The Technodrome Forums

Go Back   The Technodrome Forums > TMNT Universes > TMNT Comic Discussion

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-28-2017, 09:57 PM   #1
TurtleWA
Foot Elite
 
TurtleWA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 2,507
What's stopping TMNT comics from charting in the top 50?

I think TMNT hovers around in the top 150/200 zone. Why can't the comic book franchise climb up to the Batman and X-Men level? The potential is there in my opinion. What would need to happen in the future to be among the top and reach a larger fan base?
TurtleWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:07 PM   #2
Powder
So tired of this place
 
Powder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Shell Ri La
Posts: 26,801
I'd guess it has something to do with the masses not wanting to see the TMNT as anything other than pizza eating goofballs, whose only opposition are Shredder, Krang, B&R, etc.
__________________



I'm convinced that none of you have ever experienced joy
Powder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:10 PM   #3
ChosenOne
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,951
I was going to say that the 90's cartoon might've done more bad than good when it comes to the public perception of TMNT but Powder beat me to it, after a fashion. There is such a thing as being overly kid-friendly. The recent movies did the franchise no favors either.

Otherwise, from a creative and narrative standpoint, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the IDW TMNT.

From what I can gather from this forum and other sources, many out there in the general public aren't even aware that Mirage TMNT is a thing...
ChosenOne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:17 PM   #4
oldmanwinters
Overlord
 
oldmanwinters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow!
Posts: 14,896
Well, Ghostbusters has always been seen as a franchise with adult appeal and nobody accuses the Real Ghostbusters cartoon of watering down the franchise into something silly only kids can enjoy. And the current comic has been great for years. And it's sales aren't much to write home about for whatever reason.
So I don't understand the argument that somehow TMNT's popularity is held back by their family-friendly image of the 1990s.

Quite frankly, the TMNT isn't Batman or X-Men and it never will be. But these days I.P.s and their merchandising appeal are far more valuable than the actual monthly comic book sales. How many copies does a top-tier Marvel book sell a month? 40k?

Most kids I know who like the TMNT today aren't comic book readers because the industry caters almost exclusively to adults, collectors, and specialty shops. Kids aren't gonna get interested in comics they find on a rack at the grocery market like I did a few decades ago. So comic publishers can only really hope to grow their readership through digital incentives rather than getting print copies into the hands of young readers.
__________________

Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries!
Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"!
View my sketch work!
I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!
oldmanwinters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:34 PM   #5
TurtleWA
Foot Elite
 
TurtleWA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 2,507
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanwinters View Post
How many copies does a top-tier Marvel book sell a month? 40k?
Batman #28 104,666

Secret Empire #10 86,123 units

All-New Wolverine #1 86,688

Amazing Spider-Man #31 54,102

TMNT #73 13,449

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomi...7/2017-08.html

Side note: I know Batman is not Marvel
TurtleWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:40 PM   #6
oldmanwinters
Overlord
 
oldmanwinters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow!
Posts: 14,896
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleWA View Post
Batman #28 104,666

Secret Empire #10 86,123 units

All-New Wolverine #1 86,688

Amazing Spider-Man #31 54,102

TMNT #73 13,449

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomi...7/2017-08.html

Side note: I know Batman is not Marvel
I stand corrected! Glad to see Batman can still move glossy paper!

Is Wolverine officially back from the dead now?
__________________

Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries!
Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"!
View my sketch work!
I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!
oldmanwinters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:40 PM   #7
ProphetofGanja
Dub Professor
 
ProphetofGanja's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Dub Side of the Moon
Posts: 3,440
Marketing budget, cross-platform synergy, et cetera
ProphetofGanja is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 10:51 PM   #8
Ninjinister
無問題
 
Ninjinister's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Moesko Island, WA
Posts: 14,309
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanwinters View Post
I stand corrected! Glad to see Batman can still move glossy paper!

Is Wolverine officially back from the dead now?
That Wolverine is Laura, but

Spoiler:
Yes, he just came back yesterday
__________________
Ninjinister is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 11:02 PM   #9
oldmanwinters
Overlord
 
oldmanwinters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow!
Posts: 14,896
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninjinister View Post
That Wolverine is Laura, but

Spoiler:
Yes, he just came back yesterday
And Phoenix Jean too? What a banner week!
__________________

Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries!
Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"!
View my sketch work!
I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!
oldmanwinters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2017, 11:49 PM   #10
CyberCubed
Overlord
 
CyberCubed's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 40,949
DC/Marvel have a hold on the majority of the top 50, that's why
CyberCubed is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 12:13 AM   #11
TurtleWA
Foot Elite
 
TurtleWA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 2,507
Quote:
Originally Posted by CyberCubed View Post
DC/Marvel have a hold on the majority of the top 50, that's why
If I counted correctly there are only four comics in the top 100 (as of August) that are not a DC/Marvel book. How do you think TMNT would do as a DC title?
TurtleWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 12:17 AM   #12
DestronMirage22
Yukipedia
 
DestronMirage22's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,723
As others have mentioned, thanks to the over-saturation of FW, people see the brand in a certain light. Any version that isn’t like FW in tone and style are seen as odd and then avoided.

Only bigger fans appreciate this kind of TMNT and support it. Unfortunately, that isn’t as much as it should be, so sales levels will never be able to get as high as Marvel or DC, who have a much bigger following.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninjinister View Post
That Wolverine is Laura, but

Spoiler:
Yes, he just came back yesterday
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanwinters View Post
And Phoenix Jean too? What a banner week!
And Scarlet Spider’s back too.
Don’t you just love comic book “deaths”?
DestronMirage22 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 04:56 AM   #13
Redeemer
Technodrome Technician
 
Redeemer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: third earth
Posts: 4,737
Quote:
Originally Posted by CyberCubed View Post
DC/Marvel have a hold on the majority of the top 50, that's why
I do agree they are a major hurdle, but look at the walking dead, outsiders can break through
__________________
GT:Reedeamer
THE TECHNODROME REDESIGN 2015
http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=51594
Redeemer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 05:59 AM   #14
Chris
Mad Scientist
 
Chris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 1,889
There's also the age of the book to consider. Sad but true books lose readers over time. Sure big events and special issues (#50, #100) can pull in more readers but nothing bumps up sales like a new #1. Relaunches make news, get more coverage on comic sites and new readers perceive them to be more new reader friendly. It's the reason Marvel rebrands once a year or more (though the effects do seem to be lessening now as they've done it so much). DC does it as well, though less frequently than Marvel.
Chris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 08:22 AM   #15
DrSpengler
Foot Elite
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4,828
Well, this has been sort of an open secret for a while now, but Marvel inflates their Diamond numbers by overshipping to retailers on all their orders.

Comic Shop A orders 20 copies of Spider-Gwen, Marvel will ship them 30 copies.
Comic Shop B orders 5 copies of All-New Wolverine, Marvel will ship them 15 copies.
And so on.

It artificially brings their numbers up while giving "free" copies to shops... "free" copies which the shops have to pay the additional shipping costs for, even though they didn't ask for them (and often times can't sell them).

I haven't heard of DC doing this from the retailers I've talked to at cons; it seems to be a mostly Marvel scheme. And smaller press publishers certainly don't do it. But Marvel overshipping on orders to artificially inflate their numbers is a way of making sure they're always #1 on the charts, even if the retailers aren't actually ordering that many comics and consumers certainly aren't buying them. So always keep that in mind when you look at the sales numbers; big companies are very smart about how to fudge them to make their sales look better or to fake retailer/consumer interest in certain books for promotional purposes.
DrSpengler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 09:48 AM   #16
TurtleWA
Foot Elite
 
TurtleWA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 2,507
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redeemer View Post
I do agree they are a major hurdle, but look at the walking dead, outsiders can break through
Yeah The Walking Dead as well as Saga, Robotech and Seven to Eternity. Are the four from August in the top 100 other than DC/Marvel titles. Not sure what those four books have that TMNT doesn't?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrSpengler View Post
Well, this has been sort of an open secret for a while now, but Marvel inflates their Diamond numbers by overshipping to retailers on all their orders.

Comic Shop A orders 20 copies of Spider-Gwen, Marvel will ship them 30 copies.
Comic Shop B orders 5 copies of All-New Wolverine, Marvel will ship them 15 copies.
And so on.

It artificially brings their numbers up while giving "free" copies to shops... "free" copies which the shops have to pay the additional shipping costs for, even though they didn't ask for them (and often times can't sell them).

I haven't heard of DC doing this from the retailers I've talked to at cons; it seems to be a mostly Marvel scheme. And smaller press publishers certainly don't do it. But Marvel overshipping on orders to artificially inflate their numbers is a way of making sure they're always #1 on the charts, even if the retailers aren't actually ordering that many comics and consumers certainly aren't buying them. So always keep that in mind when you look at the sales numbers; big companies are very smart about how to fudge them to make their sales look better or to fake retailer/consumer interest in certain books for promotional purposes.
I wonder how much "number fudging" occurred with DCs Dark Nights Metal #1? It had 261,997 est units in August. I can't find the article but I thought I read the other day that this was the issue DC implemented some type of returnability aspect for retailers. But it could be a reasonable number of actual sales considering Rebirth #1 went on to multiple printings and went over 300,000 units.
It sounds like a growing consensus that the publisher plays a big role in the comics rank. I am curious what kind of bump DC could give TMNT. Triple the current numbers? I don't remember the last crossover stats but I think the number almost doubled.

Last edited by TurtleWA; 09-29-2017 at 10:02 AM.
TurtleWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 10:24 AM   #17
ProphetofGanja
Dub Professor
 
ProphetofGanja's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Dub Side of the Moon
Posts: 3,440
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris View Post
There's also the age of the book to consider. Sad but true books lose readers over time. Sure big events and special issues (#50, #100) can pull in more readers but nothing bumps up sales like a new #1. Relaunches make news, get more coverage on comic sites and new readers perceive them to be more new reader friendly. It's the reason Marvel rebrands once a year or more (though the effects do seem to be lessening now as they've done it so much). DC does it as well, though less frequently than Marvel.
And remember, with the new Marvel Legacy roll-out, Marvel is reverting back to the classic numbering for almost all of their titles, some of them as high as 6 or 7 hundred, which is a complete 180 turnaround from their strategy of rebranding every year (Marvel NOW! All New, All Different Marvel! Marvel NOW Again!, etc.) Who knows how long this numbering will last though, I guess it'll be determined by sales.
ProphetofGanja is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 11:06 AM   #18
Prowler
Emperor
 
Prowler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Portugal
Posts: 8,909
Quote:
Originally Posted by Powder View Post
I'd guess it has something to do with the masses not wanting to see the TMNT as anything other than pizza eating goofballs, whose only opposition are Shredder, Krang, B&R, etc.
/thread

I love it when the first reply in a thread covers everything that needs to be said.
Prowler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 11:11 AM   #19
plastroncafe
PerfectlyTunedFightEngine
 
plastroncafe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: The Upsidedown
Posts: 7,926
The ridiculous premise?
__________________
------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel View Post
So your wants and needs as a fan should outweigh everyone else's?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sabacooza View Post
There's no sense catering just to one demographic which is idiotic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegita-San View Post
just ignore what you don't like rather than obsessing over it and move on with your life.
plastroncafe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2017, 11:13 AM   #20
Bobby Curnow
Official TMNT Staff/Cast
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,518
My two cents, which will probably sound defensive, but not my intention:

Most everything said above is accurate. But I'll also add that Walking Dead and Saga are exceptions, as they are written by two of the most talented/influential creators of the last 15-20 years. Those books have caught fire in a way that is really rare.

Other than that... we're at issue #74. I can't think of another book outside of the Walking Dead that has been around as long, charting as high, without restarting with a new #1 (or returning to legacy numbering which doesn't count!). I'm sure even without renumbering things like Batman and Spider Man and some others would chart higher, but hopefully the general point makes sense. The popularity of TMNT is what has kept us afloat all this time. I mean, I think we do a good job and everything, but I think a large part of that longevity is due to the brand.

I'm sure we'd get a good sales boost in the short term from a new #1, but our sales level has been consistent so it hasn't made sense to do that. And we don't have big time "names" on our books. (Kevin sorta counts, but I doubt the average comic book reader really knows who he is-- he's not a major draw outside the world of TMNT). If Brian K. Vaughn wrote some TMNT, our numbers would go up I'm sure.

In short, let's see where something like Seven to Eternity is in two years. There's been a lot of books that have charted higher that have come and gone in the six years we've been on the stands.

Other than that, I think it's just a matter of TMNT not being around as long, or as visible in the comics medium as consistently as something like X-men or Batman. TMNT has been around for 30+ years, but there's a good chunk of time in those years where TMNT comics were not getting wide distribution. So it makes sense that the fanbase isn't as wide as something like X-men.
Bobby Curnow is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.