Can someone please explain to me what makes a successful comic book?

[XArtistClone]

I just read here http://www.studioxd.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?topic=2068&forum=1&12 that Last Shot the book made by Studio XD had to be cancelled despite the fact that retailers were selling all the books, because of not enough...pre-order sales??!! What the f*ck is pre-order sales? How can a book...I don't know. Can someone please just explain to me why all these great books such as Last Shot and SUPERPATRIOT(greatest series ever) aren't being continued?!?!?!??~@?$$@?@!$?@~$?@~$?

[Steampunk]

well, i'm not sure about last shot, but superpatriot was only meant to be a miniseries...

as for pre-orders, it's my understanding that comic shops order a certain number of copies of a book (based on people requesting it, and their own judgement on how well the book will sell), then there's the re-order, where, if a shop sells out of a title, they can get more copies from the company (though that's only if extra copies are available, so anything by marvel, which doesn't overprint anymore, offers only what the initial pre-orders dictate)

if last shot was only printed to meet the demand for pre-orders, and they've been getting requests for re-orders, then it seems they're fools...but i suspect that the initial orders weren't enough to justify putting out more issues, and the ones that *were* published were only done so because they had already put the effort/money into creating that book...

long story short, just because a title sells out, if it only sells out of a few issues, then it's still not good ;)

[XArtistClone]

Well but in the back of Superpatriot letters column Robert Kirkman said that they wanted to do a Superpatriot ongoing series, but it wasn't selling well enough to warrant that. So what the dilly yo there? Isn't Superpatriot a great book? Why didn't it sell like hotcakes? Do I just have bad taste? Can anybody shed light on why these books didn't sell(superpatriot and last shot), in terms of content and demographics and yadda yadda all that? Thanks for your help btw

[Chris Piers]

SuperPatriot just had relatively unknown new creators, a limited budget for publicity and the fact is that comic sales are down across the board, including the parent book, Savage Dragon. There was only a limited target market being approached. To be honest, I've never even heard of Last Shot and I'm a huge comics fan.

So it just goes to show, advertising and promotion in comics needs work. There needs to be efforts to attract a bigger and more diverse audience to comic books in general (I would approach this via chains of distribution including getting more comics back on newstand racks and in mass-market bookstores, i.e., Borders, Barnes & Nobles). I would advertise more to the people who actually order the books, that being comic store owners. Convince them and you've got them on your side, working for you. I would do more direct marketing, sending information and coupons and such to known comic book fans or having a representative appear at in-store promotions to speak to them one-on-one.

I would advertise in places other than Wizard such as Entertainment Weekly, People, Tiger Beat and Newsweek if possible. I would look into ads on basic cable. I'm sure an ad on WWE doesn't cost as much as it did 2 years ago and that's a big chunk of your biggest target market right there (male, 18-34).

I would look into promotions in stores, billboards, or bus signs. I would look into ways to lower the cost of the actual comic books by using newsprint paper or black and white for certain titles to make them more appetizing to new fans and old alike, thereby increasing circulation and utilizing economies of scale to reduce the unit cost over time.

I have a lot more specific ideas on how to implement such ideas but I will keep that to myself until I am able to work in the comic book field.

[Chris Piers]

Oh, and to answer your main question, what makes a successful comic book?

A great story that gets noticed.

[Phil Clark]

Originally posted by XArtistClone
Why didn't it sell like hotcakes? Do I just have bad taste? Can anybody shed light on why these books didn't sell(superpatriot and last shot), in terms of content and demographics and yadda yadda all that? Thanks for your help btw

If any of us knew the answer to that, we would be the head of Marvel, DC, Image, DarkHorse, CrossGen or our own comics company, and making the big bucks. Unfortunately there is no "magic formula" to making a comic that appeals to the masses and sell like hotcakes.

In fact, I think that it may be the attempt to produce a book that will sell that dooms a book to failure. Companies too often (IMO) produce books that they think people want to read, instead of saying to themselves "Would I want to read this".

The most popular and best selling books of all time were not created to a formula, they were created because someone wanted to see a comic with a particular kind of story, and no one had done one yet (or recently). And don't forget about creator chemistry. If the team working on a book just doesn't jell, it won't have that magical quality about it.

I think that instead of worrying about what makes a comic successful, you should instead concentrait on making a comic that you want to see. Success will follow... If your lucky.

[Phil Clark]

Originally posted by Chris Piers
SuperPatriot just had relatively unknown new creators, a limited budget for publicity and the fact is that comic sales are down across the board, including the parent book, Savage Dragon. There was only a limited target market being approached.

You can make an arguement about advertising, but look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They hardly advertised, they were completely unknown, and yet they produced one of the most widely known comics in history. How?

Artistic chemistry and timing. Nothing more, nothing less. Produce a good book with a unique hook and the fans will find it. Word of mouth is more valuable than advertising.

[Chris Piers]

I think that if you're going to produce a quality book and just expect it to find it's audience that's very naive. Yes, it happens but to count on it is just foolish. Besides, you totally missed my point if you think I was arguing that every book should have huge advertising budgets for commercials and such.

I'm just saying there are strategies to get name recognition out there and a lot of it DOESN'T cost much. At least not relative to the sales it can bring in.

Your TMNT analogy doesn't really apply to today's market anyway. When that book came out, comic unit sales were at an all-time high and comics sold exclusively to comic book stores were a new thing. The customers were LOOKING for the next big thing back then and comic stores were only too happy to mention it. It was a happy fluke and there always will be instances like that, but that doesn't mean that comics should continue to cater only to those fans it already has. It's just too inbred and it will guarantee failure given enough time.

[XArtistClone]

Hmm. Thanks for the insights guys. So my next question is, what is the best thing I can do to increase the prosperity of my favorite creators? I don't really have much fame, but I can draw and color pretty well, so maybe I should draw promotional posters or something and print them out and distribute them for free? I've just been going around telling everyone how great they are, but I thought that maybe that's not the best thing for me to do, because I've noticed that whenever I have high expectations for something or it comes too highly recommended it ends up being a let-down. So is the best thing to just let talented unknown artists and writers "creep up" on the industry? Or to shamelessly proclaim their greatness to as many people as I can as fast as I can?

[Chris Piers]

All you can do is word of mouth. Just tell people to give it a try. It's not really legal to create advertising for something you're not affiliated with, it encroaches on all kinds of trademark and copyright and intellectual property laws.

Just be a good fan and talk it up with people at the comic store and your friends and family. Good talent will always get recognized eventually. I really believe that.

[muthmaniac]

Originally posted by Chris Piers
Just be a good fan and talk it up with people at the comic store and your friends and family. Good talent will always get recognized eventually. I really believe that.

Chris said it before, and this statement kind of goes with it, in that make sure your retailer reads, or knows what books you like. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, they're just ordering books and don't really read what it is that they're ordering. So, sadly if someone asks about a new book or wants a recommendation of something totally off the wall, they may not know about books *like the ones you mentioned*. So, that could be the first step in helping books that you like, and want to see stick around.

Secondly, use the web!! There are millions of websites, and quite a few that are dedicated to comic books...I'm not suggesting that you go around spamming places with advertisements for books, but find communities that you think could be cool to hang out at *like Penciljack* and post a message about a book, give a link to the companies website, if they have one, and really who doesn't these days! :)

Third, write to the creators of the books. Let THEM know that there are people out there reading and enjoying their work. I'm sure that there is nothing as satisfying as knowing that someone is reading something that you made...so let them know!

Other than that, I'm not really too sure what else you can do. Wish them lots of luck, and just keep supporting the creators that you like.

[thespian]

However, feel free to make posters and such for my book, "Drive" and distribute them to as many people as you can. K? Thanks!:D

[XArtistClone]

l. o. l. :D

Thanks Muth :)

[whibbage]

you should make a fan site for their comic.

[razz007]

alot of really good books don't last but then some really stupid books seem to go on forever. Just goes to show marketing works if you are able to proberly use it. Then theres the fact that marvel, dc and image and to a lesser extent Dark Horse control most of the comic book sales so its harder for small press and independent publishers to gain solid footing with in this industry. No matter how good the art is and how good the story is the likely hood that it will succed is very slim. Not only does it take talent for the book to suceed but also lots and lots of luck. I'm sure if the art is good and the story is good these creative talents will make a name for themselves later on in their careers but not with their first outing in the comicbook field. So haveing AWESOME art and an INCREDIBLE story does not gaurantee it will be successful even if it should be.

raz

[biginjapan]

t & a=success ;mrt;