A quick note about DC’s 3D comics.
So far it looks like I’ve done…reasonably well on the ordering of this year’s batch of DC’s lenticular covers. The first week releases have not sold entirely through yet, though a few titles did sell out (and are surprisingly available for reorder, which tells me that plenty of copies were printed). And, the titles for which I do still have leftover copies, the leftovers are within reason and will likely sell through eventually, even if it’ll be out of the back issue bins. In short, I don’t feel like I was stuck with too much overstock, and I don’t feel like too many people missed out due to quick sellouts.
In even shorter, getting the numbers I actually ordered resulted in successful sales and happy customers.
Of my worries from the beginning of this post, the actual answer appears to be “everyone ordered enough, or at least there’s plenty still available to order” and thus no shortage-caused rush like last time. The novelty of the covers themselves still holds its appeal, and I do have several customers asking for one of each. Frankly, I don’t think the covers this year are quite as eye-grabbing as last year’s, as reducing the main image to a smallish box surrounded by a frame isn’t as impressive, but they don’t look bad by any means.
Plus, it didn’t seem to matter that the one-shots are nominally tied to DC’s New 52 Futures End weekly series, which is just sort of dragging along saleswise, at least in these parts. In fact, it seems like the tie-in is mostly name only…and thematically too, I guess, since the weekly and these one-shots take place five years in the future. The one-shots seem mostly standalone, at least the ones I’ve read. Swamp Thing was pretty good, but of course I’d say that, and Batgirl allowed Gail Simone her coda to her run on the series. I hear tell Grayson was pretty good as well, though I haven’t looked at that one yet.
It’s too early to say how the second week’s run of one-shots are doing, though so far, so good. They’re not “sell the second the doors open on Wednesday” so much as “will sell steadily over the next couple of weeks or so.” I expect them all to sell within my expectations…
…except, um, Infinity Man and the Forever People. Someone invent a time machine and go back and tell the Mike of four months ago to knock that order down a dozen or two.
I would think 2 copies of Infinity Man and the Forever People would have covered your demand and left you with a spare stock copy.
Did you have high hopes for Forever People based on the bust-out sales success of OMAC? Or was it Didio’s run on Phantom Stranger that convinced you to go big?
I was pleasantly surprised by Infinity Man and the Forever People. I enjoyed the first three issues (see my review on my own WordPress blog) and I’m looking forward to upcoming installments. Hopefully the series will actually sell well enough have a decent-sized run of a year or more. Cross your fingers!
i thought the swampy issue was a very cool ending to a storyline that hasn’t happened yet and may never happen. it also had the first appearance of some very interesting characters who had a major impact on swampy’s life, but hasn’t happened yet. the book left us with all these hints and questions that we, as readers, have no way of knowing if they will ever be answered. I’m hoping that Soule will now start telling the story that we just read the ending of. at the end of the story there will be a caption that says, “okay, now go back and read swamp thing futures end #1 for the finale.” I know this sounds confusing, and it is. they started the new 52 to get rid of the old, confusing continuity, and replaced it with this “jumping back and forth in time” storytelling technique that is very hard for me to follow considering I don’t read futures end. well done DC!
I’m pretty shocked because they’re selling terribly at my store here in AZ. It’s a very heavy superhero crowd, but they have plenty from last week and it looks like they’ll have plenty from this week. Can I claim DC Fatigue based on two anecdotal examples?!?!?
Yeah, they’re not exactly flying off the stands at the shop I work at. I think the Death of Wolverine series has stolen DC’s thunder, because people are going nuts for that instead.
“Infinity Man and the Forever People”
Sounds like a Starlin/Kirby crossover, but not as good as I would imagine THAT to be!