Anyone interested in reading more critical acclaim for “Fallen Angel” is invited to check out the following site:
http://weblogs.variety.com/bags_and_boards/
The reviewer says at one point that the future of the series is hinging on the success of the trade. That’s pretty much right. If you haven’t tried it out yet, now’s the time. If your local comic store couldn’t be bothered to stock it, grab it off Amazon (where the current sales ranking is not especially impressive.)
PAD
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My store the Last Game Store In Dartmouth Nova Scotia still has issues and the trade if ya need em.
Sorry for the shameless plug. 🙂 🙁
I’ve been in Japan for the past six years or so, and so had not heard of it till i came to your blog. I’ve enjoyed your past work, particularly on the Hulk (does the new mini have an artist yet?), and so will try to track this down once i’ve moved back to the States and have a stable income.
Best wishes on the series until then.
Brian
“My store the Last Game Store In Dartmouth Nova Scotia still has issues and the trade if ya need em. Sorry for the shameless plug. 🙂 :(“
By all means, plug away. In fact, one of the reasons I make a point of mentioning the reviews is so that–if you’re so inclined–you can post the reviews nearby where comics are displayed in order to pique interest.
I know there are retailers out there who have gotten behind the book and have it available for fans. I just get frustrated sometimes when fans tell me that their retailer doesn’t carry the book at all, or that they only order copies for subscription readers and never for the shelf, and that almost nothing can budge them from this policy.
PAD
I’ve shifted to a trades-only buying pattern, so I was glad to see the Fallen Angel collection finally hit my store (Dewey’s Comic City in NJ) a couple of weeks ago. This is a really great title, Peter. It doesn’t read like any of your other work, but I was completely engrossed in it. I hope it sells well enough that there will be more trades in the future.
I preordered one copy for me (even though I buy the issues) and also an extra one to give to a friend.
Brian – I don’t know where in Japan you are, but if it’s in one of the major centers, have you tried Manga no Mori? Some outlets, such as the one in Yokohama or in Ikebukuro, Tokyo have American comics as well as the standard Japanese fare.
I recieved a copy of the trade from my buddy Gordon for my birthday (thanks, Sparky!), and I personally think that Harlan’s intro alone is worth the price of admission (not that the book itself is all that shabby! 😉 ) And, for the record, I’ve had a subscription to the title at my local comic shop (Comic Swap in State College, PA. Free plug, Chris!) since issue one, so you know I’ve been doing my part to keep the book alive.
I bought the trade and it was one of the best pieces of literature I have read in a long time. Any idea when Vol. 2 is coming out?
I’ve been there from issue # 1 enjoying the journey but that didn’t stop me from picking up a copy of the TPB. It’s not much but it’s a way to help support a title I really enjoy.
Keep Hope Alive!
Is the trade actually out yet? If it is why does Amazon have it posted that it isn’t released yet?
Posted by James Tichy: “Is the trade actually out yet? If it is why does Amazon have it posted that it isn’t released yet?”
I’ve noticed that in some cases, Diamond does a much faster turnaround of books to comic book stores that publishers to do Amazon and wholesalers that Amazon gets stock from (Baker & Taylor and Ingram). Its arrival at Amazon should be imminent, but nine tiems out of ten I spot a book at my local (Jim Hanely’s in beautiful midtown Manhattan, boo-yah!) before it pops up on Amazon for sale.
The Amazon question is because comics stores and book stores are served by different distribution channels. I’ve also seen the reverse to be true, where a comics-related book will have been in book stores for a while before the publisher gets around to listing it for sale via Diamond to comic book stores.
I’ve bought all the individual issues, obviously I could buy the trade to help support the cause, but other than that (and that’s probably sufficient reason, but still…) – why should I buy the trade? Any extras in it?
I bought the TPB last week and read it a couple of days ago. Great stuff, PAD. It deserves all the praise it’s been getting.
Y’know what’s funny? When I first started reading “FA” (aside from buying the new Peter David book), I was mostly interested in whether or not Lee was Linda, and was always looking for hints that she was. Now, a year later, I no longer care whether or not if she really is Linda. I enjoy the book so much, and love the character of Lee, that I’ll be satisfied no matter how the story ends. To me, that just indicates how quality of a book “Fallen Angel” really is.
Also, in response to a query posted above: there aren’t that many extras in the TP, but the intro. by Harlan Ellison is witty, if slightly bizarre, and there are some concept drawings in the back. I own the monthly issues, but bought the trade because it’s so much nicer to be able to read a collected story in one book, and also to support the title. I would extremely disappointed to see it end.
I was looking at some of the numbers for DC sales and saw that Fallen Angel’s issue sales have really dropped over the last couple of issues. It’s hovering at about 10,000 copies on the latest issue, IIRC. I’ve been preordering it every month and find it a great read, although I feel it reads best in trade format. I read the first six issues individually when they came out and then I reread them again later as a whole and when read together as a whole, I liked it much more. Maybe the trade will really turn some people on to the series because I would hate to see it cancelled. There’s so much to yet be explored in Bette Noir!
“I was looking at some of the numbers for DC sales and saw that Fallen Angel’s issue sales have really dropped over the last couple of issues.”
Well, the market is always faster to accommodate people who don’t want a title than people who do. On the one hand there’s a sales drop off and on the other I’ve got people telling me they can’t find it or their retailer doesn’t shelve it. There’s only so much guerilla marketing can do if DC can’t get the books in the stores.
PAD
My comic book store ordered 5 copies and sold out in one week. hard to know what would have happened if they ordered 10.
I enjoyed the ‘Beast’ storyline much better when I read it in one shot in the trade. I also was glad to see some extra goodies make it into the TPB as well. While I didn’t particularly like Ellison’s foreword, I liked better than no foreword. I also like seeing the early sketches that the artist did of the characters.
So Mr. David, is the title out of the woods yet?
Well, I bought the trade last week, so I hope that helps.
It was good, too.
BTW, I liked the last Captain Marvel even better. That series ending has been haunting me all week, and I have literally never had that kind of reaction to a ferkrisesake comic book before. Brrrrrr.
I’m glad reviews are good, but I’d like to again point out my concern that the series seems to be more suited for trade format than as a monthly series. I made this same post in the Fallen Angel #12 thread, but I’m not sure if you ever saw it, Peter. I think it’s worth repeating, since I think trades pose a real long-term threat to monthly comics.
Fallen Angel continues to be a very quick read. A good read, granted, and one of only a few monthlies that I pick up. But it is a title that I breeze through.
I brought this concern up about two months ago, and I’m bringing it up again because I think it’s an import aspect in today’s market. Comics seem to be getting shorter and shorter, while the prices keep going up. It is harder and harder to justify buying comics monthly when they entertain me for a matter of minutes.
When I raised this issue before, Peter said that his focus was on writing comics that could be reread. That’s appreciated, and certainly at the top of my criteria for picking a series to read. However, as important as quality is, there’s something to be said for quantity.
I would guess that the average wordcount of a comic has decreased in the last few years, and that it is simply the norm now. I think a big part of that is caused by the OTHER trend that comics have been going, which is when there’s an emphasis on trade paperbacks. A lot of writers seem to write more for that medium than for a monthly distribution, and I think it’s hurting the industry in the long run.
Peter, in your Newsarama interview, you talk about the dangers of people that will ‘wait for the trade.’ I find myself doing it more and more. It’s often not because I wait to see if a series is any good, but because a trade seems to be the appropriate format of the story. For example, when I picked up Ultimate Spider-Man as a monthly, I always breezed through an issue, and didn’t feel I got what I wanted to out of the story. When I started picking it up in trades, it was a much better read, and I enjoyed it much more and felt that my money was well spent. I think it is because I was reading it in the format that it was primarily intended for. I get the feeling (right or wrong) that you’ve moved more towards that style as well. As a result, I’m less and less inclined to buy Fallen Angel as a monthly, because it seems that it would be more enjoyable in a trade format.
To make a final point, I’ve heard a lot of good things about She-Hulk. I’ve heard that it is clever, well written, and pretty unique. I’ve also heard that it’s packed with content, and that it is a much longer read than most comics on the market. That’s a selling point that people have used, and I think it’s an important one to remember.
Finally, I agree that Fallen Angel really deserves the Vertigo imprint, and I hope that DC makes the decision to make that move.
I hope you take this as feedback from a longtime fan of your work who really wants your titles to succeed.
Josh
wow…Josh your a genius…I never even noticed until i read your post, but i just recently got a bookcase for my TPB collection (which I am rather proud of) and I am gonna fill it! You are so right when u say many different monthly titles seem to write for the TPB format now. Even when I make my yearly hunting list (cause I have to drive to the city) to pick up issues that I have missed, I noticed that this year I had a sub list of TPB to buy…uncanny.
P.S. at the top of my TPB list is the Fallen Angel trade…cause you know i missed the first 5 issues. Its hard to keep up when your collecting 21 titles. And thats what happens when all you do is re-read PAD’s entire run on the Hulk and think…will it ever be this good again?
Oooo ya!
MannyJ wrote:
“BTW, I liked the last Captain Marvel even better. That series ending has been haunting me all week, and I have literally never had that kind of reaction to a ferkrisesake comic book before. Brrrrrr. “
Wait… WHAT?! Series ending? Did I miss 25? When was it out?
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who can remember my previous posts, but if your comic shop refuses to get the trade paperback for you, try your bookstore. Most of us can appreciate those stores carrying and maintaining a “Graphic Novel” section and it is just positive reinforcement every time you buy one there.
Marvel moved their bookstore distribution from Diamond to a competitor. For us it has produced some flakey, difficult to explain results. Most trades come in about 2-3 weeks after they hit the comic shops. Every once in a while, there is one we never see and aren’t able to make come in as a special order from Ingram or Baker & Taylor. This is much worse with Marvel and Dark Horse titles. DC I can pretty much acquire anything they have in print. The in print thing is the other part Marvel is still learning about. Way too often a new trade comes out and is only available for 6-12 months. And yes I’ve ordered the Fallen Angel trade to make sure we get it for the shelf just in case the buyer drops the ball.
Josh: Early in the Quesada reign, (and PAD can correct me if I’m remembering incorrectly), the creators were instructed to tailor their stories so that they could be easily collected later. This was in response I thought to the fact that DC’s trade paperback program has been praised for years and it was an area of the market where Marvel wasn’t doing well.
For those who complain that they can’t find the monthly issue on the shelf when they walk in to their comic shop, start a pull list if you haven’t and add it to the list. If you have a list going and don’t have Fallen Angel on there, get it added. Most shops can’t afford to order a lot of extras of any title hoping people will walk in looking for it. Signing up for it tells the shop owner he needs and basically forces him to get it for you. If he sees demand rising he may gamble on a couple for walk-ins. Anyone saying they want to support the comic should be able to make that commitment.
Cool tidbit: In our little Waldenbooks in the wasteland known as Wyoming, for the most recent numbers we have, Graphic Novels had become our number one category outselling Fiction and Childrens and everything else. Pretty cool even if it was more manga than superheroes.
Well, I buy the singles and I enjoy it a lot. My wife has even started reading it. She gets it the day of release before I do. hrph!
I bought 3 out of 10 of the trades at my LCS to give as presents to people who like good stories but aren’t comic collectors. Hopefully they’ll wander in an pick up the singles along with passing the trades around to others.
I’ll read it to the end.. whether it’s issue 24 or 240. 🙂
I’m liking Fallen Angel, so hopefully the series will have a long life.
However, I don’t really get into the trades so much, prefering the monthly format. Hopefully I’m not screwing anything up by not buying the trade.
These are trying times. I don’t know what I need to be buying anymore…
I’ve bought both the individual issues, and also just picked up the trade today.
My comics buying has dropped off sharply of late, though I make sure to pick up FA.
I will agree with others that it’s often easier to collect the trade, and read the story arc all at once, rather than trying to go from issue to issue. But I’ll keep buying both, so that we can keep getting this book produced.
Hi, Peter. Hope this works.
Linda Deneroff
Let’s try this again.
Linda