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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Geez! First I double post, and now I sent off
an email by mistake before it was done! :( Just not my day!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Back to what I was writing about. Yes, I
realize there are people who would not buy a MM&F or DD&F at
$7.50. Whether that is too much for a title is up to each and every person
and there is no right or wrong answer. *If* it is true that all 4 titles
sold about the same amount, I think that would bode well though that Gemstone
could sell one or two more prestige titles and get a fairly close percentage
sales rate as for its first two.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Also, even if they did not sell as well, they could
*still* be more profitable. Now I am *totally* making up these number from
thin air, so bear with me. Let us say that Gemstone made a 35 cent profit
on each $2.95 title and $1.00 profit on each $6.95 title. Now lets
say they made a third prestige title a month for $7.50. Even if the 3rd
prestige title sold only about 75 percent of the $2.95 title, Gemstone would
actually make more money as now their profit on a $7.50 title would be
$1.55! I apologize if I got the math somewhat wrong, but maybe I did at
least a good enough job so you can see my point.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I like Leo have been frustrated that Gemstone could
never get their $2.95 titles and pocket book titles into Borders and Barnes and
Noble bookstores. I could understand it if they only carried DC and Marvel
comics. But these bookstores also sell Archie comics and Simpsons
comics! To me if you could sell these types of comic books, I don't see
why Disney comics could not be sold there as well. That being said though,
I imagine if it was easy to do, Gemstone *would* have got their comics into
these bookstores. I shudder to even imagine the crazy hurdles and
logistics it might take to get your comic books sold in a large national chain
bookstore. I wish it were as easy at common sense would seem to make it,
but I have no idea how these things work and imagine common sense
unfortunately doesn't get involved much... :(</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As for the future of comics in the USA, I am on the
middle ground. I think the days of the 32 page "pamphlet" comic book that
we are all most used to are numbered, but I have no real idea of when their
number will be up! Perhaps 5 years, perhaps 10 years, etc. If
I had to guess though I would be very surprised to see "pamphlet" comics
being sold a lot say 30 years from now. Just my
guess though.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>However, comics in different formats are not going
away at all in the USA. I myself do not read any manga, but
considering how big manga sections are in most bookstores, I imagine
most comic books stores and DC and Marvel would be *thrilled* to sell half
as many of their comic books as manga does! So to me the future of comics
in the USA (whether it includes Disney comics or not) is to be found mostly in
trade paperbacks and books the size of the manga titles and
the late Gemstone pocket books. So while there is bad news from
Gemstone, I think the idea of Gemstone producing a regularly published trade
paper back title, Walt Disney Treasures, is a strong step in the right
direction. Will it work in the end? Who knows, but it is well worth
trying.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I also am intrigued by a Shonen Jump style
title. Over the weekend at the bookstore I looked at the most recent
Shonen Jump issue and a similar one I think is aimed at girls called "Shojo
Beat". Each was over 300 pages long as were priced at either $4.99 or
$5.99! So these titles prove a *huge* bargain of what you get for the
price you pay. I think the key is whether it will make it bookstores
like Shonen Jump does, or just sell in comic book stores or online. If it
is the later, I don't see it working but hopefully I am dead wrong about
that.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dean Rekich</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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