DC Wants to be the #1 Publisher

So, one of the news bits coming from the ComicPRO meeting in Memphis is that DC wants to be #1 in the Direct Market. First some explanation. ComicsPRO is a group of Comic retailers who have gotten group together as a means of speaking to publishers, distributors, et al with a united voice, rather than 3000 individual voices. And some publishers have decided to listen. Which is a good thing. Sadly Marvel has not, which is a problem, but also a great opportunity for DC. More on this in a bit. I did not go because I couldn't really figure out a way to be closed Weds-Fri and survive. Maybe next year.

As of February, Marvel led DC in Unit sales 45% to 34% and dollar sales 41% to 31%. Now part of the dollar figure can be based on more Marvel books being $4, but that is just conjecture on my part. The more DC gains, there will be some erosion of Marvel, presumably, DC need less than a 10% swing. How they go about this will be interesting to see.

Over at Bleeding Cool, Rich Johnston suggests DC is going to expand their line, greenlighting more projects than usual. This is scary, because I only have so much room for titles. Seeing one publisher flooding the shelves in an effort to push other books off is a scary thought. Comic shops like me buy the books on a non-returnable basis. We generally have very little to go on when ordering, especially with new titles. Action Comics has a track record and barring a major shake-up, I have a general idea of how many copies of each issue I will sell. New titles are a total guess. And if what Rich Johnston hints at says is true, there may be a lot of titles by unknown talent that will be a total guess. Now, having it coming from DC rather than Left Foot Comics is a little better, unless they are advertising and promoting each one, they are going to die on the shelves. My shelves. Books I paid good money for. I gamble on a lot of books every month, but the thought of a publisher intentionally flooding my shelves is scary. The fact that returnability is mentioned is intriguing if they are going to offer returnability with all of these new books, but I haven't read that yet, Just read it into what is being said.

Another problem is how much can my customers support. Generally, a customer drops a book they haven't been enjoying to try a new one. I know they don't have infinite money to add books. They can spend X amount. Throwing too much out there will result in stagnation. "I can't try them all so I will pass on them all." I don't know, but its scary.

When I first heard DC wanted to be #1, I started thinking about what they can do. What has worked lately. Well, Green Lantern has been a fantastic sales story for, what, 2 years now? Now, it was a well thought-out and executed series. Some stuff has been a little much, crossing over through all of the books, but the ring promotion was a great success for me. Do I want to see every lone go through something this expansive? No. Here is what I would like to see:

1. Core Characters - These are the bread and butter for publishers. Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman. From these, everything else grows. DC needs to shore up their core characters. For the last year, Superman was not in Superman. Not good. Its very hard to get that new or returning reader into the book. "Where is Superman?" and after you spend 10 minutes talking about New Krypton and Mon-El, their eyes glaze over and they move on to something else. The Batman change has been very well received here in my store, with all new titles doing very well. Better than all of the Superman line. But it is still a problem for new readers. "This is Batman, but its really Nightwing who used to be Robin." "Is Spider-Man still Spider-Man? I'll get that instead."

2. Too much crap - There is too much crap out there to wade through for most people, so they ignore it. It would be different if the stories were brilliant or cutting edge, but they haven't been. Was there really a pressing need for a spin-off character from a team book (Magog) or a new character with an old name from, what 20 years ago? (Azrael). Or a spin-off from a low selling spin-off (Nemesis). Or a spin-off from a 3+ year old story (Great Ten). Someone needs to tell me why I should order these books. Why will my customers be interested in them. I would love to get a little retailer insert for Previews for all of the new titles. Oni Press does it in their listing (Will appeal to...). I need it for many of these.

Lets have some fun. I just pulled out the current Previews. Lets look at DC's new offerings:
Brightest Day - No idea how these will sell, but DC is making them returnable, so I will guess a little higher than I may have.
Justice League: Generation Lost - Tying into Justice League International from the 90s. Why do I need this? Considering Justice League has lost about half its readers since it restarted, what is going to make this special.
Birds of Prey - OK, Gail Simone back on the title she is best known for. Good. I have known demand for this.
Flash - Good, about time. Just make it special.
Titans: Villains for Hire Special - New team, new direction. Trying to spur interest in this? Will sell less than regular series, so why not just make it part of the regular series and promote that?
DC Universe Legacies - Old guys telling old stories. Why is this special?
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne - OK. Batman is doing well. This will do well. hopefully it will finally explain what happened to him because the "Omega Beam" answer wasn't doing it for most people.
Superman War of the Supermen - Big Free Comic Book Day intro. This will do well. Only a 4 parter. Good. People will stay for 4. Not so much for 12. Even better, its weekly.
Mighty Crusaders Special - Please just let this bad idea die.
Legion of Super-Heroes - Paul Levitz. Good good good. Known audience and may regain more.
Doc Savage - Old character, but great creative team and lots of buzz. Good.
Spirit - Last series tanked bad. may get some buzz, but with creative changes already taking place before it starts, I have little hope this will fly.
Zatanna - Really? Good creative team, but is there really a lot of demand for Zatanna. My hope is that they have a brilliant idea for the first arc that will make every reviewer scream that this is a must read. That's about the only way this will do well.

Now, what I'd like is a one page promo from DC about why I should order these. What is it going to be about, not "Things will never be the same!!!" Tell me the truth. Help me help you.

3. Less Editorial Edicts - What I mean by this is less crossovers. Less tying issues into other stories. Wonder Woman died an early death because I don't think the writers were able to tell their stories. Everything had to fit into something else (Amazons Attack). Let the writers tell the stories they want. Things get too herky jerky. Was Adventure supposed to cross into Blackest Night when it was pitched, or did that just happen? Let the stories flow. Let the writers find their way. I was reading a review of Starman saying how it took Robinson a while to find his voice with it. How would it have worked if he had to crossover into other storylines once a year. Let the writers write.

4. Don't Give Up Editorial Control - Books need to be on time. And each book has to be good. No space fillers. And I really wish there was a tighter gauntlet for getting books done, not a looser one. Why did we need a Red Tornado mini-series? Why did we need Black Lightning Year One? Sell me on the book. Don't just put it out there.

5. Wildstorm - No idea, but something has to happen with this. Or let it go for a year and then bring it back. Take a year to figure out what you want to do with the titles. The relaunch was so badly botched. And the Authority: The Lost year? Did anyone really think this was going to pull big numbers? Pick some writers and artists and have a conference, like Marvel does. If you come at me with a plan, I'll push it. Just throwing stuff out there is not working.

6. Creative Continuity - Changing writers and artists willy nilly does not help readers get comfortable with a title. Titans started strong, but has floundered down to Teen Titans levels.

Now, I like the people at DC. I like the effort they give to getting me promo material, overprinting books so I can get more when it is hot. They have the best trade paperback backlist out there. If they can make me care about their characters and want to read stories about them, they should have no trouble being top dog.

I am not a creative guy. I couldn't write my way out of a bag and a stick figure is the extent of my abilities. But, I know what I like to read. And right now, DC is a little staid and boring. Other than Blackest Night, there is no DC buzz. Lots of Marvel, IDW, Boom buzz. But other than BN, there is no DC buzz. If they can fix that, they may be able to do it.