April Sales Estimates

[BugsySig]

-Unity numbers have been decreasing steadily because IMHO, the book has no direction right now. This book needs to be The Avengers or Justice League--the top characters taking on major world-wide or even cosmic threats.

My solution? Add as many major characters to the team as possible (Shadowman, Bloodshot, Divinity, Sting, Palmer, Timewalker, A&A, etc) and have them take on the biggest bads (Harada's Imperium, Darque, The Torment, etc).

Those characters don't need to constantly be on the team--they can keep the core four--but add them as they take on threats. So take on Darque and have Shadowman and Dr. Mirage join the team. Take on Harada and add Bloodshot and Sting. Take on the cosmonauts from The Unknown and add Divinity. And so on.

But that's what they've been doing. Aric was around for the second arc, Bloodshot was sort of connected for Armor Hunters (although I expected that it would have been a more obvious team effort), and Faith was around for an arc. I think it might help to bring in some B-level characters exclusive to the series so it looks like more of a team. Having the heavy hitters from other series involved makes the logistics of managing the line more difficult.

The first two arcs were fine, after that it fell off. Bloodshot was advertised as part of Unity, but barely appeared in the actual Unity book. He was busy in his own AH mini and then never appeared with the team. Faith was barely present and had ZERO impact on the team (still brutal killers last time I checked) or on the fight with The United. Now Palmer shows up for what amounts to a cameo in one issue. I want a legit team up in my team book. This is supposed to be VEI's team book.

And take on a real threat. If Bloodshot or XO can take down Malgam on their own then there's no point in having Unity take him on. All it shows is they are weaker than an individual character. They should be taking on Dead Hand...wouldn't Livewire be handy against an army of robots? Step it up a notch. Maybe dump Kindt and get VDitti to take over.

[FormerReader]

The first two arcs were fine, after that it fell off.

I feel the same with the exception of the individual character issues. I've enjoyed all of them. Having said that when Unity first came out I thought it was one of the best books Valiant was putting out. I still think it is a good book, but it has lost a bit of my interest.

[BugsySig]

The first two arcs were fine, after that it fell off.

I feel the same with the exception of the individual character issues. I've enjoyed all of them. Having said that when Unity first came out I thought it was one of the best books Valiant was putting out. I still think it is a good book, but it has lost a bit of my interest.

I've enjoyed those issues, but I don't think the team has operated enough as a team to have these individual issues as of yet. Besides, both EW and Ninjak have had minis/ongoings already. An issue dealing with Livewire, sure sign me up.

[agent_graves]

I understand everyone's assessment of Unity, it seems the interest level has faded, but to be fair, newer books that are getting high praise for their great stories (Imperium, Ivar) aren't that far ahead of Unity on the charts, so it's actually a line-wide issue, (sales) that needs to be addressed.

While I agree with you on this theory, do they release monthly figures for online sales.

That would be the ultimate proof, or breaking of your theory.

If the theory is true, who do you target to sell more. The shops or the customers?

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

[jxm640]

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

While I agree with your statement completely, I was thinking more of digital sales as opposed to online.

To counter your point, shelf space is going to be another issue. I really enjoy Valiant comics, as I think most people here do, but what will make a retailer give up shelf space from a known seller and give it to Valiant?

Apologies if I am not coherent with my sentences, I had to carry a subwoofer about a mile today so feel a bit of delirium.

Edit: I just saw the comic boxer thread and realised that my points could be moot if they engage in other forms of distribution.

[BugsySig]

I understand everyone's assessment of Unity, it seems the interest level has faded, but to be fair, newer books that are getting high praise for their great stories (Imperium, Ivar) aren't that far ahead of Unity on the charts, so it's actually a line-wide issue, (sales) that needs to be addressed.

While I agree with you on this theory, do they release monthly figures for online sales.

That would be the ultimate proof, or breaking of your theory.

If the theory is true, who do you target to sell more. The shops or the customers?

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

I think he's referring to digital sales. Those are strictly readers and variant covers and other incentives don't effect their purchases. It might be a better overall gage of readership. But those numbers are not released. Comixology will release a monthly best seller list for various countries, but that's only the top ten.

Harder to gauge as well is international sales beyond N America, especially foreign language editions.

Then there's TPB sales, which could be in the dozens or hundreds in any given month per title but might never show up on the Diamond list.

Look at Image. They had 6 books in the Top 300 last month, but 20 of the top 30 TPBs. That's basically become their sole medium to gauge readership.

[agent_graves]

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

While I agree with your statement completely, I was thinking more of digital sales as opposed to online.

To counter your point, shelf space is going to be another issue. I really enjoy Valiant comics, as I think most people here do, but what will make a retailer give up shelf space from a known seller and give it to Valiant?

Apologies if I am not coherent with my sentences, I had to carry a subwoofer about a mile today so feel a bit of delirium.

Edit: I just saw the comic boxer thread and realised that my points could be moot if they engage in other forms of distribution.

It's cool, I get what you're saying. As far as digital sales, I'm not sure, for whatever reason, digital sales, are still not released to the public, via comic news sites, but I'm sure the digital sales of many books, is what keeps some of the lower selling books alive, across the board.

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

[jeremycoe]

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

Maybe a promotion where shops are forced to order more copies of a book than they would (say, 25 returnable copies) in order to get a limited comic for those that want it?

[agent_graves]

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

Maybe a promotion where shops are forced to order more copies of a book than they would (say, 25 returnable copies) in order to get a limited comic for those that want it?

That's a start

But in all seriousness, they're trying new things, like this..

http://www.newsarama.com/24568-valiant- ... ath-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is kind of what I was getting at earlier, they gotta try new things to attract new readers.

[jxm640]

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

While I agree with your statement completely, I was thinking more of digital sales as opposed to online.

To counter your point, shelf space is going to be another issue. I really enjoy Valiant comics, as I think most people here do, but what will make a retailer give up shelf space from a known seller and give it to Valiant?

Apologies if I am not coherent with my sentences, I had to carry a subwoofer about a mile today so feel a bit of delirium.

Edit: I just saw the comic boxer thread and realised that my points could be moot if they engage in other forms of distribution.

It's cool, I get what you're saying. As far as digital sales, I'm not sure, for whatever reason, digital sales, are still not released to the public, via comic news sites, but I'm sure the digital sales of many books, is what keeps some of the lower selling books alive, across the board.

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

Thank you for the polite discourse on the subject. This why I like this forum.

[agent_graves]

Online sales, meaning? Any large retailer, with an online presence, (Midtown, Milehigh, Mycomicshop, TFAW) has also, ordered their books through Diamond, even Amazon. Books being sold on Ebay, have also, already been purchased, from a retailer through Diamond, first.

Essentially, the retailer, is the publishers customer, because these sales numbers, are estimates based off of, orders from retailers. Who are basing their orders off, what's sold well traditionally, consumer intrest, and pulls. Valiant just needs to keep building their brand, creating interest, once they get to a point where they can expand pass 9/10 issues a month, I think then, they'll be in position to compete with DH, Oni, Idw, and Boom, not in quality, imo, Valiant has them all beat in that department, but in shelf space, and overall, position on the charts, (unit/market share) I'd love to see Valiant sitting comfortably in that fourth spot, but they gotta expand, and continue to create interest in their product.

While I agree with your statement completely, I was thinking more of digital sales as opposed to online.

To counter your point, shelf space is going to be another issue. I really enjoy Valiant comics, as I think most people here do, but what will make a retailer give up shelf space from a known seller and give it to Valiant?

Apologies if I am not coherent with my sentences, I had to carry a subwoofer about a mile today so feel a bit of delirium.

Edit: I just saw the comic boxer thread and realised that my points could be moot if they engage in other forms of distribution.

It's cool, I get what you're saying. As far as digital sales, I'm not sure, for whatever reason, digital sales, are still not released to the public, via comic news sites, but I'm sure the digital sales of many books, is what keeps some of the lower selling books alive, across the board.

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

Thank you for the polite discourse on the subject. This why I like this forum.

No prob

[BugsySig]

As far as shelf space, certain big shops I've been to, have a Valiant section, but at times the selection is scarce. A lot times the problem I'm seeing, I'll use Imperium #4 as a recent example, my lcs didn't even have any shelf copies, on the day it was released, that's a serious problem, shops are not even ordering past what they need for pulls. We all know how great Imperium has been, but the guys in marketing, have to figure out how to bring in new readers, because unfortunately, having great product, isn't enough. It's easier said than done, but with Secret Wars and Convergence taking up so much shelf space, something has to be done to grab those readers attention. What exactly, I'm not sure .

Maybe a promotion where shops are forced to order more copies of a book than they would (say, 25 returnable copies) in order to get a limited comic for those that want it?

That's a start

But in all seriousness, they're trying new things, like this..

http://www.newsarama.com/24568-valiant- ... ath-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is kind of what I was getting at earlier, they gotta try new things to attract new readers.

Intriguing...so is this the new Chromium?

[CongoBill]

The Unity number is a bit troubling. I love what they are doing but i guess people are just not into the single character stories. This should be a flagship book but it's just not behaving like one right now.

That's because the flagship encounter with Divinity got moved to its own book, which is probably why we got three issues in a row of the Unity team recovering. The battle with Malgam, while okay, wasn't really earth shattering enough to spend three issues in character reflection, etc. Again, not that it was bad, but a team book just broke down into three solo 1-shots.

And the arc against the United was okay but not great. This book needs a shakeup, maybe a new writer or something.

I saw this posted on the CGC forums yesterday, about Divinity originally being a Unity story arc but then made into its own mini-series. That would explain why we got the three "one-shot" character issues while Divinity was also being published. I am expecting, perhaps, that at the conclusion of the Divinity mini that Divinity/Abram will be joining Unity. With the current interest in the Divinity series I have to think that will inject some interest in the Unity title itself.

And Unity looks to be gaining a direction again with the most recent issue. While I know some feel that issue wasn't all it could have been, if it's setting up Malgam to join Unity then that is another compelling angle with potential. I'm certainly willing to give Kindt a chance to get things going again before thinking about changing writers. He's shown he can write this book well, and if Divinity was to be the next story arc then it shows he's got some big ideas for the series.

[jmatt]

Faith was barely present and had ZERO impact on the team ...Now Palmer shows up for what amounts to a cameo in one issue.

I like the cameos. As a big SA Avengers fan, I can't tell you how many times characters floated in and out of the title. Yes, the book needs to kick it up a notch or two but I'm fine with cameos, makes everything more interesting. Livewire essentially brushing off Palmer made the book just a liiiittle bit better than had he not been there.

[CongoBill]

65 $3.99 VAL Bloodshot Reborn (2015) 1 *38,788 *I thought this was 45k, but if returnable, that would explain the %10 decrease.

223 $3.99 VAL Ninjak (2015) 2 11,211

241 $3.99 VAL Divinity (2015) 3 9,582 +198 from issue #2 +2.11% (The Interest Is Real!!!)

279 $3.99 VAL Rai (2014) 8 7,196 +45 from issue #7 +0.63%

282 $3.99 VAL X-O Manowar (2012) 35 7,127

287 $3.99 VAL Imperium (2015) 3 6,866

312 $3.99 VAL Ivar, Timewalker (2015) 4 6,080

331 $3.99 VAL Unity (2013) 17 5,327

391 $3.99 VAL Quantum and Woody Must Die 4 4,188

Gotta say, with the exception of Bloodshot Reborn #1, these numbers are pretty disheartening. I highly doubt these numbers can sustain a publishing program like Valiant is pushing. And when you factor in that some retailers probably over-order to get the variants, it means the readership is probably lower than these numbers indicate. (Yes, I know that TPB and digital readers certainly add to the numbers, but who knows what those numbers really are?) I know VEI is well-funded and has a long-range plan, as well as the movies on the distant horizon, but they probably need to at least double these numbers to be viable in the long run. I love all of their books (with the exception of Q&W, which I don't read) and think they're producing some of the best superhero books on the market. So why no love? How can they gain more readers? For one, if they weren't planning on giving Divinity his own ongoing series they may want to re-think that. They have to capitalize on the surge in interest with this character.

And, while Imperium is indeed a fantastic book, it definitely is not new-reader friendly. Nor is Unity for that matter. Perhaps a reboot of Unity to try and pull in some of the readers who have jumped on board with the Ninjak and Bloodshot reboots. And Divinity, of course. I think their top four titles (whatever they may be) need to be up around 20K sales per month.

[brucehartshorn]

65 $3.99 VAL Bloodshot Reborn (2015) 1 *38,788 *I thought this was 45k, but if returnable, that would explain the %10 decrease.

223 $3.99 VAL Ninjak (2015) 2 11,211

241 $3.99 VAL Divinity (2015) 3 9,582 +198 from issue #2 +2.11% (The Interest Is Real!!!)

279 $3.99 VAL Rai (2014) 8 7,196 +45 from issue #7 +0.63%

282 $3.99 VAL X-O Manowar (2012) 35 7,127

287 $3.99 VAL Imperium (2015) 3 6,866

312 $3.99 VAL Ivar, Timewalker (2015) 4 6,080

331 $3.99 VAL Unity (2013) 17 5,327

391 $3.99 VAL Quantum and Woody Must Die 4 4,188

Gotta say, with the exception of Bloodshot Reborn #1, these numbers are pretty disheartening. I highly doubt these numbers can sustain a publishing program like Valiant is pushing. And when you factor in that some retailers probably over-order to get the variants, it means the readership is probably lower than these numbers indicate. (Yes, I know that TPB and digital readers certainly add to the numbers, but who knows what those numbers really are?) I know VEI is well-funded and has a long-range plan, as well as the movies on the distant horizon, but they probably need to at least double these numbers to be viable in the long run. I love all of their books (with the exception of Q&W, which I don't read) and think they're producing some of the best superhero books on the market. So why no love? How can they gain more readers? For one, if they weren't planning on giving Divinity his own ongoing series they may want to re-think that. They have to capitalize on the surge in interest with this character.

And, while Imperium is indeed a fantastic book, it definitely is not new-reader friendly. Nor is Unity for that matter. Perhaps a reboot of Unity to try and pull in some of the readers who have jumped on board with the Ninjak and Bloodshot reboots. And Divinity, of course. I think their top four titles (whatever they may be) need to be up around 20K sales per month.

While none of us know the total numbers, we have to remember several things factor into how VEI is doing:

Retail sales of books which we all comment on each month
Digital sales
TPB sales
Overseas sales
Income from merchandise

Couple that with the continued statement from VEI year after year that they have a long range plan with more than adequate funding to fulfill that plan AND are continually exceeding that plan, means that all is as it should be. We as readers/collectors/fans should trust that it is as Dinesh constantly tells us it is, and continue to enjoy the superior product which they put out each month. It begs the question that if the "numbers were disheartening", why would DMG support VEI to the extent that they are doing if there was ANY question of their future? Why would the movies at Sony be moving forward if there was concern about the viability of VEI? These very large players have faith that Dinesh and crew are executing their long range plan for this incredible company while continuing to maintain their exceptional on time publishing schedule, coupled with a pervasive commitment to quality, so why should WE have any less faith? Speaking for myself, I am ELATED they are back and are producing the quality that they are and am looking forward to the movies and all else that they have planned for the future.

[DirtbagSailor]

It would be NICE if millions of people were to wake up and jump into Valiant one morning.

Unfortunately, people tend to only either follow what is massively popular, what they are comfortable with, or what they see in their face regulatory.

"Hey John, did you see last week's episode of The Flash?"

"Yes I did, and now we can talk about it together and make a small social connection due to the common interest we now share..."

Vs

"Hey John, did you read Imperium #4 last week? SO damn good! Dysart is killing it!"

"No actually I didn't, because I don't stray too far from the path I know. I'm going to change the topic now, because you and I do not share a common social interest."

See, IN-TIME people will know who/what/why Valiant is. But it will take some time. For now, we can continue to enjoy the outstanding artwork and stories, and share them with those we know as best we can.

People are sheepish, and NEED to see it to believe. They won't see it until everyone sees it, then, and perhaps only then, will things change.

But for now, it is like Valiant is a quality restaurant, and just happens to also serve amazing deserts. Not everyone will order the desert (comics), which is perhaps their loss, but the restaurant will not fold due to this. They make their money with many other things, and desert (comics) is only one or two items on the larger menu.

We enjoy the full experience, but should not get tunnel vision to believe DOOM & GLOOM are imminent. To date, what Valiant has told us publicly has ALL COME TO PASS each and every time.

[lorddunlow]

It would be NICE if millions of people were to wake up and jump into Valiant one morning.

Unfortunately, people tend to only either follow what is massively popular, what they are comfortable with, or what they see in their face regulatory.

"Hey John, did you see last week's episode of The Flash?"

"Yes I did, and now we can talk about it together and make a small social connection due to the common interest we now share..."

Vs

"Hey John, did you read Imperium #4 last week? SO damn good! Dysart is killing it!"

"No actually I didn't, because I don't stray too far from the path I know. I'm going to change the topic now, because you and I do not share a common social interest."

See, IN-TIME people will know who/what/why Valiant is. But it will take some time. For now, we can continue to enjoy the outstanding artwork and stories, and share them with those we know as best we can.

People are sheepish, and NEED to see it to believe. They won't see it until everyone sees it, then, and perhaps only then, will things change.

But for now, it is like Valiant is a quality restaurant, and just happens to also serve amazing deserts. Not everyone will order the desert (comics), which is perhaps their loss, but the restaurant will not fold due to this. They make their money with many other things, and desert (comics) is only one or two items on the larger menu.

We enjoy the full experience, but should not get tunnel vision to believe DOOM & GLOOM are imminent. To date, what Valiant has told us publicly has ALL COME TO PASS each and every time.

Well said, DBS!!

I have never understood the sheepishness of 90% of the population. I've always been the salmon swimming against the current in every situation. I've been like that since birth sometimes to my detriment, but usually to my benefit.

[Donovan]

"Hey John, did you see last week's episode of The Flash?"

"Yes I did, and now we can talk about it together and make a small social connection due to the common interest we now share..."

Out of curiosity, is the Flash comic selling like hotcakes thanks to the increased talk of the television show?

[jxm640]

It would be NICE if millions of people were to wake up and jump into Valiant one morning.

Unfortunately, people tend to only either follow what is massively popular, what they are comfortable with, or what they see in their face regulatory.

"Hey John, did you see last week's episode of The Flash?"

"Yes I did, and now we can talk about it together and make a small social connection due to the common interest we now share..."

Vs

"Hey John, did you read Imperium #4 last week? SO damn good! Dysart is killing it!"

"No actually I didn't, because I don't stray too far from the path I know. I'm going to change the topic now, because you and I do not share a common social interest."

See, IN-TIME people will know who/what/why Valiant is. But it will take some time. For now, we can continue to enjoy the outstanding artwork and stories, and share them with those we know as best we can.

People are sheepish, and NEED to see it to believe. They won't see it until everyone sees it, then, and perhaps only then, will things change.

But for now, it is like Valiant is a quality restaurant, and just happens to also serve amazing deserts. Not everyone will order the desert (comics), which is perhaps their loss, but the restaurant will not fold due to this. They make their money with many other things, and desert (comics) is only one or two items on the larger menu.

We enjoy the full experience, but should not get tunnel vision to believe DOOM & GLOOM are imminent. To date, what Valiant has told us publicly has ALL COME TO PASS each and every time.

Thank you for the thought DBS. Also, for making me want the last Cornetto in the office. Mostly for the Cornetto idea.

[DirtbagSailor]

Thank you for the thought DBS. Also, for making me want the last Cornetto in the office. Mostly for the Cornetto idea.

Well, mass-produced ice cream cones, much like Valiant, can be delicious...?

[agent_graves]

Out of curiosity, is the Flash comic selling like hotcakes thanks to the increased talk of the television show?

48. Flash 40* $3.99 DC 38,382.

*March 2015

[CongoBill]

My comments were not meant to be doom and gloom, so I apologize if that is the way it came across. I definitely believe it when Dinesh says they are funded for the long haul and are actually ahead of where they expected to be at this time with their plan. And I am not saying VEI will fold up shop if they don't double their readership soon. I am only disheartened by the numbers because I'm surprised that more readers aren't taking an interest in VEI comics considering the quality of their product. Yes, right now VEI is like a very fine boutique wine that only a select number of wine drinkers know about. And that is fine. I am happy to be one of those "select" members of the comic-buying audience who has discovered the great comics VEI is publishing. But I also want to see more love for Valiant! It's a shame these great stories and characters are not being enjoyed by more readers. I've discussed Valiant with my LCS and he says he's tried to push customers toward the Valiant line but that people are very resistant. Last week when I went to get my new books he did not even have a shelf copy of Unity #18 for sale. He ordered just enough for his pull list. I think that is unfortunate.

[nycjadie]

The numbers are low. Lower than when Acclaim folded. I know the industry is different now, but investors want money and I would be highly surprised if they were in the black. I think the feeling is that the future movies and merch would subsidize the issues, and with added mass-audience interest, the publishing arm could be in the black. Valiant is nothing without its fanboys, and we want issues. We can preach the gospel of Valiant, but at the end of the day, these numbers are low.

[agent_graves]

My comments were not meant to be doom and gloom, so I apologize if that is the way it came across. I definitely believe it when Dinesh says they are funded for the long haul and are actually ahead of where they expected to be at this time with their plan. And I am not saying VEI will fold up shop if they don't double their readership soon. I am only disheartened by the numbers because I'm surprised that more readers aren't taking an interest in VEI comics considering the quality of their product. Yes, right now VEI is like a very fine boutique wine that only a select number of wine drinkers know about. And that is fine. I am happy to be one of those "select" members of the comic-buying audience who has discovered the great comics VEI is publishing. But I also want to see more love for Valiant! It's a shame these great stories and characters are not being enjoyed by more readers. I've discussed Valiant with my LCS and he says he's tried to push customers toward the Valiant line but that people are very resistant. Last week when I went to get my new books he did not even have a shelf copy of Unity #18 for sale. He ordered just enough for his pull list. I think that is unfortunate.

I feel you CB, it can be disheartening, because we want to see Valiant succeed, they're putting out great comics, but in a sense, it's still a small company, that will continue to grow and expand over time.