Some Civil Thoughts
I really thought I said everything I had to say about this yesterday, but I continue to see rants across the internet about how unprofessional and irresponsible "big name" creators are, as if that is the reason for this delay. The one single, solitary reason for Marvel's need to delay 2/3 of their publishing schedule for the rest of the year is poor planning.
I think Graeme pretty much nails it when he points out what this shows us about Marvel's editorial strategy. Clearly there was a crossover planned for summer 2006 and come hell or high water, something was going in that slot. So, rather than adjusting to a new idea and delaying the start of the crossover (which, incidentally might have allowed titles like Capt. America, New Avengers and Iron Man to finish their pre-Civil War storylines before the mini-series launched).
I am fully in support of allowing creators as much time as possible to create the best work possible. But that means being flexible in scheduling, and more importantly, planning ahead. If comics aren't going to be monthly anymore (and let's be honest, the higher the profile the later the book) that's fine, but let's plan ahead and have some idea of what sort of schedule you're dealing with, rather than waiting until the last minute with fingers crossed (especially when the majority of what you publish revolves around the high profile late comics).
Of course, Marvel probably won't take TOO much of a hit on this because:
a) The creators (specifically McNiven) are taking the blame.
b) 1:75 variants are going to continue to inflate the sell-in numbers.
c) Retailers will have no way of judging how much fan interest will drop off -- and as much of a cowardly and superstitious lot as we are when it comes to our orders, its tough to cut orders on a book that has sold as well as Civil War.
d) This has become standard operating practice. Readers are still going to pick this book up, the trade is still going to sell and Marvel will make only slightly less money in the long run off of the tie-in books. Unfortunately, retailers may not be so lucky.
For much less Civil but no less accurate comments, check out Hibbs thoughts at Savage Critic(s).
I think Graeme pretty much nails it when he points out what this shows us about Marvel's editorial strategy. Clearly there was a crossover planned for summer 2006 and come hell or high water, something was going in that slot. So, rather than adjusting to a new idea and delaying the start of the crossover (which, incidentally might have allowed titles like Capt. America, New Avengers and Iron Man to finish their pre-Civil War storylines before the mini-series launched).
I am fully in support of allowing creators as much time as possible to create the best work possible. But that means being flexible in scheduling, and more importantly, planning ahead. If comics aren't going to be monthly anymore (and let's be honest, the higher the profile the later the book) that's fine, but let's plan ahead and have some idea of what sort of schedule you're dealing with, rather than waiting until the last minute with fingers crossed (especially when the majority of what you publish revolves around the high profile late comics).
Of course, Marvel probably won't take TOO much of a hit on this because:
a) The creators (specifically McNiven) are taking the blame.
b) 1:75 variants are going to continue to inflate the sell-in numbers.
c) Retailers will have no way of judging how much fan interest will drop off -- and as much of a cowardly and superstitious lot as we are when it comes to our orders, its tough to cut orders on a book that has sold as well as Civil War.
d) This has become standard operating practice. Readers are still going to pick this book up, the trade is still going to sell and Marvel will make only slightly less money in the long run off of the tie-in books. Unfortunately, retailers may not be so lucky.
For much less Civil but no less accurate comments, check out Hibbs thoughts at Savage Critic(s).
posted by Sam Hobart at 11:56 AM
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