Book of Death: Legends of the Geomancer

[hunter_peterson]

If you asked the majority of the population how much they thought a modern day comic book was worth in general, they would probably say less than the $4 cover price. But if you ask actual comic book buyers (readers, collectors, speculators, whatever), many of them will agree that due to rarity some variant covers or other things like this are worth $10, $20, or even $50 (like for the ungraded Valiant Gold books). They have that value because that is how much people are buying and selling them for in shops, on ebay, and at conventions. Not everyone cares whether there is any resale value or not. I don't. I collect comics for the stories. It's an expense, not an investment. If chasing the dollars related to comics is what somebody likes, I wish them luck and hope that they're at least enjoying the stories as well, but I think most are in it for the stories primarily.

Which begs the question....how is Valiant going grow when it's targeting a niche within a niche? Also a publisher deciding to print less amount to manufacture rarity isn't the same thing as 40 year old books that are no longer in print or have multiple editions. Only in this niche market have we allowed gullible tactics to continue. Variants and this book are ploys and few people are happily gobbling it up. There's nothing rare about this book Valiant is releasing, they could print more but have decided on short-term gains while deferring the risk to LCS.

It's a pretty simple incentive, actually.

For every hardcore Valiant can who wants the book, their chosen distributor will get twenty (i think) copies of Book of Death at highly reduced price. They can either sell them for a far larger profit than without the promotion, spreading the book to new readers or showing the LCS how much Valiant they can move. That or they can send them all back, as they are fully returnable. That's quite common practice for first issues anyway, so it's not extra hassle to the retailers.

Essentially, this is a way for Valiant to use its fan base to expand the Valiant presence at their LCS. For every copy of LotG out there, there will be twenty (I think) BoD issues. This will increase the market penetration of BoD.

TLDR; This is a way for Valiant to use the niche market, as cray put it, to increase their general market presence for their next big event. It's less about the limited book and more about the common one.

[erwinrafael]

Readers don't care for variants because if one cares only about the story, then getting a different pricier versiom for the same story does not make sense.

It does if you love variants.

And I don't. I care only about the story, a literal reader only.

[erwinrafael]

If you asked the majority of the population how much they thought a modern day comic book was worth in general, they would probably say less than the $4 cover price. But if you ask actual comic book buyers (readers, collectors, speculators, whatever), many of them will agree that due to rarity some variant covers or other things like this are worth $10, $20, or even $50 (like for the ungraded Valiant Gold books). They have that value because that is how much people are buying and selling them for in shops, on ebay, and at conventions. Not everyone cares whether there is any resale value or not. I don't. I collect comics for the stories. It's an expense, not an investment. If chasing the dollars related to comics is what somebody likes, I wish them luck and hope that they're at least enjoying the stories as well, but I think most are in it for the stories primarily.

Which begs the question....how is Valiant going grow when it's targeting a niche within a niche? Also a publisher deciding to print less amount to manufacture rarity isn't the same thing as 40 year old books that are no longer in print or have multiple editions. Only in this niche market have we allowed gullible tactics to continue. Variants and this book are ploys and few people are happily gobbling it up. There's nothing rare about this book Valiant is releasing, they could print more but have decided on short-term gains while deferring the risk to LCS.

It's a pretty simple incentive, actually.

For every hardcore Valiant can who wants the book, their chosen distributor will get twenty (i think) copies of Book of Death at highly reduced price. They can either sell them for a far larger profit than without the promotion, spreading the book to new readers or showing the LCS how much Valiant they can move. That or they can send them all back, as they are fully returnable. That's quite common practice for first issues anyway, so it's not extra hassle to the retailers.

Essentially, this is a way for Valiant to use its fan base to expand the Valiant presence at their LCS. For every copy of LotG out there, there will be twenty (I think) BoD issues. This will increase the market penetration of BoD.

TLDR; This is a way for Valiant to use the niche market, as cray put it, to increase their general market presence for their next big event. It's less about the limited book and more about the common one.

And Book of Death is the type of book that a casual comic book shop patron would pick out of curiosity just because these are flooding the shelves?

No name creator. Multitudes of characters. Not a fresh beginning but rather a continuation of a story started in a previous miniseries. A story about deaths of characters that new readers presumably are not familiar with. And the main star is a character that is not that known outside the Valiant faithful.

This is the big initiative for expansion that VEI wanta hardcore fans to spend a fortune for.

[GammaJosh]

Well I'm psyched for it. Thanks to whoever mentioned ordering at Midtown, I just ordered my copy of issue #1. I'm hoping I can score at least one more copy from my LCS as well.

[Keith]

And Book of Death is the type of book that a casual comic book shop patron would pick out of curiosity just because these are flooding the shelves?

Probably not, but I don't think Valiant is asking a LCS to just stick this on the shelf with the rest of the books. I think they are asking to actually try and "sell" this to their customers, the incentive being they will make more money off each sale vis a vis the discount/returnable aspect.

No name creator. Multitudes of characters. Not a fresh beginning but rather a continuation of a story started in a previous miniseries. A story about deaths of characters that new readers presumably are not familiar with. And the main star is a character that is not that known outside the Valiant faithful.

Funny... if you hadn't used the word Valiant in there, I think you could be describing DC's Convergence. But really, some of your points remain to be seen. We don't know just how new reader friendly Valiant will make the first issue till we read it.

This is the big initiative for expansion that VEI wanta hardcore fans to possibly spend a fortune for.

Think that word needed to be added.

[Donovan]

And Book of Death is the type of book that a casual comic book shop patron would pick out of curiosity just because these are flooding the shelves?

No name creator. Multitudes of characters. Not a fresh beginning but rather a continuation of a story started in a previous miniseries. A story about deaths of characters that new readers presumably are not familiar with. And the main star is a character that is not that known outside the Valiant faithful.

I have no beef with this promotion, and my small LCS found a way to make this work for me to buy at a reasonable price.

BUT...

The above quote is the one potential problem that I could see with this endeavour.

[Shadowman99]

And Book of Death is the type of book that a casual comic book shop patron would pick out of curiosity just because these are flooding the shelves?

No name creator. Multitudes of characters. Not a fresh beginning but rather a continuation of a story started in a previous miniseries. A story about deaths of characters that new readers presumably are not familiar with. And the main star is a character that is not that known outside the Valiant faithful.

The above quote is the one potential problem that I could see with this endeavour.

I think Erwin's got a point actually.

In terms of LCS 'selling' the book to their customers yeah, it makes all the sense in the world for them to do that. Few specialist retailers manage to sell product without actively approaching customers with a view to promote spending. But this is where Erwin's thoughts come into play: Try as shop assistants might to convince non-Valiant readers to try the book, how likely is it that any of them will commit to purchasing the comic based on Erwin's points? They'll be fairly few and far between I'd predict. Having said that, if Valiant have made the book super-'jumping on point'-friendly then perhaps it might be more likely, but that'll remain to be seen when the book finally hits the shelves.

I don't think there's really any way to tell until it happens, but I'm with Erwin on this one: I think it'll be a tough sell for high street retailers.

[hunter_peterson]

And Book of Death is the type of book that a casual comic book shop patron would pick out of curiosity just because these are flooding the shelves?

Probably not, but I don't think Valiant is asking a LCS to just stick this on the shelf with the rest of the books. I think they are asking to actually try and "sell" this to their customers, the incentive being they will make more money off each sale vis a vis the discount/returnable aspect.

No name creator. Multitudes of characters. Not a fresh beginning but rather a continuation of a story started in a previous miniseries. A story about deaths of characters that new readers presumably are not familiar with. And the main star is a character that is not that known outside the Valiant faithful.

Funny... if you hadn't used the word Valiant in there, I think you could be describing DC's Convergence. But really, some of your points remain to be seen. We don't know just how new reader friendly Valiant will make the first issue till we read it.

This is the big initiative for expansion that VEI wanta hardcore fans to possibly spend a fortune for.

Think that word needed to be added.

These responses are great, but I have more to add. While erwinrafael is correct that Book of Death is maybe a hard sell and that this is a risky endeavour, I think it's actually a pretty brilliant story to use for his promotion.

It's a story that involves the whole Valiant universe and contains backup stories featuring the deaths of their major characters. That not only should work as an introduction to the characters and their core concepts, it should be filled with cool teases for future stories. That likely would be enough to make the new readers interested. I'd also say that Venditti at least is a high-medium range writer, what with his DC work involving penning multiple events for Green Lantern. But admittedly not a huge draw. Also, the book entering on the history of the Valiant Universe should make it quite clear what the characters are all about.

I think, if done right, this series will be an excellent window into the workings and contents of the Valiant Universe. Which paired with the marketing and LotG magnification of the sales for the whole series, should make it an effective way of increasing market penetration and generally at raising Valiant's profile. In my amateur opinion, of course.

[DirtbagSailor]

I contacted the cover artist Marguerite Sauvage to see if the cover art was available for LotG.

Digital...

[kjjohanson]

I contacted the cover artist Marguerite Sauvage to see if the cover art was available for LotG.

Digital...

Oh, the irony…

[DirtbagSailor]

I contacted the cover artist Marguerite Sauvage to see if the cover art was available for LotG.

Digital...

Oh, the irony…

[leonmallett]

I think this is incredible interesting, fascinating, imaginative, and innovative.

And a terrible idea.

From my first readings I agree.

Getting Plus Editions in the UK is very hard. If this is comparably hard then VEI have made an error IMHO.

[leonmallett]

I can understand all of the comments in this thread.
Honestly I can.

But.....
One thing VEI has not had is heat on a back issue. Not a hard to find variant, there are a few of those ( but you can get the inside story easy, just not he specific cover).

But they do not have any heat, nor have they had any on any back issue they have released.
THEY NEED it! Maybe this is the way they can get it. ...

Why do they need 'heat' on back issues? I fail to see the logic in that since it is an after market that is beyond their chain.

[FormerReader]

I can understand all of the comments in this thread.
Honestly I can.

But.....
One thing VEI has not had is heat on a back issue. Not a hard to find variant, there are a few of those ( but you can get the inside story easy, just not he specific cover).

But they do not have any heat, nor have they had any on any back issue they have released.
THEY NEED it! Maybe this is the way they can get it. ...

Why do they need 'heat' on back issues? I fail to see the logic in that since it is an after market that is beyond their chain.

Because right or wrong it draws in speculators and hopefully some of them become readers. A lot of people won't even give Valiant a chance because their back issues hold no value. If their back issues heat up speculators will push them. It's all about word of mouth.

[DantePD]

I can understand all of the comments in this thread.
Honestly I can.

But.....
One thing VEI has not had is heat on a back issue. Not a hard to find variant, there are a few of those ( but you can get the inside story easy, just not he specific cover).

But they do not have any heat, nor have they had any on any back issue they have released.
THEY NEED it! Maybe this is the way they can get it. ...

Why do they need 'heat' on back issues? I fail to see the logic in that since it is an after market that is beyond their chain.

Because right or wrong it draws in speculators and hopefully some of them become readers. A lot of people won't even give Valiant a chance because their back issues hold no value. If their back issues heat up speculators will push them. It's all about word of mouth.

Yes, because embracing and encouraging speculators turned out SO well last time.

[depluto]

My LCS guy talked to me about it yesterday. He said he would sell the book to me (and a few other people) for $25 and I'd also get a copy of the regular book.

Was that OK with me? Sure, $25 isn't too big of a hit. More than I usually spend, but I've been buying pullbox variants for years even though they add practically nothing to the reading experience. It's my way of supporting a company I love (and my collection looks very cool).

He also said between that and the return policy that he would be able to practically give the regular book to other customers to introduce new people to VEI. And he will, too.

[FormerReader]

I can understand all of the comments in this thread.
Honestly I can.

But.....
One thing VEI has not had is heat on a back issue. Not a hard to find variant, there are a few of those ( but you can get the inside story easy, just not he specific cover).

But they do not have any heat, nor have they had any on any back issue they have released.
THEY NEED it! Maybe this is the way they can get it. ...

Why do they need 'heat' on back issues? I fail to see the logic in that since it is an after market that is beyond their chain.

Because right or wrong it draws in speculators and hopefully some of them become readers. A lot of people won't even give Valiant a chance because their back issues hold no value. If their back issues heat up speculators will push them. It's all about word of mouth.

Yes, because embracing and encouraging speculators turned out SO well last time.

Comparing this market to the 1990's makes no sense. They are polar opposites so I'm not sure why you would infer that speculation is today's market would cause the same result as the one in the 1990's.

I don't think anyone would argue that Valiant sales need to be predominantly speculator driven. As long as Valiant continues to make good comics, readers will continue to buy them, but Valiant needs to be able to take some of those speculator dollars away from the newest Image #1, spider whatever, and someone died, but really didn't die issues. If Valiant can't even get their books into the hands of readers how are these people going to find out that Valiant makes some really good comics? As much as "speculation" leaves a bad taste in everyone's minds, speculators are in important part of this market and they are useful in getting the word out that Valiant should be looked at.

[erwinrafael]

Why then give speculators a story that only they could get? It's like they are forcing readers to spend like a speculator.

[DantePD]

I can understand all of the comments in this thread.
Honestly I can.

But.....
One thing VEI has not had is heat on a back issue. Not a hard to find variant, there are a few of those ( but you can get the inside story easy, just not he specific cover).

But they do not have any heat, nor have they had any on any back issue they have released.
THEY NEED it! Maybe this is the way they can get it. ...

Why do they need 'heat' on back issues? I fail to see the logic in that since it is an after market that is beyond their chain.

Because right or wrong it draws in speculators and hopefully some of them become readers. A lot of people won't even give Valiant a chance because their back issues hold no value. If their back issues heat up speculators will push them. It's all about word of mouth.

Yes, because embracing and encouraging speculators turned out SO well last time.

Comparing this market to the 1990's makes no sense. They are polar opposites so I'm not sure why you would infer that speculation is today's market would cause the same result as the one in the 1990's.

I don't think anyone would argue that Valiant sales need to be predominantly speculator driven. As long as Valiant continues to make good comics, readers will continue to buy them, but Valiant needs to be able to take some of those speculator dollars away from the newest Image #1, spider whatever, and someone died, but really didn't die issues. If Valiant can't even get their books into the hands of readers how are these people going to find out that Valiant makes some really good comics? As much as "speculation" leaves a bad taste in everyone's minds, speculators are in important part of this market and they are useful in getting the word out that Valiant should be looked at.

So....we're going to attract new readers by alienating and/or gouging our current ones? To save the village we have to burn the village?

[Tim]

Legends of the Geomancer #1 is $1.99 at DCBS. It's also bundled in the 50% bundle that DCBS has had since forever. Went ahead and put together my monthly order and charged my card for it (so glad they offer that option rather than waiting till the 15th of the month).

[FormerReader]

So....we're going to attract new readers by alienating and/or gouging our current ones? To save the village we have to burn the village?

No and I don't think that is what they are doing here.

[lorddunlow]

Legends of the Geomancer #1 is $1.99 at DCBS. It's also bundled in the 50% bundle that DCBS has had since forever. Went ahead and put together my monthly order and charged my card for it (so glad they offer that option rather than waiting till the 15th of the month).

This is good news. Talked to one of the employees yesterday (it was late and shop owner had already left) and he said he'd ask the owner about it.

Never ordered form DCBS. Can I order just that one book?

[FormerReader]

Why then give speculators a story that only they could get? It's like they are forcing readers to spend like a speculator.

Why not let the market decide. We may find this book is much more affordable than we expect.

I don't understand getting worked up over something before it has even happened This comment is not directed at you erwinrafael, but in general).

[DantePD]

Why then give speculators a story that only they could get? It's like they are forcing readers to spend like a speculator.

Why not let the market decide. We may find this book is much more affordable than we expect.

I don't understand getting worked up over something before it has even happened This comment is not directed at you erwinrafael, but in general).

Well, at the moment, my only option, as a digital customer is to preorder it to the tune of $35 an issue from Midtown Comics. (Because putting together a big enough order for DCBS's minimum in order to get ONE book, sorry, just isn't reasonable.)

[Tim]

Why then give speculators a story that only they could get? It's like they are forcing readers to spend like a speculator.

Why not let the market decide. We may find this book is much more affordable than we expect.

I don't understand getting worked up over something before it has even happened This comment is not directed at you erwinrafael, but in general).

Well, at the moment, my only option, as a digital customer is to preorder it to the tune of $35 an issue from Midtown Comics. (Because putting together a big enough order for DCBS's minimum in order to get ONE book, sorry, just isn't reasonable.)

DCBS doesn't have a minimum order. It's $7 shipping no matter how many or few books you order.