The "Comics Distribution saved and is killing comics" Video making the rounds

[Raye]

I have not had a chance to watch the video yet. But, I am familiar with the general arguments.




I really do not get the hate for comic shops on this forum. Maybe it is because I live in a high-competition area. But, I have no problem finding stuff at comic stores. (The worst scenario is if I want something obscure, I have to plan ahead and order it a few months in advance.)

I don't hate them, I do go to mine from time to time... i just think that it is an outdated model, like the music stores during the rise of iTunes, and with digital available as an option, i have come to enjoy reading that way more and more, for a variety of reasons. ease of access, no ads, the art is clearer, no storage space needed, etc. there are some downsides, like for some people they don't like that you can't really collect digital books, but I was always more interested in reading than collecting, anyway, and I wish Comixology would create a standalone desktop reader again rather than having to go to the website, and I wish there was a bit more competition in the digital marketplace. I am fine with Comixology, but we don't need them to become another Diamond.

Oh, hell no....

A digest style series might work. But, it would be tricky. And, given how broad the comic market it, it would still require a certain amount of segmentation. For example, Marvel could theoretically pair "Iron Man" with "Avengers". But, would an "Iron Man" reader necessarily buy in for "Thor"?

Characters that lack natural association (Daredevil or Doctor Stranger) would be even more difficult to publish.

Marvel did do digest magazines in the early 2000's when they were doing everything they could to try and capture some of the manga market, (didn't exactly work, clearly, but hey, we got Runaways out of it!) and they grouped them according to similar families of characters, so like the Marvel Knights magazine had Daredevil, Punisher, and such (also Inhumans, a bit strangely, but this was during the Jenkins run, so it was a better fit then) and i did pick up a few of these at the time, and liked them as a sampler to figure out what was worth following, but yeah once my decision was made about what i liked, i'd go for the single issues, because i don't really want to pay for something i am not interested in.

And, why would anybody want a straight adaptation of something they already watched?

True.

edit - but yeah, for everyone saying 'just do what they do with Manga!' They did!



those are just the things I personally own, (and though the covers of the magazines talk about interviews and stuff, they did include entire issues of comics as well, 3 of them. The big differences are - they did not cancel the single issues in order to make this the only way to read single issues, WAY too risky to do that, these were older issues, and they were in colour, so they were a bit pricey, though still cheaper than buying 3 single issues) they did other things, like hire manga artists for some of their books, created a line called the Marvel Mangaverse which had a lot of Manga creators doing their takes on the characters, and yes, Runaways was intentionally created with manga styled art and it's trades were manga size in an attempt to get on the shelf at bookstores alongside manga. (along with a few other books, but the only one that had staying power was Runaways. Not because it was manga, just because it was good) They've tried. It didn't work, because the cultures and distribution models are just too different. They may have snagged a few manga fans, but not enough to create a dramatic increase in readers.

[The Negative Zone]

How is mail cheaper than buying off the shelf?

Yearly subscriptions cost $ 28.96. 12 issues for 28.96. Buying off the shelf would cost you around 48 dollars assuming every issue is 3.99. Marvel claims you save 40%.

[CentralPower]

The days of discovering titles Sgt Rock and Firestorm at grocery stores are long gone and a lot of people don’t even know comic stores exist because they’ve become far too exclusive.

Is there a list of comic shops by location, or a list of comic shops by state?

I live in a metropolitan area, and have options. None of the shops I regularly go to are "exclusive". But, they are not always busy either. Some of the problem is that people are not going to buy comics when they have movies or television. (I used to know a long-time reader who said he was losing interest in comics because of the Marvel movies. Why should he read, when he can watch?)

but I was always more interested in reading than collecting, anyway,

Even for reading, comics do not look good on a screen.

The only advantage to digital is the saved space.

[Bor]

Is there a list of comic shops by location, or a list of comic shops by state?


Even for reading, comics do not look good on a screen.

The only advantage to digital is the saved space.

That might be your opinion but for a lot of us that simply not true. I read comics on my ipad where I have the option of changing light settings, zoom in and out or go frame by frame. Those are all options I like and enjoy.
So no comics do look plenty good on a screen to some of us.
The advantage of digital is also far more then just saving space.
No matter how big a city you live in its still easier to just be able to buy it digitally.
Last week I had a cold and had to stay in bed. Reading/buying new comics was no problem at all.

[krazijoe]

I have stopped all floppies and went all digital. I fought against it for a long time but the saving space aspect of it appealed to me so i did it. Not only that but by getting Marvel Unlimited I have read a lot more than I normally would have.

[Nevets]

Even for reading, comics do not look good on a screen.

With the vivid colors and HD quality, they are far more attractive on a tablet.

[Anduinel]

With the vivid colors and HD quality, they are far more attractive on a tablet.

And with as cheap as Marvel's paperstock is, I got to where I found the actual reading of their printed monthly comics pretty annoying. I really don't miss it.

[The Negative Zone]

The only advantage to digital is the saved space.

You also save money depending on when you buy. Digital trades for example lower in price as opposed to print trades.

[Bor]

You also save money depending on when you buy. Digital trades for example lower in price as opposed to print trades.

Not to mention digital sales and Marvel Unlimited which is brilliant if you can wait 6 months before reading an issue.

[9th.]

That might be your opinion but for a lot of us that simply not true. I read comics on my ipad where I have the option of changing light settings, zoom in and out or go frame by frame. Those are all options I like and enjoy.
So no comics do look plenty good on a screen to some of us.
The advantage of digital is also far more then just saving space.
No matter how big a city you live in its still easier to just be able to buy it digitally.
Last week I had a cold and had to stay in bed. Reading/buying new comics was no problem at all.

I agree, its the reason a bought a tablet and later a 2 in 1 laptop. I love reading comics on a screen, then again I'm young and not a collector so I can see why some would hate it.

[9th.]

You also save money depending on when you buy. Digital trades for example lower in price as opposed to print trades.

they also have a ridiculous about of sales on Amazon/comixology, not to mention the couppn codes you get every once in a while.

[Raye]

oh man, the sales are insane sometimes. this isn't Marvel, but I got the Hellboy Omnibuses, all of them, at a Dark Horse sale the other month for like 5 dollars each, something like that. They are over 350 pages each!

Even for reading, comics do not look good on a screen.

The only advantage to digital is the saved space.

I dunno where you are getting that from, I read on a Galaxy Tab S3 tablet, and they look FANTASTIC on the screen, way better than on paper. The colours are richer and truer than on paper, I mean, what you see is exactly what the colourist put down there, there is not shift in colours due to the printing process, you can zoom in if you want and they remain super crisp, there's no bleed through from the opposite page.... they look great.

*edit - since i already had it downloaded, went and took some screenshots of Asgardians of the Galaxy #2: https://imgur.com/a/MOP3sXu one of the full page (black bars on the side because the aspect ratio of the page and my tablet do not quite match) and 2 closeups. I fail to see how this is not as good or better than print. Yeah, the lines get a little janky in the zoomed in shots, but only because that's what the actual art looks like when they scanned and processed it before colouring, the only way it could be crisper is if they created the art in higher resolution in the first place.

[Lee Stone]

Saw it a while back, I'm subbed to him. And what he says is true, and has been known for some time. A distributor with a monopoly catering to a very niche market, it's not a good combo. But it's really hard to change that now, so they're kinda stuck. But you can see why the publishers are trying to get digital and trade sales via bookstores to gain some more traction, so they have something to fall back on if the direct market collapses.

Not to mention, any attempt to branch out of being a niche market is met with resistance, mostly by people who want to remain the sole source.
As witnessed with the DC/Walmart deal.

[Lee Stone]

oh man, the sales are insane sometimes. this isn't Marvel, but I got the Hellboy Omnibuses, all of them, at a Dark Horse sale the other month for like 5 dollars each, something like that. They are over 350 pages each!



I dunno where you are getting that from, I read on a Galaxy Tab S3 tablet, and they look FANTASTIC on the screen, way better than on paper. The colours are richer and truer than on paper, I mean, what you see is exactly what the colourist put down there, there is not shift in colours due to the printing process, you can zoom in if you want and they remain super crisp, there's no bleed through from the opposite page.... they look great.

*edit - since i already had it downloaded, went and took some screenshots of Asgardians of the Galaxy #2: https://imgur.com/a/MOP3sXu one of the full page (black bars on the side because the aspect ratio of the page and my tablet do not quite match) and 2 closeups. I fail to see how this is not as good or better than print. Yeah, the lines get a little janky in the zoomed in shots, but only because that's what the actual art looks like when they scanned and processed it before colouring, the only way it could be crisper is if they created the art in higher resolution in the first place.

I agree.
Comics look great on tablets.

[Lee Stone]

Is there a list of comic shops by location, or a list of comic shops by state?

I live in a metropolitan area, and have options.

A lot of people don't.
Contrast this to a period when comics were found in gas stations, pharmacies and grocery stores in even the smallest of towns.

And a list of stores in a state does no good for a kid whose mobility is a bicycle and the nearest store is 50 to 100 miles away.
Much less helpful if that kid grew up in this situation and has never once seen a comic, and associates superheroes with being cartoon and movie properties only.