'What I would have done" was Re: Statistics

[SRoweCanoe at aol.com]

Since everybody is playing micro-managing Gladstone, so will I.
 
The comics Market in the USA is divided into three groups, neither of them  
that healthy.
comic book shops, bookstores, and newstands-groceries-etc.  
 
as fans, comic books shops are what we are used to. There comics are color,  
monthly,and non-reprint,  however, you generally have to order your  comics  
months in advance, and most cater to guys in their 20s -30s who  read superhero 
and semi-SF comics.
bookstores, the bigsellers are magna books and books that look like  magna.  
There are Disney books there by TokyoPop. Magna sells well enough  that at 
least one book is on the Publisher's Weekly bestsellers list (although  this is 
usually a series). these are in black and white, digest, - the  bookstores i 
see usually have young teens of both sexes there. books are usually  reprints.
not as many spinner racks or checkout line racks with comics as there used  
to be.  Archie digests sell there (with numbers on just the low side of  
X-men),  these seem to cater to kids, and parents as a sop to kids - color  but 
digests are 80% reprints.  Heavy Metal may still be selling good on the  
newsstands too - last i knew it sold over x-men numbers.
 
While we as adults know that Disney comics are good for adults as well as  
kids (well Im not including the soccer kids), but most of the folks who go to  
comic shops arent interested in non-superheroes.    Obviously  this is why 
Gemstone tried to beef up the SF and superhero  content.     I didn't care for the 
stuff at all, but I know  many of yall on this list did.
 
While fans dont like reprints - the average person buying Archie digests  and 
Peanuts Fantagraphic books either want  and enjoy reprints or dont care  if 
they're reprints.  After all a good story is a good story.   
 
I dont see any chance for Disney comics to do well in comic book  shops;  and 
attempts at re-building the newsstand-grocery market hasnt been  that 
successful (and I suspect that the non-classic characters would do better  on the 
newstand, but that's not what folks on this list are interested  in).
 
There might be hope on getting those digest books out in USA  stores -in the 
magna section,  but I assume that Gemstone tried  the color digest books out 
there - and I never saw them.
 
I hate being a pessimist, but it doesn't look good.....
 
  steven rowe
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