…

Because of that, we got, arguably, a BETTER system for dealing with late books: the FOC system where we’re free to adjust books as we choose.

(An exercise, might I add, I will be utilizing for CIVIL WAR #4)

You write good rant, but I have to say, calling on the example of such a stunning sales hit (especially to the civilian-to-Marvel audience) as proof that “the day of the fucking floppy is over” is, well, kinda stupid, to say the least. The *reason* this is an issue is that it is large and sprawling and, above all else, successful.

That superhero-only stores should probably diversify, yeah sure, I’m down with that 100%, but, really, the only thing that this is proof of is that publishers (of all stripes) have to stop soliciting things that aren’t far enough along the production cycle to be 99% sure they’ll hit thier solicited date. This is as true for Marvel as it is for Tokyopop as it is for Fantagraphics as it is for Joe Newbie doing his first comic out of mom’s basement.

And it is as true for a periodical as it is for a book, ADD.

-B

I’m not interested in sucking up even a .01% loss to my sales because of someone else’s problems.

-B

I’ve been reading both the timely 52 and the now-late Civil War for free from the internet’s Preferred Store (as it’s known). I like CW enough to actually buy the eventual hardcover, whenever the hell it comes out. I loathe 52 enough that I have stopped reading it even for free.

The message to retailers, it seems to me, and it’s been apparent for at least a couple of years now, is that the day of the fucking floppy is over, and you need to transition to the new reality. In other words, when BORDERS starts bitching about how Civil War is late, then I’ll think it matters to comics as a whole.

This “tragedy” is mainly impacting superhero convenience stores, who should know by now that Marvel’s Slurpees are an unreliable factor when planning out their long-term financial health. Over the next three or four months, the three-out-of-four people in my household who read comics every week will be affected exactly not at all by Civil War being late — two of them (my kids, on the very cusp of becoming independent, comics-buying adults) read graphic novels and non-Marvel periodicals, and the other, the fat old nerd that hooked them on comics, is waiting quite patiently and happily for the trade, which will have a consistent writer and artist all the way through, and which may not be Watchmen, but will still be of interest to sooperhero fans ten years from now, unlike the timely-as-hell 52.

Diamond is no longer comics. Marvel is no longer comics. Look around, in libraries, in real bookstores. Comics is bigger than one distributor or one publisher, especially a distributor and publisher who historically cover their own asses to the detriment of those they do business with. Diamond and Marvel essentially supply Slurpees to sooperhero convenience stores, and they’re all managed by guys who, if they are professional businessmen — you know, have READ HIBBS’S BOOK ON BEING A PROFESSIONAL COMIC BOOK RETAILER — know they need to study the history of their industry and of their own store, and make sound business decisions based on the information they have. The information about Marvel has been clear forever, to anyone not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Every smart retailer I know has spent the past few years diversifying their product line, opening up alternative lines of distribution so that their future and their financial well-being is not entirely, fatally tied to Marvel and Diamond.

To allow Marvel to control 40 percent of your income (as Hibbs apparently has) is suicide — I can imagine quite a few sooperhero convenience shops going under because of this. And you know, I felt bad for the people who had 100 percent of their stock in Enron, too. But they should have known better. I know nothing about investing, but I know you have to diversify your portfolio if you want to be solvent and prosperous in the long-term.

Diversification would have saved Enron’s investors, and in the long run, it’s the only thing that will allow comic book stores to exist in another five to ten years. The smart retailers already know this — walk into Million Year Picnic in Cambridge, Massachusetts or The Beguiling in Toronto. Yes, they have Marvel available. As one of the many, many publishers they carry. And they have diverse customer bases that wants comics of all sizes, shapes, genres and languages. What percentage of income do you think Marvel represents for Borders? The ones near me all have some Marvel stuff, and quite a bit more Manga.

There’s room for superhero comics, especially in North America. But the day of Ellis’s Nurse Novel is long since over, and bravo to him for pointing this out so long ago:

“I don’t doubt that there are excellent nurse novels in there. But the fact that in our nightmare bookstore, 90% of all books published everywhere are about nurses tends to choke off all other genres and a literary mainstream.”

Diversify or die, comic book stores. The Civil War debacle is very likely the final warning bell.

The whole infrastructure of comic book retailing is changing, and I think what you’re starting to see is the beginning of the movement away from a monthly magazine publishing model over to something more akin to a book publishing model.”

Warren Ellis wins.

AGAIN.

I can’t imagine how much time and effort it takes to coordinate a line-wide event like Civil War. Sure retailers take a hit because they have so much money tied up in limbo waiting for what they paid for. I pre-pay for my comics too. How would you lose customers because of this delay? I understand there would be a loss of “heat”, but anyone who is reading it because they like it isn’t just going to drop it mid-story because it’s running a month late. Why does the average consumer even need to KNOW it’s running a month late?! If they’re buying off the rack, then they probably don’t even know the publishing schedule of every company. If they’re a subscription customer, you can almost guarantee they’ll stick around for it, and if they want to drop the title because it’s running a month late, make a deal with them! You’re not just a guy behind a register. You’re Retail Superman! Offer them a free comic for the skipped month if they change their mind and keep the title or offer them an extra 10% off that skipped month’s order or SOMETHING… ANYTHING to go with an explanation of why their precious printed material won’t be around to sate their hunger that month. Marvel–do the same! Keep your customers happy! Make the delayed issues returnable up to a certain percent. Offer free signed copies per every however many ordered. Or don’t get put in this position in the first place. You’re supposed to be big business with standards and such. You know the track records of your workers, you likely keep in touch to check on progress… You could have seen the warning signs. Simply switching to a 6-week schedule early in the game could have saved a lot of time and effort from everyone.

Then again, this is the internet–the home of bitch and moan! Who won the bet when they predicted that the major contribution of the internet was going to be porn and armchair quarterbacking about every damn thing! When I think of what the internet could be used for to benefit mankind and how much bandwidth is taken up with double anal and “FIRSTIES!!!”…. what a waste. (yeah, I know.. the word hypocrite may come to mind for some of you. Try to focus on the message as it was intended to benefit a very small faction of mankind–the comics crowd)

Ryan, that’s exactly what bothers me about this situation. I don’t think the issue here is writers or artists’ speed but schedule managment from editorial. The nagging question in my mind why did it take so long for Marvel to announce a scheduling shift this big? Shouldn’t they have had a clue that the book would be a whole month late a few weeks earlier (which would give retailers more time to adjust) or did someone think a months’ worth of work would suddenly appear in a week’s time?

I remember being at a Stephen Bissette signing in ‘86, and griping to him that Watchmen issue eight was late. This was at the time that I still believed in the sanctity of the all mighty shipping schedule, but Bissette (who was already a poster-child for the late artist) chided me.

“Do you have any idea how much detail they’re putting into every page?” he said. “It’s amazing they’ve stayed on schedule this long.”

We then chatted for awhile about what was going on in the pages, who might be behind all the mask killings and what the heck Alan Moore was doing with that Pirate Ship metaphor.

Twenty years ago! Crazy!

The point being that a) We had some clue as to just how amazing Watchmen was going to be even as it was being released and b) Watchmen went off schedule mid-stream, but only by a month or so.

If anything I think my personal opinion of Watchmen has gone down in the intervening years because of its somewhat anti-climactic ending. That day, with five issues to go and the ending unknown, it seemed the greatest comic I’d read to date.

Although I absolutely hope they do go the direction of the anti-serial. The stories will indeed feel more complete, glorious, and more artistic, with independent cartoonists possibly joining in [after all, Bizarro Comics, To Hell and Back, and Batman in Black and White volume 2 were released as GN's, and it certainly didn't hurt thier reputations.] The best thing about a monthly comic is it creates the illusion of an actual on going event. Then again, so does Harry Potter. Solution- Make superheroes as compelling as Harry Potter. And then it allll woooorks….

WATCHMEN and CAMELOT 3000 were both viewed as revolutionary works that would change the face of comics.

I don’t care about pointing out that great work doens’t come out on a timetable, but by comparing yourself to a work that is taught in classrooms and listed on best novel lists, you invite…unwanted comparisons.

Watchmen was only a few months late by the FINAL ISSUE. ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK is months late BY ISSUE THREE. I’m sure that it’s a fine, wonderful book. Perhaps it will be read and studied years from now.

I accept waiting for superior work that represents the efforts of top creators in peak form. Waiting weeks and months for mundane work is another story.

I think it’s fair to cite Watchman as an example of late shipping. That series wasn’t the be-all-end-all “most influential superhero comic of the modern era” AT THE TIME, that only happened later in retrospect (and I’d still put the word “arguably” before the rest of it).

That’s not true in the slightest. _Infinite Crisis_ was several weeks late by the time it came out. There’s no way Marvel would have known when it was coming out when they solicited the first issue of _Civil War_.