Marvel Announces plans for April 1st Comics

[Iron Maiden]

I’m putting this in every thread today it seems. I’m sceptical of this working but hope I’m very wrong. But here’s what I wrote in a couple of other threads just now...


My LCBS happens to be one of the 100 or so in the US that uses ComicHub. They are out of Australia or New Zealand I think. A few comments...

- I love the concept of having an app to order and keep track of things

- ComicHub’s app is not intuitive at all, however.

- My store has been using them for about 2 years and I still have some of the same issues I’ve had since the beginning. My “next week” listing for example still shows the same small list of stuff from a year + ago.

- In order to make the concept work as described in the article, you would have to PAY through the app. Perhaps my store just doesn’t have this functionality, but it certainly isn’t a feature in my app.

- in the article, they discuss a previews section that can be used for full books. If it exists in my app, I can’t find it. I do have “view” functionality but I’ve only been able to pull up covers, not any additional ages.

- They only have 100 or so US stores. Yes, they are not US based so the may have more scalability than that number suggests, but adding every single US store to their platform in the next 10 days like the article indicates seems VERY unlikely to me, especially since the current app has been flawed so long as is.

Given everything I just highlighted, I don’t see any way that this becomes a practical solution to our current situation. They may be able to build towards something that was described in the article, but I believe it will take YEARS for this particular company to get there. Sorry to be so pessimistic but that’s what I’m seeing based on my experience with this company. The thing is, I think what the article really is the ideal solution for the current crisis. Unfortunately, I just can’t see it as a REALISTIC solution, at least as executed by this company.

Thanks for your input since I have not heard of this company before. It is also interesting to note that thus far there has been no update on from CBR on this process nor any statements from the big 2. Marvel has updated there comic shop site with any news either. As I mentioned earlier, as an experiment I put Doctor Doom #7 on preorder on Monday (I already had it on my LCS pull list) just to see what they would do. The last time I looked they changed the release date from April 1 to April 8.

My guess is the comic book companies are still thinking this over. They don't want to leave the retailers out in the cold and then go to digital sales only. I really was curious to see any more info on how this ComicHub proposal would work since the claim was that the retailer would have a comic for you also and somehow be a part of this transaction....or at least that is my understanding. So perhaps it sounds too good to be true. We'll have to see if there are any more statements on this proposal.

[Iron Maiden]

This is the second crash of the industry I have lived through. I have to admit the nineties crash was a lot more fun...

And the scope of this goes far beyond just comic book companies. There are a couple of small local businesses that may close permanently because they may not be able weather the situation as it is.

[Iron Maiden]

Correct; and this is the ludicrous nature of the American Comic industry how are comics only made by ONE company? I can get video games from a myriad of places and methods; yet when I want to buy a superhero magazine me the consumer has only ONE option: my LCS because they dictate the terms for everything.

Imagine if Blockbuster or Hollywood Video being able to dictate terms would streaming technology be where it is now?

I know it's not the most popular position on these boards; but let's be real: this is the only form of medium that is still being held back by the physical version. I'm not saying that we should do away with physical copies but why is the physical version have to be on par with the digital?

Shouldn't digital issues be cheaper than the physical; especially since for the digital you are only buying a license and don't really own it the same as digital games. Yet it is not because of the demands of the LCS; why wouldn't the physical version be more expensive you're getting a physical object; yet they're held on the same equal footing.

Nevertheless, once this is all done I believe there will be a reckoning in regards to business as usual in the United States; this virus is showing how fragile everything is.

I agree with a lot of what you say but one thing that is always the catch to me is that the retailers do have more space to dedicate to displaying and organizing a section for comic books. For example the only stores in my area that have a large magazine selection are Mejiers and Barnes & Noble. For the most part they do keep that area in order. But when you look at how many comics come out every month, it would take a lot of staff time to keep it all organized. Or maybe they would just choose to carry DC & Marvel and not the smaller companies. Comic books still represent a large revenue stream for the companies so I don't see them abandoning them just yet....but who knows? This may make them rethink their commitment to the print version.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I agree with a lot of what you say but one thing that is always the catch to me is that the retailers do have more space to dedicate to displaying and organizing a section for comic books. For example the only stores in my area that have a large magazine selection are Mejiers and Barnes & Noble. For the most part they do keep that area in order. But when you look at how many comics come out every month, it would take a lot of staff time to keep it all organized. Or maybe they would just choose to carry DC & Marvel and not the smaller companies. Comic books still represent a large revenue stream for the companies so I don't see them abandoning them just yet....but who knows? This may make them rethink their commitment to the print version.

Maybe we'll get lucky and WB and Disney will create their own distribution companies to replace Diamond.

[Noodle]

I know it's not the most popular position on these boards; but let's be real: this is the only form of medium that is still being held back by the physical version. I'm not saying that we should do away with physical copies but why is the physical version have to be on par with the digital?

Shouldn't digital issues be cheaper than the physical; especially since for the digital you are only buying a license and don't really own it the same as digital games. Yet it is not because of the demands of the LCS; why wouldn't the physical version be more expensive you're getting a physical object; yet they're held on the same equal footing.

Why shouldn't it be on par? Right now it's a perfectly even playing field. Same price. Same release date. If anything, digital has the advantage because it allows people in areas without comic shops to get them. And based on the information given to us, the consumer still overwhelmingly prefers print. Now the general argument is that digital should have an unfair advantage (i.e: Price) in order to force the market's hand into something that, by all metrics, the audience does not want.

And this isn't even a comics-only thing. It's a reading thing. Look at e-books. Print still outsells it, and that's with e-books being cheaper. The thing killing book stores isn't e-books right now, it's Amazon. People are tech-friendly enough to buy online, but they're still buying tangible, print copies of books through them and not e-books.

[Digifiend]

Maybe we'll get lucky and WB and Disney will create their own distribution companies to replace Diamond.

Marvel tried that in the 90s and nearly got bankrupted.

[Anthony W]

And the scope of this goes far beyond just comic book companies. There are a couple of small local businesses that may close permanently because they may not be able weather the situation as it is.

May close permanently? They will close permanently.

[CentralPower]

I do not want digital. If shops die, then I am done.

Marvel and DC are not sentimental. But, they are probably worried about how many readers they will lose if shops close. Being seen as part of why those shops have closed will not help them.

[Iron Maiden]

May close permanently? They will close permanently.

I was just speaking of some I know about in my area. The last they posted is that they are taking a wait and see posture for now. But, yeah I can't see many mom and pop businesses holding on if this goes on through summer.

[Drops Of Venus]

Marvel tried that in the 90s and nearly got bankrupted.

Marvel was very different back then. They didn't have the economic safety nets that Disney and Marvel Studios provide for them now... Not saying they will do that, but the circumstances are different now if they tried.

[Anthony W]

Marvel was very different back then. They didn't have the economic safety nets that Disney and Marvel Studios provide for them now... Not saying they will do that, but the circumstances are different now if they tried.

Of course Disney is losing a lot of money on the parks at home and abroad and it's going to be about three to five years before Disney+ is profitable. Plus they are being forced to push movies back. You can only push movies back so much before they start competing with other Disney movies. When that happens they have to release them VOD where they end up making less then they would have made if they were released in theatres.

Plus Disney has no Parent Company.

Warner is owned by AT&T. Yes, AT&T stinks but people still need phone and internet, now more than ever. So you can make the argument that DC is in better shape, if not for the fact that no one believes that lol.

[Username taken]

All these issues with diamond and retailers just highlights why the direct market model with a SOLE distributor is totally ridiculous. Other forms of entertainment have experienced significant slowdowns but have managed to shift to other forms of distribution to keep them running. In doing so, the weakest points in the supply chains have been identified and their needs clear. For superhero comics, every single part of the chain risks total collapse because the product simply isn’t going out in any format whatsoever.

This is insane.

The current state of the market is designed to keep itself as is forever without any real growth outside the establishment of more speciality comic shops. Granted the covid-19 outbreak is a totally unforeseen event, it’s in time of stress that one can ascertain the resilience of any system.

Honestly, for all of Marvel and DC’s loyalty to retailers, I can’t see them (considering their size and overhead costs including creator livelihoods) not distributing comics beyond a month at best. Somehow, someway they WILL sell their comics and this could be the “paradigm shift” the industry has needed for a long time. And if it isn’t, when all this is said and done, it’s time for Marvel and DC to sit down and have really, really reconsider the current model and how they want to proceed going forward.

[Dreaded Porcupine]

I do not want digital. If shops die, then I am done.

Marvel and DC are not sentimental. But, they are probably worried about how many readers they will lose if shops close. Being seen as part of why those shops have closed will not help them.

I agree. I do not want digital. If the floppy goes away then I’m done. I play Heroclix based on superheroes. I read superhero novels. I watch a lot of sports. I have alternatives. With Disney owning everything I’m sure this will only be a speed bump for them. I’m confidant once this nightmare is over things will go back to almost normal.

[Journey]

Why is everyone so against the digital adjustment solution? I just don't understand it's so convenient to have everything conveniently downloaded in your phone/tablet.

[Reviresco]

Why is everyone so against the digital adjustment solution? I just don't understand it's so convenient to have everything conveniently downloaded in your phone/tablet.

Do you really think everyone that reads comics has a tablet or a computer or a smart phone or the internet / data plan to use it?

Or if you do have any of those things, do you really want to spend your down time looking at another screen, when you've spent way too much time at work forced to stare at a screen?

And who the heck wants to read a comic on their phone??? Is your phone the size of a comic?

And who wants to pay the same amount for a rental (cause you aren't really buying the book) for the price of a physical copy.

You can't sell, or trade, a digitally lent comic. And trust me, there's alot of that going on now.

I like collecting comics and the interactions that come with that.

No one at Comixology knows my name.


And finally, I'd like for comics to continue be made. Anyone that is advocating the publishers dump the LCBS and go straight to digital is basically asking for the death of the comics industry. There's no way, even in this mess, that publishers will make anywhere near the same amount of money with digital only. Digital compromises only 10+% of the market. Publishers simply can't survive on that. Can you survive on 10% of your salary?