Elfsar Comics & Toys Blog

I was recently contacted by a journalist at a college newspaper working on a story about the current state of comics and collectibles. Here are some of the key issues he wanted me to offer some insight on.

- Do mainstream events like the Death of Captain America and Obama’s appearance in Amazing Spider-Man become helpful or hurtful for the industry in the long run?

Yes and no. These types of things would not hurt the industry if the company that makes the product would share the essential information with the retailer in advance. In both cases of the “Death of Captain America” and “The Obama Variants” retailers were not informed properly of what the issue would contain and the original solicitation for the product was incorrect. Reaching out to the public and the media is important and PR like this is helpful to bring in the public that we otherwise have no contact with.

The problem is that when retailers do not have the product to meet the demand, or rather we are not given the proper information so that we can better anticipate the demand and order accordingly, we the retailer appear either stupid or look like slimy price gougers since logically we the retailer have to raise the price of limited stock to meet the onslaught of speculation. I am thankful in the case of Amazing Spider-Man #583 Obama variants that Marvel corrected their mistake by putting out several printings of the issue to meet the overwhelming demand. This act of reprinting the books allowed us to pre-sell hundreds of copies.

- The key events like the bubble burst of the 90’s, the black and white jumping of the 80’s, and the direct market establishment in the 70’s have help shaped the industry to what is today. What is the current state of the industry?

Although the multi-media is growing, (i.e. movies, video games ..etc.) and quite honestly in my opinion the range of stories are better, the single comic book market is unfortunately still shrinking. Diamond Comic Distribution has recently increased the quota of how many units a small publisher must sell in order to solicit their product overnight from 1,500 units to 2,500 units. Not a gradual hike over time to allow growth as you would expect, but a denomination that will eliminate a high number of small publishers who will have to find new ways to get there product to retailers.  On the flip side mainstream companies like Marvel and DC are raising their prices from $2.99 to $3.99 USD for an average comic. Not the wisest move during a recession if you ask me. I can foresee a lot of small books disappearing from comic book retailer shelves as a result and even less quantities of the mainstream books. In the past, comics have always done well during recessions because comics were a cheaper alternative. Mom would spend another twenty or twenty-five cents to buy a comic book for her kid because she could not afford to buy him the fifty cents Matchbox toy or the five dollar children’s book at the time.

I can speak from experience that today’s comic book retailer quite honestly does not have a lot of money to throw around. It is cause and effect. When the cost of comics rise, a retailers budget for what they carry for their store shrinks. Thus, less books will be ordered from Diamond, thus less books will be printed, thus printing costs will rise… …it does not take a comic book genius to figure out where this is going.

- To what degree do trades, reprints, and online comics affect the resale value of regular, monthly books in the back market?

I’ll say it now, we at Elfsar Comics & Toys love graphic novels. Without them I think the comic industry would be suffering a lot more as individual comics do not sell as well to the casual reader. Sure one could argue that the “graphic novel only customer” is a recreational spender and may not frequent your store as much as the core reader that checks out what is new every week. But from a business standpoint it is a smarter decision to carry graphic novels than individual comics. If a graphic novel sold well, you can bring it in again and resell it. This product is in a state of growth because most of them are able to be brought back and resold. Periodical comics are much more of a challenge because they’re much more centered on the core customer. Once a floppy comic sells out it is very rare for it to get a second printing. But one of the things I love about the comic shop world is that the people are in it because of their passion. Most people that are getting monthly books want them at the moment they come out so they can be part of the conversation. Whether it’s an online conversation or here at Elfsar, with your buddies, or message boards etc, comics provide that weekly escapism. If the customer is savvy with their money they will most likely subscribe to a series so they don’t miss an issue plus most stores like Elfsar offer a discount for doing so. Retailer’s usually rely on a combination of pre-orders, past sales and the current creative team behind a series to determine how many copies of they wish to carry.

I don’t think online comics and torrents are a big a problem at this point. However, with Diamond raising their selling quota I think we are going to see more and more comics move online. The challenge now is how they are going to support the book. It is very difficult to get people to pay money for an intangible object. Ask any comic reader out there and they will tell you that reading something online is not the same as holding a comic book and flipping through the pages.

Most of my customers that read them online and have limited budgets end up picking up the ones they like anyway at the store and torrents are helpful to keep up to date with the massive crossovers that both Marvel and DC keep ramming down our throats.

The product line that suffers the most is back issues. It is increasingly difficult to stock key issues and dedicate a significant amount of square footage of my retail space to back issues when graphic novels become a more cost effective alternative.

- How dependent are retailers on in terms of revenue from the speculator’s market (i.e. variants, vintage books, etc)

If I were to rely on the speculator market, I would be long out of business. I don’t think it is a sound business model to become dependent on a speculator market at all. You would have better luck at the casino. Sure if you can make a little extra money, then more power to you. There will always be things that become hot, hot, hot and if you know what you are doing you can help pay for all those nonreturnable items that don’t sell. But dependent? Not at all. We are dependent on our monthly saver files that place orders with us and make weekly/ monthly pickups. They are the reasons we are in business in the first place and they help control how many comics we order each month. Elfsar follows the philosophy of “If you take care of the customer, the customer will take care of you”.

-What do you feel needs to change?

I think the industry needs to reevaluate itself. From what I understand, less than 10% of both Marvel & DC’s annual income comes from the sales of comics, graphic novels, hardcovers etc. That is a staggering figure when you think about it (these are companies that produce comics). I now understand why they put almost nothing into advertising for comics. When is the last time you saw an add for a comic book on t.v. or even a small commercial during a cartoon for a comic? Free Comic Book Day is coming on Saturday May 2^nd this year and provides a perfect opportunity to advertise the night before on every movie screen that is showing X-Men Origins Wolverine on May 1^st. What better way to push your own product and expose a wider audience to comic books.

With the rising prices right now (both the product and the shipping costs) the industry is getting squeezed and if nothing is done it will shrink to the point were we won’t see the local comic retailer anymore. Will comics turn into subscriptions that get downloaded to your personal palm pilot? Will the motion comic that you find on youtube take over? Will we see a resurgence of the underground comic movement? I don’t know.

An example of a motion comic:

A possible solution? I propose that Diamond brings back the returnability of comics that don’t sell in exchange for different discount plateaus. Speaking as a retailer I would be willing to loose a portion of my discount to be able to return unsold copies. Or maybe it should be only 20% of a retailer’s total order (to control retailers from ordering too many copies). But with the current “keep what you buy/order” combined with higher prices like it is now, I am certainly lowering how many periodicals I bring in which means those customers who don’t sign up for a saver subscription may not get there comics each month, which is a shame.

If you’re sick of telemarketers calling you every day (Why is it always at dinner!) and trying to sell you something over the phone (or how about t hose annoying prerecorded voice messages?), the national “Do Not Call” registry is finally available.  But I recommend that you visit the website to add your number(s) to the list instead of trying to call because you won’t likely get through (ironic, huh?).

On Saturday, February 21st, 2009, light art will illuminate yaletown. As the only outdoor event to take place in Vancouver at this time of year, this event will bring light to a gloomy night.   Featuring light installations developed by artists and architects, cutting edge music and interactive activities, illuminate yaletown will allow attendees to see Vancouver as it has never been experienced before.
This will be the first annual illuminate yaletown event!

 Download the Program today for details on all the installations and displays at Illuminate Yaletown 2009. A map is included that pinpoints locations for each installation/display. You can also pick up a program in Yaletown on the night of the event.

2009 ILLUMINATE YALETOWN PHOTO CONTESTPhotographers are encouraged to take photos during Yaletown’s first light-art show and add them to this Illuminate Yaletown Flickr group.

Voting will begin on the following Monday or Tuesday with more than $500 in prizes. Prizes will be awarded for best photos by popular vote, best photos by judges selection, as well as “best collection” “fastest uploads.” More details about prizing to follow shortly.

Contest Link

Listen to this great new track by DJ Leanne!
LARGE FILE BEST QUALITY
SMALL FILE LOWER QUALITY but quick upload

There also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?sid=a5ce94578f84b8401fc761b8d4cbd181&eid=41069622142#

I can’t wait to get my greasy little hands on the new version of the Street Fighter 4 video game.  So in honor of  it’s release, I grace you with a snippet of the movie “CITY HUNTER” starring Jackie Chan.

So without further adieu:

Well it is no surprise that Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man #583 chased President Obama’s heels to a record-setting total of 352,953 copies to North American stores.  Previous high numbers belong to Marvel’s Civil War #3 and Captain America #25, which each sold about 290K, but unlike those titles ASM #583’s performance was the result of not just multiple variant covers, but multiple printings.  In fact it appears likely that the majority of ASM’s sales came from subsequent printings not its initial run.  (For anyone who thinks that the Obama cover was not the primary sales driver, please note that prior to the Obama story and cover image, the title had been selling south of the 70,000 mark).  The sales for this title may not be all over too.  As of today we just received ASM #583 with the fifth printing!

DC’s Final Crisis was one of only four titles that picked up circulation in January, and absent ASM #583, it would have finished a close second to Marvel’s Dark Avengers #1, the key book in Marvel’s Dark Reign event in which Norman Osborne takes over the Avengers (aka his Thunderbolts playing Avengers).  After the Dark Reign crossover with New Avengers #49, sales of subsequent titles dropped off quickly and remained weak down the list.  How long will it be before someone notices that the top five titles all have a $3.99US cover price?  Is this to blame for the drop-off of the downlist books?  Seems like a convenient truth.  There may be more to the message “Accept Change” than you think.

Overall 19 titles in the top 25 declined with only four posting gains. Obviously Amazing Spider-Man #583 posted the biggest gain, while Batman #685 declined the most after the end of the popular Batman R.I.P. storyline. Once again Marvel had 14 titles in the top 25, while DC had 10 and Dark Horse had one.

Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead Vol. 9 from Image was by far the bestselling graphic novel of the month of January.  The Walking Dead series has been a terrific backlist seller for Diamond and this well-written zombie saga has begun to take off in the bookstore market as well.  With the end of Y: The Last Man, Walking Dead, which topped Watchmen in January, is now clearly the top non-superhero graphic novel property in the direct market.  Watchmen remains strong and sales should pick up as excitement (driven by an excellent TV marketing campaign) builds for the March 6th premiere of the movie adaptation directed by Zack Snyder.

Marvel’s Secret Invasion trade, which finished third, was actually the top-dollar graphic novel release thanks to its hefty $29.99 US cover price.  Marvel deserves credit for getting this volume out quickly, and it should be noted that there were four other Secret Invasion volumes in the Top 25.  The barrage of Secret Invasion titles helped Marvel place 11 titles among the Top 25 graphic novels.  DC Comics was second with 9 books followed by Dark Horse with three, and Image Comics and Cartoon Books with one each.  Dark Horse’s Berserk Vol.27, which finished at #11, was the highest rated manga title. Mention should be made of Brian Azzarello’s The Joker (an awesome book about the Joker’s sex life), which finished at #9 and has remained in the top 25 for 4 straight months, and of the first volume of Jeff Smith’s Rasl, which finished at #12, an exceptional performance for a self-published book.

Here are the estimates of the sales by Diamond Comic Distributors to comic stores on the top 25 comic titles in January:

352,953 Amazing Spider-Man #583

118,579 Dark Avengers #1

110,892 Final Crisis #6 (of 7)

103,292 Final Crisis #7 (of 7)

90,040 New Avengers #49

73,184 Captain America #46

72,654 Batman #685

72,610 Astonishing X-Men #28

72,116 Justice League of America #29

69,980 Buffy the Vampire Slayer #21

65,556 Green Lantern #37

63,754 Amazing Spider-Man #584

62,504 Uncanny X-Men Annual #2

61,385 Justice Society of America #23

59,932 Amazing Spider-Man #585

59,286 X-Men Legacy #220

56,656 Detective Comics #852

52,747 Fantastic Four #563

52,703 Final Crisis Superman Beyond #2

51,940 Action Comics #873

51,817 X-Force #11

50,683 Dark Tower Treachery #5 (of 6)

49,637 Ultimate Spider-Man #130

49,223 Invincible Iron Man #9

48,489 Superman #684

I am sorry to inform everyone that due to a trade embargo the Free Comic Book Day 2009 Magic: The Gathering — Agents of Artifice Sample 10-Pack will not be available in Canada as it is a Wizards of the Coast product.  Even the fact that these are not going to be sold and given away for free, I guess still violated the agreement.

Normally Canadian stores have to go through a Canadian Distributor and are not allowed to get Wizards of the Coast product from the United States.  This is why we can not order WOTC product from Diamond.  No news yet if a Canadian Distributor will be providing Canadian outlets with this product and it seems doubtful due to the following reason:

Retailers have been advised that Wizards of the Coast’s January PREVIEWS-solicited FCBD 2009 Magic: The Gathering — Agents of Artifice Sample 10-Pack (JAN09 0045J) will also be limited to 5,000 units (50,000 booklets), and that, as a result of higher-than-expected demand, orders will even be allocated within the United States.

Wizards of the Coast apologizes for any inconvenience this may create.

Gee, I wonder if it had anything to due with the low cost (unlike a lot of the pricy FCBD books this year).

The Elfsar Blog has gotten a new look to better match our website.  A big thanks to Robert Parizek (from Between the Staples) who made everything work correctly for us.

Although it saddens me that his blog is now closed, I know that he is starting to put those creative juices in to other projects so I look forward to the day I can start plugging them.

In the meantime you might want to check out Hartley Talks.  Hartley is actively writing a pretty entertaining blog and I recommend everyone to check it out.  He has also The Hartley Show on youtube with great reviews on comics.  Although be warned, this slant jawed canucklehead has a bit of a poopie-mouth.  So kiddies, go get your parents permission.

The Hartley Show: Episode 38 part 1

DCComics.com has launched a new site focusing on WATCHMEN at readwatchmen.com, including a free download of the entire first issue of the best-selling graphic novel!

Visitors can click on either “Graphic Novel,” which leads to information on the graphic novel, free downloads, teasers for the Warner Premiere Motion Comics and more, or “The Movie,” which leads to trailers for the movie, DC Direct items and more.

The WATCHMEN movie opens in theaters everywhere March 6, 2009.

<—But first you should really… REALLY read the graphic novel!