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Post by Lord Death Man on Jul 31, 2019 20:10:01 GMT
Some of the titles did start off strong but interest dropped later which led to lowering sales numbers and for some cancellations(Marvel has a whole had to drop close to half of their 100+ titles in the last few years in tally)and eventual rebrandings, I'd say the 'Marvel Comics is failing' stuff really came into view sometime in 2017 when insiders posted then recent sales statistics. Can't speak for everyone but at the store I regularly go to the newest Marvel titles tend to collect dust while manga, Image, Valiant, and Dark Horse sell more, and older reprints or omnibuses of classic storylines are purchased in heartbeats, I'd say the same goes for DC - huge selection of Doomsday Clock on one shelf collecting all issues of the run from start to current but barely touched. Regarding critical reception personally I tend to trust the average consumer more(Which is why in these types of discussions I focus more on profit) as many of these professional reviewers sometimes come across as biased as certain storylines seem to appeal to them on a political level and in some cases they were not really long time readers of Marvel and appreciators of the medium till more recently - so whatever issues long time readers have matter little to nothing. Aren’t the best selling comics still the stuff from Marvel and DC? Last I heard, Marvel, DC, and Image still have the biggest share of comic sales with Dark Horse Boom! Studios, Valiant and a few others all coming in as distant thirds. Comic book sales for Marvel - even at peak performance - are a loss leader. Film and merchandising profits far outstrip comic book sales. Comic book sales are more or less the food and beverage side of the Marvel empire. The sad thing is that Marvel doesn’t actually treat the comic book division accordingly and individual books are still priced at an unjustifiable premium. DC has made strides towards more reasonable pricing.
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