Category: Q & A

For the retailer – one month is fine, or whenever all the single issues are sold out. It's so much easier to stock and track inventory on graphic novels (GNs) than for comics. GNs hold up better to fondling in-store, and have a higher profit margin. They're also just about the only format non-hardcore comics fans will realistically buy. GNs are basically the perfect format, with the exception of release cycle. Also, GNs are regularly stacked on shelves in real bookstores, at least the ones that still exist, which is something that can't be said for comics. Even Amazon will sell you a GN, but they pretty much won't touch individual issue sales.

For the publisher – A bit more variance, but the sooner the better. At this point, comics are a loss-leader for the GN market, and a canary in the coal mine that helps warn against continuing a storyline/arc/creative team should sales completely tank. As with retailers, GNs produce higher margins for the publisher… But also higher costs, so more than schedule, seeded demand is the key component. Basically, monthly comics are many times now laid out and paced with an eye for GN success, rather than packing more punch into the monthly – lots of two page spreads, and issues where nothing seems to happen. As well, storylines are paced and packaged and interwoven to help create cross-sell from a given title to others down the line. It doesn't always work, but series like Avengers Disassembled certainly helped sell both classic archival trades, as well as pre-sell the follow-on New Avengers continuing comic and GNs, which then split off into Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Pet Avengers, etc etc etc. Oh yeah, and the sooner you get the GN out the door, the sooner the whole thing is "done", and you can move on to other projects.

For the reader – Let's face it, we want a GN or so per month, not 32 pages including ads. To be able to read a nice encapsulated story, to be able to pass it around to friends and not worry about one of them losing my issue of Dakota North #5 (fuck you, Chet!)… Er, I mean, and to be able to save between 30-50% of the retail cover price on a set of single issues telling the same story – well, that's just good all around. Various attempts at bonuses, the DVD extras of comicdom if you will, have largely been non-starters (just like real DVDs, go figure), but nevertheless there are opportunities to provide premiums and real value in a collected trade that fans can actually understand… Unlike, say, the "foil cover" version of Superman #75 – In which our hero dies, inevitably to be brought back to life after a one year hiatus, WITH A FOIL COVER WHICH MAKES IT SOOOOO MUCH BETTER!

Simply put: it's in everyone but the artist's interests to move as quickly as possible to create a graphic novel release, assuming there is a likelihood it will sell at least to break-even in the marketplace. If you look outside the US market, to places like Europe or Japan, the hardcore market is able to easily pay for and read up to 4 times the pagecount per month for titles they enjoy, but it's really the release of the GNs that spike sales and interest in a comic book property over the long haul. Discounting the artist's need for sleep/carpal healthcare, then, it's even in their interests, should they actually want to make a living of their dream job. 😉

What is an acceptable time frame between the last issue of a story arc and its collected edition (trade paperback, hardcover, etc.) ?

It depends on the Hulk. Kinda.

At various times, the Hulk has had:

• A fairly "stable" power level, affected only slightly to moderately by his anger level
• A power level (and even physical body) that increased in direct proportion to anger level
• A power level (and physical body) that decreased in direct proportion to anger level ('Smart Hulk, Savage Banner' – some of the most interesting modern Hulk stories in the modern era)
• Many, many other permutations of the above (The Maestro, various Banner/Hulk splits, Grey Hulk, etc etc).

The Thing, honestly, would have a hard time beating down any of these (Savage Banner excluded)… Nevertheless, The Thing tends to be depicted as being "Stronger than a Hulk at rest", that is, having a more consistent strength that can beat a "barely transformed classic Hulk", and able to stand toe-to-toe against a moderately angry one.

The only problem is... There appears to be no limit to the rage potential of the Hulk, and fighting tends to make him more angry (he just wants to be left alone, after all).

Thus, whether they are fighting each other, or even working together, even if the Thing starts out stronger than the Hulk, that advantage will inevitably give way to the ever-increasing power level of the Hulk, at least until whatever conflict/issue is resolved that allows Big Green to calm down again.

Who is stronger: The Hulk or The Thing?

This is more an issue of economics than anything else – as the cost of production, printing, and distribution of paper comic books continues to rise, it's harder and harder to profit from a "B-tier serial", or to expand the audience for any comic outside of hardcore fandom (though it does happen).

"Self-contained stories", or at least "digestible compilations" such as graphic novels of serializations, however, have taken off in the last decade for a few simple reasons:

• economies of scale allow for a much cheaper $/page ratio for the reader ($3/32 pp for comics vs. $10/200 pp for GNs)
• the larger format GNs look a LOT like "regular paperback books", which is a product that all kinds of retailers, not just bookstores, already know how to shelve and sell.
• Comics, on the other hand, typically require specifically constructed wall displays, or space-inefficient and clumsily-operated spinner racks… They are smaller and more fragile than other magazines, and while their content should be more evergreen (a big problem with selling older/out of date print mags like Time, say), there are so damn MANY of them, it's just too hard to keep track of inventory/stage them nicely/etc.
• For non-serialized single volume work of appropriate length (150-300 pp), it's also now possible to make a profit with the more friendly book/box store/discounter/toy and game channels to exploit on top of the dedicated comic book market.

Simply put, it's easier to display, sell, and manage inventory of graphic novels/longer form comics, and theoretically no less so for a single volume work (especially at book retailers – keeping all 42 volumes of Dragonball in stock at a given Barnes location, for example, is a complete NIGHTMARE).

But, you say, this has not answered the question "do people still WANT to read…", and you're right: what people want is not the same as what the publishers want, which also differs from what the retailers want. It's a game of finding equilibrium between all three, and a messy game at that. Perhaps I could simplify it further: what people want in comics, and how much they are willing to pay for that stated want, are often out of alignment.

This is one of the reasons why digital and online publishing hold so much promise (outside of, er, monetization) – they are FAR more closely linked between creator and reader, with fewer middlemen taking a cut, or enforcing limitations over content or frequency.

Do people want daily/weekly/monthly "chunkable" serials? YES. Do they want nice, tightly wrapped stories/arcs, even if that means a year between releases? YES. Are you more likely to find the latter at Target, or even Amazon.com? Most certainly!

Do people still want to read ongoing soap opera-like comic books or only self contained stories?

This is a fairly complicated bit of law… The long story short version is… "kinda".

Basically, the copyright itself can expire, but if the trade dress, iconic image, registered trademarks, etc are still in force/under separate copyright, then for the most part you're out of luck.

The most recent "superhero" to face this is probably still Popeye, whose original copyright expired in 2008/2009, at least throughout most of the world (I've given up on figuring out US copyright law, it's basically infinite for no good reason).

Popeye, as created and drawn by Elzie Seger, is totally fair game. You can whip up T-shirts of the image, re-release older strips, etc. Original narratives featuring the character, however, will probably have to duke it out with King Features, who hold the registered trademark for the image of Popeye. Since King Features is owned by the Hearst Corporation, well… I'm guessing it's not a legal battle many could afford to wage, let alone win.

The same would likely be true for any older heroes who still appear now and then in print (and in fact, when certain characters are about to become public domain, miraculously all the older books featuring them are re-released, with new covers, and perhaps even new stories, to help keep everything locked down).

The best thing to do, unfortunately, is simply to push forward with a totally original work… And if need be, use "similar archetypes" to replicate, parody, or otherwise make use of these older characters in ways that are both legally defensible, but also evocative and entertaining to prospective readers.
Good luck!

After the expiry of its copyright, can I use a comic character for my personal publishing?

Not sure why the other answers got so off track – you can expect to remain around 4.75" fully erect throughout life.

What is the expected length of my penis if i am 16 now and 4.75" fully erect?