How long does IDW keep collection/compediums in print?

[CyberCubed]

For example all the Archie Adventures compendiums will take a few years to get out, how long will they keep the first two collections in print? Same for their Vol. 1 compendiums or Vol. 2? I know they stopped printing of their older Image collections very fast.

Does anyone know how long they keep these compendiums in print before they stop making them? And then you have to rely on ebay or used copies in book stores if you missed out?

[IMJ]

This is actually a great question.

It's a tough call because from a collector POV having these books in print regularly sort of takes away from any "owner prestige" for the set. This happens all the time with "matched editions" and 1st prints and so on. On the other hand, when an entire volume of books takes time to release, a company would want to keep earlier editions available just so that they can fulfill when new readers come onboard late.

The good news is that IDW hasn't numbered these to a print-limit. And ideally, they'd simply take new editions as "Second Printing" and so on.

I can already imagine someone here responding to what I've said with some kind of confrontational-purity-test such as "no one cares about that!" But a lot of readers do pay attention to that kind of stuff. As a matter of fact print-editions and limited-runs are the hallmark for a lot of Omnibus collectors, let alone any deep-trade collectors like the Marvel Masterworks "Gold Edition" guys.

And so, in short - IDW could in theory keep printing these. And routine printings could actually bring the cost down for collectors. On the other hand, if they do, they should probably throw "xxx Printing" in the copyright page.

[ToTheNines]

I don’t think it’s a matter of time, so much as it is quantity.

They print X thousand copies then Amazon/book stores/LCS’s order however many they want. IDW may or may not keep a small warehouse for overstock, I don’t know. But once they’re all sold out, they’re gone.

You don’t ever see them do actual second printings of collections. They might do the exact same collection multiple times, but it will go from TPB to hardcover, or vice versa, or have new cover art or a slightly title, etc.

[IMJ]

The Marvel formula is to print hardcovers and then second prints masquerade sometimes as new softcover editions, but it's the same book, the same coloring, etc.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

I don’t think it’s a matter of time, so much as it is quantity.

They print X thousand copies then Amazon/book stores/LCS’s order however many they want. IDW may or may not keep a small warehouse for overstock, I don’t know. But once they’re all sold out, they’re gone.

You don’t ever see them do actual second printings of collections. They might do the exact same collection multiple times, but it will go from TPB to hardcover, or vice versa, or have new cover art or a slightly title, etc.

I think the issue is collections that take a large number of years to get out. Like the Archie collections won't be done till 2028 (if we're lucky), but what about someone who in 2028 gets into the Archie collections for the first time, and of course wants to go back and buy the first collection because that's the start of the series and first issues.

Would that hypothetical person in 2028 be able to order the first Archie IDW collection easily enough? I mean sure there's always ebay and stuff, but I wonder if he'd be able to buy it first hand.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think the issue is collections that take a large number of years to get out. Like the Archie collections won't be done till 2028 (if we're lucky), but what about someone who in 2028 gets into the Archie collections for the first time, and of course wants to go back and buy the first collection because that's the start of the series and first issues.

Would that hypothetical person in 2028 be able to order the first Archie IDW collection easily enough? I mean sure there's always ebay and stuff, but I wonder if he'd be able to buy it first hand.

It’s a crapshoot.

Right now you can get most of their reprints for even cheaper than cover price. But if you want any Urban Legends TPBs, Ultimate Collection volume 6 (hard or soft… pause), or

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

But if you want any Urban Legends TPBs, Ultimate Collection volume 6 (hard or soft… pause), or

Super weird. How hard is it for them to just reprint? They don't see the individual issues and TPBs going for hundreds of dollars on eBay because they're so rare?

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Super weird. How hard is it for them to just reprint? They don't see the individual issues and TPBs going for hundreds of dollars on eBay because they're so rare?

Gotta remember that, as odd as this may sound, TMNT readership is pretty small in the scheme of things. And it's increasingly niche.

There's probably a good argument to be had that more people at large are familiar with Archie TMNT than with Mirage TMNT, let alone the obscure later volumes.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Super weird. How hard is it for them to just reprint? They don't see the individual issues and TPBs going for hundreds of dollars on eBay because they're so rare?

Pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that with Urban Legends, they settled on their print run total based on preorders and extrapolated data based on the sales of the singles.

Big caveat being the series was announced to have a hard cap as a 26 issue run, so knowing a lot of people’s mentality I would wager many folks were interested but intended on binging it all once it was done. Especially once they realized the economic benefit of all 26 issues being split between only 2 relatively cheap TBPs. So both collections probably exceeded IDW’s expectations, especially once the second one dropped.

Why they never did any second printings between then and more recently, I don’t know. However, as of right now they have the big black & white omnibus coming out, so if they perceive a demand for the whole series being collected they will want everyone buying that. Then 2-ish years from now they’ll probably do a colored omnibus. Then maybe softcover versions of one or both.

With Ultimate Collection vol. 6, I think they probably underestimated the importance of some of those shorts. Volumes 1-5 are the core meat of Mirage (from the beginning to CaW anyway), then 6 & 7 are just extras. Except where volume 7 is simply a collection of literal bullsh*t (posters, covers, ads, sketches, etc.), volume 6 has most of Shell Shock and then some. A lot of those shorts are “can’t miss” pieces of Mirage canon that many people either couldn’t get their hands on or maybe didn’t know existed.

I wouldn’t be surprised if IDW didn’t fully realize what they were sitting on and just didn’t print enough.

Originally Posted by IMJ

Gotta remember that, as odd as this may sound, TMNT readership is pretty small in the scheme of things. And it's increasingly niche.

There's probably a good argument to be had that more people at large are familiar with Archie TMNT than with Mirage TMNT, let alone the obscure later volumes.

I strongly disagree. Last Ronin was a game changer and those hardcovers sell like hot cakes.

10+ years ago you were absolutely right and basically anything TMNT you found in a long box was dirt cheap except for the super early oversized books. Ever since 2020 it’s become so popular that it’s sucked the fun out of hunting. Everything is priced like it’s on eBay and it seems to still be trending upward.

[Andrew NDB]

Does anybody have the sales figures for the Last Ronin sequel/spinoff stuff? Are people sticking around for the next generation of Turtles/is it still selling big or has the moment kind of passed already?

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Does anybody have the sales figures for the Last Ronin sequel/spinoff stuff? Are people sticking around for the next generation of Turtles/is it still selling big or has the moment kind of passed already?

There’s no way to even attempt to track it since Diamond went bankrupt. We just know TLR keeps being the best selling TPB year after year.

Based on the vibe I get from the casuals at r/TMNT, they all love TLR but don’t really care about the sequel/prequel stuff as much. Which is ironic because I think TLR ain’t **** without Lost Years and the new generation definitely has potential.

It’s an interesting business model, spreading these miniseries’s out years at a time. I wonder if the new turtles will get their own ongoing after TLRIII. The whole thing has kind of been one long origin story for them.

[IMJ]

The approximate print runs break down as follows:

Issue #1 (October 2020)First Printing: 130,000+ copies ordered. IDW initially underestimated the demand, causing widespread retailer allocation and shortages.Second Printing: 50,000 copies printed to cover an immediate 37,000-copy reorder queue.Subsequent Runs: 3rd printing (35,000 copies), 4th printing (60,000 copies), and a 5th printing.
Issue #2 (February 2021)First Printing: 130,188 copies (Comichron/Diamond estimated units).Significance: This officially broke the record for the largest initial single-issue print run in IDW Publishing’s history.
Issue #3 (May 2021)Estimated First Print Run: ~115,000 – 125,000 copies. Orders remained incredibly stable following the massive success of the first two issues.
Issue #4 (September 2021) Estimated First Print Run: ~110,000 copies. Minor standard attrition occurred, but it remained the dominant indie title in the direct market.
Issue #5 (April 2022)Estimated First Print Run: ~120,000+ copies. Orders spiked back up significantly to accommodate the grand finale of the miniseries.

So by modern standards it sold incredibly well to comic shops. Bonafide solid selling comic. And that makes sense too because TLR was an event book with some hype behind it once people caught wind of the concept.

Still doesn't mean that it spilled over to regular sales of the book and really, even with TLR selling well, it doesn't remotely change the statement that there's probably a good argument to be had that more people at large are familiar with Archie TMNT than with Mirage TMNT, let alone the obscure later volumes. The Last Ronin doesn't bring sudden readership to decades of obscure Mirage TMNT volumes.

Now what would be really interesting (and make more sense to challenge the TLR with)? To find out if TLR mini-series had any spillover readership into the current IDW books printed during and after TLR.

[ToTheNines]

I have to issue a correction. I’ve been considering buying a copy of Ultimate Collection vol. 6 and discovered that they actually did do a second printing of the hardcover in 2020, which was 4 years after its original release. Then the softcover was 2022.

So technically 3 printings and it still sells for north of $300 at the cheapest. I’m not sure if any of the other hardcovers got second printings.

Originally Posted by IMJ

The approximate print runs break down as follows:

Issue #1 (October 2020)First Printing: 130,000+ copies ordered. IDW initially underestimated the demand, causing widespread retailer allocation and shortages.Second Printing: 50,000 copies printed to cover an immediate 37,000-copy reorder queue.Subsequent Runs: 3rd printing (35,000 copies), 4th printing (60,000 copies), and a 5th printing.
Issue #2 (February 2021)First Printing: 130,188 copies (Comichron/Diamond estimated units).Significance: This officially broke the record for the largest initial single-issue print run in IDW Publishing’s history.
Issue #3 (May 2021)Estimated First Print Run: ~115,000 – 125,000 copies. Orders remained incredibly stable following the massive success of the first two issues.
Issue #4 (September 2021) Estimated First Print Run: ~110,000 copies. Minor standard attrition occurred, but it remained the dominant indie title in the direct market.
Issue #5 (April 2022)Estimated First Print Run: ~120,000+ copies. Orders spiked back up significantly to accommodate the grand finale of the miniseries.

So by modern standards it sold incredibly well to comic shops. Bonafide solid selling comic. And that makes sense too because TLR was an event book with some hype behind it once people caught wind of the concept.

Still doesn't mean that it spilled over to regular sales of the book and really, even with TLR selling well, it doesn't remotely change the statement that there's probably a good argument to be had that more people at large are familiar with Archie TMNT than with Mirage TMNT, let alone the obscure later volumes. The Last Ronin doesn't bring sudden readership to decades of obscure Mirage TMNT volumes.

Now what would be really interesting (and make more sense to challenge the TLR with)? To find out if TLR mini-series had any spillover readership into the current IDW books printed during and after TLR.

Well that’s just comic book sales, I would imagine the hardcover collection sold even better.

As far as later Mirage stuff goes, Tales vol. 2 is finally getting nice fat collected books and volume 4 is in the middle of being reprinted and collected for the first time ever. Both of these seemed like pipe dreams 10 years ago, but here we are.