Go, Read: Todd Allen On Marvel’s Approach To The Direct Market

I liked this article by Todd Allen on Marvel's current approach to the Direct Market, focusing on their inability or unwillingness to sell a significant number of books unless a #1 issue is somehow involved. I think things are healthier for the market over the long-term if companies like Marvel build strong-selling series that hold a significant portion of their audienc year in and year out. The desire -- and perhaps the institutional mandate -- to maximize profit quarter to quarter does play havoc with a continuity of sales. The problem is you never know if there is a "there" from which these practices deviate, how much that part of the industry really is just about new #1s and a kind of compulsive, constant collecting mentality. Certainly it's easier to keep gaming the system, even to diminishing returns, than to adopt an entirely different way to look at the market. You can even make the argument that this isn't gaming the system, this is the system.
 
posted 5:55 pm PST | Permalink
 

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