Comic Book Resources

The biggest problem with comic book sales is that traditional brick and mortar stores don’t know how to merchandise. For instance, I was just at the Wizard World show in Chicago. There were great deals to be had from a lot of retailers but it was nearly impossible to shop. Some sellers had boxes crammed so full that you would not be able to browse unless you bent nearly every book or took them out of the boxes. Speaking of browsing, if you decided to make the effort to go through the crammed boxes you should anticipate browsing only; as their were very few retailers who had their inventory sorted. I have been in many comic book stores across the country and they are basically the same. Of course generalizations are not good and there are some exceptions. Many comic stores could benefit from competition to make them better or from sales training from their suppliers.

On the other hand, part 3, while very interesting and an enjoyable ride to those in the know, or who are quite happy to research, like me, might be the single least accessible comic I’ve seen in years.

Just saying, is all.

@Matt D: I’ve heard a lot of people say that RIP Part 3 was inaccessible, but really, I don’t see how that’s the case. I know basically nothing about Zur En Arrh (I haven’t read Batman 113) and I didn’t remember that Honor Jackson was the bum from the first chapter. None of this impeded my enjoyment of the comic, which masterfully builds tension as we follow Bruce Wayne’s descent into psychosis. In fact, it might even read better without comprehending the allusions. The uninitiated reader will understand these puzzling scenes as Bruce going completely nutso (which I think is the intent), as opposed to just recalling moments from his own past.

@Cass: What you said!

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised last night to discover, in my almost-forgotten copy of “The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told” (which I’d hauled out to see what Joker tales might be in there — “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge,” FYI) a reprinting of “Robin Dies at Dawn!” I haven’t read it yet, but I will soon enough, and then I intend to re-read “R.I.P”. so far.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed part 3 just fine when I read it last week, understanding that the bad guys had drugged Bruce and sent him spiraling down into madness. Connecting any Zur En Arrh references to their original story is just gravy, I imagine. My only issue with the story is Daniel’s mediocre art. (For example, I had to think twice to know that I was looking at Tim at one point.)

I’d wager the fact it’s not the first part of the event made for less sales and longer period of time before part 2 sold out. While it could be from a healthy overprint, I’d imagine a Batman title already gets healthy orders and over prints to begin with and I don’t see them going print crazy with the way the current industry operates.

Anyone know if there is someone out on the internets making a definite list/annotations of all of Morrison’s various references to different pieces of Bat-History throughout his run?

I’d tackle the project myself (I have a pretty solid knowledge of Batman, if I do say so myself) but I’m not going to bother if it’s already being handled.

By the way… I love all the odd references simply because these are parts of Batman’s history that nobody except Morrison has been willing to reference since the O’Neill/Adams years. That takes a measure of guts.

Good news for DC. Interesting how these “smaller” events (Sinestro War, Batman R.I.P.) have both had better critical buzz than “Countdown” or “Amazons Attack” — maybe the Batman tie-ins will sell just as well as the Sinestro War ones (as opposed to selling poorly like most Amazon and Countdown tie-ins)

McK,

Timothy Callahan has been doing annotations for the R.I.P. storyline on his blog. Click here to see them…

The Zur En Ahrr story from Batman #113 is reprinted in “Batman in the 50s”, by the way…

Am I the only one who thinks it would be a cool idea for DC to publish a “Grant Morrison’s Batman Companion Book” or something like that somewhere down the line? It could reprint the main stories Morrison is referencing in his run (such as Robin dies at dwan, the original batmen of the world story, Batman–Superman of planet X, Batman:Son of the Demon, Batman meets Bat-mite and whatever else I might not be aware of) I know a lot of these stuff has been reprinted in other books, such as Batman in the fifties and The greates Batman Stories Ever Told (And I didn’t know Robin Dies at Dawn was there! Thanks for the tip, Rebis, I’ll try to track it down!) But I still think it wouldn’t be cool to have them collected next to the eventual compilations of Morrison’s run.

oops, I meant it WOULD BE COOL

DC should, if they’re not going to offer a companion piece for a reasonable price (sort of like those Countdown special reprints they’re doing) stick up the old issues in question for free in Flash format or something on their website and stick a link on the first page of the issue or in a DC Nation.

I just had a thought: Marvel and DC would do well to slap together a trade of ‘reference’ issues for those who are interested. Easy sell right there. I’m not saying that R.I.P. or Final Crisis (or even Secret Invasion) are necessarily inaccessible. That’s besides the point. I just think, while we’re on the subject of sales and smart business, that it should be a no-brainer: get some mileage out of some old issues, and have a relatively safe bet on a trade tied into a big storyline.

Alonso, Marvel did release the a TPB called “Secret Invasion: The Infiltration” that has FF #2 and more recent Avengers titles relating to the Invasion.

Brian, how do you think this will affect the inevitable TBS sales?