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Ryan Higgins, Comic Book Retailer Wants To Talk About Diversity Vs The Direct Market
Comic book retailer Ryan Higgins of Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale, California, fresh from participating with Marvel Comics in the return of "Buy Physical, Get Digital" codes to the comic books, also had some thoughts regarding Marvel Comics and diversity. Which you may have read about recently.
Specifically in response to a post by Bleeding Cool's Joe Glass, Direct Market Vs. Diversity.
He took to twitter to prove it with graphs.
You can prove anything with graphs…
First, this. Most retailers ARE operating on fact. We have sales history. I know exactly how many subs I have and how many copies I've sold. pic.twitter.com/jW8zKbx6Lh
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
I pulled out the overship numbers, he are our actual sales numbers for Mosaic. We sold 3 of those #1 when #2 came out on a BOGO sale. pic.twitter.com/7TnLXhFW7J
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
We sold 1 natural copy of #2 and #3, and then the sub said he didn't want it anymore.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Here's the trap Marvel fell into, and they do it every time. Something works, so they do it 100 more times and wonder why it doesn't work.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
…so Marvel translates that to "Oh hey, these books are popular/getting us lots of hits on Instagram, let's make more!"
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Instead of developing the titles they already have and grow that audience naturally, they cut their existing base for possible new audience
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
DC experimented with 25% of their line AND their core titles at the same time during DC You, and it bombed.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
With Rebirth performing so strongly, people will check out Cave Carson and Raven. I have customers coming in BECAUSE of DC, so they'll look.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
So, yes. "What we heard was that people didn't want any more diversity" is 100% accurate. They also don't want Inhumans, Avengers, or Venom.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Let's look at Cyborg over at DC. Not a great seller for us, but look at the history. We sold a decent amount of Rebirth and #1. pic.twitter.com/41jToHf6xd
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
This is how you give a book a shot, and at least for us, it's not working great. But we gave it the same shot as every other title.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Also, digital doesn't trend any different than direct market. Sales often make the Top 10 look a bit different, but new releases are similar
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
I guess if you want to play the "pass the buck" game, customers need to actually buy these diverse comics, regardless of quality.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Marvel can promote to the moon and back, but the world is against Gwenpool being a success.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Is it fair that you have to pre-order and sign up for comics you want? No, I guess not. But that's the system for many stores.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Sign up for digital subscriptions through comiXology and pay full price, don't wait for sales. Use our site! https://t.co/g0v7e683cD
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
I think that's worth a plug… And as for those digital sales…
Here's your comiXolog top sales per company, thanks to @AmyZiegfeld. https://t.co/KpXr5xZacT Some sell better digitally, but…
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
With a few responses to others….
I think comic promotion is hard, they have to sell it to customers AND retailers. I assume they thought X-Men didn't need the push. https://t.co/Nqq2IUqXuo
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
They're really damned if they do, damned if they don't. https://t.co/b5aJdukd5W
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
The problem is…he's not wrong. Let me pull the quote and talk about it. https://t.co/ykDNlUgzmv
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Alonso isn't wrong here, unfortunately. While artists are certainly a huge part of comics, I can't say I sell many BECAUSE of the art. pic.twitter.com/FzGedHKWTk
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
My art-focused customers float in and out, and only buy stuff when their favorite artists does something, which is rarer and rarer.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
When Jim Lee does a variant cover, of course it sells. Same with Campbell, Hughes, maybe some for Mignola. That's literally it?
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
I think Monsters Unleashed is a perfect example. Some of the best artists at Marvel, I sold 8 copies.¯_(ツ)_/¯
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
That's fantastic! We just have to convince 39,999 more people to do the same thing for these books to have a chance :/ https://t.co/KF3q21tjiK
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
X-Men numbers have been bad, no way around it. I've got high hopes for the Blue/Gold relaunch. https://t.co/WVFNYWtJ59
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
The vast majority of people I sell "diverse" titles to are older, straight, white men. https://t.co/BDAhgnVDGV
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
That can be difficult, there's SO MANY titles out there. I can't hand-sell everything, especially if I don't personally believe in it, but.. https://t.co/VlCWA8uwWO
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
…I'd never tell a customer not to buy something they wanted to buy. https://t.co/pTmCrs8vk6
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Yes, this is a problem. I'll joke with customers about their "bad taste" sometimes, but only ones I really know and they know it's a joke. https://t.co/4a1mQ928DO
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Yeah, it's really not rocket science. https://t.co/Uy2o7JolDz
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
99.9% of comics are made into trade paperbacks, so you basically can. https://t.co/l8ZT5bPnYa
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Remember when I didn't tweet for like 2 weeks after the election? I got so much stuff done during that time… 🤣
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Don't give up Ryan! We need you!
You don't always need big names to sell something, though. I have no idea who did this cover, but it's great and I'll sell a bunch. pic.twitter.com/jjNcvh7rVX
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Push cool covers/variants, regardless of the artist having a name, and they'll add to the total sales.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Ah sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah, tpb sales add to the profit, but won't keep the singles around. Most Marvel comics are mini's in disguise. https://t.co/g7OmDmqeQE
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
100% true. https://t.co/g7udfmxVBR
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
Yep, I've got my fingers crossed for the new X-titles. They *appear* to be a bit more classic, but we'll see. https://t.co/i9kIVm7Q9P
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
They already have the tpb planned when #1 comes out, but sales of the series determine if there's another volume. https://t.co/Bg0oWq1zMm
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
I'm sure the companies have numbers that say otherwise, but at least in-store, it's rare for a comic I barely sell to sell well in tpb.
— Ryan Higgins (@RyanHigginsRyan) April 2, 2017
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