Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, diamond, entertainment, graphic novel, Young Terrorists

When Is A Graphic Novel Not A Graphic Novel? When It Is Young Terrorists #1

Published Tue, 15 Sep 2015 13:00:16 -0500

Last updated Tue, 15 Sep 2015 13:57:09 -0500

What is a graphic novel? Diamond Comic Distributors have a definition:

A comic book that is longer in format than the usual "pamphlet," and typically contains a complete story unto itself. Graphic novels usually have higher production values than the typical stapled comic; i.e. hardcover volumes, squarebound, or dust-jacketed. Although a graphic novel usually stands on its own as a complete story, it is possible to have an ongoing series or limited series of graphic novels telling a single story or series of related stories.

But in the past, it has to cost $9.99 or more. Something that Cowboys And Aliens fell foul of, so Platinum had to do a deal with Top Cow, to get that book in the front of Previews where publishers get to say what is or what is not a graphic novel, and with some cheques given to comic stores such as Midtown Comics to order thousands of the mothers, and make it to the top of the Diamond graphic novel charts, so they could use it for PR terms and get it make into a movie.

Until I somehow managed to stop that happening. Not the movie, just the chart thing. So they just used the chart of one of the comic stores that they'd paid to stock the comic instead. It was quite a thing.

Anyway, Black Mask thought Young Terrorists #1, the Avengers of the Black Mask universe, was a graphic novel, rather than a comic. 84 pages, a paperback spine, that kind of thing. It's certainly intended to be a graphic novella that then has a series spin off from it but it costs $6.99. However other items labelled graphic novels by Diamond are of a similar price.

And though Diamond Book Distributors had the volume set up in Diamond's book system alongside trades and graphic novels, not with the single issue comics, Diamond's charts counted it as a single issue.

So on an estimate of 8,435 direct market sales, that should have been second to Walking Dead on the Diamond graphic novel chart (the third was 5,982), rather it ended up at #212 on the single issue charts…

And because Diamond classed it as a comic rather than a graphic novel, so did the New York Times Besteller chart, despite Young Terrorists selling pretty good in bookstores, with its own ISBN number it didn't get listed.

One might consider that it had a chance given that the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl got eighth place on the NY Times Bestseller List with only 4,382 estimated direct market sales…

You can't beat the system, guys and gals…

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