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Comics, Graphic Novels and Manga

haLobEnder

By haLobEnder,
in Literature

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  • 2 weeks later...
red snow Council Member

red snow

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Was just checking the Diamond sales for August and comics have taken a serious downturn again. The top selling comic only managed 91K. Now, comics have been a minority entertainment for a while but a few years back i recall the top 10 comics managing around 150K.

I wonder how much this has to do with the economy or "event fatigue"/crap comics? I guess the other big factor is unit cost considering how Marvel now has $3.99 comics as almost standard. Considering all that I guess Brightest day is doing pretty well considering it's twice a month. I suppose Marvel/DC may do bigger numbers depending on how prevalent titles are in supermarkets (I have no idea as a Brit).

I'm always amazed at how comics stay afloat as a medium considering the vast majority of titles sell under 20K copies a month. I guess the potential film options are still worth it

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peterbound Council Member

peterbound

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Was just checking the Diamond sales for August and comics have taken a serious downturn again. The top selling comic only managed 91K. Now, comics have been a minority entertainment for a while but a few years back i recall the top 10 comics managing around 150K.

I wonder how much this has to do with the economy or "event fatigue"/crap comics? I guess the other big factor is unit cost considering how Marvel now has $3.99 comics as almost standard. Considering all that I guess Brightest day is doing pretty well considering it's twice a month. I suppose Marvel/DC may do bigger numbers depending on how prevalent titles are in supermarkets (I have no idea as a Brit).

I'm always amazed at how comics stay afloat as a medium considering the vast majority of titles sell under 20K copies a month. I guess the potential film options are still worth it

Most people i know that used to wait with baited breath for Wednesdays, now just get the graphic novel. The story lines have become so interconnected and 'Epic' that it's far easier to read it all in one fail swoop and get the whole story, rather than piecemeal on a weekly basis.

Don't know if this accounts for any of the sales drop, but it has changed the way i buy them.

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red snow Council Member

red snow

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Most people i know that used to wait with baited breath for Wednesdays, now just get the graphic novel. The story lines have become so interconnected and 'Epic' that it's far easier to read it all in one fail swoop and get the whole story, rather than piecemeal on a weekly basis.

Don't know if this accounts for any of the sales drop, but it has changed the way i buy them.

I guess Graphic novel sales are increasing but if you add those to the monthlies it's still poor. At least graphic novels are more durable, cost effective and easier to display on a bookshelf. They usually contain a storyline too.

I wonder how well the online comics are working? I'm often tempted to start with Marvel as it would solve my storage problem instantly. The one thing putting me off is the several month delay. If they had the comics out simultaneously (extra charge) or just the week later (free) I think i'd switch to that method of reading. Like you say the comics are so interconnected it's probably easier to have a company wide subscription online. Then I could just stick to trades of Vertigo and Image stuff as well as the occasional "hot title". I'd feel a bit bad then though as i'd be putting my local comic shop owner out of pocket. He'll probably survive off the puritans still.

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red snow Council Member

red snow

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For me personally, I haven't been able to affording weekly comics for a few years. Now I just wait for trades.

I'm thinking this may be the root of the sales-problem. When I think of it american comics have essentially forced buyers into waiting for the trades thanks to the price and 6 issue story formats. I guess it works fine for manga - although they tend to put out the weeklies in large anthologies. Maybe US superhero comics need to try that? I think that's what Mark Millar is trying with his "CLINT" magazine - although i've yet to see that in any of the big london newsagents.

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  • 2 weeks later...
red snow Council Member

red snow

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How do folk feel about the DC changes? To be honest putting Wildstorm out of it's misery was long-overdue. It was sad to see an imprint that had once put out Alan Moore's ABC comics, Ellis' Stormwatch/Authority, Casey's Wildcats and Brubaker's "sleeper". I thought their "eye of the storm" titles were great and was for the most part genuine "adult" superheroes (not just sex and violence).

It was a clear case of the imprint being great when it was "hands off" but as soon as DC started to interfere with titles it was clear the line was neutered. The final moment was when they cancelled their best-selling title, "The boys" because they didn't like the content. And that Jim Lee/Grant Morrison relaunch of Wildcats and Authority was an absolute joke (the content was ok but we only ever got 1-2 issues of said ongoing in a year)

Maybe if the titles are allowed to rest for a while they may come back. I don't know if they'd fit within the DC universe proper. Wildcats maybe but the Authority, no way. It may be better if they become part of a new online imprint or try using them for film/game/animation purposes. I'd love to see an anime version of the Authority by Ellis and Madhouse (like is currently happening with Marvel)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Calibandar Council Member

Calibandar

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Couple of graphic novels I just picked up:

Lucifer vol. 2- Carey

Batman R.I.P.- Morrison

Tales of Outer Suburbia-Tan

Marvellous Land of Oz- Shanower & Young

American Vampire- Stephen King & Scott Snyder

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mormont Council Member

mormont

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Very excited about the rerelease of Dave McKean's Cages. I remember buying this issue-by-issue when it came out: not an easy thing to do, as the release schedule was somewhat erratic. But each issue was gorgeous and fully worth the wait. I sold the originals several years ago when I was strapped for cash (I got a truly obscene offer) and regretted it instantly. The reprint is on its way as we speak. :)

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Spastic Plastic Council Member

Spastic Plastic

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I haven't read much manga. I love the Battle Royale manga, which is an emotional fragmentation grenade.

I'm trying to read Dragon Head, but the dialogue is absolutely terrible. I don't know who the hell translated this manga into English, but he has worse skills at language than Robert Stanek. I couldn't focus on the story with such cringe-inducing lines. A few examples are "Shut up or I'll beat you up!" and "Is there a figure?!" (upon hearing someone coming) and "That I meet another survivor is making me crazy."

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kuroishi Council Member

kuroishi

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I haven't read much manga. I love the Battle Royale manga, which is an emotional fragmentation grenade.

I'm trying to read Dragon Head, but the dialogue is absolutely terrible. I don't know who the hell translated this manga into English, but he has worse skills at language than Robert Stanek. I couldn't focus on the story with such cringe-inducing lines. A few examples are "Shut up or I'll beat you up!" and "Is there a figure?!" (upon hearing someone coming) and "That I meet another survivor is making me crazy."

Is this an official translation or a made-by-fans translation?

I'm not a big fan of the genre (SF/post-apocalyptic/horror) but Dragon Head does have a very good reputation and the dialogue of the couple of volumes I've read (in an official french translation) didn't strike me as cringe-inducing in any way so it must definitely be the translator's fault.

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TrickyNicky Commoner

TrickyNicky

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Just wanted to recommend a few things:

2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino - A manga from the late 80's about space exploration and the consequences of leaving Earth.

Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo - A masterpiece of manga, and one of the most important. The huge 6 volume set just got re-printed for America, if you haven't read it.

Mouse Guard by David Peterson - Anthropomorphic mice in a medieval setting, what more could anyone want? Beautifully illustrated.

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Ran Council Member

Ran

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Mouse Guard's gorgeous. Archaia actually published quite a few gorgeous comics (including reprints of the Okko series). I'm patiently waiting for the next Artesia issue. Hrm, wonder if Smiley had any updates about it at NYCC...

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Jacen Council Member

Jacen

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I've never read a graphic novel but, inspired by looking at some of old comics I found in the closet, I did some searching and heard the Punisher MAX series was good, so I bought the first two hardcover collections.

Holy shit! This is great stuff! Now I'm broke but I'm dying to read the other three. Decisions!

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