Top Ten Relaunch wishes

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:34 pm

I was pretty stoked about my regular copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #1.

But alas, I sold it. For a hundred and fifty bucks.

Too bad I can't sell all my other "less desirable" books for this much money.

iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:37 pm

greg wrote:
iggy101us wrote:
greg wrote:Name an important comic with a limited edition variant that has not turned the regular edition (more than half the total copies in print) into a second-class less-desirable book among collectors.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 regular and 1:100 white variant. The regular is still worth quite a bit.
Last sale of Ultimate Spider-man #1 CGC 9.6 regular (red) = $65
Last sale of Ultimate Spider-man #1 CGC 9.6 variant (white) = $400

Is anyone who owns the red REALLY not disappointed that it's not white? Seriously?
Originally the same price... 10 years later, not even close.
The "second-class, less-desirable" description still applies.

But $65 > "crap".

I do like variants from the collecting aspect. Just don't overdo it.

Going back to the original post, let's find out more about Armstrong's satchel.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:53 pm

X-O HoboJoe wrote: If you'd like to give out prizes (such what the original intent of the *VALIANT (1991-1996)* premiums were) would OA from the issues themselves suffice?

That's a great idea, but I kind of hope that VEI is letting the artists keep them to sell for extra income. Isn't that incentive to work for a company and do good work?

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:57 pm

iggy101us wrote:Going back to the original post, let's find out more about Armstrong's satchel.

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:57 pm

400yrs wrote:I kind of hope that VEI is letting the artists keep them to sell for extra income. Isn't that incentive to work for a company and do good work?

It sounds like an incentive to do all splash page interiors.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:58 pm

greg wrote:Why is a book like Bone #1 or Walking Dead #1 so popular 10 or 20 years later?
Because there aren't any "limited variants" for either book.

Nah. Those books are popular because they are good. Make a good book and the regular #1 will be collectible.

Examples of the regulars exceeding the variants are Invincible 1 and Chew 1 - both regular books are worth considerably more than the variants limited to 1,000.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:59 pm

greg wrote:
400yrs wrote:I kind of hope that VEI is letting the artists keep them to sell for extra income. Isn't that incentive to work for a company and do good work?
It sounds like an incentive to do all splash page interiors.

I thought you might say that.

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:04 pm

400yrs wrote:Examples of the regulars exceeding the variants are Invincible 1 and Chew 1 - both regular books are worth considerably more than the variants limited to 1,000.

That's news to me... are you serious? (Were they released at the same time?)

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:06 pm

1. Tight continuity.
2. Release schedules kept.
3. Talented creators.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:22 pm

greg wrote:
400yrs wrote:Examples of the regulars exceeding the variants are Invincible 1 and Chew 1 - both regular books are worth considerably more than the variants limited to 1,000.
That's news to me... are you serious? (Were they released at the same time?)

Damn you and your catches!

No, they weren't exactly the same time. The variants were after the regulars (probably 6 months or so).

MoonChild · Post by **MoonChild** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:31 pm

greg wrote:
iggy101us wrote:Going back to the original post, let's find out more about Armstrong's satchel.

iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:03 pm

Stronghold and Livewire - If VEI is rebooting, I would like to see a happier ending for those two.

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:05 pm

iggy101us wrote:Stronghold and Livewire - If VEI is rebooting, I would like to see a happier ending for those two.

Agreed

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:45 pm

OK, y'all have convinced me. NO variants!

BruceReville · Post by **BruceReville** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:02 pm

Heath wrote:OK, y'all have convinced me. NO variants!

I am open to flip covers - how about you?

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:32 pm

400yrs wrote:
greg wrote:
400yrs wrote:Examples of the regulars exceeding the variants are Invincible 1 and Chew 1 - both regular books are worth considerably more than the variants limited to 1,000.
That's news to me... are you serious? (Were they released at the same time?)
Damn you and your catches!

No, they weren't exactly the same time. The variants were after the regulars (probably 6 months or so).

Sounds like a worthless reprint.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:32 pm

BruceReville wrote:
Heath wrote:OK, y'all have convinced me. NO variants!
I am open to flip covers - how about you?

Yep, I'm open to that.

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:33 pm

Heath wrote:
BruceReville wrote:
Heath wrote:OK, y'all have convinced me. NO variants!
I am open to flip covers - how about you?
Yep, I'm open to that.

Are they all the SAME BOOK like Magnus #5? That's not a variant, that's a winner!

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:46 pm

I don't know about flip books. They can be good as a supplement, but both Marvel and DC had to go back on back up stories recently.

If readers feel like they are being charged more for essentially a back-up story, there will be scorn. Whether sales are lost on that.....

If you are charging the same amount as a regular book and are just taking away ad space or something, then yeah. It could be a good spot to try out a new character or a spot to feature / tryout new writers and artists.

I like what Image and DC have been doing in previewing new books in the back of their comics.

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:27 pm

400yrs wrote:I like what Image and DC have been doing in previewing new books in the back of their comics.

I wonder where they got that idea... oh yeah... Magnus #5!

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:31 pm

greg wrote:
400yrs wrote:I like what Image and DC have been doing in previewing new books in the back of their comics.
I wonder where they got that idea... oh yeah... Magnus #5!

The Rai / Magnus books were flip books with original Rai content. Image and Vertigo have been previewing pages from upcoming #1s so readers can get a sample of a new book.

Putting in an original story is nice, but putting in a preview of an upcoming issue would keep costs down and could help generate revenue on the new book. It's probably a bit more practical unless you have some artists who do good stuff, but want to get noticed and will work for free.

cplsimon · Post by **cplsimon** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 4:29 pm

Ok so I want Operation Stormbreaker. It was a great concept. It looked really cool.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:42 pm

cplsimon wrote:Ok so I want Operation Stormbreaker. It was a great concept. It looked really cool.

I agree. The Teutonic Knight was a great villain. It would be neat to him battle against the Good Skin.

cjv · Post by **cjv** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:42 pm

1) Focus on continuity and story telling. What happens in one book should be mentioned/commented on/effect the stories in other relevant books. I hate it when Spider-Man fights a villain in NY and he destroys half of NY, only you don't hear about it at all in FF or Avengers.

2) "World outside your window". This means many things. Relatively realistic physics. Dead means dead. No "super alien technology". No "1800 alien races". No gods. No mystical. People aren't "used" to seeing super heroes. People don't wear spandex and capes to fight bad guys.

3) Focus on story OVER splashy art. Simple, realistic art that tells the story is fine. Don't need pin ups, splash pages every other page, women who look like they couldn't balance on two feet, etc.

4) Slow starting on, slow expansion. One thing that Valiant started off doing well was a slow buildup. Start with one or two books, get a good back story and character development, than add another book or two. Now, they have some backstory and well developed characters already, so they don't need to start AS slow. But if they start putting out 5 or 6 or 10 titles right away, I think they will be in trouble.

5) Focus on building the universe first. How/why does it exist? What is different from our universe? If it is an continuation of the Valiant Universe, tell as what has been happening in the interim.

6) Not every guest character, cameo appearance, or super powered being deserves their own title. Not all characters/groups can carry their own title.

7) Treat that fans right. New fans, and old fans. Gold books were cool, but they started to get out of control. Something to recognize fans, fan effort, is always fun. Not variants, which are sold in the marketplace, but things like the coupon issues. A free give-away 0 issue was great as well, which brings us to..

8) An early crossover event, like Unity, done correctly could really draw people in. Done poorly, and it will cement the doom. Correctly means focusing on the story, that it actually advances the universe. Poorly means you need to buy every issue to understand what is going on, or that it is a crossover just to be a cross over.

9) Publish on a set schedule.

10) Nod to the old. Recognize the past. Respect it, build on it, but don't be limited by it.

(BTW, I still think Pierce could come back and replace the Solar character as the "mother" of the universe. Just as Solar has his split personalities, "Good Pierce" could have split of "Sick, Mentally Deranged Pierce".

wrunow · Post by **wrunow** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:12 pm

cjv wrote:1) Focus on continuity and story telling. What happens in one book should be mentioned/commented on/effect the stories in other relevant books. I hate it when Spider-Man fights a villain in NY and he destroys half of NY, only you don't hear about it at all in FF or Avengers.

2) "World outside your window". This means many things. Relatively realistic physics. Dead means dead. No "super alien technology". No "1800 alien races". No gods. No mystical. People aren't "used" to seeing super heroes. People don't wear spandex and capes to fight bad guys.

3) Focus on story OVER splashy art. Simple, realistic art that tells the story is fine. Don't need pin ups, splash pages every other page, women who look like they couldn't balance on two feet, etc.

4) Slow starting on, slow expansion. One thing that Valiant started off doing well was a slow buildup. Start with one or two books, get a good back story and character development, than add another book or two. Now, they have some backstory and well developed characters already, so they don't need to start AS slow. But if they start putting out 5 or 6 or 10 titles right away, I think they will be in trouble.

5) Focus on building the universe first. How/why does it exist? What is different from our universe? If it is an continuation of the Valiant Universe, tell as what has been happening in the interim.

6) Not every guest character, cameo appearance, or super powered being deserves their own title. Not all characters/groups can carry their own title.

7) Treat that fans right. New fans, and old fans. Gold books were cool, but they started to get out of control. Something to recognize fans, fan effort, is always fun. Not variants, which are sold in the marketplace, but things like the coupon issues. A free give-away 0 issue was great as well, which brings us to..

8) An early crossover event, like Unity, done correctly could really draw people in. Done poorly, and it will cement the doom. Correctly means focusing on the story, that it actually advances the universe. Poorly means you need to buy every issue to understand what is going on, or that it is a crossover just to be a cross over.

9) Publish on a set schedule.

10) Nod to the old. Recognize the past. Respect it, build on it, but don't be limited by it.

(BTW, I still think Pierce could come back and replace the Solar character as the "mother" of the universe. Just as Solar has his split personalities, "Good Pierce" could have split of "Sick, Mentally Deranged Pierce".

Very well said, great post