They Said it Better: The Chopping Block

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James Robinson, via Twitter, says that sales of DC's "The Shade" miniseries are low enough that there might not be a collected edition, or even a conclusion. Todd Allen at The Beat has written a spirited defense of the series.

I'm not suggesting that those of you who prefer to wait for trades should switch back to individual issues in most cases -- I do a lot of trade-waiting myself now -- but be aware that the weak economy has finally hit the publishers enough that those collections are no longer guaranteed. DC recently cancelled the last trades of "Doom Patrol" and "R.E.B.E.L.S.", for example, and Marvel just stopped the "All-Winners Squad" miniseries in the middle. You're almost certainly safe waiting for titles like "Avengers" and "Justice League", but if you want to keep some of the lower-tier titles in business you may want to consider adding them to a pull list at your local shop or buying them digitally.

Comments

  1. ShaneDecember 1, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    This surprises me, given that--with (presumably) enough demand for the Starman Omnibi--I thought DC might feel this series would sell well in collected format too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. pghheadDecember 1, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Thanks for the link to the Allen article - - good to see a reviewer getting behind a title in an effort to save it. I also appreciate Allen's link to the ICV2 site that reveals actual sales numbers. (You can be the #100 book of the month with just 25,000 copies!)
    I also have been leaning towards waiting for trades - - but not as much as some of us because what I like is more "alternative", "indie", or "lesser known" and doesn't always generate enough sales to warrant the later trade edition. But if the economy doesn't improve, more and more books will never get printed in trades. Heads up, comic fans!

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