Just to answer a question upthread: DCBS gets their comics from Diamond just like everybody else, so they won't be getting new stuff in either.
(DCBS must be Diamond's single largest client right? I don't think there's a larger mail-only preorder service.)
Reading List (Super behind but reading them nonetheless):
DC: Currently figuring that out
Marvel: Read above
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Other: The Antagonist, Something is Killing the Children, Avatar: TLAB
Manga: My Hero Academia, MHA: Vigilanties, Soul Eater: the Perfect Edition, Berserk, Hunter X Hunter, Witch Hat Atelier, Kaiju No. 8
If we look at the book market, things have started to develop a bit there (at least for some publishers).
Basically, what you're paying for isn't the product, but for early access, and tied to the hardcover/paperback release cycle. You pay 80% or so of the price of the hardcover for an electronic copy on release day, and then when the paperback arrives a year later the e-book is price adjusted to the paperback cost.
But I'm not sure how a similar release model for comics would look like.
«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
This is sad
It personally doesnt affect me personally as I get all of my comics digitally but I do feel for you.
As you can see on the left, Im from Costa Rica. the situation here with Covid19 is not as extreme as it is in the US(only 150+ cases reported and only 2 dead here as of today) but we are also saying home for the time being, schools/churches/malls/etc everything is closed.
so to all of you who are no just going to miss your physical copies and may lose your favorite comic stores. which you the best of lucks.
I gave up single issues 2 years ago
But not getting new released trades and omnibuses will hurt.
My personal unfiltered viewpoint on this is that collectors, people who gotta' have a book in their hands, variant cover hunters, and so on, should not be at the forefront dictating how this industry functions. Those things are niches within niches that got blown out of proportion to disastrous effects in the 1990s, which the industry is paying for now. Vintage video game collectors do not dictate the flow of the video game industry. They are a niche within a subculture and market. The video game industry...for the most part...operates based on common sense, while the comics industry is comparatively ass backwards. You look at it and say, "No wonder no one reads this stuff."
The comics need to sell themselves on--again--VERY strong stories with VERY strong artwork. With the experience I've had on comics, I've discovered the great secret behind making better comics than everyone. And...the big secret is...have a VERY good story with VERY good artwork. Not 40 variant covers of Black Cat. That's ridiculous. Relaunches and reboots up the ass. Dropped story lines that don't go anywhere because things have to be ready for the next relaunch. Not the next tired event stories that only a small niche will understand or be interested in. It's this collector driven direct market stuff that's to blame for nearly all the biggest problems "Big 2" comics face. If it takes this pandemic for comics to wisen up...well...I guess that's just how it goes...if wisen up. I always kinda' wondered how that would happen. I think the near future will be very painful for Marvel, DC, and the other publishers, but it's my hope that something better will come out of all this.
Last edited by Vampire Savior; 03-24-2020 at 03:22 AM.
The reason they won't bother is the TV shows and movies, as the rights for most of those are with other streamers and TV channels outside the US. Marvel Unlimited can be available worldwide because it's JUST the comics. DC Universe isn't. So I say fold the shows into HBO Max and turn DC Universe into a comics only service.
Appreciation Thread Indexes
Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman
Hopefully DC/Marvel tell us if they'll just start doing digital first releases, maybe this is selfish, but as someone who just buys comics digitally anyways I'd still like to keep reading and supporting the creators.
Same. I want to see where my favorite stories are going, and if digital-only for now keeps the writers & artists employed then I say all the better. Readers will adjust, the vast majority will make the switch if the alternative to digital is nothing at all. Nobody minded when they switched floppies from newsprint to glossy & matte paper, nobody minded when they rose from .75 to $4-$5 per floppy, and nobody will mind switching to a superior visual & perks like guided view. I'm speaking generally, of course, as some will absolutely mind...but they'll probably be the vocal minority on message boards.
It's the way of the future. There are still vinyl collectors, but most music fans made the switch to digital long ago. Film lovers as well. Comics can and should start to transition.
"Darkseid...always hated music..."
Every post I make, it should be assumed by the reader that the following statement is attached: "It's all subjective. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you, and vice versa, and that's ok. You may have a different opinion on it, but this is mine. That's the wonderful thing about being a comics fan, it's all subjective."
The day they stop making real trades and graphic novels is the day I stop buying comics other then older trades and go full manga. Like having trades on my shelf and reading comics in my hand not on a tiny phone.
Floppies have ton and tons out there now so plenty of back issues if I want them but tend to only buy pre 1990 floppies now. Won't pay more then $2 for a new floppy when the trade is cheaper then buying three floppies! Wait two months and the new issue is in the dollar bin anyways!
With that said I can see them going digital only for the floppies and then reprint them in a real trade later.
Whatever the industry has to do to survive I'm okay with, I just feel like local shops have value that can't be replaced. Mine seems popular enough to weather the storm thankfully.
Some sort of compromise, like digital floppies and hard copy trades, would work for me. I just don't ever see myself switching entirely to digital. I've done it here and there, it's just not my thing.
Also, I'm not well-read on this stuff, but how much does piracy eat into profits and subscriptions? I can literally google almost any comic book from the early 2000's on and read it in its entirety with no cost.
This isn't a comparative argument. You would have to relate vintage video game collectors to vintage comic collectors, and we aren't talking about vintage comic collectors, we are talking about people that collect current issues being released. Last I checked, physical games are still being released. Both upcoming game consoles still have disc drives and physical games will be made for it.
Are games moving more and more to digital? Yes, but physical still makes up a large chunk of sales. Just like with comics. The market dictates where the future goes. If physical comics outsell digital, then physical comics aren't a "niche." The argument can be applied to standard Blu-Ray and 4K. Is 4K superior? Yes. But the market hasn't fully supported it based on sales, so the majority is still manufactured on non-4K or both.
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