So if sales are still dropping in March or April, that’s a matter of concern or comment. Otherwise it’s pretty much the sales cycle that I remember.

PAD

I’m going to keep it real and tell you guys why comics from the Big 2 are falling in sales.

1. They are aiming their superhero books at 2 very narrow groups of readers, the existing and SHRINKING older teen/adult readers and the virtually non existent (and dare I say MYTHICAL) NEW older teen/adult readers. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Big 2 should aim their interconnected DCU and MU titles at kids/all ages.

2. They are giving paying customers LESS for their $3 bucks. It’s a damn shame that comics today are more expensive, but take less time to read or have less things happening in them then comics from 20-40 years ago.

3. The Big 2 are more concerned with selling and/or promoting/hyping up the creators of their comics then the actual characters they are writing.

4. They have a lack of racial diversity in their comics. They tend to either kill off,depower,cripple,toss into limbo,or turn them into villains many of the FEW non-white heroic characters they have.

5. They over expose and rely to much on their most POPULAR and well known characters by featuring them in multiple ongoing monthly series and mini series.

6. They hire writers and editors who rather see superhero comics be written as prime time dramas then superhero comics.

7. Natural attrition/sales decline. NUFF SAID.

8. The single issue format has to go and be replaced with a monthly magazine size anthology format that CONSISTENTLY features the same series in a line of monthly anthology magazines. For example, ALL of the current monthly X-Books would be featured REGULARLY in a monthly X-MEN MAGAZINE.

9. Sad to say, but I think that the comic book company’s may have to cease being comic book company’s and reinvent themselves as animation company’s and start putting out a line of monthly animated series on DVD. After all, animation is the next logical evolution for comics. Remember, comics replaced the pulp magazines, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if animation actually ends up replacing comics.

Ah, but that speaks to how well you sold what you ordered, whereas the charts refer to how much you ordered. Not necessarily the same.

I choose to believe (because it amuses me to do so) that retailers are temporarily cutting back orders to conserve shelf space in preparation for the perfect storm of having to order a gazillion copies of Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, and all the tie ins at once.

The Illuminati brought on Civil War, sent Hulk off the planet, and are responsible for the actions that appear to have brought the wrath of the Skrulls. All three are inextricably tied together. Not saying that is a bad thing, though.

Maybe Austin hasn’t been hit by the recession yet? Or maybe it’s because we sell less DC Universe and more Marvel/Vertigo/Image/Dark Horse and indies to most of my customers, and thus the sad state of DC’s affairs doesn’t have as much impact on us.

One thing’s for sure… Final Crisis better be %#%-king impressive, because DC readers have begun voting with their wallets since Countdown began.

I don’t think it’s DC saying FU to the newer fans. I don’t think it’s DC forgetting about its old time fans (c’mon, a series about Jimmy Olsen? Who else are they catering to?). I think DC made a mistake, and it was a costly (pun intended) one.

What do they do next? Right the ship, obviously. Let the ongoings rebuild a bit by letting nothing touch them. And that’s done by making FC and Trinity separate beings.

Next, don’t make the whole Universe streamlined into one storyline. That’s done by getting a few other minis like Reign in Hell and the Rann/Thanagar one in there at the same time. Also, Trinity. And really, DiDio, make your promise (that this will be the last Crisis) stand.

Finally, do something about the delays. The rumor about DC and it’s new art policy from LitG has yet to be confirmed, but we haven’t seen any big delays recently. (Although, I guess I should still count the Action Annual.)

I think things will turn around, and Final Crisis might be the turning point. Don’t get me wrong, I doubt DC catches Marvel. Marvel seems to have just too much going on, and I don’t see DC’s stuff generating as much buzz. And plus, Marvel marketing is sooooo much better. When was the last time a celeb endorsed a DC product?

Still, this next year should theoretically be better for DC. And in turn, better for the industry.

But if that isn’t the case, then what it means is that the average story in the average comic book is not worth $3 to the average customer.

Which begs the question: Why?

If my livelihood depended on comics, I’d sure be real nervous until I had the answer to that little conundrum. Because face it, what it seems to indicate is either, a.) Your comics are overpriced, or, b.) The average quality of the product is below customer expectations.

But if the regular comic book readership pool is, in fact, too small (which I think it is), that might be an even tougher nut to crack — especially under the current comics distribution system that is built upon two very fragile pillars: Comic book shops, and the non-returnability system.

The problem inherent with the first pillar is a Business 101 no-brainer: If the number of comic shops (distribution nodes) stops growing, or declines, it will negatively impact readership levels.

The second pillar also has an inherent problem. It only works in a market experiencing real, or perceived, growth. If growth stalls (or, more importantly, if it APPEARS to have stalled to the retailer ordering product each month), then the non-returnability system actually starts destroying itself through a vicious cycle of under-ordering.

Then again, the downturn in sales may be due entirely to the current economic recession. After all, whenever the economy tanks, luxury spending is one of the first things to suffer.

Regardless of what’s causing the sales slump, it doesn’t bode well for the comics industry if it continues.

I may pick these up if the buzz is really, really, really strong. I’m not going to go by Patton Oswalt either. All that comes to mind whenever he talks comics is that scene in ‘The Comedians of Comedy'’ where he kept on mispronouncing ‘Ex Machina.’

I should also not be worried about Marvel’s sales in 2008. If 2008 is not as good as 2007 for Marvel, it will be the fault of DC because they are dragging the whole industry down with their shitty books.

Occam’s razor says that if you have unusually low sales in an unusually quiet month, that’s probably the explanation right there. Of course, there COULD be all sorts of other issues about the collapse of the economy and event fatigue and so forth, and if this becomes a general trend - in other words, if FINAL CRISIS and SECRET INVASION both tank - then we start looking at factors like that.

But for now, there’s no reason to treat this as anything other than a blip.

The death of the graphic novel? Have you noticed as of late the sheer volume of new graphic novels and reprints of old newspaper strips collected in book form. Seems anybody who can get a hold of a printer can put out anything old reprint property out there. Alternative comics are one thing, but some of the sluggish stories or lack of stories just don’t cut it. Some alternative companies are gambling with some real bad choices of reprinted material. There was a time when there was very little to pick from when graphic novels came out. Sure they are making oodles of money on them right now, for every good book coming out there will be another four that will gather dust on the shelves and the numbers will grow. Bargain bin anybody?

Manga, don’t get me going about that, there is so much rubbish out there and nobody says anything and why should they these books have replaced Harlequin books for young girls and many parents are not even aware of the content inside. Why ring the death knell? This fast growing part in the book industry has shades of the comic boom in the 90’s. Case example, many collectors pay top buck for the Peanuts anthologies from Fantagraphics and a few months later they end up at Costco at bargain prices. Now everybody is flooding the market and these publishers don’t have a clue what’s going on. I am scared for the graphic novel, it is starting to lose a luster in my opinion. It will peak in two years and from there the numbers will dwindle, how many anthologies will commit to all the volumes they promise to print.

The graphic novel has saved the alternative imprints and exposed their stable of talent to the masses and given them also new venues for their artists for new freelance work. I see the signs already, there are books in the graphic novel section that are not moving. Many of these volumes start at a price of 20.00 and over 100.00, that is a fair chunk of change. Recession, that word will frighten many people from buying books such as these. Remains to be seen, but there are already graphic novels in bargain bins at the big box stores already. A rare site in the past. The more that end up there, the less stores will order in the future.

Oh, and more “lots of deaths, tearing down the Marvel Universe, nothing will ever be the same.” Yawn.