tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post8000136902826570407..comments2024-03-27T19:04:14.544-05:00Comments on The Absorbascon: Marvel gets it and DC doesn't.Scipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-42459613140461509842011-11-05T11:36:55.291-05:002011-11-05T11:36:55.291-05:00Goodness, there is really much useful material her...Goodness, there is really much useful material here!<br /><a href="http://bookville.info" rel="nofollow">metal buildings</a>Herbertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-72123804065272005252011-11-02T00:12:25.627-05:002011-11-02T00:12:25.627-05:00In my opinion one and all should browse on it.
ch...In my opinion one and all should browse on it.<br /><a href="http://www.cheapautoinsuranceforyoungdrivers.org" rel="nofollow"> cheap automobile insurance</a> | <a href="http://www.createphotoalbum.net" rel="nofollow">create photo album</a> | <a href="http://www.hotelschicagoillinois.org" rel="nofollow"> hotels magnificent mile chicago illinois</a> | <a href="http://www.bhutantours.net" rel="nofollow"> bhutan travel</a> | <a href="http://www.jobsinhalifax.net" rel="nofollow">jobs in Halifax</a>Ebenezarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-21917888787404207362009-06-01T08:37:49.389-05:002009-06-01T08:37:49.389-05:00Sadly, this could also be indicative of the amount...Sadly, this could also be indicative of the amount of money budgeted to each company's marketing department. Yes, advertising sells, and you CAN do a lot with a limited budget, but limited budgets only go so far. Historically, DC has always done well (in the long run) with word-of-mouth -- which is the primary seller of their Vertigo titles and trade publications. Since DC trades consistently outsell Marvel trades in main distribution chains, that approach seems to pay off for them. DC's backlist (consisting of many bestsellers with VERY long shelf lives, such as Sandman and Dark Knight Returns) is the envy of ANY publishing company.<br /><br />However, DC also seems to think the word-of-mouth approach will work with their main comic book sellers. NOT usually the case, as you know (though, lately, Green Lantern seems to be an exception). Marketing departments are also VERY stubborn and don't like it when people give them reasonable, logical, outside advice. It usually gets them into trouble in the long run -- and gets them layed off.<br /><br />Then there's Marvel. Marvel spends marketing money like they have an unlimited supply. Sure, it gets people to buy comics, and it packs the theaters. However, I can't help thinking that it's also partially responsible for Marvel's fiscal problems of the last decade. That, and how much are they sacrificing in the name of quality just because they (seem to) think they can make something "better" by throwing money at it?Sea-of-Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813600516703661200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-79775085881695608752009-05-31T19:34:44.976-05:002009-05-31T19:34:44.976-05:00With all the Crises and what-not, it might be diff...With all the Crises and what-not, it might be difficult for DC to decide how to list its trades. Does everything Superman go under "Superman?" Do you break it up into "Classic" vs. "Modern?" Where do non-continuity (but not Elseworld) tales (e.g. Superman: For All Seasons) fit in? Is "Man of Steel" still canon, or "Birthright?" <br /><br />Marvel, at least, has a fairly linear continuity. I don't care if a story "counts" or not, but other readers do. DC must have a harder time sorting its backlist. That's not to say that they can't or shouldn't, of course.<br /><br />As an aside, I can ignore pop-culture references in old comics, but not outdated technology. Big cell-phones and dial-up modems take me out of a story faster than someone talking about The Beatles.Mike Loughlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-75663360218014735362009-05-30T23:23:37.251-05:002009-05-30T23:23:37.251-05:00I'd start buying Supergirl again if it had a Strea...I'd start buying Supergirl again if it had a Streaky back-up feature. Best super-pet ever!steve mitchellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-70987818683197691232009-05-30T17:18:42.627-05:002009-05-30T17:18:42.627-05:00"Didn't DC send you "After WATCHMEN" marketing mat..."Didn't DC send you "After WATCHMEN" marketing materials?"<br /><br />Yes, they did. And those are nice. It's twenty titles in detail; it's much like the individual guides I make for works in our Comics Canon.<br /><br />But a sweeping catalog arranged by character and team it's not. It's not hard for them to devise; they just don't seem to see the utility in it.Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-26898025811508373242009-05-30T16:14:02.866-05:002009-05-30T16:14:02.866-05:00I would only be on-board for Streak if there were ...I would only be on-board for Streak if there were a writer who could handle the Kanigherity. And if it brought back bad memories of being kicked out of his own book for Alan. But otherwise, you'll note that I didn't say DC was very wrong in their assumptions...<br /><br />I do, though, think they envision obsessive fussbudgets who already KNOW where everything has been published and need guidance on new (higher-markup) material to buy. So crossover checklists but no PBS-like "to learn more about this character" notes. Maybe it's because DCUGuide.com exists, too--why publish an Itty checklist when the customers have already done so?<br /><br />Hm. It's been a while since I last picked up a Marvel book, but they still do the inside-cover recap, don't they? That's really just the old-timey footnotes rearranged so that it doesn't cover the art, right?<br /><br />Hee. The aforementioned DCU Guide states that "This page and all text herein is Copyright © 109." The Y2K Bandit strikes again! But otherwise, if you're interested in developing character guides for customers, they might be a good place to start. Or just ignore their supposed rights, since a list of data can't be copyrighted.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-50890627377327519492009-05-30T16:11:00.027-05:002009-05-30T16:11:00.027-05:00Didn't DC send you "After WATCHMEN" marketing mate...Didn't DC send you "After WATCHMEN" marketing materials?<br /><br />No matter that those promotional magazines listed twenty titles inside and only nineteen in the alphabetical list on the back cover.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-38299847393021829912009-05-30T13:03:19.252-05:002009-05-30T13:03:19.252-05:00"Streak the Wonder Dog will get a backup strip in ..."Streak the Wonder Dog will get a backup strip in JSA"<br /><br />THAT WOULD BE TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />Actually, your points are strong and interesting ones, John. It's not just where they're coming from... it's also their assumptions about their audiences.<br /><br />Apparently, DC thinks 40 y.o.'s just want tidy checklists...!Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-41624931166221525492009-05-30T11:34:41.415-05:002009-05-30T11:34:41.415-05:00I think this ties in with the point I tried to mak...I think this ties in with the point I tried to make a few weeks ago regarding how Marvel and DC handle pop culture references.<br /><br />Marvel assumes that its customers are uniformally twelve year old boys (or their parents). Thus, endless bickering slugfests, disinterest in family life, attempts to prove themselves hip, and hand-holding the consumer.<br /><br />DC assumes that its customers are uniformally forty year old men who cackle with glee at the thought that Donna Troy might return to her classic costume (whichever that may be), wish for the day when we have One True Origin for Hawkman, and dream that, someday, Streak the Wonder Dog will get a backup strip in JSA to Alan Scott's chagrin.<br /><br />Obviously, I'm exaggerating both models, and there are good and bad points to each. You've just hit on one of the best points of Marvel's approach: You can't give customers too much information when they're trying to decide where to spend their money.Johnnoreply@blogger.com