Matt Lehman of Comicopia in Boston, Massachusetts saw the article on Dark Horse's difficulties in keeping the Hellboy books in stock ('Dark Horse Struggles To Fill Hellboy Demand') and Alan Elliott's criticisms of Dark Horse and Diamond for not having more (see 'Alan Elliott of Queen City Bookstore on Hellboy Stock-Outs'), and had this response:
It's unfortunate that Dark Horse is currently sold out of many Hellboy trades, but I don't see how they could have foreseen the magnitude of the movie's popularity and the degree that popularity has driven demand for the comics. In theory, retailers have it easier than publishers when reordering backlist. We place an order and usually receive it days to a week later (depending on our location). Publishers have to make a much greater financial risk, committing to print runs months in advance. To be sure, they can rely on non-returnable orders from the direct market to gauge the overall print run, but when the product is tied into the unknown future popularity of a film, all bets are off. It seems that Dark Horse has done as good of a job as could be expected, given the circumstances.
In fact, all of Mr. Elliott's criticisms of Dark Horse could be applied to himself. Why didn't he order more Hellboy trades? Probably because he didn't anticipate the huge demand, not many stores could. Currently the only book we're missing is Wake The Devil, but that's because we bet heavy. I'm also supplementing my Diamond orders from Baker & Taylor which, although their books are at a lesser discount, is preferable to sending disappointed customers away.
Ordering comics tied into movies is difficult. If Mr. Elliot is interested in some, perhaps I can sell him some sets of the Punisher movie adaptation mini-series? Although we all knew that The Punisher wouldn't be nearly as popular as Hellboy, I had no idea that I'd only be able to sell only three copies of each issue (two to subscribers, one off the stand). I just marked sets down to $4 and mentioned that offer in my email newsletter (with a circulation of 700) and haven't sold a single one. Hellboy has exceeded most stores' expectations, just as the Punisher has fallen below my lowest ones.
