What should the Spider-Man comics be if the Marvel Universe were rebooted?

[Lee]

Marvel needs to have a better digital plan in general. Manga's success there shows that there is money there. Marvel needs to innovate their distrubtion model to adapt to the modern day tech. Its rediculous that digical comics cost the same as a floppy.

Digital comics cost the same so as not to undercut the comic book stores that are the lifeblood of the industry.

They also have to turn a profit. Selling the digital versions a dollar or two cheaper won't necessarily increase sales enough to increase overall profit.

Marvel also offers their Netflix-style Marvel Unlimited subscription service, which has tens of thousands of comics available.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

I think thatcan be turned round: what can the current comics continuity offer that the adaptations don't offer? The answer is the current messy continuity but is that really a selling point? In five years time is anybody who has seen the adaptations going to think that they want to read the comics because comics Peter and Mary Jane are in continuity with Zeb Wells' run?

This too.

It's astonishing how ASM#26 and ATSV both came out within 24 hours, and just how polarly different they are. The former is regressive while ATSV is progressive.

[clonegeek]

Digital comics cost the same so as not to undercut the comic book stores that are the lifeblood of the industry.

They also have to turn a profit. Selling the digital versions a dollar or two cheaper won't necessarily increase sales enough to increase overall profit.

Marvel also offers their Netflix-style Marvel Unlimited subscription service, which has tens of thousands of comics available.

No, digital being the same price keeps out new readers who will follow the books. A digital file isn't worth 4 dollars.

Comic book stores are only the life blood of the industry because the industry let's them be. You could have a soild digital plan and get a revenue stream that rivals the stores.

[Lee]

No, digital being the same price keeps out new readers who will follow the books. A digital file isn't worth 4 dollars.

Comic book stores are only the life blood of the industry because the industry let's them be. You could have a soild digital plan and get a revenue stream that rivals the stores.

What exactly is it you want Marvel to do that they aren't currently doing?

The books have to turn a profit. Pencilers, inkers, colorists, writers, letterers, editors etc. all have to get paid.

If there was a way to increase sales tenfold that was so easy and obvious that an industry outsider could come up with it, they would have done it by now.

[clonegeek]

What exactly is it you want Marvel to do that they aren't currently doing?

The books have to turn a profit. Pencilers, inkers, colorists, writers, letterers, editors etc. all have to get paid.

If there was a way to increase sales tenfold that was so easy and obvious that an industry outsider could come up with it, they would have done it by now.

It takes time to build up that revenue stream though. The industry as a whole is perfectly content with the old system. Hell, that's how Diamond maintained dominance for decades.

Marvel needs to have a better digital strategy, get trades into big box stores like Walmart and Target at the same price of Manga.

[Lee]

It takes time to build up that revenue stream though. The industry as a whole is perfectly content with the old system. Hell, that's how Diamond maintained dominance for decades.

They can't take a huge gamble and big short term losses and hope that it will pay off years down the line. They have to keep the lights on each quarter, each year, and every book has to turn enough of a profit to justify its existence. If Marvel's market research showed that lowering digital comic prices would drastically increase sales to the point where profit would increase, and that they wouldn't lose customers of the physical editions, then they would do it. What price do you think they should be selling digital comics for? And how many more readers do you think they would gain?

Marvel Unlimited already exists as a bargain priced service for people who want to read the vast Marvel back catalogue. But the current material needs to cover its cost of production and turn a profit before it becomes part of that back catalogue.

Marvel needs to have a better digital strategy, get trades into big box stores like Walmart and Target at the same price of Manga.

Marvel graphic novels will never be the same price as manga. American publishers license manga from Japanese publishers, they don't have to foot the bill for the production of the comic itself. Manga is almost always black and white and designed to be readable at a small page size, Marvel comics aren't. The big manga publishers also have the advantage of already having a big foothold in the book market.

Things cost what they cost.

[clonegeek]

They can't take a huge gamble and big short term losses and hope that it will pay off years down the line. They have to keep the lights on each quarter, each year, and every book has to turn enough of a profit to justify its existence. If Marvel's market research showed that lowering digital comic prices would drastically increase sales to the point where profit would increase, and that they wouldn't lose customers of the physical editions, then they would do it. What price do you think they should be selling digital comics for? And how many more readers do you think they would gain?

Marvel Unlimited already exists as a bargain priced service for people who want to read the vast Marvel back catalogue. But the current material needs to cover its cost of production and turn a profit before it becomes part of that back catalogue.



Marvel graphic novels will never be the same price as manga. American publishers license manga from Japanese publishers, they don't have to foot the bill for the production of the comic itself. Manga is almost always black and white and designed to be readable at a small page size, Marvel comics aren't. The big manga publishers also have the advantage of already having a big foothold in the book market.

Things cost what they cost.

They are bank rolled by Disney, they've got the money to have the Digital department to be a loss leader

Marvel has a 60 year back catalog they can reprint. They already paid for them, just reprint them in a smaller format and sell them for dirt cheap. Not the 15 dollars they are charging for the Mighty Marvel Masterworks.

[Lee]

They are bank rolled by Disney, they've got the money to have the Digital department to be a loss leader

It doesn't work like that. Disney isn't going to hand out free money to Marvel Comics so that they can make their comics less profitable.

Marvel Comics has to cover its own expenditures and hit its own targets.

Marvel has a 60 year back catalog they can reprint. They already paid for them, just reprint them in a smaller format and sell them for dirt cheap. Not the 15 dollars they are charging for the Mighty Marvel Masterworks.

$15.99 USD for a 200+ page full color graphic novel is a bargain.

When manga publishers release full color books they're more expensive than their black and white books. The Dragon Ball Full Color books are slightly larger than the Mighty Marvel Masterworks, have around 250 pages and retail for $19.99 USD.

Things cost what they cost.

[Daibhidh]

Once upon a time comics were sold through newsagents on cheapish paper with cheapish printing and the best selling comics sold roughly a million copies and they reached a large audience of all ages.
These days they sell nowhere near that and are selling to an increasing aging audience of dedicated fans and collectors.
Marvel and DC did bet the house on changing a distribution model when they moved from newsagents to specialist shops. It wasn't good for them in the long run. If they don't take a risk on changing their business model they will slowly wither and die.

[JT221]

This came up in a discussion on status quos. If the Marvel Universe had some Crisis on Infinite Earths style reboot, what should the Spider-Man comics be like after the reset?

Should it start completely from the beginning with the spider bite? Or should there be a different status quo with a Peter Parker who has been Spider-Man for a few years?

Going way back here, but I would probably go with a "Year One" kind of relaunch, then shift forward to "present" day.

But then I would also take the character down to two books: Amazing and Marvel Team-Up.

[clonegeek]

Going way back here, but I would probably go with a "Year One" kind of relaunch, then shift forward to "present" day.

But then I would also take the character down to two books: Amazing and Marvel Team-Up.

As long as ASM is just monthly I'm fine