"Black Road," "The Fix," "Criminal" & More in Image Comics' April 2016 Solicitations

[sven]

I was disappointed that there was no Manifest Destiny listed. At least 7 months without my favorite title stinks.

[comicfiend]

With most Image titles moving to $4, I'm moving to trades for any title that's $4 and doesn't offer additional content in floppies. Marvel's price point, $5 issue #1s, and low quality paper moved me to trades for them as well.

Image:
- Pull: Autumnlands, Bitch Planet, Criminal, East of West, Huck (price increase, ending), Lazarus, Monstress, Outcast, Saga, Shutter (sales at 4k but trades sustaining it for now), Walking Dead
- Trades: Lazarus HC2
- Trade Wait: Black Road, Jupiter's Circle (price increase, again!), Nowhere Men, Rat Queens, Tokyo Ghost
- Skip Month: Beauty, Black Magick, Black Science, Chrononauts, Descender, Goners, Invisible Republic (are sales sustainable at 5.9k? this is a great series so I hope the trade sells well), Low (price increase as of #11), Nailbiter, Ody-C (are sales sustainable at 8k & still dropping?), Pretty Deadly, Paper Girls, Wytches
- Skip Month & will Trade Wait (due to delays and/or price): Goddamned, Manhattan Projects (is this series dead?), Manifest Destiny, Sex Criminals, Sons of the Devil (price increase; are sales sustainable at 7k?), Thief of Thieves (are sales sustainable at 6.5k?), Velvet
- Skip Month & will Drop (solid series but wasn't progressing quick enough): They're Not Like Us (are sales sustainable at 7k?); I Hate Fairyland (not my 'thing')
- Drop (solid series but wasn't progressing quick enough): Drifter (are sales sustainable at 5k?), Sex (are sales sustainable at 4.7?)

Those interested in sales analysis check out:
- Nov: http://www.comicsbeat.com/image-comi...aga-continues/
- Oct: http://www.comicsbeat.com/image-comi...-a-paper-moon/

Marvel:
- Trades: Daredevil V1
- Trade Wait: Black Widow, Daredevil, Star Wars, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan & Anakin, Poe Dameron, Empress

DC:
- Mail Subscribe: Batman, Detective Comics, Robin, Justice League
- Trades: Dark Night by Dini
- Trade Wait: DK3, Superman American Alien, Suiciders, Clean Room
- Skip Month: American Vampire

DH:
- Add: Dept H
- Pull: Harrow County
- Skip Month: Helheim, Lady Killer

Others:
- Pull: Devolution, Bunker, Life After
- Trade Wait: Letter 44

[TotalSnorefest]

Hmmm, this solicits Prophet Earth War #4 as the final issue, but it's supposed to be a six issue mini (I check past solicits and am not worng on this). I hope they aren't cutting it short.

Yeah surprised me as well, though I'm banking on this being a simple error. The solicit text doesn't really sound "end of the series" to me either.
Also, I wonder why Island Magazine isn't solicited for April, it's been monthly so far.

[Drz]

Wohoo, new Brian Wood Viking comic!

[Agent John Bishop]

Yeah surprised me as well, though I'm banking on this being a simple error. The solicit text doesn't really sound "end of the series" to me either.
Also, I wonder why Island Magazine isn't solicited for April, it's been monthly so far.

I went and asked him via his TUMBLR. It's just a mistake, and the series will still be six issues.

[TotalSnorefest]

I went and asked him via his TUMBLR. It's just a mistake, and the series will still be six issues.

Some fine detective work there, Agent! Good to hear we'll get the full Prophet experience.

[Joker]

(are sales sustainable at 8k & still dropping?) (price increase; are sales sustainable at 7k?)(are sales sustainable at 6.5k?), Velvet
(are sales sustainable at 7k?)(are sales sustainable at 5k?)(are sales sustainable at 4.7?)

Here's some numbers on publishing costs. http://www.comicsbeat.com/the-econom...cs-page-rates/

That's in regard to those page rate numbers that were floating around a little while ago, and doesn't really apply to Image, since they don't pay page rates, generally. But, that's still ballpark cost/profit ratios and is speaking in and around the numbers you're asking about in this post.

[comicfiend]

Here's some numbers on publishing costs. http://www.comicsbeat.com/the-econom...cs-page-rates/

That's in regard to those page rate numbers that were floating around a little while ago, and doesn't really apply to Image, since they don't pay page rates, generally. But, that's still ballpark cost/profit ratios and is speaking in and around the numbers you're asking about in this post.

Thanks for that link; it provides further context. I'd think lowest a book could sustain at, assuming a trade factor, would then be somewhere between 4-5k. Of course the creator has to weigh whether to continue at near "break even" or pursue other books that may resonate with a larger audience.

[Joker]

It definitely will vary from book to book. If it's a one man band, there's a lot more profit to pocket than say, a book with a full team.

Keep in mind those profit numbers are all before taxes.

[daningotham]

Tokyo Ghost #6
Outcast #18
Roche Limit Monadic #2
Saga #36
Walking Dead #153

[GrifterWC]

Autumnlands #12
Dark Corridor #7
The Darkness: Hope
Drifter #10
East of West #25
Elephantmen #71
Lazarus Sourcebook #1
Monstress #3
Postal #12
Revival #39
Snowfall #3
Spawn #263
The Walking Dead #153

[Mjolnir]

Has there been any update at all on release timeline for Velvet? Issue 14 was solicited to be released last July but the last issue that has been released was issue 12 in November (solicited for last April). So we are over a half year behind on solicitations and still don't even have issue 13 yet. It is my favorite book that I pull whenever it comes out. That just happens so few and far between that it is hard to be excited for it. Only 4 issues were released in 2015.

Velvet not being solicited beyond issue 14 has to do with the fact that Steve Epting is so damn slow getting the issues out that were so long ago solicited. Currently the release schedule for issue #13 is February 3 and issue #14 coming February 24. But I promise you that February 24 date WILL change.

This is a really light month for me. I've got more books on break than ones coming out. One new book this month for me and that's Black Road. Been waiting for it, but I really wish Brian Wood would have gone back and at least wrote a concluding arc for Northlanders. Didn't that get cancelled and never properly ended?

Really? Spencer has an Image book coming out and it's not Cereluean? Maaaan.

And Huck is only a mini series now? Goddamnit, I would have waited for the trade if the solicits said this was a mini! Image does this all the time! Mark Millar cannot just write an going. He's always gotta write the minis and then sell the film rights. I was going to get Empress over from Marvel's Icon, but then the solicit said it's a 7 issue mini. Trade waiting for that one now.

Getting...

Autumnlands #12
Black Road #1
Drifter #10
East of West #25
Huck #6
Lazarus Sourcebook #1
Monstress #5
Outcast #18
Postal #12
Roche Limit: Monadic #2
Savage Dragon #214
Snowfall #3
Spawn #263
Tokyo Ghost #6 (Right now Rick Remender has the book only plotted to issue 10. He has two endings in mind for it. One that concludes the story, and one that allows the continuation of it. He said sales are great and it would be no problem continuing, but he's trying to decide if it's best for the series to stop at 10 or continue a little more.

On break/hiatus...

Birthright
Black Magick
Black Science
Copperhead (Really sad about the long wait for this to return)
Descender
Dying and the Dead (Ryan Bodenheim recently said on Twitter they're still working on this and are still sticking by his and Hickman's promise to have all 7 issues done before resoliciting)
Faster Than Light (Returns in May)
Five Ghosts (Returns sometime this year)
Goddamned (After two issues, this book is already seeing delays. #3 won't be out this month and is currently scheduled for February 17.)
Invisible Republic
Low
Manifest Destiny (I wonder if their on a Five Ghosts style hiatus where they needed time to rest)
Southern Cross (Will return probably this summer. New issues are being worked on)
RunLoveKill (This is never getting finished)
The Tithe (Returns in June)
Trees
Velvet
Wayward
Wytches

[rac shade]

BOOM...

The Spire #8

IMAGE...

Black Road #1 ( maybe )
Chew: Demon Chicken Poyo #1
Criminal 10th Anniversary Special Deadly Edition: Magazine-Size Variant
Cry Havoc #4
Deadly Class #21
Drifter #10
East of West #25
Huck #6
Injection #9
Invincible #127
Jupiter's Circle v2 #6
Lazarus Sourcebook #1
Rat Queens #16
Saga #36
Shutter #20
The Autumnlands #12
The Discipline #2
The Fix #1 ( maybe )
The Violent #4
The Violent #5
Tokyo Ghost #6
Wolf #8

Airboy Deluxe HC

IDW...

Mike Mignola's Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects: Artist's Edition HC
Russ Heath's Yellow Heat: Artist's Edition Portfolio

DC...

Clean Room #7
Constantine: The Hellblazer #11
Dark Knight III: The Master Race #5

MARVEL...

Karnak #6

DARK HORSE...

Dept. H #1
Harrow County #11
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953—Beyond the Fences #3 (of 3)

How to Talk to Girls at Parties HC
The Goon Library v3 HC

[Ilan Preskovsky]

The Fix looks awesome but for all new $4 comics, I'm waiting for the trade.

Otherwise, a moderate month but, hey, new Chew trade, which is always good news.

[Dorktron]

The Fix looks awesome but for all new $4 comics, I'm waiting for the trade.

Otherwise, a moderate month but, hey, new Chew trade, which is always good news.

$4 an issue is stupid, especially when you can grab the first trade for $5 a few months later.

All of these Image delays are killing my love for these stories. Manifest Destiny, Five Ghosts, Copperhead...sigh.