Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

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slack
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Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by slack »

I'm sure this has come up before, so sorry if this is deja vu for some...

Who among us read the previews at the end of valiant books?
Personally, I do not. I know they probably won't spoil anything big, but I don't want any surprises ruined. I try to not even look at those pages.

I would love that space to be used for more story, or even some short back up stories to feature new talent.

How do you feel about those pages?

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by JonesyAZ »

Great question! Personally, I'm tired of the preview pages. I don't read them as to not spoil myself and would love if those pages were dedicated to more story, back-ups, or even cheesy letters pages...LOL. When Valiant first came back, I think the preview pages were beneficial, but maybe not so much now? HOWEVER...the thing to remember is that while most of us have been w/ VEI since day one, to a LOT of comic readers, they're still new fish. Therefore, it probably makes the most business sense to still do the preview pages for the time being. Food for thought :)
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Elveen »

good points J

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by greg »

I always read them, because it's usually a month until the book actually comes out and I don't necessarily remember what was in them by then. :lol:
I think of them like the "next episode" scenes at the end of a continuing story T.V. show like Sherlock, Supergirl, or Dr. Who. Just a teaser. Does anyone freak out and grab the remote to stop the show when those teasers come on T.V.?

Same thing. Enjoy them! :thumb:

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Intrepidxc »

I don't read them, if I read them then I feel like the next issue is too short as I'm re-reading material.

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by slack »

I agree that they were valuable early on, and may still be a valuable pull for new readers, but...

Maybe if they were 2 pages instead of 5.

I also feel like it's just too much giveaway since the stories are only 22 pages these days. It's almost a quarter of the book.

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by jeremycoe »

greg wrote:I always read them, because it's usually a month until the book actually comes out and I don't necessarily remember what was in them by then. :lol:
I think of them like the "next episode" scenes at the end of a continuing story T.V. show like Sherlock, Supergirl, or Dr. Who. Just a teaser. Does anyone freak out and grab the remote to stop the show when those teasers come on T.V.?

Same thing. Enjoy them! :thumb:
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Joshua »

I buy every Valiant title so there's no point in me reading a preview. I'm already buying it.

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by BugsySig »

I scan the art most times, but almost never read any of it. I feel it makes the read go too quickly when I get the full issue if I read the preview first.
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by leonmallett »

I avoid them. I want to read the whole book fresh where possible. :)

I avoid advance listings for books I read for much the same reason. :)
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by nscc »

I dont read them anymore. I also stay away from the previews online as well. I am 6-8 months behind on reading though and usually just read an arc or 2 in a row, so if I was reading every week or even every month I might check them out. I'd actually just switch to trades but Ed is so cool about throwing in the Valiant swag that I keep getting them shipped.
greg wrote:I always read them, because it's usually a month until the book actually comes out and I don't necessarily remember what was in them by then. :lol:
I think of them like the "next episode" scenes at the end of a continuing story T.V. show like Sherlock, Supergirl, or Dr. Who. Just a teaser. Does anyone freak out and grab the remote to stop the show when those teasers come on T.V.?

Same thing. Enjoy them! :thumb:
I DO turn off most shows before "next episode" scenes (but I rarely freak out) :lol:
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by leonmallett »

nscc wrote:...

I DO turn off most shows before "next episode" scenes (but I rarely freak out) :lol:
I turn off too, and no freaking out involved. :)
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by greg »

leonmallett wrote:
nscc wrote:...

I DO turn off most shows before "next episode" scenes (but I rarely freak out) :lol:
I turn off too, and no freaking out involved. :)
You guys are trying to play it cool, but I know you've been walking around when that "Next Episode" teaser comes on and you have started yelling "La-La-La-La-La" while frantically looking for the remote. :kidaround:

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by kjjohanson »

slack wrote:I agree that they were valuable early on, and may still be a valuable pull for new readers, but...

Maybe if they were 2 pages instead of 5.

I also feel like it's just too much giveaway since the stories are only 22 pages these days. It's almost a quarter of the book.
Okay, but it's not like they're going to start pulling the previews to add more story content. Bottom line is it costs a certain amount of money to produce the story, and adding pages would increase that cost. The way printing works entails having a certain number of pages for a working pagination, so the preview pages are basically just filler to pad out the book. If they could sell more ads, that would be a more financially course of action, but the numbers are so low these days that ad sales probably don't bring in much. I wouldn't mind seeing more letters pages, fan art, etc.; basically stuff that doesn't cost much, but isn't previewing pages that I'm going to read when they're printed next month anyway.
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by agent_graves »

Sometimes I do. Sometimes, I just check out the art...
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by jmatt »

leonmallett wrote:I avoid them. I want to read the whole book fresh where possible. :)

I avoid advance listings for books I read for much the same reason. :)
Same. I don't wanna see anything until I have the whole book in my hands.

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by nscc »

greg wrote:
leonmallett wrote:
nscc wrote:...

I DO turn off most shows before "next episode" scenes (but I rarely freak out) :lol:
I turn off too, and no freaking out involved. :)
You guys are trying to play it cool, but I know you've been walking around when that "Next Episode" teaser comes on and you have started yelling "La-La-La-La-La" while frantically looking for the remote. :kidaround:

:lol: you got me!

Actually when watching arrested development the first time around, I skipped the "next week" scene at the end of each episode... only after watching it again did I realize they were not actually scenes from the next episode but a quick little tie in from the one I just watched and I had missed an extra 20 seconds of foolishness I never got to see the first time. :)
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by leonmallett »

jmatt wrote:
leonmallett wrote:I avoid them. I want to read the whole book fresh where possible. :)

I avoid advance listings for books I read for much the same reason. :)
Same. I don't wanna see anything until I have the whole book in my hands.
:thumb:
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by leonmallett »

greg wrote:
leonmallett wrote:
nscc wrote:...

I DO turn off most shows before "next episode" scenes (but I rarely freak out) :lol:
I turn off too, and no freaking out involved. :)
You guys are trying to play it cool, but I know you've been walking around when that "Next Episode" teaser comes on and you have started yelling "La-La-La-La-La" while frantically looking for the remote. :kidaround:
greg, I am a patient man: hence I still watch a lot of stuff on DVD (remaining months behind on sci-fi and superhero genre shows except Doctor Who) and avoid that new-fangled streaming malarkey! :)
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by SwiftMann »

Intrepidxc wrote:I don't read them, if I read them then I feel like the next issue is too short as I'm re-reading material.
+1
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by jmatt »

Here's one marketing reason to print the previews: It makes the book beefier in the hand of a prospective buyer, as he's thumbing through it and looking for cool art to catch his eye.

The art is already paid for, the cost of printing the extra few pages is probably negligible.

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Shadowman99 »

Joshua wrote:I buy every Valiant title so there's no point in me reading a preview. I'm already buying it.
+1
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Ras the future fan »

I normally just look at the art maybe they should be unlettered previews.
But I would love to see a fan letters page in VEI books.
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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Dr Noel »

greg wrote:I always read them, because it's usually a month until the book actually comes out and I don't necessarily remember what was in them by then. :lol:
I think of them like the "next episode" scenes at the end of a continuing story T.V. show like Sherlock, Supergirl, or Dr. Who. Just a teaser. Does anyone freak out and grab the remote to stop the show when those teasers come on T.V.?

Same thing. Enjoy them! :thumb:
+1

It's like a mini movie trailer

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Re: Preview pages: who reads them, who doesn't?

Post by Brother Darque »

I just look at the art and not read the dialog.


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