Saga #19 Sells Out, on Verge of Beating The Walking Dead in Sales. Kirkman to Shave Beard.

[Jim Purcell]

Anywho.. as for Saga.. I don't like it but when it comes to sci fi, I don't like alien shit, well except for the Alien franchise but that's only because of Giger (rip), but I still think it deserves props for doing so well based on word of mouth.

Saga is significantly more fantasy then sci-fi.

[Dark-Flux]

Holy hyperbole, Batman.

It's a good book, but probably not even in the top 10 comics being published right now.

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Kirkmans beard has gotta go!

[Ramsay Snow]

It's really weird.

The Walking Dead is one of the three most popular shows on tv, and now that the Duck Dynasty has taken a 30% hit ratings wise, it really is shining. But yet the comic is only selling 65 thousand copies? I don't know why I'm surprised. I know die hard fans of the show who have the "If Daryl Dies We Riot" shirts and other merchandise, but yet they mock me for "reading picture books". And these are the same people who'll go see every Batman and X-Men film, but would rather die than step foot into a comic book store. So what is it about comics that turns off so many people? The fact they have to read?

Reading hard... too hard... pictures don't move...

Anywho.. as for Saga.. I don't like it but when it comes to sci fi, I don't like alien shit, well except for the Alien franchise but that's only because of Giger (rip), but I still think it deserves props for doing so well based on word of mouth.

I don't like Saga, either, but it has nothing to do with "alien shit".......I simply see it as one of the most overrated comics in the past 10 years.

As for Walking Dead fans not buying the comics, it likely has to do with a lot of people in America still having the mentality that comic books are for kids. It's a long-standing image which hasn't really gone away, regardless of whether these same people like comic book-based films or not.....Of course, some of these people watch cartoons such as The Simpsons or Family Guy, but there isn't much logic with said mentality.

[Groo Odyssey]

It's really weird.

The Walking Dead is one of the three most popular shows on tv, and now that the Duck Dynasty has taken a 30% hit ratings wise, it really is shining. But yet the comic is only selling 65 thousand copies? I don't know why I'm surprised. I know die hard fans of the show who have the "If Daryl Dies We Riot" shirts and other merchandise, but yet they mock me for "reading picture books". And these are the same people who'll go see every Batman and X-Men film, but would rather die than step foot into a comic book store. So what is it about comics that turns off so many people? The fact they have to read?

Reading hard... too hard... pictures don't move...

Anywho.. as for Saga.. I don't like it but when it comes to sci fi, I don't like alien shit, well except for the Alien franchise but that's only because of Giger (rip), but I still think it deserves props for doing so well based on word of mouth.

Don't sleep on The Walking Dead, it's a sales phenomenon. I'll go into my local book store and they have entire sections of nothing but Walking Dead titles. It outsells the Marvel/DC trades by a wide margin, it is the one title that is truly mainstream. As for why it doesn't sell so well in comic shops, I think it has to do with a number of factors. Like you said a lot of fans will never walk into a comic shop or don't have one in their area, those that do are probably buying the trades and omnibuses. I am one of them, I just LOVE the beautiful oversized hardcover omnibuses of the Walking Dead. Have all the issues in a beautiful slipcase package and the oversize format just enhances my enjoyment of the wonderful art. I really wish Tony Moore has stayed on as the regular penciller though, his art is way more crisp. I missed out on picking up the individual floppies when they first came out otherwise I'd be buying it week to week like I'm doing it with Saga. Then there's another segment of the comic book fans that absolutely will not buy any title that doesn't have a Marvel or DC stamp on it's cover. I see this at my local comic shop all the time, they'll pick up stacks and stacks of superhero books and will never try another title from another publisher.

[capuga]

It's really weird.

The Walking Dead is one of the three most popular shows on tv, and now that the Duck Dynasty has taken a 30% hit ratings wise, it really is shining. But yet the comic is only selling 65 thousand copies? I don't know why I'm surprised. I know die hard fans of the show who have the "If Daryl Dies We Riot" shirts and other merchandise, but yet they mock me for "reading picture books". And these are the same people who'll go see every Batman and X-Men film, but would rather die than step foot into a comic book store.

Don't forget that a much larger section of people read the actual comic then just those 65k though. The Walking Dead sells enormous numbers of trades, compendiums, hardcovers, etc through bookstores, Amazon, comixology, comic stores, etc. It's consistently the highest selling graphic novel for several years now. So many people are reading it, they are just not necessarily buying the floppies or getting it from an LCS.

That said, I'm also disappointed that more people that enjoy comic related TV shows and movies don't turn into comic readers. Though I don't believe there is as much of a stigma on reading comics as there used to be. Seems like the younger generation just aren't big readers in general.

[RKitch]

Don't forget that a much larger section of people read the actual comic then just those 65k though. The Walking Dead sells enormous numbers of trades, compendiums, hardcovers, etc through bookstores, Amazon, comixology, comic stores, etc. It's consistently the highest selling graphic novel for several years now. So many people are reading it, they are just not necessarily buying the floppies or getting it from an LCS.

That said, I'm also disappointed that more people that enjoy comic related TV shows and movies don't turn into comic readers. Though I don't believe there is as much of a stigma on reading comics as there used to be. Seems like the younger generation just aren't big readers in general.

Pretty much. That stigma is gone. No one's called me a loser for reading comic books or wearing a Batman shirt. Sure the stigma's gone but my generation won't read anything unless it was turned into a movie or TV show first and that's sad.

[The Doctor]

Comics are for children and über nerds. I'd say looking at my LCS population that's mostly true besides myself :P

Their loss.

[Groo Odyssey]

Don't forget that a much larger section of people read the actual comic then just those 65k though. The Walking Dead sells enormous numbers of trades, compendiums, hardcovers, etc through bookstores, Amazon, comixology, comic stores, etc. It's consistently the highest selling graphic novel for several years now. So many people are reading it, they are just not necessarily buying the floppies or getting it from an LCS.

That said, I'm also disappointed that more people that enjoy comic related TV shows and movies don't turn into comic readers. Though I don't believe there is as much of a stigma on reading comics as there used to be. Seems like the younger generation just aren't big readers in general.

Actually, this part is not true. Check out the new graphic novel Sisters that is getting an initial print run of 200K copies. It may be the best selling graphic novel of 2014. http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blo...novel-of-2014/ Young people are buying comics just not a lot of them are buying them at your LCS. Also if youngsters are not reading as much as they used to, how do you explain the success of Harry Potter books etc.
To me, the bigger problem is how comic books are marketed. There's a lot of issues there but I don't want to go on a long rant about how the big 2 are running the comic book industry.

I do agree with some of the points that Eric Stephenson made with his comicspro speech. For one, comics needs to be cheaper. When I was a kid I could pick up a comic book for $1. This was great, as I could just pick up every title Marvel or Dc had that had a cool cover or a character/villain that I liked. It didn't matter what the number on the cover said, if it was #1 or #376. There was no need for the constant reboot to sell copies. Nowadays, comic books are $3.99 or more a pop and it's so much harder for kids and parents to just splurge and pick up a bunch of titles they like and may even deter them from starting the hobby to begin with. I know that if comics were this expensive when I started out, I may never have started the hobby.

Anyhoo, I'm really glad that Saga is in the hands of BKV, Fiona Staples and Eric Stephenson and not Marvel. If they wanted to, they could be selling Saga for $4.99 and people would still buy them but they don't. They keep it at $2.99, pretty amazing when you're getting this kind of quality for that price. They're more concerned with creating great content and increasing their fanbase rather than the short term money grab.

[Groo Odyssey]

One more point that I want to make. I was at the Vancouver Arts Festival this past weekend. It was like an indie arts and comics event that showcases mostly our local indie artists and self publishers. This was only their third year and attendance has grown every year. The first year had 2000 attendees in 2012. 2013 had 5000 and now in it's third year there were 8000 attendees. There were a ton of creators there that were young females. In fact I would say the split between the attendees were 60% females to 40% males.

There were a lot of kids there, young people are reading. We've never had a time where so many women are reading comics and creating them. I think the industry is moving in the right direction. Comics like Saga are being mentioned in Time, Rolling Stones and USA Today.

[TotalSnorefest]

There were a lot of kids there, young people are reading. We've never had a time where so many women are reading comics and creating them. I think the industry is moving in the right direction. Comics like Saga are being mentioned in Time, Rolling Stones and USA Today.

What's so weird and interesting about the amount of women getting into comics: why were they never the focal audience in the first place? Now brace yourself because I'm about to do some MASSIVE GENERALISATION, but...
Compared to men, women read much more books, watch more films in cinemas, are more loyal watchers of shows on a weekly basis, they're more likely to purchase merchandise of bands/artists they like. There seems to be more engagement with fiction is what I mean, men more often seem to gravitate to watching sports and stuff. Granted the differences aren't astronomical of course, but it's really weird how mainstream comics just kiiiiinda ignored half the world's population?
Sure DC has lots of female characters headlining comics, but they're 1.) often still drawn/written for male consumption (they're improving though) and 2.) almost all superhero books. While we saw from the latest manga boom and stuff that women tend to favour other types of stories. Marvel only recently really upped their female-led titles. Meanwhile Saga brings in tons of new readers, many of them seemingly female.

IDK, it's just interesting/weird to me. Not saying that finding a female audience should be the goal of any comic, but I definitely think that more diversity in readers (be it diversity in gender, heritage, nationality etc.) also improves the quality of the work... Since there's more feedback from a variety of people, rather than a fairly homogenous group? Just some thoughts.

Anyway like I said this is all a massive generalisation of course and based mostly on speculation on my part, so 100% possible I'm completely wrong!

[Groo Odyssey]

What's so weird and interesting about the amount of women getting into comics: why were they never the focal audience in the first place? Now brace yourself because I'm about to do some MASSIVE GENERALISATION, but...
Compared to men, women read much more books, watch more films in cinemas, are more loyal watchers of shows on a weekly basis, they're more likely to purchase merchandise of bands/artists they like. There seems to be more engagement with fiction is what I mean, men more often seem to gravitate to watching sports and stuff. Granted the differences aren't astronomical of course, but it's really weird how mainstream comics just kiiiiinda ignored half the world's population?
Sure DC has lots of female characters headlining comics, but they're 1.) often still drawn/written for male consumption (they're improving though) and 2.) almost all superhero books. While we saw from the latest manga boom and stuff that women tend to favour other types of stories. Marvel only recently really upped their female-led titles. Meanwhile Saga brings in tons of new readers, many of them seemingly female.

IDK, it's just interesting/weird to me. Not saying that finding a female audience should be the goal of any comic, but I definitely think that more diversity in readers (be it diversity in gender, heritage, nationality etc.) also improves the quality of the work... Since there's more feedback from a variety of people, rather than a fairly homogenous group? Just some thoughts.

Anyway like I said this is all a massive generalisation of course and based mostly on speculation on my part, so 100% possible I'm completely wrong!

I don't think you're wrong when you say that women in general read more books than men. I live in an area where there's a lot of bookstores and I frequent them quite regularly. Just from the eye test I would say most of the patrons are indeed women. In the manga section I would see tons of girls browsing through the titles so I never once believed that women don't like to read comics. They just needed the right title that was geared towards them.

The reason comics (in America) have generally ignored the female demographic in the past is that back then when Stan Lee and Kirby were making comics, all the comic book creators were men. The industry is moving in the right direction now but it took them a real long time to realize this.

[Blacksun]

Things are getting better for women in comics, some missteps here and there, but things are changing.

I see more girls into manga, maybe because there is genre oriented to women and while not oriented to girl has a more general appeal to them.

comics to survive need women

[Deviancy]

Actually, this part is not true.

Actually.. it is very true...

1. Only 30 percent of 13-year-olds read almost every day.

2. The number of 17-year-olds who never read for pleasure increased from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.

3. Today, nearly half of all 17-year-olds said they willingly picked up a book only once or twice a year. In comparison, over 60 percent of teens surveyed back in 1985 said they read at least once a week.

And the spookiest statistic...

4. Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.

Here are some sources if you think I'm just making it up.

An older article on the topic
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...ess/?page=full

A very recent one..
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...951421/?no-ist

As for the negative stereotype, it is still very much alive and present.

Shows like the Big Bang Theory, Comic Book Men, and other shows and films still make comic books look like only things nerds are into, and they wouldn't if the mainstream didn't still think they were. Now what has changed in the last twenty years is the mainstreams view on computers. Back when I first got online back in 93, most of the people on bbs', usenet, and irc, many would be considered by the mainstream nerds. These days, everyone is on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. I'd say the mainstream view on video games has changed drastically as well. It was always cool for kids to play at the arcade but adults playing video games, I always remember my parents and their friends hated them. These days, there are a lot of adults into video games and no one thinks anything of it.

Hastings has kind of helped get comics to a wider audience and they are now the biggest comic retailer, according to US Today. But they're not spread out across the US as of yet, so it's hard to tell how successful they would be in states like California.

[Ramsay Snow]

Pretty much. That stigma is gone. No one's called me a loser for reading comic books or wearing a Batman shirt. Sure the stigma's gone but my generation won't read anything unless it was turned into a movie or TV show first and that's sad.

If you seriously think the stigma's gone, you're either in denial or you spend every waking hour of your day in a dork commune.......In the past 10 years, comics have gotten a little more accepted in America, but the genre is still predominantly looked down upon.

[Don C]

Call me an idiot, but why exactly did they promise to never reprint issues? That sounds really counter-productive? You'd think they would like lots of copies in circulation right, so if people miss one issue they can still find it for sale, rather than having to settle for the trade instead. Anyone with economical knowledge who can clear this up for me? It just sounds weird; publishers like Boom! are constantly putting out reprints of previous issues, usually with a new cover, so that new readers can jump on early. Why not Saga?

The idea, I can only assume, is to get retailers to increase their initial orders beyond what they know they can sell.