Massive Turnover at DC comics. 1 1

[bc]

1 hour ago, EC Star&Bar said:

Certainly true that newspapers and magazines continue to go digital, you could practically say at an exponential rate.  Other ominous signs abound -- Sports Illustrated in recent years changed print frequency to bi-weekly (26/year) and now, just monthly (12).  Quite a drop from weekly (and the monthlies are not all that thick).

There's a distinction though, that for many decades comic books have been considered collectibles.  And increasingly in recent years, variant cover art has driven much of collecting of new releases.  Publishers are aware that so many sales are of comics that will not be read, and realize there's a collecting crowd -- the trick is to keep it a big crowd.

100% agree on the parallel's to long running mags like SI.

Stamps were a really popular collectible for a long time too.

No comment on variant covers. I played that game, got thrashed and lost the consolation t-shirt back in the '90's.

Believe @valiantman has produced graphics on the amount of modern variants that are slabbed by CGC - if memory serves, it's been a significant revenue stream for them over several years. It's like one machine feeding another. Is it sustainable? Time will tell.

-bc

[F For Fake]

3 hours ago, Krismusic said:are there really CD collectors?

Sure there are! There are collectors for every kind of media that ever existed. In fact, the folks who continued collecting vinyl after CD's came out are looking pretty smart these days, as CD declines and vinyl prices surge. I'm glad I was working at a record/comic shop in the late 90's, when I could buy vinyl for $2-$4. Not saying that cd's will see a similar resurgence (they won't) but there will always be a dedicated collector base.

For instance, I collect LaserDiscs. I own most of the same films in far superior Blu Ray and 4k discs, and most Lasers look like garbage on an HD screen. But I still love em.

[DJones]

19 hours ago, nearmint said:

Wow, only 3 pages.  I thought I’d find a 50 page thread.  From what I’m hearing, this is way worse than it seems most of you are imagining.  What happened at DC yesterday will happen at Marvel in the next few months.  Monthlies are done.  This video breaks it all down...

 

[valiantman]

2 hours ago, bc said:

100% agree on the parallel's to long running mags like SI.

Stamps were a really popular collectible for a long time too.

No comment on variant covers. I played that game, got thrashed and lost the consolation t-shirt back in the '90's.

Believe @valiantman has produced graphics on the amount of modern variants that are slabbed by CGC - if memory serves, it's been a significant revenue stream for them over several years. It's like one machine feeding another. Is it sustainable? Time will tell.

-bc

[kav]

Children still read.  they read GNs and popular kid's books.  They need to start writing comics for kids again and make them accessible-in stores and whatnot.  This is their only hope obi wan kenobi.

[Zonker]

5 hours ago, Qalyar said:

  and Wonder Woman -- aren't going anywhere.

Just occured to me-  hasn't it been confirmed that the contract between DC and the William Marston estate requires DC to regularly publish a Wonder Woman comic book to maintain its rights to the character?  So if AT&T discontinues WW, the rights revert back to the estate?  I guess a case could be made that digital distribution of a WW comic would still count, but would likely invite a court challenge.  Potentially messy for AT&T, right?  

[Qalyar]

2 hours ago, bc said:

Stamps were a really popular collectible for a long time too.

Values are fairly flat, but that's not entirely bad for collecting (as opposed to investing). Admittedly, stamp shows are dying the same death as stamp stores in years past, but internet dealers make stock available to a wider array of collectors, and organized collecting groups like the APA are engaged in outreach that's slowly seeing a rise in philatelists who aren't middle-aged or older white men.

Stamp collecting has been "dying" for 50 years. It's changing, but it's not going anywhere as a hobby.

1 minute ago, Zonker said:

Just occured to me-  hasn't it been confirmed that the contract between DC and the William Marston estate requires DC to regularly publish a Wonder Woman comic book to maintain its rights to the character?  So if AT&T discontinues WW, the rights revert back to the estate?  I guess a case could be made that digital distribution of a WW comic would still count, but would likely invite a court challenge.  Potentially messy for AT&T, right?  

Can't speak to whether this is accurate or not, but plenty of creators who do have this sort of contract will tell you that's it is trivially easy for corporate rightsholders to weasel their way to meeting obligations. DC is not losing WW.

[JollyComics]

18 hours ago, kav said:

Children still read.  they read GNs and popular kid's books.  They need to start writing comics for kids again and make them accessible-in stores and whatnot.  This is their only hope obi wan kenobi.

I tried to courage my teen kids to read DC and Marvel comic books. They showed lack of interest but they love Manga or Star Wars (not comic books either).

[DavidTheDavid]

Any organization wanting to make radical change will never have a readier opportunity than the current pandemic. It's one crisis nobody can let go to waste.

And I wouldn't worry about the comics, not as long as they're promoting this global experience which appears to be, as far as I can tell, filters for things like Instagram.

[JollyComics]

20 hours ago, bc said:

Stamps were a really popular collectible for a long time too.

My uncle gave me many stamps and tried to lurk me into this dreadful hobby.  The comic books won me by default.   I still have the stamps and tried to consign with Heritage 7 years ago. I was too little too late. They stopped selling them by two years.

I used to see old timers collecting International spoons, face mugs, plates and thimbles in 60's/70's but they are not collectibles anymore. I went to the estate sales in few recent years. Those were still sitting there. Nothing was taken

[F For Fake]

I don't buy floppies anymore, but I saw that the collected editions staff is getting reduced/shuffled. If anything happens to prevent my getting that Legion of Superheroes Five Years Later omnibus, I'm driving to Metropolis and am kicking Superman in the nards.

[kav]

2 hours ago, JollyComics said:

I tried to courage my teen kids to read DC and Marvel comic books. They showed lack of interest but they love Manga or Star Wars (not comic books either).

people either have the comics gene or they dont.  

[JollyComics]

50 minutes ago, kav said:

people either have the comics gene or they dont.  

Even I took them to the comic conventions, they preferred swords, Hobbit or Harry Potter related items and all others. Zip on the comic books.

[Ken Aldred]

21 hours ago, Zonker said:

Just occured to me-  hasn't it been confirmed that the contract between DC and the William Marston estate requires DC to regularly publish a Wonder Woman comic book to maintain its rights to the character?  So if AT&T discontinues WW, the rights revert back to the estate?  I guess a case could be made that digital distribution of a WW comic would still count, but would likely invite a court challenge.  Potentially messy for AT&T, right?  

 

21 hours ago, Qalyar said:

Can't speak to whether this is accurate or not, but plenty of creators who do have this sort of contract will tell you that's it is trivially easy for corporate rightsholders to weasel their way to meeting obligations. DC is not losing WW.

That sounds similar to the way DC prevents the rights to Watchmen from transferring to Alan Moore, by keeping it in print in various formats.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[Gaard]

1 hour ago, kav said:

people either have the comics gene or they dont.  

I don't know about a gene, but haven't you ever wondered how you became a comic collector? I started collecting when I was a teen (many moons ago), in spite of having zero comic fans in my family. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing a comic book in the house before I started to collect. When I had a son, I tried to get him into comics, but the interest was never there. It saddens me to know that when I'm gone the joy of comics will be gone from my family ... unless I'm successful in passing the joy along to my as-yet-unborn grandson.

Anyways, I wonder why I became a comic fan/collector and my brothers didn't.

[kav]

6 minutes ago, Gaard said:

I don't know about a gene, but haven't you ever wondered how you became a comic collector? I started collecting when I was a teen (many moons ago), in spite of having zero comic fans in my family. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing a comic book in the house before I started to collect. When I had a son, I tried to get him into comics, but the interest was never there. It saddens me to know that when I'm gone the joy of comics will be gone from my family ... unless I'm successful in passing the joy along to my as-yet-unborn grandson.

Anyways, I wonder why I became a comic fan/collector and my brothers didn't.

All i know is I never met another kid that read comics til 12th grade.  I saw them and it was instant "I want these".  Other kids didnt care abt em they just wanted candy.

[bc]

9 minutes ago, Gaard said:

I don't know about a gene, but haven't you ever wondered how you became a comic collector? I started collecting when I was a teen (many moons ago), in spite of having zero comic fans in my family. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing a comic book in the house before I started to collect. When I had a son, I tried to get him into comics, but the interest was never there. It saddens me to know that when I'm gone the joy of comics will be gone from my family ... unless I'm successful in passing the joy along to my as-yet-unborn grandson.

Anyways, I wonder why I became a comic fan/collector and my brothers didn't.

Same here.

Were you perchance an introvert during your pre-teens/teens compared to your peers/siblings? Just wondering as several other collectors I've talked with seem to have this trait somewhat in common.

-bc

Edited August 13, 2020 by bc
killed by tense

[aardvark88]

3 minutes ago, kav said:

 read comics.  I saw them and it was instant "I want these".  Other kids didnt care abt em; they just wanted candy.

In Canada, the other kids just wanted hockey cards or Star Wars cards.

[Gaard]

8 minutes ago, bc said:

Same here.

Were you perchance an introvert during your pre-teens/teens compared to your peers/siblings? Just wondering as several other collectors I've talked with seem to have this trait somewhat in common.

-bc

Yeah, you could say that. Where my older siblings were into whatever was popular during the late 60s (IOW - drugs, bell bottoms, and bare feet), I was the kid with masking tape on his glasses, who built models in his room.

[bc]

2 minutes ago, Gaard said:

Yeah, you could say that. Where my older siblings were into whatever was popular during the late 60s (IOW - drugs, bell bottoms, and bare feet), I was the kid with masking tape on his glasses, who built models in his room.

More traits in common (the models survived until I got a bb-gun).

-bc