"There is a comic about Daredevil ? ! ?"

[Mouse-migration]

Some might even think he was created solely to reap some of Spidey's "juice".

 

That sounds......uh.......nevermind.

[Lantern]

Some might even think he was created solely to reap some of Spidey's "juice".

 

I would quess that this is a very accurate statement. The kids are alerady comparing it to the Spiderman movie. That is, after my wife expalined the superhero idea behind the movie. Apparently, the trailer left more than one a little confused about Daredevil being a crime fighting superhero.

 

I guess my real problem with it is that Marvel should capitalize on the opportunity. Draw them in with the movie, then push the comics. Instead, they will draw them in with the movie and then skip to cashing the checks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GL13-migration]

One big problem with showing kids the current DD series is that initially they'd be put off by the dark-can't-tell-what-the-hell-is-going-on- art by Maleev and if they actually get past that, then they would have to deal with a dull-as--no-action story by Bendis. I've said it a million times, you'll never get a kid interested in that book in it's current state. Marvel, at the moment, is a cesspool of overhyped, "deep" stories that do nothing more than drive longtime readers like me away. These same stories would never bring a kid to comics, especially now that they have the mandate of no action covers and very little use of super-villains. They're comics are just not fun to read anymore.

[Mister_Comics]

The comic book industry needs another silverage. They need to bring back what they let slip away. Bring back the hero stories that made MARVEL & DC. Not the cr*p thats published now.

Amazes me how just about any idea sold back in the 60's. They made a new hero comic and people bought it. Now nothing sells. I think the comic industry has forgotten the comic collectors/readers and is just looking at the product. No regard to the people buying the books. Give them what they want and you'll have a triving business. Not a starving one.

[Kevin Boyd]

Ariamus, this isn't really a direct reply to your post but more of a general response to the overall tone of the previous posts....

 

I see that we are back on this cheaper comics = more customers discussion.

 

The problem, as I see it, in regards to Marvel missing the boat on Daredevil, and I'm not really sure that they have btw (they've gone out of their way to get a lot of DD books into the bookstores) is VISIBILITY.

 

Kids do not know about the Daredevil comics BECAUSE NOBODY SELLS DAREDEVIL COMICS (except for a few thousand comic shops and an even lesser number of book stores/corner stores).

 

The stores don't sell Daredevil comics BECAUSE NOBODY BUYS DAREDEVIL COMICS any more.

 

We have previously discussed why they aren't... maybe it was price, maybe it was overspeculation, whatever... point is that no more than 100,000 people in North America buy and read DD on a given month. That's a miniscule fraction of the population. (However millions will end up seeing the Daredevil movie in the theatres and on video/dvd).

 

The question is (yes, I'm back to the chicken/egg thing):

 

(a) ARE PEOPLE NOT SELLING DAREDEVIL COMICS BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO BUY THEM?

 

or

 

(b) ARE PEOPLE NOT BUYING DAREDEVIL COMICS BECAUSE NO ONE IS SELLING THEM?

 

I'm sure we all wish (myself included) that it was really (b), it may be a little bit of both, but I suspect that it is truly (a).

 

If it is (b) then you have to ask why are they not selling them?

 

If it is (a) then why aren't they buying them?

 

Marvel has chosen to tackle the problem from two directions:

 

1. They have concentrated their ambitions in the shops toweards getting the people who already go to comic shops to look at Daredevil by picking up the 25 cent issue (which is a jumping on point for a new storyline). If you already pick up Daredevil you won't care because you already are getting it, bit there are a lot of people who DO buy comics who don't buy Daredevil but won't turn down the chance to buy an issue for a quarter. Marvel's hope is that they will stick around.

 

2. They have cranked out a ton of DD tpbs in the last few months, not only with the good material (mostly Miller) but with the recent storyline and mini-series. They have tried to get the material out there on the mainstream bookshelves. Hopefully the bookstores have deemed that the Daredevil Movie may have crossover appeal to kids beyond the usual novel, picture books and junior novels. The tpbs are quite reasonably priced compared to the cost of most books on the shelves today.

 

Both are smart moves IMO.

 

Kev

[cd4ever]

I don't think the daredevil is a bad comic. I actually think it's very well-written and drawn. The problem is that it is simply not a book for kids. It does lack action and buffed up heroes and incrdibly large-breasted women (darn it). It's good reading for college age people and above. But it's probably boring for a 12-year old. So even if the movie does bring kids to the comic (a debatable happening), they likely won't stick around long. But still, it's hard to criticize Marvel for lack of quality, on this title anyway. Now some of their other books are just plain bad. Like anything beginning with X!

[blowout]

Kids do not know about the Daredevil comics BECAUSE NOBODY SELLS DAREDEVIL COMICS (except for a few thousand comic shops and an even lesser number of book stores/corner stores).

 

If Marvel were really serious about getting kids back into comics, then the Daredevil movie is a great opportunity for them to go out on a limb.

 

They should be giving out FREE comic books at movie theatres.

 

They have showed they can sell books for 9 cents and have had free comic book day in the past, so why not coincide it with the release of the movie? Kids need to pick up the comic book while the movie is fresh in their minds and what better place than the movie theatre itself.

[Kevin Boyd]

The 9 cent and 25 cent issues are loss leaders ... they are not making money on those issues, hopefully the lost revenue = promotion for additional sales on subsequent issues.

 

Are they going to take the most successful mainstream superhero writer on the market off of the title (when sales are going up!) in order to make it more "kid friendly".

 

You still miss the point (I feel like CI when I say things like that). Kids aren't interested. I gave a bunch of kids (4 5-8 year old boys) copies of FF60 at Christmas - they looked at it for two minutes and tossed it aside to go back to playing with their bey blades and pokemon/yu-gi-oh cards. They would do the same thing with any kid friendly comic.

 

Perhaps they will give out free copies of DD41 at movie theatres. I'm sure some movie theatres might do that themselves in conjunction with the local comic shop. I know of theatres that have done similar things for X-Men and Spider-Man.

 

Kev

 

[lighthouse]

Perhaps they will give out free copies of DD41 at movie theatres. I'm sure some movie theatres might do that themselves in conjunction with the local comic shop. I know of theatres that have done similar things for X-Men and Spider-Man.

 

I fielded a call from a local theatre this weekend, asking if I would do a cross-promotion with them. I'll be giving them merchandise to give away as contest prizes, they're giving me a stack of free movie tickets to give away. In addition, they are letting me set up at the theater opening weekend to promote my store, so I will be giving away comics, gift certificates, and so on there...

 

We'll just have to see what happens... This state is going through a rough time right now so I don't know if I will see much business from it. We're already closing schools three weeks early, cancelling all spring sports, laying off 40% of the state troopers and releasing half the non-violent prisoners. Plus now they have announced they will no longer be prosecuting non-person crimes, so burglars, drug dealers and drunk drivers have free reign in the state...

 

Hopefully I can convince some people to take Daredevil comics into the bomb shelter with them...