Comments on: More Dark Tower News

By: Antione

Antione — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:43:25 +0000

I haven’t heard enough about this book to say if it will be bust or not. Their ploy may work. If it get’s media coverage it will get lot of exposure and who is to say some people will buy it when it becomes a said hot item. I do commend Marvel on trying something different. Comic books don’t sale like they used to and this may change how they market comic books… or maybe not. See my website for my self published comic book below.

By: markus

markus — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 01:15:29 +0000

Why cut [ads] out here, when they’re expecting a larger audience and could make even more money?
IMHO simply because they know Marvel zombies won’t mind (or won’t mind enough) and this is aimed at regular folks who likely would mind.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:51:34 +0000

That’s an interesting comparison, Paul. This was an attempt for Marvel to reach outside the direct market, and it doesn’t seem to be going as well as hoped. I applaud their attempts (as with the previous soap opera tie-in), but they don’t seem to perform well once they step outside their core direct market.

By: Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:09:20 +0000

I noticed that in his weekly Q&A at Newsarama, Joe Quesada’s comment on the orders for issue #1 was that it was going to be one of the best selling non-superhero titles in years. Now, considering there hasn’t even been a non-superhero title in the top 10 since 2003, that’s a really odd way of billing a book that’s supposed to be a huge event. I was expecting this to be a “one of the best selling comics of the year” thing. (And given that the question was “Is it selling better than CIVIL WAR #1?”, you’ve kind of got to figure that the answer was “Er, no.”)

By: Barry

Barry — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:43:39 +0000

I have no interest in this book whatsoever. Good luck to the stores in getting some media coverage though…

By: James Schee

James Schee — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 02:18:26 +0000

I’ll wait until the eventual trade, if I decide to get it at all that is.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:54:04 +0000

That’s totally up to the retailer, I think, but a general rule of thumb is a 1-in-25 cover is $25, 1-in-75 is $75, etc.

By: Alan Coil

Alan Coil — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 23:08:18 +0000

Any guesses as to the cost (to the customer) of the variant covers?

I’m guessing the 1-in-25 will be $15-20 and the 1-in-75 will be $50 minimum.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:14:51 +0000

Chad, I fear that area in the evening, let alone after it gets dark. There are some shady folks hanging around. :)

Don, I hadn’t thought of that, treating it as a way to get free coverage. Good point.

By: Chad Anderson

Chad Anderson — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 02:43:36 +0000

“I’m too old to do that, especially since I’m now a suburbanite and am afraid to go to downtown Richmond late at night.”

Please, please tell me you’re joking. Don’t fear the downtown, Johanna!

By: Don MacPherson

Don MacPherson — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 02:28:22 +0000

I’m surprised so many stores have signed on for the scheme, but I do seem some value in it. Now, I don’t think it’s going to help these retailers move that many copies of the book (maybe a scant few more), it will give them a solid PR schtick. Midnight releases are unprecedented for comics, so local media might pick up the story.

Say it runs as a 15-inch story in the arts section, with a photo. That’s like a free, quarter-page ad for the store.