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Post by The Doctor on Mar 29, 2020 21:11:05 GMT
It was alright. Certainly better than the last Batman comics I've read (the Batman Metal ones in Titanvision before they suddenly stopped). Alas, it has the bad fortune of launching when most shops are shut/less footfall. I suspect it will be toast very quickly unless it picks up enough subs.
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Mar 30, 2020 12:52:00 GMT
I went out and picked one up today (as part of my government mandated exercise or for shopping) whichever will avoid the wrath of overzealous police,
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 16, 2020 16:59:55 GMT
From their FB: Paninivision titles due this week have been bumped back a month by COVID-19.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 21, 2020 14:32:41 GMT
FB also notes the editors have now been furloughed.
-Ralph
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Post by paulbyrnex on May 4, 2020 15:01:55 GMT
From Facebook it appears the all titles are postponed till a later date
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Post by Pinwig on May 4, 2020 16:09:56 GMT
I expect they would be if the editors have been furloughed. I think this is because so many branches of Smiths are shut; for titles that sell slim numbers, the fact the default newsagent for most people isn't open at the moment means sales would be too low to make the print run viable. Interesting Times.
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Post by The Doctor on May 4, 2020 16:28:01 GMT
Indeed. Subscribers aren't getting copies so presumably the newsstand market is still required to make these titles viable.
Batman #2 did not appear either.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on May 4, 2020 16:33:46 GMT
Yes. I quite enjoy reading Infinity and the editor there said exactly that - Smiths being mostly closed means it isn't viable to print an issue now, so they've basically shifted the one due now to the publication date of the next one.
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Post by paulbyrnex on May 5, 2020 13:14:44 GMT
I find it odd that 2000ad and Beano are managing their weekly schedule yet Panini can't with the monthly. My guess is 2000AD/Beano have a high subscription perhaps where as Panini is more newsagent take up ?
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Post by The Doctor on May 5, 2020 14:05:19 GMT
Possibly. DWM are still publishing Doctor Who Magazine every 4 weeks with the contents being assembled remotely (their Editorial said reader response to a subs offer had helped). It seems to be their reprint comic titles that are being affected.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on May 5, 2020 14:46:55 GMT
I think that's what it is. As Ralph says, the editorial in DWM says that subscriber numbers have been part of what's kept the magazine going, whereas other magazines like Infinity have said they can't publish without Smiths being open. I recall reading in the past that DWM has an unusually high subscriber/newsagent sales ratio, which is what has kept the title going through several times it could have been cancelled. Guaranteed monthly sales through subscriptions will be a huge part of this. We can also guess that the Marvel books are in trouble anyway because of the constant cost cutting/reformatting of the books. They must be about borderline for cancellation anyway, so losing newsagent sales would put them in a position where they can't afford to publish.
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Post by The Doctor on May 15, 2020 7:31:28 GMT
Titles delayed by a month have now been further delayed but with no publication date. I fear the end is nigh for reprints on the newsstand.  -Ralph |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 15, 2020 21:54:05 GMT
We'll see, but I hope there's a rethink about content and approach if they come back.
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Post by The Doctor on May 16, 2020 7:59:10 GMT
They certainly need to up their subscriber base to survive. In the Current Situation, The Phoenix, The Beano, Commando, DWM, 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine are still being published: all titles with a healthy amount of subs. Rebellion's Specials have so far still come out. Maybe they got enough pre-orders to keep them viable and/or the titles were already printed anyway.
I still think big bumper no-thrills newsstand reprints is the best way to keep Paninivision and the like viable. Crappy paper, nice and thick.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 24, 2020 16:11:40 GMT
Panini may have stopped publishing a few months ago but subscribers are still being charged for non-existent comics. Oh dear.
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 26, 2020 22:38:57 GMT
Oh dear indeed. That won't go down well.
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Post by paulbyrnex on Jun 26, 2020 23:02:54 GMT
They are sending out an email next week to subscribers with options and what not but its a bit late for some and they did mentioned July 9th as the earliest possible restart date on newsagent shelves but subject to changed.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 26, 2020 23:07:58 GMT
We shall see what they say. I was thinking of cancelling my subs anyway. With the lower page count (and with MWOM gone) they now seem rather expensive for my needs. I use Paninivision as reading copies to keep up with Marvel and recycle them when finished with them. At the price they're at now with the amount of content I'd rather use the library more or get trades for the really good stuff that I'd want to have permanent copies of.
I'd be sad to see them vanish from newsagents but perhaps their time has come.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 27, 2020 13:40:06 GMT
It's really sad to think that might be the case. It's bizarre that when Marvel films make millions in this country that there isn't a viable market for the comics they come from.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 27, 2020 13:52:35 GMT
Indeed, but when comics aren't advertised when a film comes out then this will happen. People cannot consume what they do not know exists. Contrast with when novel adaptations come out.
-Ralph
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Post by paulbyrnex on Jul 30, 2020 20:29:11 GMT
September is now the the next possible return to newsagents date though it still could change and isn't 100% set in stone
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 4, 2020 18:31:59 GMT
I would say at this point it is touch and go whether US comic reprints will return and/or survive on UK newsstands. -Ralph |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Aug 8, 2020 9:54:51 GMT
Sadly I concur, I think a new approach is called for.
I'd scale back the number of Panini's, ditch the cardstock cover - 100 pages like the old Complete Spider-Man used to be. A slab of reading for a price.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 8, 2020 10:59:45 GMT
Personally I think going square bound was where it REALLY all went wrong. You couldn't properly open the comics.
They're fighting a 4 way battle between declining news stand sales, comic shops attracting readers, decent trade programs and an increasing digital market. Avengers, ASM & X-Men have legs but the other titles? Did we really need two Deadpool titles?
There's been some mistakes made too MWOM was undone by it's frequently changing linups. X-Men by not printing Uncanny. Avengers by not doing the Hickman books
They've had a really good run but I suspect The End is coming.
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 8, 2020 11:08:20 GMT
Personally I think going square bound was where it REALLY all went wrong. You couldn't properly open the comics. I think that was the biggest factor for me. The other one, oddly, was getting rid of the proper corner box because I couldn't easily see which comic was which in Smiths because they're so tightly packed together. Despite the fact I still hanker for something physical to denote the fact I've bought the title, digital reading is much easier than the square bound spines. However I'm not sure the final end is coming quite yet. It's not like these comics are like the smaller independently owned magazines that have gone under. If Panini still have the licence they'll try something with it, even if its a reduced operation compared to before. If in March the readership was there to sustain, what, seven, eight? titles, they won't go straight to zero. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 8, 2020 11:13:13 GMT
MWOM doing away with the MWOM title and using the name of the lead strip prominently on the cover didn't help it either
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 8, 2020 11:18:16 GMT
Square bound was fine. Trades are square bound. No difference.
The rapid price hikes post-Brexit are what killed them slowly. When you realise you can read some series cheaper in trades a lot of the appeal went. They were no longer attractive buys. Then cutting the page count meant they were falling too far behind the US and had to miss material while still being overpriced.
Loved the changing roster in MWOM. Great variety: exactly what an anthology book should do. The mistake was changing the logo to say GUARDIANS or CAPTAIN MARVEL in giant letters. It made it hard to find on shelves and/or realise what title it was.
Sales were further eroded apparently when Titan's DC line went under and WH SMITH shenanigans with where titles were places in shops.
Sub prices were good but sent in flimsy paper envelopes so they were always heavily damaged/creased/torn.
Covid and shuttering newsagents was the last straw. Unless they come back as regular cheap and cheerful bumper packages their time has come. That was what made them work in the first place.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 8, 2020 11:29:57 GMT
Square bound was fine. Trades are square bound. No difference. There is; a trade is a trade, a comic is a comic. Trades are big enough and heavy enough to stay open on your lap once you're past the first dozen pages with minimal effort, the much thinner panini books are an arse to keep open because the page count isn't dense enough to weigh it down. The only option you've got is to fold it and crease the spine, which makes a mess of the book if you're intending to keep it. |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Aug 8, 2020 12:59:32 GMT
The Paninivision books are not published with the intent to be kept, the collector's edition monicker is bollocks as we all know. However, I do agree they should have never went squarebound, 100 page slab a la Complete Spider-Man maybe scale back the title numbers again. MWOM (chuck Deadpool in there), X-Men (you can have Wolverine in that), Spider-Man, and maybe an Avengers title.
Job done.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 8, 2020 14:44:53 GMT
Square bound was fine. Trades are square bound. No difference. There is; a trade is a trade, a comic is a comic. Trades are big enough and heavy enough to stay open on your lap once you're past the first dozen pages with minimal effort, the much thinner panini books are an arse to keep open because the page count isn't dense enough to weigh it down. The only option you've got is to fold it and crease the spine, which makes a mess of the book if you're intending to keep it. Trades don't magically stay open. There is no need to fold the Paninivision comics. The mechanical reading process is exactly the same for both. The latter were no different from Prestige format comics either. Many IDW 4-issue trades of 20 page comics aren't much thicker than the 100-page special Panivision card ones. A spine is a spine! -Ralph |
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