Marvel.1 or Marvel.What?

spid · Post by **spid** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:06 am

Well it is a good thing they plastered .1 on there website last week, and they have promoted the program heavily on their site as well. The nay saying about this promotion program is kind of depressing. It is just one more tool in the big strategy Marvel is employing to make things friendly for new users.

Post by **JohnMayo** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:30 am

spid wrote:Well it is a good thing they plastered .1 on there website last week, and they have promoted the program heavily on their site as well. The nay saying about this promotion program is kind of depressing. It is just one more tool in the big strategy Marvel is employing to make things friendly for new users.

Yes, I for one am coming down on the .1 program kind of harsh.

Promoting the program on the Marvel.com website is a good thing. But isn't that also preaching to the choir?

My problem with the .1 program is that it doesn't address the real issue which is that most comics are not viable jumping on points. I feel the very existence of the .1 program compounds that problem, not solves it.

What is this big strategy Marvel is employing to make things friendly for new readers? I don't follow the comic book news sites so I am unaware of this big new strategy.

Wood · Post by **Wood** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:47 am

I'm in complete agreement that it's a baffling decision. When the purpose of .1 issues aren't even clear to hardcore fans, how will they help new readers try books? Meanwhile so far, from what I've gathered of those already in the can (but not necessarily on the shelves yet), they're frequently being done by different artists, and in some cases by different WRITERS than the ongoing series. In other words, they're really 5th week one shots meant to garner more $$ from those invested in the series already.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:32 pm

I just read Iron Man 500.1, and I don't think it's a comic I would recommend to people new to Iron Man or to long time fans. The comic is basicly Tony telling his life story at an AA meeting, but because it's AA he is pretty vauge. His life story is backed up by art that illustrates his point, but it seems to me that you have to be some what familiar with Iron Man to make the connections.

I am far from being an Iron Man expert. I've seen the films and cartoons, read some of the comics off and on. As I read this comic I felt that the creators were assuming that I knew certain things about Iron Man and his history that I just didn't.

Basicly new readers will feel lost with this one, while long time readers will feel board because it's just retelling what they already know. I guess I'm somewhere in-between a new reader and a long time reader, and I bounced back and forth between being confused and bored. This didn't give me any desire to continue reading Iron Man.

spid · Post by **spid** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:55 am

My biggest problem with the nay saying and the complaints about this program is some people are acting like this is the only thing Marvel is doing to make their products new reader friendly. Here is a list things Marvel continues to do to make themselves new reader friendly.

* Timely trade releases that can allow new users to stay up to day.

* Including summaries in front of nearly every comic released.

* Expanding their digital offerings so people do not have to go the comic book store to read a comic.

* Offering an unlimited all you can eat model as well as a piece meal approach to buying digital comics to appeal to a wider audience.

* Announced Chrome capability to allow them a foothold into the new Android ecosystem.

* Releasing free preview comics to allow those users who do not frequent the internet a chance to see upcoming comics.

* Coming out with those Must Have comics that allow new readers a chance to catch up to a book with a lot of buzz.

If Marvel stopped doing all of things and announced we are only doing the .1 comics then I could see it as an issue. They are not doing that so I am not sure what hubbub is about.

Post by **JohnMayo** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:20 am

spid wrote:My biggest problem with the nay saying and the complaints about this program is some people are acting like this is the only thing Marvel is doing to make their products new reader friendly. Here is a list things Marvel continues to do to make themselves new reader friendly.

* Timely trade releases that can allow new users to stay up to day.

* Including summaries in front of nearly every comic released.

* Expanding their digital offerings so people do not have to go the comic book store to read a comic.

* Offering an unlimited all you can eat model as well as a piece meal approach to buying digital comics to appeal to a wider audience.

* Announced Chrome capability to allow them a foothold into the new Android ecosystem.

* Releasing free preview comics to allow those users who do not frequent the internet a chance to see upcoming comics.

* Coming out with those Must Have comics that allow new readers a chance to catch up to a book with a lot of buzz.

If Marvel stopped doing all of things and announced we are only doing the .1 comics then I could see it as an issue. They are not doing that so I am not sure what hubbub is about.

I hope I'm not one of the people you think believes that the .1 program is the only thing Marvel is doing to get new readers because I don't feel that way. I do feel that Marvel (as well as most other publishers) is doing an extremely poor job of retaining sales.

My problem is that by creating these .1 issues, regardless of what they contain, it furthers the belief that most issues are horrible jumping on points. That is a very damaging belief and one they need to eliminate. The "previously in..." recap pages are a klunky step in that direction. To me, that is just compensating for stories that are written to be accessible.

The bottom line is that even with all of those things you mention (most of which seem to be geared to getting new digital readers and not new print readers), January was the worst month for Marvel in the top 300 comics since Diamond started releasing final order data. (It was the worst month for the top 300 in total too so this isn't a Marvel specific problem.)

What is interesting is that Marvel has had a month in which they sold twice as many units in the top 300 as they did in January. It isn't just that sales are down but that they are down a lot from the peak.

I have to think that if stories were more accessible by nature (and not by compensation) and publishers had an effective outreach program to bring in new readers, sales wouldn't be so bad.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:02 am

Taken from http://www.examiner.com/comics-in-atlan ... h-1-issues

Marvel Vice-President Executive Editors Tom Brevoort and Axel Alonso, broke down the concept. They called it a focus on giving new readers a good story with a low buy-in threshold, similar to previously-released discounted issues and Free Comic Book Day material.

Current readers confused by the numbering can add the issues as a regular addition into a current run, in many cases the “.1” are created by the book's current creative team. For instance, The Amazing Spider-Man#654 will be followed by #654.1 and then #655. Point One stories are designed to be stand alone stories, but will fit in along with current continuity and, as in the case of Spider-Man, serves as a major turning point with the reveal of an all-new Venom. Readers who miss the issues by mistake won’t be left out, as Marvel plans to collect the material into trade paperbacks of the story arcs.

just delving into press coverage of this.

1/ apparently Marvel now think $2.99 is a "discounted issue"
2/ they think regular readers will miss the issues by mistake

I'm all for ideas for hooking readers.new and old. But this sole idea is incredibly ill-conceived.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:46 am

Tom wrote:I just read Iron Man 500.1, and I don't think it's a comic I would recommend to people new to Iron Man or to long time fans. The comic is basically Tony telling his life story at an AA meeting, but because it's AA he is pretty vague. His life story is backed up by art that illustrates his point, but it seems to me that you have to be some what familiar with Iron Man to make the connections.

I am far from being an Iron Man expert. I've seen the films and cartoons, read some of the comics off and on. As I read this comic I felt that the creators were assuming that I knew certain things about Iron Man and his history that I just didn't.

Basically new readers will feel lost with this one, while long time readers will feel board because it's just retelling what they already know. I guess I'm somewhere in-between a new reader and a long time reader, and I bounced back and forth between being confused and bored. This didn't give me any desire to continue reading Iron Man.

I read this issue last night and have to agree with Tom. This was a TERRIBLE way to get someone interested in Iron Man.

It didn't even do a particularly good job on bringing people up to speed on Iron Man as a character, given the "AA Meeting" technique where the dialogue was intentionally vague so Tony was NOT telling the AA folks "Hey, I'm Iron Man", and then it's left to the reader to interpret what he really meant by the pictures. Fine for readers familiar with the character, terrible for newbies.

I also thought it was a terrible comic from the standpoint that it portrays Tony as a guy who (from age 15) typically would get girls drunk so he can f*** them. What a despicable jerk-bag Tony comes off as. How is this in any way a "hero" that I'd want to read stories about?

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:37 pm

The more I thought about it I was so disappointed in Iron Man 500.1, I have removed the following from my January DCBS order:
Captain America 615.1
Hulk 30.1
Thor 620.1
Uncanny X-Force 5.1

I also removed (from my February order)
Avengers 12.1
Secret Avengers 12.1

For the books I read (like Cap, Avengers, etc), these are not targeted at me, since I already know of & read the comics, so I don't need a filler issue recap.

For the books I don't read, the bar has been set that the "Point 1"s are ineffective at actually getting someone up to speed. Again, I don't really need to read a throwaway filler issue, that's not going to help me decide if I want to collect the "real" book.

Probably unfair to judge the program based on the 1st offering, but life is not fair. I'll be just fine without tossing money at Marvel for these books.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:44 pm

On the Plus side: at least Nick Spencer writing the Secret Avengers 12.1 makes more sense now that he has been announced as writing Secret Avengers for the Fear Itself issues.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:04 pm

Paul Nolan wrote:On the Plus side: at least Nick Spencer writing the Secret Avengers 12.1 makes more sense now that he has been announced as writing Secret Avengers for the Fear Itself issues.

Matt Fraction (the normal Iron Man writer) certainly didn't help Iron Man 500.1......

But, in general, these seem to be completely "miss-able" by editorial mandate.

stardog · Post by **stardog** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:21 am

I agree that this is nothing but a cash-grab by Marvel. One example I find baffling is on the current order form - Uncanny X-Men 534.1, 535, and 536 are all shipping in the same month. Now regardless of whether this is a good program to get new readers (and I agree that it isn't), you also have to consider economics when you're looking to attract new customers. So someone picks up 534.1 and likes it, but then has to spend an additional 8 dollars that month to continue? I can see a lot of fans being turned off by that.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:25 am

stardog wrote:I agree that this is nothing but a cash-grab by Marvel. One example I find baffling is on the current order form - Uncanny X-Men 534.1, 535, and 536 are all shipping in the same month. Now regardless of whether this is a good program to get new readers (and I agree that it isn't), you also have to consider economics when you're looking to attract new customers. So someone picks up 534.1 and likes it, but then has to spend an additional 8 dollars that month to continue? I can see a lot of fans being turned off by that.

This is a solid point.

I think all the "point 1" will really do is milk existing hard-core fans for an extra $3. That's why I'm out. I'm not buying any of these, I don;t want to encourage Marvel.

(Note: I will pick them up if I ever see them in a $1 bin being dumped)

HassanT · Post by **HassanT** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:43 pm

I just finished reading Iron Man 500.1 and Wolverine 5.1 and I wasn't that impressed. Both stories seemed to me to be throwaway stories that would not get a new reader to pick up title going forward. I thought the Iron Man 500.1 was really bad and I have been loving what Fraction has been doing. I agree with a lot of points that Bob brought up. My main problem with this book was that Tony Stark was going on and on with his life and the reader is shown images from his past life. However, if you haven't been reading Iron Man over the past couple of decades, a lot of those images will mean nothing to you.Wolverine 5.1 was at least a good story but nothing special either.

The .1 books reminds me of the List books that Marvel put out a couple years ago. They were hyped a lot, but failed to deliver. I feel that these .1 books are going to be the same.

HassanT · Post by **HassanT** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:45 pm

BobBretall wrote:
stardog wrote:I agree that this is nothing but a cash-grab by Marvel. One example I find baffling is on the current order form - Uncanny X-Men 534.1, 535, and 536 are all shipping in the same month. Now regardless of whether this is a good program to get new readers (and I agree that it isn't), you also have to consider economics when you're looking to attract new customers. So someone picks up 534.1 and likes it, but then has to spend an additional 8 dollars that month to continue? I can see a lot of fans being turned off by that.
This is a solid point.

I think all the "point 1" will really do is milk existing hard-core fans for an extra $3. That's why I'm out. I'm not buying any of these, I don;t want to encourage Marvel.

(Note: I will pick them up if I ever see them in a $1 bin being dumped)

I agree. If these point 1 books are supposed to be made to get new readers to try out these books, then Marvel has and will fail.