In regards to this comment:
"And that on a strictly business basis it might make more sense for retailers to order fewer copies of, well, just about any mid-range Marvel or DC title, comic, comics that most likely still be sitting on your shelves two months from now, and order Badger #1."
I'm not sure what "business sense" Mr. Bennett is referring to because he is asking stores to order less of a book they KNOW they can sell (at a better discount) and order more of a book (at a lower discount) they strongly suspect they do not have an audience for. While I agree we are in a Golden Age of comics, there is not business sense in his suggestion, especially in an industry where any time there is the slightest disruption (for example, the past 2 weeks of erroneous Diamond shipping of Marvel comics) dozens and dozens of comic shops cry that they are on the brink of demise. With so many shops living week to week, sometimes book to book!, it makes little sense to gamble on any title. Especially one that has done so little to promote itself or expose itself to a new readership.
Should the creators of The Badger be upset over initial orders of their books the first question they should ask is, "What have I done to promote this book?" Was there any outreach to retailers? Advance .pdfs? Discount incentives? Promo posters? Not that we saw. As a sizable shop (we currently have about 450 active files, 110 of which get Previews, and only 1 file subscribed to it) we saw nothing of this title other than its listing in Previews. From a purely business sense, I don't see a demand (or support) for this book so why would I invest money into it?
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
