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  1. #1
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    Post WHAT IF DC only publish Batbooks related content only?

    Imagine if DC only publish any Batbooks-related run like Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman and any related story that take place in Gotham. No Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman or even Green Lantern books. None except Batbooks only. Do you think it will make DC survives with good market and sales or rely on one brand will doom the whole industry as a whole or it's wasn't enough to cover up the saleswises. Any answers?
    Last edited by LAWtoyoto 432; 10-25-2021 at 03:52 AM.

  2. #2
    I'm at least a C-Lister! exile001's Avatar
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    Okay, excluding the argument that it'd be incredibly dumb of them to leave money on the table from fans of books other than Bat characters it would be bad for the industry as a whole.

    I imagine Batman's sales would take a big hit. DC has plenty of fans whose favourite character is, say, Wonder Woman who also pick up a Bat book or two while they're getting their WW fix. Take away Wonder Woman (their primary interest) and they might not buy the other book(s). Be it lack of interest (they only picked up the other books because they read WW), a stance against the company who cancelled their book, or they just leave reading comics completely. There would be Batman fans who, taking way their other favourites might take these stances, too.

    Cancelling other books is not going to somehow increase interest or sales on the one character group that is left. Also, DC would be screwed if the sales started slipping in the Batman line (it being all they had), as once that starts dropping it rarely changes direction.

    But regardless, DC is just a brand and collection of IPs. If the comics side screwed itself to the point of being unprofitable (or significantly lower profit) whoever owned them would just stop publishing comics. I very much doubt they'd sell off the IPs themselves as they're incredibly valuable outside the comics. There is more profit in merchandising sales than DC makes from creating monthly comics.

    It would hit the industry as a whole to a degree as there wouldn't be DC's sales adding to it. I'm sure it would hit other companies, too, as you'd have the same argument that the Wonder Woman fan might also have picked up Daredevil or Chu or Something is Killing the Children or whatever. However, I don't think this would bring the entire industry down.
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  3. #3
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
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    Let's say it's like that I'll make the rest of the titles like this
    Superman/Batman
    Batman/Wonder Woman
    Trinity
    Batman and The Outsiders
    Batman: The Brave and The Bold
    Batman and The Green Lantern Corps
    Batman and The Justice League International
    Batman and The Legion of Superheroes
    Batman and The Justice League of America
    Batman vs Teen Titans

    Then the content would be just one panel Batman and the rest everyone else ^^
    Like they're already doing it, kinda, with Batman Secret Files and Urban Legends, where the title has Batman but most of the content are everyone else in the family.

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Okay, well let's think it through....

    Sales on the current Bat books aren't going to change drastically. It's not like many people are going to say "I don't read Batman, but they got rid of Flash so I guess I'll read Batman now!" No, those people aren't gonna start reading Batman because DC left them no other choice, they'll just spend that money on something else.

    Will these new/extra Bat books equal the sales of the stuff DC loses? I'm assuming not. The low and mid-tier books are relatively interchangeable; we can expect a Batwoman title to sell about as well as Green Arrow. But I doubt we'd get new Bat books that would rival the high selling stuff like JLA.

    And then there's the trade collection sales to consider. Maybe the direct market would sustain an All-Bat lineup, but the trade crowd is a (partially) different demographic. And when we say "All-Bat" are we including the OGN's too? Because the people who buy stuff like Beast Boy Loves Raven and I'm Not Starfire are a (partially) different demo from the trade collection crowd.

    I'm thinking it's very likely a loss of revenue for DC. Perhaps not a *immediately catastrophic* loss of revenue, since a big chunk of the line is Bat-centric already, but it's still probably a loss....and if it's a big enough loss that'll trigger a price increase, which will phase out readers unwilling/unable to hit the new price point, which will result in more lost revenue and a downward spiral of higher prices and smaller units sold. We've seen this happen over the course of decades already but All-Bat might make it speed up considerably.

    Then there's the long-term effects. Maybe an All-Bat lineup equals the current revenue stream. Without any real variety to speak of within the line, how long before people start dropping DC books so they can pick up something with a different flavor? My guess? Not long at all.

    And all this will impact the larger market. If DC gets into trouble and can't move their books, that's putting a good third (or so) of the LCS' revenue stream in jeopardy too. Maybe someone goes to the LCS because they love Superman, and while they're there they also grab Thor and Atomic Robo. But without that main hook of Superman, is that person still going to the LCS? If not, then other publishers have just lost money too. And we all know that most LCS aren't so well off they can afford a major hit to the sales of one of the Big 2.

    I suspect that this would probably ride for about four-six months. The spectacle of an All-Bat lineup would get some speculator buys, but that never lasts beyond the first arc (at most) and then sales would crater. Hard. And within a year we'd be reading reports about DC and Marvel publishing being in dire straights....and if nothing was done to fix it, by year two the publishing arms would either be preparing to shift focus entirely (children's books? Reprints only? OGN's?) or be shuttered completely.

    Batman is popular. Stupidly popular. But is he popular enough to carry an entire company and the 50-75 books they make each month? I don't think so. In fact, a lot of Bat-related sales seem rather.....meh. We might already be at the maximum sales potential for the brand.

    I think even Restingvoice's idea of just putting "Batman and...." in front of all their regular books would be detrimental. Not cripplingly so, but nobody who is reading Flash or Aquaman wants Bruce shoved into the narrative. Some Bat fans might grab a guest appearance, but when the entire line is Batman it's not a guest appearance, it's a regular book they're not reading. Best case scenario, sales don't change. Worst case scenario, fans of all those other characters drop the books in protest.
    Last edited by Ascended; 10-25-2021 at 06:36 PM.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Okay, well let's think it through....

    Sales on the current Bat books aren't going to change drastically. It's not like many people are going to say "I don't read Batman, but they got rid of Flash so I guess I'll read Batman now!" No, those people aren't gonna start reading Batman because DC left them no other choice, they'll just spend that money on something else.

    Will these new/extra Bat books equal the sales of the stuff DC loses? I'm assuming not. The low and mid-tier books are relatively interchangeable; we can expect a Batwoman title to sell about as well as Green Arrow. But I doubt we'd get new Bat books that would rival the high selling stuff like JLA.

    And then there's the trade collection sales to consider. Maybe the direct market would sustain an All-Bat lineup, but the trade crowd is a (partially) different demographic. And when we say "All-Bat" are we including the OGN's too? Because the people who buy stuff like Beast Boy Loves Raven and I'm Not Starfire are a (partially) different demo from the trade collection crowd.

    I'm thinking it's very likely a loss of revenue for DC. Perhaps not a *immediately catastrophic* loss of revenue, since a big chunk of the line is Bat-centric already, but it's still probably a loss....and if it's a big enough loss that'll trigger a price increase, which will phase out readers unwilling/unable to hit the new price point, which will result in more lost revenue and a downward spiral of higher prices and smaller units sold. We've seen this happen over the course of decades already but All-Bat might make it speed up considerably.

    Then there's the long-term effects. Maybe an All-Bat lineup equals the current revenue stream. Without any real variety to speak of within the line, how long before people start dropping DC books so they can pick up something with a different flavor? My guess? Not long at all.

    And all this will impact the larger market. If DC gets into trouble and can't move their books, that's putting a good third (or so) of the LCS' revenue stream in jeopardy too. Maybe someone goes to the LCS because they love Superman, and while they're there they also grab Thor and Atomic Robo. But without that main hook of Superman, is that person still going to the LCS? If not, then other publishers have just lost money too. And we all know that most LCS aren't so well off they can afford a major hit to the sales of one of the Big 2.

    I suspect that this would probably ride for about four-six months. The spectacle of an All-Bat lineup would get some speculator buys, but that never lasts beyond the first arc (at most) and then sales would crater. Hard. And within a year we'd be reading reports about DC and Marvel publishing being in dire straights....and if nothing was done to fix it, by year two the publishing arms would either be preparing to shift focus entirely (children's books? Reprints only? OGN's?) or be shuttered completely.

    Batman is popular. Stupidly popular. But is he popular enough to carry an entire company and the 50-75 books they make each month? I don't think so. In fact, a lot of Bat-related sales seem rather.....meh. We might already be at the maximum sales potential for the brand.

    I think even Restingvoice's idea of just putting "Batman and...." in front of all their regular books would be detrimental. Not cripplingly so, but nobody who is reading Flash or Aquaman wants Bruce shoved into the narrative. Some Bat fans might grab a guest appearance, but when the entire line is Batman it's not a guest appearance, it's a regular book they're not reading. Best case scenario, sales don't change. Worst case scenario, fans of all those other characters drop the books in protest.
    I also agree on this statement but looking at the solicitations doesn't sound so exciting anymore since I fear this is what DC is heading that direction. Pushing too much batbooks with a high price venue is going to kill the market since some of them wants variety books.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    We've seen this happen over the course of decades already but All-Bat might make it speed up considerably.
    Looking at January 2022 solicitations, uh oh. I don't like where this is going.

  7. #7
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAWtoyoto 432 View Post
    Looking at January 2022 solicitations, uh oh. I don't like where this is going.
    Yeah I took a quick look at the solicits and it did seem even more Bat-centric than usual. I thought maybe it was just me.

    Still, I wouldn't get too worried. I thought we were talking in hypotheticals but the reality is the other IP's are too valuable to get rid of. The odds of DC replacing their entire lineup with Batman is.....that's like, a desperate, "I'm out of ideas!" fool mistake that I cannot imagine DC actually doing. It'd be business suicide. The lineup is mostly all Big Names (and Bats above all) right now, but that's not actually unusual either. The lineup expands with new, weird brands (New52, DCYOU, New Age), and then contracts back to the classic titles (right now, Rebirth, etc,) on a regular basis.

    I can imagine DC damaging their other brands to the point of profit impotency within the direct market; they sacrifice almost everything at the Bat's alter, feeding a cycle of stagnation. But non-Bat books still make up a very large chunk of the income statement (and likely always will, regardless of how that bottom line shrinks), there's no gain by abandoning everyone else. Plus, those IP's are multi-billion dollar properties in larger media and comics are a fantastic, cheap way to maintain trademarks and beta test potential adaptations. If the comic publishing breaks even, or even if it operates at a loss, it's worth keeping around for that alone.

    And if DC *did* actually stop publishing anything but Batman? The other IP's will find use elsewhere. Hell DC would probably just license the rights to IDW or something. And if not, if there were no regular, monthly comics? We'd still get OGN's, new games, shows, films, etc. Maybe novels, who knows what?

    All-Bat would probably suck the life out of the direct market but the characters aren't going anywhere no matter what happens. And the odds of All-Bat actually happening seem real damn unlikely. But in the hypothetical where it does? I think it'd accelerate the market's decline in a major way.

    Sorry for the rant. I love business.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

    ~ Black Panther.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Restingvoice View Post
    Let's say it's like that I'll make the rest of the titles like this
    Superman/Batman
    Batman/Wonder Woman
    Trinity
    Batman and The Outsiders
    Batman: The Brave and The Bold
    Batman and The Green Lantern Corps
    Batman and The Justice League International
    Batman and The Legion of Superheroes
    Batman and The Justice League of America
    Batman vs Teen Titans

    Then the content would be just one panel Batman and the rest everyone else ^^
    Like they're already doing it, kinda, with Batman Secret Files and Urban Legends, where the title has Batman but most of the content are everyone else in the family.
    I am bluff by all these titles. Who knows? It may be working.

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member Jekyll's Avatar
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    Is this not their current model of business?
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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jekyll View Post
    Is this not their current model of business?
    I have to agree.

    If you look at all of DC's top selling ongoing titles they are all Batman related.

    Trinity aside, the DCU titles themselves seems to shrinking year after year.

  11. #11
    Original CBR member Jabare's Avatar
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    Are you all being serious right now?
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Nostalgia View Post
    I have to agree.

    If you look at all of DC's top selling ongoing titles they are all Batman related.

    Trinity aside, the DCU titles themselves seems to shrinking year after year.
    Yeah, just ask DC only batbooks related. Problem solved. See if it can witstand the sales for another years or two without any other DCU titles.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by LAWtoyoto 432 View Post
    Yeah, just ask DC only batbooks related. Problem solved. See if it can witstand the sales for another years or two without any other DCU titles.
    That would be an interesting experiment, but it would never happen because Superman is still one of the most profitable superhero trademarks, despite the decline in Superman titles over the last few decades.

    I am generally concerned that only Batman related comics seem to move sales today, and that the rest of the DCU is getting crowded out.

    In a previous post I wrote....

    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Nostalgia View Post
    Well it does all comes down to sales in the end...but your right, something has caused the rest of the DCU to collapse.

    October 2021 is the latest I can find for complete comic sales

    https://www.comichron.com/monthlycom...1/2021-10.html

    8 out of 10 of DC's top selling comics are bat titles (Minus House on the Lake & DC vs Vampires)

    Roll the clock back 20 years

    October 2001

    https://www.comichron.com/monthlycom...1/2001-10.html

    2 out of 10 of Dc's top selling comics are bat titles, and that's when DC was going through the Joker's Last Laugh event.

  14. #14
    Ultimate Member Lee Stone's Avatar
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    I can see it...

    'Detective Comics', with one Batman story and three other features, and 'Batman Megazine', I mean 'Batman'.
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Nostalgia View Post
    That would be an interesting experiment, but it would never happen because Superman is still one of the most profitable superhero trademarks, despite the decline in Superman titles over the last few decades.

    I am generally concerned that only Batman related comics seem to move sales today, and that the rest of the DCU is getting crowded out.

    In a previous post I wrote....
    And meanwhile at Marvel side, altought Spider-Man and X-books are among the top 10 list. There is also "Immortal Hulk", "Moon Knight","Daredevil" and "Dark Ages". Well it does all comes down to sales but Marvel variety is still stronger than the main DCU line-ups.


    https://www.comichron.com/monthlycom...1/2021-10.html

    The top 10 of Marvel's top selling comics. Even Wolverine. the most popular X-Men has lost its momentum of the sales.

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