"All-in"?

[JohnMayo]

I asked this question on the Mayo Report: 2013-03 Trades that went up on Friday and again in the Mayo Report: 2013-03 Comics episode that will go up this week but I'm going to ask it again here:

Who all is "all-in" or essentially so with DC and Marvel these days?

How many people are pretty much getting all of the New 52 titles and/or all of the titles set in the Marvel Universe?

I ask for a couple of reasons but when I look at the sales of some of the lower selling titles, I wonder if Marvel and DC are relying on a certain level of sales from die-hard fans like myself and how many such readers there really are.

[fudd71]

Just my personal experience, but it may be interesting.

Marvel: I haven’t been “all-in” since the early 1990s, I have been “all-out” for about three years.

Valiant: I had never read any Valiant books until 6-8 weeks ago. I kept hearing good things and bought all the $0.99 issues offered by Comixology during the lead up to Harbinger Wars sales. That sale covered all the issues shy of the current issue at the time of Harbinger and Bloodshot. Since then I have read and continue to read those two titles. I have also read all issues of Archer & Armstrong and Shadowman in the last month or so and plan on continuing with them. I am also reading the Harbinger Wars mini-series. The only title I haven’t read is X-O Manowar and I may check that out shortly.

IDW G.I. Joe universe: I was "all-in" when IDW stared with G.I. Joe. When they renumbered the first time I went to "all-out". With this new renumbering I am once again "all-in"

DC: Pre the “New 52” I was reading most about 95% of the DC titles. With the “New 52” I decided to go “all-in” and read all 52 issues each month until they started cutting titles after the #8 issues. With the #9 issue I dropped Legion of Super-Heroes and never tried G.I. Combat. With the Wave 3 books I picked up none of the them, and reread all DC books from the #1 issues choosing to drop a fair number. If DC was still publishing the same 52 books the “New 52” started with I would most likely still be buying them all or close to it. As it stands I bought 38 DC “New 52” titles in March (74.51% I could only find 51 titles from March). Here is my personal list for the 51 DC titles from March:

Still Reading:
Action Comics
Aquaman
Batgirl
Batman
Batman and Robin
Batman Incorporated
Batman: the Dark Knight
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Catwoman
Constatine
DC Universe Presents
Detective Comics
Dial H
Earth 2
Flash
Green Arrow
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Justice League
Justice League Dark
Justice Leage of America
Justice League of America’s Vibe
Katana
Nightwing
Ravagers
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Suicide Squad
Superboy
Supergirl
Superman
Teen Titans
Threshold
Wonder Woman
World’s Finest

Books I dropped in January after re-evaluating:
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Deathstroke
Demon Knights
Fury of Firestorm
I, Vampire
Red Lanterns
Stormwatch
Swamp Thing

Books I never tried:
Phantom Stranger
Sword of Sorcery
Talon
Team 7

[Mavey]

I'll be getting 28 of the DC new52 books this month.
I'd be willing to go "All-in" with the new52 titles, but I've dropped many of the books because they didn't work for me such as Talon and Teen Titans. I try out all the first issues and even when I drop a book I'll check back for an issue of a new arc or creative team if I'm interested in the character. For example, I can't remember an issue of Catwoman I've enjoyed in the new52, but I'll try again with 19 since it looks to be related to the JLA story. Connection to the main DCU threads might make me hesitate to drop a book, but I'll still enjoy good books that aren't connected such as Earth2 or Demon Knights. An exception might be the Green Lantern line, but when Geoff Johns and company leave I might give it a shot again, I'm still deciding.
I'm not close to being all in with any other line.

[Royal]

I'm not "all in" with either DC or Marvel, but then again, my reading habits are quite a bit different from most of you. I read a number of Marvel and (especially) DC titles, but I tend to do the inverse of what most folks do. From what I've heard, most readers get the monthly titles from the Big Two's mainstream (primarily superhero) offerings, and then with their more alternative stuff, such as Vertigo, or with other publishers such as Image, Dark Horse, or Oni, they many times wait for the trades. I, on the other hand, tend to get the more alt stuff on a monthly basis--especially Vertigo titles, which I'm always there for--and then wait for the trades/collections with the more mainstream titles. So, for example, I get Fables, The Unwritten, Fairest, and American Vampire (when it's around) every month, as I do Saga, Manhattan Projects, Think Tank, Nowhere Men, Revival, Mind MGMT, The Massive, BPRD, Hellboy titles, and the like. So the closest I ever get to approaching "all-in-dom" is with Vertigo and Image. With the various superhero titles, and especially with events, I always wait for the trades.

[JohnMayo]

From what I've heard, most readers get the monthly titles from the Big Two's mainstream (primarily superhero) offerings, and then with their more alternative stuff, such as Vertigo, or with other publishers such as Image, Dark Horse, or Oni, they many times wait for the trades.

That does seem to be what the conventional wisdom would indicate. I question the accuracy of that. Maybe it is right, maybe it isn't. I, for one, don't like taking it as a given with no data to support it.

[Trev]

Of all the comics fans I've ever met, the number who are "all in" in the way you are is very small in my experience. I obviously don't claim to have anything but anecdotal data, but I would be very suprised if the 'all in' number is much higher than 1-2% of the total fan base. That may still enough to account for a good portion of the total sales of the bottom most titles.

[JohnMayo]

Of all the comics fans I've ever met, the number who are "all in" in the way you are is very small in my experience. I obviously don't claim to have anything but anecdotal data, but I would be very suprised if the 'all in' number is much higher than 1-2% of the total fan base. That may still enough to account for a good portion of the total sales of the bottom most titles.

That is my gut feeling too. It just seems like the expanding franchises and line wide crossovers are catering to this demographic.

[Perry]

It just seems like the expanding franchises and line wide crossovers are catering to this demographic.

Catering to the demographic or trying to force others to become that demographic? I think it is merely the classic ploy of taking something popular and expanding on it to grab additional money from those that are buying the original.

"You like this? Well then, here, buy more"

As for the question of "all in", other than the current Valiant line (and their relatively low output of 5 or 6 titles), I haven't been all in on any company since late 70's Marvel. I get 1 or 2 DC titles a month, about 6 Marvel, all of Valiant and a few other companies here and there.

I also agree with the idea/thought/feeling that the "all in" buyers club is a rare 1 or 2% of the buying total, and think it falls closer to the bottom side of the 1%. I know of staunch DC and Marvel buyers (use to buy them all a couple years ago) that only buy about half of each companies output now. The expanding franchises and crossovers did nothing to keep their wallet open. Of course price and satisfaction of product is another major reason why they dropped titles, I am sure.


I know this much, if I had the money and (more importantly) the time to read every title a company produces, I would not do so. I love comics, but there is stuff out there that I wouldn't read if my life depended on it. (Okay, comment is a tad hyperbolic ... to show discontent)

[spid]

I am not buying every comic Marvel is putting out, but I am getting the Marvel Now bundle from DCBS. As long as they are doing that I will probably keep reading a good chunk of the Marvel Universe. Once they stop offering that bundle I will start trimming off the books.

[BobBretall]

I would theorize that you may find some who are "all in" for Marvel or DC & then don't get much of anything else except a few things mostly because of the sheer quantity of books they each put out makes it hard from a $$ and/or time-to-read factor.

When I go to the comic shop I will often find people in line or browsing that have very large stacks that are predominantly one or the other.

One of the main reasons I pulled back on my Marvel/DC was that I didn't have time to read all those books without sacrificing the bulk of my Indies, which I was enjoying (on average) more.

[JohnMayo]

I would theorize that you may find some who are "all in" for Marvel or DC & then don't get much of anything else except a few things mostly because of the sheer quantity of books they each put out makes it hard from a $$ and/or time-to-read factor.

When I go to the comic shop I will often find people in line or browsing that have very large stacks that are predominantly one or the other.

One of the main reasons I pulled back on my Marvel/DC was that I didn't have time to read all those books without sacrificing the bulk of my Indies, which I was enjoying (on average) more.

I would agree with that. Heck, that is probably either part of the goal from Marvel and DC or an added bonus at the very least.

Personally, I usually don't have problem reading all of the Marvel and DC titles plus a dozen or so indy titles a week but I can see how most people might.

I'm curious how, or if, the number of people "all-in" with DC changes with Flashpoint and the New 52.

[LA Rabbit]

Not all in with either company. Even in my heady Marvel Zombie days of the 80s, I don't think I was all in. There was always something I could skip, some of those Star line comics spring to mind but back then I would buy most of Marvel. Trades (and the library) have really moved me off of the sense that I have to buy the comic now.

[JohnMayo]

Even in my heady Marvel Zombie days of the 80s, I don't think I was all in. There was always something I could skip, some of those Star line comics spring to mind but back then I would buy most of Marvel.

As I mentioned above, I'm not including things like the old Star line or the current MAX line or Icon line. Basically are people going either literally all-in with a given narrative universe or essentially so at around 80% or more. I would expect the number of people that buy every comic offered by DC or Marvel to be exceedingly few. I don't get all of them.

[boshuda]

I haven't been all-in for a while. With the new-52 I was all-in with DC and I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, there were a number of titles I didn't really care for so they got dropped. I also lack the time to read all of them plus the other books I would like to read. I tried to be all-in with Marvel's mutant titles after Fear Itself, but Marvel really, really made that difficult with their prices, double-shipping, and other marketing shenanigans. I was really enjoying being all-in on those titles aside from the corporate crap. That is - I was enjoying reading them and having them all kind of tie together with the theme of 'mutant'.

[simonuk]

I must say, in a purely unscientific fashion anecdotal evidence would suggest to me that there is a vanguard of readers bearing a greater share of the customer base. I'm nowhere near all in (and even if it is practicable i don't think i could keep handing over money for the more average books)but i think given the size of the contemporary audience I'm grateful to the all in guys who probably ensure the survival of some of the less popular books.in addition I've enjoyed buying all the valiant books in trade and getting that unified feel for a company identity whilst enjoying individual titles with a strong personal id, but i think the number of books put out by the big 2 and the extent to which multiple titles rest on a big name character would make this less rewarding for my tastes even were money no object. I find with the multiple batman books that i find one or two of them that gets me my fill without getting all the books in that family of titles, which often mean following a creator less to my tastes in at least one book.