Mayo Report

[Perseus]

I'm really wanting to see how DC comes out of Nu52 after Convergence. Some of their titles still baffle me as to why they are putting them out. Instead of Bat-Mite, do a Metal Men mini or ongoing.

I will say the Jeff Parker Shazam Convergence books look awesome. Jeff and Shaner should be doing a monthly Shazam book.

[SpideySavestheDay]

I too loved talking about some of the questions we got. It would be great if listeners would post any questions they might have.

Thank you to Drew, Spidey Saves the Day and Perseus for the questions we got for the last show.

Thanks for the opportunity!

Very nice to see Lady Mechanika almost do 17k. It outsold every Dark Horse, Boom, and IDW book except Orphan Black. Hopefully it can build some momentum with the book coming out a bit more regularly.

Love this book. Just picked up 4 & 5 and looking forward to a long run. Out of all the steampunk themed books I've talked about on Previews Spotlight, this is by far the best.

I'm starting to think about my next article of ComicBookResources.com and considering doing a look back at the New 52 titles from DC since that branding ends with Convergence. If anybody has thoughts or questions alone those lines (or any other lines for that matter), please post them.

I would like to see the sales' effects of the New52 on titles that existed before the reboot to the end of the New52 (Batman, Action Comics, etc). Did the sell-in numbers increase?

What about the New52 trades of those same titles? Are any showing a potential 'evergreen' status?

[Perseus]

I guess I will post this here. We were having discussions on the Mayo Report about new readers and things like that. Great topic by the way everyone!

I read an interesting panel interview of Darwyn Cooke over on CBR.

Herehttp://www.comicbookresources.com/artic ... t-morrison

Anyways, he talked about he would love to see one of the Big 2 scratch their whole line and go all ages for the whole company's worth of books. I like the idea.

I wanted to see what people thought about Cooke's take on the Big 2. I couldn't believe Marvel didn't want him heading their Marvel Adventures line.

[JohnMayo]

Am I the only one that finds it ironic for someone who uses that much profanity during a convention panel to suggest publishers dump everything in favor of all-ages comics? If Cooke feels comics should be targeted to all ages, should panels at comic book conventions also be target to that same audience?

I'm not disagreeing with his point. I just found the manner in which he made it seemed to undercut it.

[JohnMayo]

Just finished the number crunching and article. The last few weeks had been eventful and I didn't have the time I expected to have in order to do a deep dive into the data.

[drew]

9 outta the top 10 are Marvel...is this significant or just a coincidence?

4 of the top 10 are star wars-related, can we call this a trend or still too soon since none have reached issue #4?

was Arkham Knight's debut as big a surprise to you guys as it was to me?

6 issues in and Thor continues to be a top seller, outselling its previous volume, that coupled with the number (6) of female-led books in the top 15 is impressive, I wonder if that is the most?:

1 Princess Leia 1 $3.99 Marvel 253,655
4 Spider-Gwen 2 $3.99 Marvel 107,070
5 Princess Leia 2 $3.99 Marvel 96,262
11 Thor 6 $3.99 Marvel 70,569
12 Silk 2 $3.99 Marvel 69,369
14 Harley Quinn 15 $2.99 DC 66,904

[Perseus]

Very nice showing for Descender #1.

Also Jem and the Holograms.

John, I'm not reading Ninjak. Are you disappointed with those numbers for such a popular Valiant character?

Disappointing numbers for TMNT #44 considering what happened in that book. Also the fact that my LCS friend wanted to buy it back from me.

[sajchurchey]

I saw one retailer dumping a couple thousand copies of Princess Leia #1 on eBay in lots as large as 300 copies. These recent Star Wars numbers are the result of variant cover insanity. They have certainly saturated the market in hopes of pulling in all of the Star Wars fans that they can with all of the movie buzz. DC better hope that Convergence is a success, or Star Wars may run away with it.

As for TMNT #44, this was definitely under ordered by retailers. A 2nd print came out earlier this month, and there will even be a 3rd print in a couple weeks. The solicitation for this issue hinted at a character "death," but retailers didn't seem none the wiser. It certainly generated a lot of buzz for the series, but the books were not available on the shelf to back it up. IDW just didn't seem to coordinate with the retailers.

[drew]

Wow I hadnt heard about the TMNT angle

[JohnMayo]

Sam and I recorded Thursday night and discussed a lot of the topics brought up here on the forum, including TMNT #44. That episode should go up on Friday.

[comicm]

Sam, you accidentally made a few mistakes on Valiant creators (most are still around). Robert Venditti, Van Lente, and Dysart is still around. Imperium - is Harbinger (Dysart), X-O still Venditti, Van Lente (moved to Delinquents and now Ivar, Timewalker so they have kept most of there creators. James Asmus has stayed on the Quantum and Woody property and added Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire are the other key creators. The issue is not the creators it is just people don't stick with the books. They have to reboot because the books trend to 6000 or 7000 copies. The problem is getting new readers. They are highly intimidated by the term shared universe. It is easy for someone to jump onto an image book but readers have the impression they would have to buy all these books and they don't. Numbering should not matter but it does to retailers because they will stock #1s high to try and get new readers and drop them from month to month based on how they are selling. Also I am highly convinced with the price of comics that readers don't become as attached because they have a fixed budget and have the movie "Up Syndrome" - ah Squirrel. See something new on the shelf and put something back to try something new.

John if you do the trend the Valiant I would be highly interested in he numbers for the Valiant Podcast.

[fudd71]

Sam, you accidentally made a few mistakes on Valiant creators (most are still around). Robert Venditti, Van Lente, and Dysart is still around. Imperium - is Harbinger (Dysart), X-O still Venditti, Van Lente (moved to Delinquents and now Ivar, Timewalker so they have kept most of there creators. James Asmus has stayed on the Quantum and Woody property and added Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire are the other key creators.

Mike, Thank you for letting me know. I'm glad to know those creators are still working at Valiant and I'm sure doing fine work. To the listeners I apologize, for what was a clear mistake on my part.

The issue is not the creators it is just people don't stick with the books. They have to reboot because the books trend to 6000 or 7000 copies. The problem is getting new readers. They are highly intimidated by the term shared universe. It is easy for someone to jump onto an image book but readers have the impression they would have to buy all these books and they don't. Numbering should not matter but it does to retailers because they will stock #1s high to try and get new readers and drop them from month to month based on how they are selling. Also I am highly convinced with the price of comics that readers don't become as attached because they have a fixed budget and have the movie "Up Syndrome" - ah Squirrel. See something new on the shelf and put something back to try something new.

I agree whole heartedly with you on this point, that many readers are attracted to the new and shiny and that shared universe can scare many people off. I also agree that all of these creators both the older crop and newer are all very talented. I don't think the problem has ever been quality with Valiant.

There is however also the inherent catch-22 of what this does to older reader (such as myself) that like shared universes and consistency. Every time a title is renumbered, relaunched, replaced with a new mini-series, rotated out; you have upset (or at least made reconsider) a reader who enjoys consistency. I have no idea what the right answer is, and the publisher clearly has to make a business decision. Is it easier or more profitable to attract a reader to a new #1 or does it make more sense to keep the consistent reader happy and still buying? While I understand the cash flow need that selling a #1 fills, as John and I have discussed on numerous Mayo reports seemingly each relaunch, renumber, etc. is slightly less effective than the previous one.

I also think this strategy effects to the type of fan your properties will attract. The customer who buys issue #1-36 will most likely buy #37, this is a loyal consistent fan. John refers to this often as the habitual buying pattern. On the other hand, the type of fan that is attracted to and only buys because it is a shiny new #1, is by their very nature not as loyal. It is like the advice you give someone who is the other man/woman with someone cheating. Even if the cheater leaves to be with you, they will cheat on you because that is their nature. By attracting a more fickle fan base with these tactics you will have a more fickle fan base. It may be the only way to survive currently, but it doesn't bode well for the long term health of the publisher or the industry.

[comicm]

Sam, you accidentally made a few mistakes on Valiant creators (most are still around). Robert Venditti, Van Lente, and Dysart is still around. Imperium - is Harbinger (Dysart), X-O still Venditti, Van Lente (moved to Delinquents and now Ivar, Timewalker so they have kept most of there creators. James Asmus has stayed on the Quantum and Woody property and added Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire are the other key creators.

Mike, Thank you for letting me know. I'm glad to know those creators are still working at Valiant and I'm sure doing fine work. To the listeners I apologize, for what was a clear mistake on my part.

The issue is not the creators it is just people don't stick with the books. They have to reboot because the books trend to 6000 or 7000 copies. The problem is getting new readers. They are highly intimidated by the term shared universe. It is easy for someone to jump onto an image book but readers have the impression they would have to buy all these books and they don't. Numbering should not matter but it does to retailers because they will stock #1s high to try and get new readers and drop them from month to month based on how they are selling. Also I am highly convinced with the price of comics that readers don't become as attached because they have a fixed budget and have the movie "Up Syndrome" - ah Squirrel. See something new on the shelf and put something back to try something new.

I agree whole heartedly with you on this point, that many readers are attracted to the new and shiny and that shared universe can scare many people off. I also agree that all of these creators both the older crop and newer are all very talented. I don't think the problem has ever been quality with Valiant.

There is however also the inherent catch-22 of what this does to older reader (such as myself) that like shared universes and consistency. Every time a title is renumbered, relaunched, replaced with a new mini-series, rotated out; you have upset (or at least made reconsider) a reader who enjoys consistency. I have no idea what the right answer is, and the publisher clearly has to make a business decision. Is it easier or more profitable to attract a reader to a new #1 or does it make more sense to keep the consistent reader happy and still buying? While I understand the cash flow need that selling a #1 fills, as John and I have discussed on numerous Mayo reports seemingly each relaunch, renumber, etc. is slightly less effective than the previous one.

I also think this strategy effects to the type of fan your properties will attract. The customer who buys issue #1-36 will most likely buy #37, this is a loyal consistent fan. John refers to this often as the habitual buying pattern. On the other hand, the type of fan that is attracted to and only buys because it is a shiny new #1, is by their very nature not as loyal. It is like the advice you give someone who is the other man/woman with someone cheating. Even if the cheater leaves to be with you, they will cheat on you because that is their nature. By attracting a more fickle fan base with these tactics you will have a more fickle fan base. It may be the only way to survive currently, but it doesn't bode well for the long term health of the publisher or the industry.

Renumbering does not imply continuity changing. Everything Valiant has done matters and build upon history. Yeah the numbers have changed but that is because it is the state of the industry. X-O numbers are dropping pretty low and so are Unity's so I imagine a new number 1 will take its place soon. If you get a new story direction or new creative team it is better to launch with a #1 because if you do this with a #35 it will not sell as well unless it is like a freak of nature like Walking Dead. Yeah as a long time reader I would rather see the numbering continue but I understand why they do it. If I was in charge I would do the same until I saw solid trends that would indicate otherwise. If they launched Superman Geoff Johns/Romita Jr. as a number 1 it would have done tons better. Also if they did it with Batgirl the same thing would have happened. It is an interesting market and I think the majority have the "Ah Squirrel" syndrome.

[fudd71]

On the episode I mentioned that Superman Red Son was not available digitally. It is now available and currently (as of 4/28) on sale for $0.99 an issue. You can currently get all three issues for a total of $2.97. That is a great deal compared to the $12.99 trade that has been available.

[drew]

to piggyback on the bookscan conversation, for me its just another piece of the puzzle, the diamond charts are far from perfect and we don't have access to any concrete digital numbers so the bookscan #s at least help illuminate the industry a bit and add some hard data to the conversation...oh what I wouldn't give to see some digital sales numbers though...