OFF TOPIC Spoiler * Cap 25 opinion

[wolverinelimited]

Ok, off character topic, but is the current "death" of Captain America good for Marvel ? Is it good for comics, or our comic
book hobby ? I will be the first to chime in here on the
Logan forum. No, I don't think that the death of Captain America will do the comic book community any good, after all, look what
it fortold of the comic book world as a whole when Superman was
offed back in 92-93. I was a comic shop owner then, made a
small profit running the shop, but when DC announced that they
were going to kill off an icon, one of they're top 2 characters, I
did not believe it to be a long term thing, BUT I did call Diamond
and order 1,300 extra copies. And sold my reorder out in less
than a month. AND made money. But in hind sight it pointed out
the health of the industry/hobby/passion as a whole. This was
the time known hence forth, as the "GLUT". I had unopened cases of Xforce # 1, unopened cases of Batman 426, 427, 428, 429, unopened cases of Xmen # 1. And , I didn't care, because I had sold so many of each of these "hot" titles that having an extra 200ct case or two didn't matter. I had made the financial
end on those issues and had moved on. Then I realized that I had
sold those 20-25 copies to non-comic book people. Card collectors that thought they would flip their investment quickly.
Guys that bought at my shop, went to my buddy's shop to turn
a quick profit, only to find that he also had an extra case or two.
Guys that bought at Ricky's shop, or Ann's shop, or TJ's shop, or
Glenn's shop came to my shop, and I had an extra case or two and was still selling them for cover price at my shop.
I can tell you with no amount of doubt that Marvel will make a
great deal more money from the current "program" going on with
the killing of Captain America # 25 this week. Reorders are supposed to be in comic shop hands in the next week or two. Then there will be plenty to go around. .... And you'll believe this.
Right ? Please, I've been on the other side of the counter, there are plenty of copies to go around right now. The recent figure of
70,000 copies of issues # 20 to 24 appears to be accurate on
shipping figures to dealers from Diamond. Give or take.
Out of this 70k, sell thru was probably about 60k, if standard
subscription/damage/back issue bin rates were viewed. Meaning
that 10k were the "push factor", or for non retail thinkers, that
means 10k were in "limbo". Back room overstock, already in quarter bins, in stock boxes for the next con, heading to CGC, etc, etc. There are plenty of copies, but at about 10 am EST on
Wednesday, they suddenly became $40/ books. AND they came
off the shelves, and into the back room. And already seen on Ebay, with numbers over $70. And people that never bought a
Captain America comic book, suddenly have the "Jones" for that issue.... And when Diamond releases the next round, it'll have a
pair of VARIANT covers, that everyone will want to have, again.
PLEASE don't misunderstand me, I AM A CAPITALIST, I WORK FOR MONEY. But the current "program" that Marvel appears to be instituting is wrong. If Joey Quesada is the brain trust behind this, his job MUST be on the line. One would have thought that
after 20 years in the industry, he would know better.

Chime in with your opinions... the health of our hobby demands it.

[Megalictis]

Given your experience I'm taking your opinion as an accurate prediction of the retail impact of Marvel's decision to "kill" Captain America. Issue #25 will take on a "collectors item" status that will inflate sales through speculative purchases. And less experienced retailers (who don't remember "The Glut") will likely overstock in hopes of taking advantage of this short-term demand.

As a consumer it won't have any effect on my purchasing (I never "collect" variant covers, and treat my hobby as entertainment rather than an investment). I don't buy or collect Capt. America and won't be picking up this issue as an "investment."

And as a long-time reader of Marvel Comics I don't believe Captain America is really dead. Metaphorically Cap' "died" when Steve Rogers "resigned" the role just prior to surrenderring to the authorities in Civil War #7. And it's true we say Steve Rogers shot by a sniper on the courthouse steps. But do we know he's dead? Do we even know if that was really Steve Rogers, or a SHIELD LMD? And even if Steve Rogers dies, others have taken up the mantle of Captain America before, and surely will again.

So Marvel will get a "Fallen Son" miniseries out of this, and characters will react to the "death" of the icon as part of the overall impact of Civil War. And for months they'll play up the mystery of the fate of Steve Rogers while someone else plays Captain America (or several characters contend for the role). And ultimatly, when Marvel stops playing the shell game with Steve, he'll return, finally "in touch" with the American people he repersents, more relevant than ever, at a moment when he's "needed the most."

I realize you were using the Death of Captain America as an example of the conics-industry practice of hyping a title and using variant covers to inflate sales by taking advantage of collector speculation for a temporary bump in profits. I see how the financial risk of such speculation is absorbed by both the retailer and the "collector." It's a risk any specultor takes by investing in a commodity with a limited resale market. One I don't consider a viable investment strategy. If I wanted to make money from my comics, I'd buy stock in Marvel Entertainment.

If I were to call foul on one aspect of the comics industry that I felt was most harmful to it's future (and to the direct market in particular) I'd point to Diamond's monopoly on distribution, rather than comic book companiers' attempts to promote speculative purchasing. A retailer can choose not to overstock a given issue, but they can't negotiate price or terms with the wholesaler because they're the only game in town.

[Jesse M. Huertas]

All I know is that I collected Captain America and purchased the regular, I despise variants. Anyways this dude offered me 50 dollars for the comic while at the store, I said look dude, I don't buy these for investment. And right now I see Marvel and DC heading down a slipperly slope, and its been happening before Cap #25, all the variants, 1:100, 1:50 ratio etc etc people buying these and selling them higher than they are worth. I don't think it bodes well, I mean look at our character Logan, he hasn't had a good story told in years but they keep pushing crap covers and stuff forcing people to believe the contents are good. I currently am worried about the state of our hobby. My exit stragety is already being planned. I got out of the game back in 98, everyone said it was good, came back 2 years ago and have been dissappointed even more....

[wolverinelimited]

And 24 hours later the latest buzz on ebay is $9.99 just might
be a bit high to pay for a book with another 70k copies being released Wednesday morning.

[origins27]

wolverinelimited said:

And 24 hours later the latest buzz on ebay is $9.99 just might
be a bit high to pay for a book with another 70k copies being released Wednesday morning.

wow! that's too expensive! ;D