It finally happened. Marvel is number one again (as I predicted!) in month four of the DCnU, as Marvel took the number one spot for both the Overall Units and Overall Dollars rankings with DC going back to being the number two…for at least this month.
What’s the biggest reason for this happening? Well, it’s pretty simple: Marvel is double shipping the hell out of their books. At least for December, that means that Marvel released 120 comics versus 80 from DC.
Not only that, but the double-shipping move is only going to be a far more common situation going forward, as February brings 14 books from Marvel that are shipping at least twice that month.
While it’s great for Marvel’s bottom line short-term, I’m pretty concerned for a few reasons. You can find those reasons after the jump.
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| That face means “Really?! ELEVEN ARTISTS!” |
1) Potential diminishing quality – With tighter deadlines, odds are creative teams will become less consistent and more fill-ins will be necessary (this is even happening with DC books right now) more often. This is most easily seen in either Incredible Hulk #2 or Uncanny X-Men #2, both of which featured a stunning eleven (ELEVEN!) artistic contributors. Not only that, but with more books being turned around quickly, little editing things (like spelling your writer’s name right on the credits page, as Kieron Gillen’s name wasn’t in Uncanny X-Men #3) could start slipping by and affecting overall quality.
2) More books, less readers – Let’s say you’re a reader who is on a strict monthly comic budget (which, with the way the economy is today, isn’t too far fetched) and you want to read Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman’s sure-to-be-awesome Secret Avengers #22 and #23. With both issues coming in at $3.99 and being released in February, that could cause a choice that negatively impacts Marvel’s overall sales. Either that, or it could just scare away a more casual reader right up front. I know this because my 4 Color News and Brews co-host Brandon Burpee is one person that this double-shipping deal is forcing to make some hard decisions.
To me, the whole plan feels really short sighted. Is taking an inflated sales number up front worth potentially losing more readers long-term, just so you can say you are back to number one? That seems unlikely, as you would think a pretty good recipe to selling a lot of comics would be to make good comics that are released at a price and rate that is attractive to readers.
I know this article won’t change anything and that Marvel will likely continue double-shipping books so they can win the short-term sales battle against DC. This is a business after all, and, as many have said before, you have to vote with your dollar in the world of business. For me, I’d rather use my well-earned dollar to vote for something I know will be good and consistent…like Paul Grist’s Mudman or Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun.
Or Remender and Hardman’s Secret Avengers. Double-shipped or not, that book is coming home with me.
What’s your take? Answer my poll below.
