Try and follow along here. Yesterday, at Comics Worth Reading, they saw that Diamond had BOOM!'s Pixar and Muppets titles on a cancellation list, accompanied by the number "3", which is Diamond's code for "canceled by Diamond." This is what happens when retailer orders aren't high enough to make it worth Diamond carrying the books, usually. The canceled issues are the Cars: Adventures of Tow Mater #5 and #6, Incredibles #16 and #17, Muppet Show #12 and #13, and Toy Story Tales from the Toy Chest #5 and #6.
When contacted by various blogs, BOOM! replied simply with this image to all of them:
This refers somewhat to their new classic Disney titles with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, but doesn't account for the "3" code.
This is fairly interesting, because with all the talk of "all-ages comics", I can't imagine there being a more universal or valuable property than the Pixar titles in comics. If there was ever a title that was going to grab the attention of kids, it would have to be Cars, or Toy Story, because those movies are as successful and ubiquitous as anything out there. If they can't survive in the direct market, which isn't the same as the book market,what new non-superhero comics can? Still, comic shops are just not going to be the place where kids discover books like this. That's going to be at school book fairs, or bookstores, or anywhere their relatives shop for gifts, which is hardly ever going to be a comic specialty store.
When BOOM! or Diamond reveal what the story is behind this, a lot of people are going to be watching closely. Will Marvel get a crack at these tasty IPs? Would that work any better? Keep your eyes open.
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I read my first comic, a reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15, sitting on the light green tiled floor of a Walgreens right under a rack of comics. That’s how you get comics into the hands of kids, put them in stores they’re parents shop at.
*primal roar*
@RoiVampire Hey you take your common sense and logical ideas away from the land of comic book marketing! 😉
Judging from the reported sales numbers, it’s unfortunately not a surprise.
Toy Story sold 3,079 copies in November and failed to chart in the Top 300 several times in 2010. Uncle Scrooge sold 3,468 copies and I don’t see Cars in the chart (not sure if there was just no issue solicited last month though).
@MisterJ Maybe I will mister!
@RoiVampire –me too! i used to buy my Amazing Spiderman, Detective Comics and GI Joe from my local mom and pop drug store in my town. They had a spinner rack in front of the pharmacy. I’d skim off my lunch money all week to be able to afford one comic on the way home. Those were the days!
my LCS doesn’t even sell all ages stuff like this. I’ve seen them diversify more into collectibles, action figures, games etc. You’ll make more money selling $200 KISS statues to 40 yr old kids than $4 comics to an actual child once in a blue moon. The Direct market + kids doesn’t seem to be a winning strategy.
Every Wednesday I take my 2 1/2 year old daughter and my 4 year old son and they each get to buy a book. My daughter loves the Disney stuff well my son likes the all ages superhero stuff. We then go home and I read to them there comic books. As a parent I am beyond frusturated that there seems to be such little support for all ages books.
I’m really just going on the name alone but BOOM Kids 2.0 makes me think digital comics.
@WonderAli — yeah the whole “2.0” thing was/is being used by a lot of traditional book publishers for their digital initiatives….pretty default solution that says “digital” but tells us nothing.
in grade school my brother and i bought comics of the spinner rack at the grocery store. the spinner rack was located near the checkout lanes. EVERYBODY goes to the grocery stores.
@wallythegreenmonster I remember the walgreens i went to had one rack attached to the end of the magazine shelves. one the side it had the faces of batman, spider-man, captain america and archie and it said COMICS! in big red letters. That shit needs to come back
yeah i remember those red spinner racks. They had one of those next to the magazine section in front of the pharmacy. It was great. I remember seeing the new comics delivered in bundles tied up with plastic string like newspapers. I used to ask the pharmacist to open em up for me from time to time.
I was bringing my 4 yr old son to the LCS to get the new Cars comics when they came out, and then reading them together – I’d been wondering where the new releases were. I’ll miss them if they’re gone. And I bought Muppet Sherlock Holmes for myself and it was hilarious.
Although, they may have had low sales, it seems like it’s still early in the game and they need to build the audience. It sucks for local comic shops, because it’s one less product to help bring in new customers, and help nurture their growth of comcs.
Are all the kids running out to buy ipads? It seems to be a grown up toy, because all I see are grown ups with ipads.
Yes because if I had a 4 year old son, he knew how to use anything digital related.
I’m shocked it took this long for BOOM to get their Disney related titles cancelled. Guess Marvel/Disney wasn’t too concerned about it until now.
If i had a child i would absolutely LOVE to bring him into my LCS to buy an all age book… And then i would remember that it is full of smelly fat guys with EXTREMELY foul language; not a place for children. I agree with most of the people on here, comics need to start popping back up at pharmacies and other small shops.
@ed209AF I think it is time to find a new LCS if that is what yours is like. I know the one I go to makes an effort to make there store family friendly and most times I go there I see many parents with there kids.
how much do kids get as an allowance these days? can they even afford to buy comics at their current pricing?
BOOM Kids 2.0? Have we learned nothing from iSnack 2.0 (A Vegemite product)? http://bit.ly/ettyha I am glad that they are still printing all ages material.
You’re right, kids will not just randomly hunt down a LCS. More than anything, kids are at a more general store, see something they like, and ask their parents to buy it for them.
I discovered comics at a newstand / convenience store. Could that happen today?
Day one, no “awesome.” Good job, Josh.
Wow didn’t know Diamond could or would cancel/refuse to ship a title. Maybe a bookstore option similar to what Darwyn Cook was trying for with the Richard Parker stuff would prove better. Picking up a hardcover of Muppet Sherlock Holmes in the kids section would be cool.
@lantern4life They absolutely can.
That sucks. I buy both Cars and Incredibles for my son.
God, I hope that Boom comes back strong with those titles. The kids love them and we need to “seed” the future readers of this great medium.
No better way to promote future sales than cancelling children’s books.
We got comics at newstands etc as kids because those places CHOSE to carry comics. Now they don’t. Comic companies would love to have comics everywhere, but there is a lot of competition for limited shelf space. Comics don’t generate enough income to stay in those locations. Boom did get a newstand deal which got them into Borders. Borders is pretty much over. If they don’t sell in the shops, and the bookstores are dying faster than comics shops, and Amazon doesnt carry individual issues, Then how can Boom afford to continue publishing them?
I wonder if publishers could save money on kids comics by printing them on cheaper paper stock.