, but speculating, not collecting, was a part of it.

Also what good is a collector's market that cherry picks?

To have a collector's item-said item has to be used more than once and often to increase it's value.

Lets take Punchline at DC-why would I spend more than cover price for her first appearance? Unless she is getting a tv show or movie or get pushed to Supergirl let alone Wonder Woman or Catwoman status.
It's not worth it.

Because those first appearances can never gain value because Marvel & DC do something called MULTIPLE printings.

Because Diamond not comic book stores sell out those two do multiple printings. Not to mention those lovely variants.

???

This isn't true for either speculators or collectors.

How often a book is used does NOT increase its value. In fact, there's more value if it maintains it's pristine value by NOT being used.

RE: Punchline. That's why it's called SPECULATION. The price is driven up by speculators gambling on the character becoming popular and their first comic appearance rising in value, as has happened for popular characters, and buying multiple copies. Depending on what collectors collect, they could also being buying a copy they wouldn't normally do so, to add it to their collection. For those who just want to read the story, no, it probably isn't worth it to pay speculator prices.

??? No, that's incorrect. In this day and age, multiple prints are clearly marked, either with a banner, or different covers, or something. First prints are the "valuable" ones. The others, usually, not so much.

Variants have their collectors, but I don't think alot of them are speculators. Speculators are looking to buy low, and sell high. Variants, by their rarity, are usually higher priced.

And lets talk a lack of usage.How much is that book worth if said person does not appear in anything? Now here comes agendas. Looking at Dc again-Bumblebee & Vixen's first appearances have never seen reprints. yet it's a battle to do anything in comics with them. So you can't increase the value of their first appearances.

Or you get the nonsense that Ike did with Carol Danvers & Black Panther.

The only books worth anything are those with low runs or no reprints/trades. Right now that's Milestone (especially the last issues of Icon) and depending where you live anything with Static. Along with some of Image and other company books-if they sniff bigger tv and movie deals.

Which is it? "...first appearances can never gain value because Marvel & DC do something called MULTIPLE printings" or "first appearances have never seen reprints" -- which would seem to fall under the low runs and no reprints" = increased worth?


I agree in part. Generally speaking, depending on the popularity of the character, a lower print run will increase the price of a back issue. But no, not exactly, those books. Walking Dead is probably the most expensive Image book, but I think that's a special case.


https://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-b...7056&snumber=1

Static maxs out at $13


https://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-b...r=41&instock=0

Icon maxs out at $51


https://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-b...0798&snumber=1

Edge of Spider-verse has $102, $128, and maxs out at $340

The collector's market does not help Marvel. Marvel killed it themselves.

Marvel can increase it sales with variants, which caters to collectors, which indicates that the collector market indeed helps Marvel immensely.

Only way to fire it back up is to use all those still in limbo guys-especially those of color.

This appears to be your opinion, but it doesn't really have any evidence to support it. In fact, you, yourself argue that there's some conspiracy or agenda against PoC books, so I don't see how that's supposed to save Marvel comics.

[CentralPower]

Marvel should do stories in response to Covid-chan, any publisher that wants to reflect our world should, but the hope is that they would be smart enough to realize that the problem was not some unforseen biblical plague, but the incompetence of government(s). And that can drive real stories.

Marvel is going to be 2 months behind as it is. They don't need to waste time on polemicomics.

Maybe a one-shot that supports a relief effort. But, we don't need a badly written comic about a real disaster that cost lives and jobs.

[fin5]

There is some tean i dont understand the comics are in diamond s place just laying around so why cant diamond ship the comics

[Cville]

There is some tean i dont understand the comics are in diamond s place just laying around so why cant diamond ship the comics

There are no new comics. From what I saw they only had one to two weeks of new comics in their facilities.

Shops can still order old books if Diamonds has them, but that would only happen at customer request most likely.

[Reviresco]

Yeah, artist pay won't be affected. Doesn't matter if it's 20 pages a month for a floppy, or 120 pages every six months for an OGN, delivered to the publisher in 20 page installments every month. Either way the artist gets paid the same way.

Here in the UK, Beano (an weekly anthology humour comic that's been running since the 1930s) is still publishing, and this week's issue features a Pup Parade story that hadn't appeared before, but was actually drawn and paid for four years ago. For some reason it's run then ended with two pages unused, and one of them was used this week.
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.co...rn-of-pup.html

I could be wrong, but that's not my understanding about how Marvel pays their creators. They pay on delivery of a finished product, that they can print. They can't print 20 pages of a OGN at a time. If they do that, it's a floppy, not an OGN. Floppies give Marvel a monthly, steady stream of revenue. If they didn't put out floppies. It would mean they would mean they they wouldn't get any income for 6 months. That's probably why they don't print many OGNs.

Folks here seem to think Marvel can not go without income for two weeks, so I'm not sure how they expect them to go for 6 months without income. Also these same people are screaming because of a 2 week delay. How are they going to feel about waiting six months between their books?

[Reviresco]

Todd McFarlane comes out in semi-support of those who think that publishers shouldn't worry about the LCBS.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/todd...ustry-diamond/


Needless to say, I disagree with some of his ideas, and thinks he contradicts himself. I also thought the caveat at the end was interesting.

[Digifiend]

"At the very least, I'd say that, surely amongst the leaders, we can throw in 10 new comics for free as digital downloads. Top titles, the ones people really want to read. We can afford it. It doesn't necessarily help the retailers but we can't allow customers to lose that exercise of being geeks, of getting their regular dose to keep their geekiness going with comics instead of moving on to some other thing like streaming video or gaming… People say, "Do they have to be free? Couldn't they be 99 cents?" And for me, the answer is yes, free. We've done ok. We can afford to give something back.

LOL. That's just not going to happen.

[Holt]

Other than the free comic proposal (which yeah, isn't happening), I don't think anything he said was too outlandish. He's right. The industry is eventually going to have to do something about getting their comics out there and having people buy them if the stores are gonna remain closed for the foreseeable future.

[Prof. Warren]

Folks here seem to think Marvel can not go without income for two weeks, so I'm not sure how they expect them to go for 6 months without income. Also these same people are screaming because of a 2 week delay. How are they going to feel about waiting six months between their books?

Who the hell thinks Marvel can't go without income for two weeks?

Also, Marvel isn't going without income. It's not like trades and digital copies aren't being sold.

Having new issues in the stores isn't Marvel only revenue source.

Also, how is anyone figuring on a six month delay? Books will start being printed again by the summer.

[myownlittleusername]

Tilting at Windmills #279: The Plague Diaries – How comics retailing moves forward

https://www.comicsbeat.com/how-comic...moves-forward/

[CentralPower]

Needless to say, I disagree with some of his ideas, and thinks he contradicts himself. I also thought the caveat at the end was interesting.

McFarlane is wrong about missing issues. That is exactly the sort of thing that will break a reader's habit.

[Reviresco]

Who the hell thinks Marvel can't go without income for two weeks?

The people who think Marvel should at least grab the 10% of their new digital sales, instead of the not selling anything new at this time.

Also, Marvel isn't going without income. It's not like trades and digital copies aren't being sold.

Having new issues in the stores isn't Marvel only revenue source.

Also, how is anyone figuring on a six month delay? Books will start being printed again by the summer.

That wasn't about the delay due to the virus. It was in reference to the CBR article which was pushing for doing away with floppies all together and going with trades only.

https://www.cbr.com/diamond-shutdown...-comics-model/


This is true about the trades and older digital titles. Plus Marvel Unlimited. I wonder about the percentages for each of these formats to Marvel's bottom line?

[Reviresco]

LOL. That's just not going to happen.

Other than the free comic proposal (which yeah, isn't happening), I don't think anything he said was too outlandish. He's right. The industry is eventually going to have to do something about getting their comics out there and having people buy them if the stores are gonna remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Yeah, the screaming would be loud, and rightly so, if they gave away digital copies, and then charged the stores and physical buyers full price.

It's not really up to the comic industry solely to get their comics out. Just like any other company / industry in the middle of this pandemic, they are being restricted by various government mandated closures. Everyone is just having to suck it up and do without.

I think the idea that Marvel is going to share event time, post pandemic, is the most ridiculous thing. Marvel is all about crushing the competition with sheer numbers. The only way something like that would happen is if they did do the Marvel / DC crossover.

McFarlane is wrong about missing issues. That is exactly the sort of thing that will break a reader's habit.

It will be a sore point for collectors. Like the publishers, he seems to forget that a jumping on point, is also a jumping off point. Tell collectors that they are going to have a hole that will never be filled, and they are just as likely to stop buying that title. Then he goes on to reveal how little he knows collectors, by asking "who cares about the number????" Dude, clearly hasn't been listening to fans who complain at EVERY FREAKING REBOOT #1.


He also contradicts himself, saying people won't come back for "reasons" but then he says fans will be back for "reasons."

Fans will come back for #310 when things reopen. They'll come back for Batman or whatever they're reading. Who cares about the number? It's a comic you're selling at the same price. Who cares if people get it a different way in the meantime?"

[Digifiend]

Have any non-comic magazines ended up suspending production, or is it only comics in this situation?