Over the next few weeks, I’ll be announcing and discussing several up and coming projects. The first of them is that there is going to be a “Fallen Angel” trade paperback. It’ll be coming out in June of 2004. So for all those “I’m sitting on my hands until the trade comes out,” no excuses.
Still, there’s going to be enough of a time gap between the first trade and the next months of the series (issue #12 will be hitting the stands around the time of the trade collecting 1-6) that I’d still encourage people who aren’t already to sample the book. A new story arc between with #7, and personally, I think it buries the first one.
PAD
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Actually, I’m on the other end of the spectrum. I bought all of the issues as they came out, so I’ll be passing on the Trade. I always try to buy the regualar issues instead of the trade. It’s a bit of my own small part of keeping my beloved funny-books in publication.
You don’t know what you’ll be missing. First of all, it’ll feature some really neat character studies that David did before drawing the series so you can see the artistic process at work. Secondly, it will look really nice on your book shelf and you don’t want your Peter David collection to be incomplete.
Yay! Although, I probably won’t pick up the trade as I have the single issues. But doesn’t this mean that the series will be around for at least a little while longer? Non-SCU books that don’t have “big” names attatched to them get cancelled fairly quickly (Reign of the Zodiac is ending with #8), so hopefully Fallen Angel will be with us for along time down the road.
DCU, rather. Stupid S button.
Yay!
Even though it means occasionally missing out on things that I want to read, I’ve become a devout wait-for-the-trade person. I’m sorry for any real or percieved adverse effects that it has on the industry but I a) don’t like buying the same material twice, and b) just don’t enjoy reading titles in singles even 1/2 as much as I enjoy reading them in trades. It’s not even a financial thing – I just like the format better. (And, yes, in the rare instance when a trade costs more than the singles I’ll still take the trade every time). I’ve been really looking forward to reading this series – can’t wait!
Now if only DC could start putting their trades out as quickly as Marvel does, and put out trades of your entire run on Supergirl. Loved the first book!
I’d rather not buy the trades because of financial reasons. I see buying the individual issues as paying for the story in installment payments. I’m hesitant to fork over $ 20 for a trade. But I’m a modest weekly purchaser, usually spending $5 to at most $ 9 (and that’s when I’m also buying comics for my ten year old son). I have to say it’s also a nostalgic pull for me to buy my weekly comicbooks.
Even though it means occasionally missing out on things that I want to read, I’ve become a devout wait-for-the-trade person. I’m sorry for any real or percieved adverse effects that it has on the industry but I a) don’t like buying the same material twice, and b) just don’t enjoy reading titles in singles even 1/2 as much as I enjoy reading them in trades.
I’m with you, although in this day and age comic companies seem to understand that TPBs are a part of doing business… especially on newer titles. If a book gets some solid reviews, it’s got a good chance of getting trade-paperbacked. “Reign” got cancelled, but the reviews I read were pretty lukewarm, so it really wasn’t a surprise.
Anywho, “Fallen Angel” gets put down on the “maybe I’ll check it out if I’ve got some extra money” list. It’s pretty likely I’ll pick it up eventually. If not Amazon, I’m sure I can score a copy off Sequential Swap, which, incidently, is great place to try out books– http://www.sequentialswap.com/
Good news, indeed–the more copies of FA out there in different formats, the better, I say. And this is one of those rare instances where I’ll be buying the trade despite already owning the magazines, probably to give as a gift. If FA ever gets to feeling “secure” in the market, I’ll swicth over to trades for it entirely.
Now: can we come up with clever ways to get this trade into the hands of readers who aren’t picking up the magazines?
And speaking of trades, how about the Soulsearchers and Company trades? There’s a series that is crying out for a shelf full of well-bound trades, instead of a scattered collection of individual issues all over the place.
Non-DCU books that don’t have “big” names attatched to them get cancelled fairly quickly (Reign of the Zodiac is ending with #8), so hopefully Fallen Angel will be with us for along time down the road.
Yeah, but “Zodiac” sucked. That’s the big difference between it and “Fallen Angel”. 😉
Great news!
I have all of the single issues, but I wanted a TP to share with everyone else, and get them hooked on this fantastic series.
I’ve been buying the monthly to help support it, but I’ll be upset if the trade comes with a bunch of extras that I didn’t get from the individual issues. I’ve been “rewarded” that way for my monthly support several times and I don’t like it.
–your pal, Hoy
Gotta agree with your pal, Hoy, Peter (and Bob G.). I support the industry by buying the monthly issues and don’t like it when the collections have so many extras. I feel slightly slighted.
I’m glad that the series will be available in tpb. I do understand that some people prefer that format.
I’ve been buying the monthly to help support it, but I’ll be upset if the trade comes with a bunch of extras that I didn’t get from the individual issues. I’ve been “rewarded” that way for my monthly support several times and I don’t like it.
And I appreciate how it comes across that way. But now look at it from the other angle:
First, fans talk about how they liked the old days when new series would have introductory pages (instead of letters pages since there were obviously no letters yet) talking about how a series was developed, what went into it, etc. The format of today’s comics don’t allow that. So trades are the only places where we can have that sort of stuff. They’re also particularly useful when the trades are being bought either by (a) readers who are new to the series, and considering the growing number of “Waiting for Trade”-ers out there, that’s quite a few, or (b) book store customers.
Second, what seemed to be happening was that fans who bought titles on a monthly basis that they really liked would buy the trades as supplements so they’d always have the stories in well-bound, permanent fashion (as opposed to the old days when fans would buy two copies of favorite series, one for reading and one to keep pristine in a snug). Putting in extra stuff is, yes, a “reward” for those fans who support both formats. But that’s not intended as a slam at those who support the monthlies.
What’s your “reward” for supporting the monthly title? Hoy…your reward is that, with enough folks out there like you, there gets to *be* a monthly title. You and the folks like you, you’re what keeps the title going. You’re the guys I count on while I’m busy banging my head on the wall every time I see a “Read the first issue, liked it, will buy it as a trade” post.
PAD
I’m happy for the trade, Peter, since I guess it means FA is doing well enough to warrant one and so won’t be cancelled soon (l love the series by the way). I’m kinda in the middle when it comes to trades – for instance Many Happy Returns was probably my favorite comic book story in the last 5 years but I still haven’t bought the SG trade (probably will eventually) since I own two copies of all those issues in floppies.
On the other hand, with series that I’m just getting attatched to mid-run (like JSA or Batgirl) or am only vaguely interested in (like Teen Titans), I’ll get the trade to see what I missed.
Trades are a vital part of the business now and I can only hope DC does more of them (like Marvel) even for mid-selling titles since that seems to be the only way comics will get into chain bookstores or places like Amazon.
Amen to the Soulsearchers TPB notion… I’d really like to see that series collected.
Other than that I find myself buying ongoing series and most minis as they come out in their monthly form — just can’t wait. But I gotta admit that a TPB is the nicer media for reading stories, especially for mini-series. Just read the excellently funny Batgirl series by Beatty and Dixon and it worked very well in the cllected form. Will probably do the same with Birthright and Busieks Secret Identity. This way you get a chance to have some stuff directly (like Giffen’s Just don’t call them JLA… or whatever the name was), some stuff later-on in collected form, and free of ads :-).
All in al, though, I like the monthlies — somehow that’s the way comics are meant to be… if only they were cheaper.
Personally I like TPBs, look better and last more, but, if I like a series I want my monthly dose, so, when a TPB that I like comes out I buy it and give the old issues to somebody, to get him in the series.
Anyway, if you like Fallen Angel so far, get ready for next issues, it just gets better and better, deeper and deeper.
Personally I like TPBs, look better and last more, but, if I like a series I want my monthly dose, so, when a TPB that I like comes out I buy it and give the old issues to somebody, to get him in the series.
Anyway, if you like Fallen Angel so far, get ready for next issues, it just gets better and better, deeper and deeper.
Typing of SOULSEARCHERS (as some were doing here), anyone know if it is being distributed north of the [U.S.-Canada] border? Or is President Shrub causing problems with that? 😉
I’m just asking because we have [at least] three good-sized comics shops in Ottawa and none of them have ever even heard of the title.
I’m no fan of our president, but I sincerely doubt that he (or any of his policies) are affecting the distribution of Claypool comics into Canada (at least, any more than any other publisher’s output…)
Rob
” I’m no fan of our president, but I sincerely doubt that he (or any of his policies) are affecting the distribution of Claypool comics into Canada …”
I suspect you’re right. 😉
But there CAN be problems. I sent a copy of ROCK AND A HARD PLACE [the book which introduced me to PAD’s stuff] to a friend in Brazil. She loved it so much that, just partway through she dropped in to her favourite bookstore down there to get more of his works, only to be told that, yes, David’s stuff was popular, but they couldn’t keep it stocked because of problems they had with the distributors or printers on the U.S. side of the equation who were giving them grief in terms of trying to get copies.
Y’know, even I wouldn’t have thought to blame Bush for distribution problems in comics. It’s brilliant. Ðámņ you, Mr. President, for screwing with our comic books!
PAD
You’re the guys I count on while I’m busy banging my head on the wall every time I see a “Read the first issue, liked it, will buy it as a trade” post.
I understand your aggrevation, but it is the cheapest way to sample a new title. If you can get a successful trade-paperback line off the ground, then your same monthly sales go from “border-line cancellation” to “hit book”… just like the several Vertigo books you outsell on a monthly basis. Really, it all comes down to how many fans are out there. I’ve seen many a book sell as well as “Vertigo hits” and be considered a failure because they reached the vast majority of their audience with the monthly, and there was not enough wait-for-the-traders to justify continued reprinting.
So, from another vantage point, you should be glad you’re hearing all those folks say “I’ll wait for the trade”. They’re the ones who are going to keep your stories in-print, which will lead to an easier jumping-on process for readers who come in late.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to make the transition from monthly writer to regularly-collected-in-TPB writer, like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, and several others. Although I perfectly understand your nervousness as you wait to see if you cleared the hurdle or not. But from a regular TPB watcher like myself, it looks real good for Fallen Angel. You’ve been getting solid reviews for Fallen Angel, you’ve got a loyal monthly fanbase, and you’ve got a good number of potential readers eyeing the release of the trade with some anticipation. A couple of years from now, you might just be lighting your cigars with $100 bills… then putting it out, because you ain’t got money to burn, but you’ve got money to singe. 🙂
“What’s your “reward” for supporting the monthly title?”
I would have said the ability to read the stories months, maybe years, before they get collected into a TPB, myself.
Typing of SOULSEARCHERS (as some were doing here), anyone know if it is being distributed north of the [U.S.-Canada] border? Or is President Shrub causing problems with that? 😉
Actually, I hear John Ashcroft is investigating Soulsearchers for Satanic influences… 😉
Ah, good news. I will definately be picking this up when it comes out.