Keskustelujen arkisto

I think the problem with Disney comic books has several reasons.
1st: Of cause the interest in Disney comics has declined in the last 25 years. But I think you can still make, print and sell books with good profit. And don't forget the international customers. Amazon is a great point of sale for that with no risk for the publisher.
2nd: In the US advertising is really missing and a good place at the local newsstands. I didn't see any copy of Disney comics at a supermarket, newspaper stand or book store in New York and the northern states last year.
3rd: A good mix of reprints and new stories as well. I think Gemstone did a great job with Uncle Scrooge and Comics & Stories.
4rd: A mix of low priced comic books and higher priced collectors editions.

More news, and it's not good:

Diamond's posted the order forms for the June Previews, and here's the entirety of the Kaboom solicitation for August:

Quote:PAGE 254
KABOOM!
FI JUN11 0963 ROGER LANGRIDGE SNARKED #0 08/24/11 SRP: $1.00 = $
KIDS JUN11 0964 DARKWING DUCK #15 (C: 1-0-0) 08/24/11 SRP: $3.99 = $
JUN11 0965 DARKWING DUCK TP VOL 03 FOWL DISPOSITION (C: 1-0-0) 08/24/11 SRP: $14.99 = $
JUN11 0966 DARKWING DUCK TP VOL 01 DUCK KNIGHT RETURNS (C: 1-0-0) 07/20/11 SRP: $14.99 = $
OA JUN11 0967 DARKWING DUCK TP VOL 02 CRISIS ON INFINITE DARKWINGS (O/A) (C: 1-0-0) 07/27/11 SRP: $14.99 = $
KIDS JUN11 0968 DUCKTALES #4 (C: 1-0-0) 08/24/11 SRP: $3.99 = $

It is correct that CDRR won't continue after issue 8. The second storyarc will also be the last one.

Quote from user: Lars JensenQuote from user: MustangRockstarIt's time to swallow hard and honestly ask ourselves if Disney comics are even feasible in North America at this
point. In the last 30 years, we've seen five efforts to produce these comics, and all failed.
They didn't all fail. Please don't spread incorrect information.

Gladstone I (1985-1990) was a big success -- and only partly due to the DuckTales TV show. Its comic books often sold more than 100,000 copies, and there was a plethora of thriving titles. Gladstone I was so successful, in fact, that Disney revoked Gladstone's license so they themselves could publish those successful comics and bring those big profits in-house.

Disney Comics (1990-1993) made several strategic mistakes regarding choice of reprint material, what kind of material they themselves should produce, advertising, analyzing sales figures etc. And yes, they did end up having to cancel a lot of titles. But in the end they weren't really a failure, either. In their last days, Donald Duck Adventures, Uncle Scrooge, and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories still sold in OK numbers... just less than Gladstone I had done. So they gave the license back to Gladstone.

Gladstone II (1993-1998) was hit by several problems. From what I understand, the publisher (Bruce Hamilton) wanted to save money on producing the comics, perhaps because sales had gone down during the Disney Comics years. Unfortunately, Gladstone II's cost-saving measures made sales go down further. Hamilton chose to print old inventory material even though it was often very unpopular with readers (just look at the negative responses to "Goofy History" and "Mickey and the Sleuth" stories in the letter columns... and yet those stories kept being published), and lots of stories from the earlier Gladstone period were reprinted again and again. Some comics were printed with newsprint covers to keep the price low, but this was again a very unpopular move that lost more buyers than it kept on board. As a result, sales fell and fell...

Gemstone (2003-2008) made money. This has been mentioned in several places -- also on this message board. Their problems are still a little unclear (to me, at least), but from what I understand their earnings were being used to finance Steve Geppi's other enterprises. Problems with those other enterprises apparently eventually led to a cash crunch, which made Gemstone unable to afford continue publishing. But what they did publish, made money for them.

BOOM! (2009-?)... Well, we don't know. And until BOOM! announces something, it's all speculation and hearsay. Which means it is premature to write them off, in my opinion.

So no, publishing Disney comics is not doomed to failure. In fact, over the last thirty years, publishing Disney comics has traditionally made money for the publisher.

MustangRockstar, McDuck_Enterprises... I really don't understand your (and others') defeatist attitudes. Why do fans keep trying to come up with arguments for why companies should not publish Disney comics... or, at the very least, not publish them the successful way that Gladstone I or (to a lesser degree) Gemstone did?
Nice essay. But five publishers, in a 25-26 year span, with publishing gaps = fail. No matter how we try and spin it or justify it, or argue about it.

I want nothing more than to see Disney comics sell and find an audience. But one man's defeatist attitude is another man's harsh assessment of the condition of things in the year 2011. Bottom line is that if someone could make it work, people would be chomping at the bit to produce these comics and they would stick around. When a company can make the model work for more than five years, I'll buy it. But in the meantime, I accept the fact that my hobby is a niche hobby and that this will be a part of the way things are.

Quote from user: MustangRockstarNice essay. But five publishers, in a 25-26 year span, with publishing gaps = fail.
It would've been three publishers if Disney hadn't intervered. Also, there have been only two publishing gaps so far: from 1998 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2009. There weren't any gaps between 1985 and 1998. Also, I thought the last WDC&S'es were published in early 1999, but that's just my nitpicking.

Quote from user: Dutch Duckfan Down UnderQuote from user: MustangRockstarNice essay. But five publishers, in a 25-26 year span, with publishing gaps = fail.
It would've been three publishers if Disney hadn't intervered. Also, there have been only two publishing gaps so far: from 1998 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2009. There weren't any gaps between 1985 and 1998. Also, I thought the last WDC&S'es were published in early 1999, but that's just my nitpicking.
So, essentially, we're talking about 5 or 6 years total in the last 25 years. Roughly 1/4 of the time in question.

Not a small percentage fellas.

The problem has always, in my opinion, been that no one has ever marketed the books right. They were either marketed only for kiddies, or only for collectors. A good middle has to be found somewhere in there. Gladstone II was a bit of an attempt at that, but such a high percentage of the stories printed during the early part of that era were ones that had been printed only a few years before (alienating the hard core collectors again.)
I was a heavy duty Disney comics collector in the mid-90s, but stopped cold when the prestige books came around. First off, comics stores in my area were reluctant to carry them (I bought all my comics from newsstands before), and $5.95, eventually escalating to $7.95 never seemed to be in the budget. And Boom is hardly doing any marketing at all. I can only find a couple issues here and there at comics stores. They're nowhere to be found on newsstands... or even places that would seem obvious like The Disney Store.
You can print the best quality comics in the world... appealing to all generations... but if you don't market them properly, no one will buy.

I think Marvel will do a much better job of marketing the Disney books to kids. Putting out a magazine like they are planning to do also seems like a good way to off-set the costs of producing new material, should the magazine be successful.
Whether or not Marvel will care about the quality of the content is still debatable.