Coronavirus knocks out direct market - Diamond stops deliveries

[Jadeb]

I stopped worrying about the longevity of digital when I finally accepted I was unlikely to ever reread the vast, vast majority of issues. There’s too much out there, and very few modern comics are hard to lay hands on if I ever did want them. I keep print copies of my favorites, but I have a whole bunch I should chuck.

[HunterX]

Digital is going to be the future whether today or in a few years, so might as well transition now while these companies have the perfect opportunity.

it can never be all digital though, always will be a niche that prefers paper, well at least me.

[Factor]

I stopped worrying about the longevity of digital when I finally accepted I was unlikely to ever reread the vast, vast majority of issues. There’s too much out there, and very few modern comics are hard to lay hands on if I ever did want them. I keep print copies of my favorites, but I have a whole bunch I should chuck.

This.
I honestly think this is a time for comic book companies to really think about their digital strategies and update their business model to something that can be more competitive in the long run.

The number one thing I would do would be to explore digital subscription options.
The single issue releases only make sense when they're part of a larger package. Otherwise the prices are just too prohibitive when someone compares comics to other forms of digital entertainment.

I also think they NEED to start producing comics meant to be read on mobile devices. Not everyone has a tablet, but everyone has a smartphone. This is kind of what Quibi is doing and I think it could help make comics a lot more accessible to curious new readers.

The problem is that the industry as a whole is incredibly conservative, so all the companies are taking baby steps. I love that Marvel and DC have Unlimited and DCU, but I don't think those apps come even close to reaching the potential of what digital comics can be to the industry's future.

This could have the potential to change everything. From format to periodicity to the way books are sold. I hope they have the courage to at least try new things and actually market it to the right people.
I spend all day on comic book sites and I've never seen one single add online for a comic in my social media. Do these companies not invest in performance media?

[Frontier]

it can never be all digital though, always will be a niche that prefers paper, well at least me.

Yeah, and there's only so much reading I can do online before my eyes hurt, which is why I prefer print.

[DragonPiece]

it can never be all digital though, always will be a niche that prefers paper, well at least me.

I think when people say the future will be digital, they just mean for floppies. They'll always be collected into collections like paperbacks,hardcovers,omnibuses etc for bookstores/amazon.

[Robanker]

Yeah, and there's only so much reading I can do online before my eyes hurt, which is why I prefer print.

Your 48,500 posts concludes that was a lie.

[Ascended]

This.
I honestly think this is a time for comic book companies to really think about their digital strategies and update their business model to something that can be more competitive in the long run.

This could have the potential to change everything. From format to periodicity to the way books are sold. I hope they have the courage to at least try new things and actually market it to the right people.

That's the hope, right?

Digital can't be the *only* option any more than the direct market should've been the only option. But the industry desperately needs to expand & diversify its production models, and digital is almost certainly the best market to invest in. Publishers just need to actually do it, rather than trying to copy-paste the direct market model into the digital sphere.

That's a costly venture, and I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to be responsible for all that money and all those jobs, but damn, it *has* to be done. Twenty years since superheroes began to take over cinemas, twelve years since they straight up ruled those theaters, the superhero genre is more popular now than at any time since the 40's (I think), but Batman still struggles to sell 100K. It's ludicrous. It'd be funny if it weren't so damn sad.

Not that I know enough to tell these people how to do their jobs or anything, but I mean....look at things. Even setting all the current crazy aside, something's gotta give here.

[Waterfall]

Digital only floppies
Printed collections


This is the only way.

[skyvolt2000]

That's the hope, right?

Digital can't be the *only* option any more than the direct market should've been the only option. But the industry desperately needs to expand & diversify its production models, and digital is almost certainly the best market to invest in. Publishers just need to actually do it, rather than trying to copy-paste the direct market model into the digital sphere.

That's a costly venture, and I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to be responsible for all that money and all those jobs, but damn, it *has* to be done. Twenty years since superheroes began to take over cinemas, twelve years since they straight up ruled those theaters, the superhero genre is more popular now than at any time since the 40's (I think), but Batman still struggles to sell 100K. It's ludicrous. It'd be funny if it weren't so damn sad.

The issue is not everyone wants to read about Batman. What about all those folks? Who have constantly been ignored?

The direct market has been a market of pure entitlement. Where MANY have been unwelcomed and any success has been met with disdain, resentment, hostility, racism, sexism and gatekeeping. Especially at the big two. Especially when it comes to POC, LGBTQ & women.

It does not matter what format you do if it only going to mean more flooding of Batman and friends.

Raven & Cassandra Cain have OGNS that are selling. As BADLY as they have been done in comics. They are finding fans. Maybe when looking for new products, it means new folks get shots

[Ascended]

I'd like to see weekly digital releases for 99 cents (probably 5 pages per issue, to keep production costs roughly the same as they are now unless a better method is out there), coupled with some sort of subscription service with multiple plans and membership options.

Printed collections of those digital titles every 4-6 months.

And everything set in a seasonal format. "Action Comics: Season 1, volume 1: issues 1-26" yknow? Make it easy for new readers to know where they are and what they need to catch up on. Do a couple print runs of these; some on cheap paper without color at a low price to compete with manga, and then ones that're higher quality, in color, for the rest of us.

Then I want self-contained OGN's for different audiences (YA, Mature, etc etc) available at bookstores and websites. We're already getting this sort of stuff, like the Raven OGN and Harley's Breaking Glass (or whatever it was called) and I want to see DC double down and invest heavily in this. But not just YA material either; stuff for everyone, from kids to adults.

The way I figure it, if there's a demographic out there that could be tempted to buy a DC comic (in enough numbers to be profitable of course), there should be books aimed at that demographic, designed specifically to appeal to that group.

And some damn advertising in the larger media stuff is an absolute necessity. At the end of a CW show, or at the end of a movie, or cartoon or whatever, there should be a quick ad for DC books. Just a quick "Did you enjoy this program? Then check out the DC app, with new books each week and a huge catalog of back issues!" Half the problem with floppies is that they're invisible; using larger media success to help increase visibility would go a long way to helping the industry. I don't think it'd help the direct market much, since it's still too insulated and not built for mass consumption, but combined with everything else I'm suggesting, I think it'd be worthwhile.

[Ascended]

The issue is not everyone wants to read about Batman. What about all those folks? Who have constantly been ignored?

?

Batman was just an example of how poorly the direct market sells. Bats is the barometer the whole direct market uses to measure sales (unless Diamond changed their policy recently); it's at the top of the mountain, and it struggles to move 100K in a world where superhero films are setting new records each year. That's what I was saying.

[achilles]

I'd like to see weekly digital releases for 99 cents (probably 5 pages per issue, to keep production costs roughly the same as they are now unless a better method is out there), coupled with some sort of subscription service with multiple plans and membership options.

Printed collections of those digital titles every 4-6 months.

And everything set in a seasonal format. "Action Comics: Season 1, volume 1: issues 1-26" yknow? Make it easy for new readers to know where they are and what they need to catch up on. Do a couple print runs of these; some on cheap paper without color at a low price to compete with manga, and then ones that're higher quality, in color, for the rest of us.

Then I want self-contained OGN's for different audiences (YA, Mature, etc etc) available at bookstores and websites. We're already getting this sort of stuff, like the Raven OGN and Harley's Breaking Glass (or whatever it was called) and I want to see DC double down and invest heavily in this. But not just YA material either; stuff for everyone, from kids to adults.

The way I figure it, if there's a demographic out there that could be tempted to buy a DC comic (in enough numbers to be profitable of course), there should be books aimed at that demographic, designed specifically to appeal to that group.

And some damn advertising in the larger media stuff is an absolute necessity. At the end of a CW show, or at the end of a movie, or cartoon or whatever, there should be a quick ad for DC books. Just a quick "Did you enjoy this program? Then check out the DC app, with new books each week and a huge catalog of back issues!" Half the problem with floppies is that they're invisible; using larger media success to help increase visibility would go a long way to helping the industry. I don't think it'd help the direct market much, since it's still too insulated and not built for mass consumption, but combined with everything else I think it'd be worthwhile.

I don't like the idea of DC trying to target a demographic they think aren't reading already. Them trying that sort of thing has led to many of the problems with the past 20 years or so in DC. Especially since they seem to do it by pissing off as many existing fans as they can.

In theory, however I agree with you, it can be done. Just not by them.

[kjn]

I don't like the idea of DC trying to target a demographic they think aren't reading already. Them trying that sort of thing has led to many of the problems with the past 20 years or so in DC. Especially since they seem to do it by pissing off as many existing fans as they can.

In theory, however I agree with you, it can be done. Just not by them.

Diana: Princess of the Amazons sold 200K copies.

There is a market for these characters out there. The trouble is that neither DC nor the direct market has been able to reach those readers.

[Ascended]

I don't like the idea of DC trying to target a demographic they think aren't reading already. Them trying that sort of thing has led to many of the problems with the past 20 years or so in DC. Especially since they seem to do it by pissing off as many existing fans as they can.

In theory, however I agree with you, it can be done. Just not by them.

They've tried branching out into new audiences.....through the direct market. That's been their big failing point. The direct market is not a growth market, no matter how hard the publishers try to make it one. But as Skyvolt (and Kjn, who replied while I was typing) points out, their stuff outside the direct market does just fine. I mean, you can't get a Raven comic to sell 50K through Diamond but her YA OGN apparently did rather well for itself. And I bet a lot of the people who bought that book aren't Wednesday Warriors, and never will be.

Publishers keep trying to get new demographics to go to the LCS, and that's not working. But one of the basics of business is taking your product to your consumer, getting it to places where they already are and will see it.

I do agree that current management may not be up to the task. But I don't think they've really tried either. I'm basically suggesting abandoning the direct market (or close to) and diversifying and that's not only a costly, time-consuming proposition, but if it doesn't work it just might kill the publishing arm of DC too. Not to mention the hell it will play on retailers. I can't blame management for not wanting to take the risk, but I don't think they have any safe options left to them.

[Frontier]

Your 48,500 posts concludes that was a lie.

Man, I have honestly never actually looked at that .