The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[holtom2000]

14 days.

Things are getting back to normal at ole' DC.

I'd retweet and favourite this if I could.. DC = Douchebag Comics

[holtom2000]

I'm no longer in the target demographic, but $8 for a floppy is crazy.
I envy the disposable income for people dropping $8 on a floppy without batting an eyelash.

although I remember a time when the Canadian dollar was around 60 cents, comics often cost me that much
but yah, $8 gets you a decent PSN game that will last longer than 30 minutes. or a paperback. or .. well you know

[Anthony Pilone]

This proves he is a total utter asshole and his sheep-like new 52 followers are too blind sided to even read between the lines to see that. Dan Didio take his flopping new 52 and shove it! If anybody here who feels the same way and wish to do something about it, which IS possible, please come join us right here https://www.facebook.com/groups/231664536857940/ Spread the word!

[SporkBot]

Seriously? They went ahead with the 3D cover fiasco when they knew it was gonna cost them money, but they can't include this for subscribers? At least give them an option of paying a couple bucks more.

[Zechs]

14 days.

Things are getting back to normal at ole' DC.

Well let's see if they can avoid firing popular creative staff this year.

[Draco x]

Well let's see if they can avoid firing popular creative staff this year.

I give it to the end of this year before we hear of another firing.

[Chessack]

Seriously? They went ahead with the 3D cover fiasco when they knew it was gonna cost them money, but they can't include this for subscribers? At least give them an option of paying a couple bucks more.

Right. There are two stupid things about this:

First, why the short notice? Surely they've known this was coming up (unless they can't count, which is always a possibility with these guys, I guess). I mean, it's been known since, well, the 1930s that Batman's first appearance was Detective Comics (volume 1) #27. So like, the freaking day they decided to start a volume 2 of it they had to know that 2 years and 3 months into it (well, 4 with #0), they were going to be at #27, and that this would be a special issue. Now, they might not have known it would be 96 pages, but surely they must have realized they'd do something and it might cost a little more, and try to figure out how to allow for it ahead of time. So this is just poor planning and lack of awareness of their own product.

Second, as you say, why not provide some options? If #27 is 96 pages, they didn't just figure that out now. Comics are planned and produced months in advance. My guess is, the artists and writers were working on this a couple of months ago. This is plenty of lead time. Why not send, not a letter, but a survey form to each customer with options? A tear-off form with 3 checkboxes:

Option 1: I would like to receive Detective #27 and have it count for two of months worth of subscription, rather than one. Please shorten my remaining subscription by 1 issue (11 total rather than 12) to compensate.

Option 2: I would like to receive Detective Comics #27 but I don't want to lose any months of subscription. Enclosed is my check for $3.99 to make up the difference in cost.

Option 3: I do not want to receive Detective Comics #27 as part of my subscription. Please skip that month and extend my subscription 1 more month to compensate.

If (see point 1) they had been on the ball about this back in say October, the whole counter reset could have been avoided. Additionally, starting in October, they should have warned everyone who subscribed to Detective Comics between then and #27's release what was coming and provided the same options.

I mean seriously, how hard is that?

[Michael Martin]

Meanwhile, the once mighty river of the British comics industry has dried up into a feeble, muddy stream with all used blobs and needles floating in it. BUT The Phoenix was just able to add 50% more pages to issue 100 and not increase the price by a penny. And this a comic that most comic fans in Britain have not even heard of.
Do fancy buying the Batman though, because it's a special issue. But $8.99 will probably be "converted" to about £8.50, and have import costs added, making it the thick end of £11.99, or the price of a Modesty Blaise or older Doctor Who compliation. Hmm, difficult choice!

[doccomics]

Oh, I should also note the nasty irony that the REAL Detective Comics #27 featured the first appearance of Batman, a can't-miss issue if there ever was one.

Love it! The Real Detective Comics #27. That's the whole problem with The New 52, it don't feel real (as real as comics can get) I'm still waiting for the final issue for this stupid maxi-series and get back to the REAL DC!! Wake the hell up Bart!!!

[Murray Clack]

DONE! I quit buying their crap months ago (and Marvel YEARS ago)

Not that it matters... DC's demographic went from long-standing dedicated readers to fanboy apologists with short attention spans.

[Vincent Marchesano]

NO MONEY FROM ME DOES DC GET!!! I stopped caring about them when they stopped giving a damn about me and turned my heroes to...what the hell are they nowadays anyway...they're not heroes anymore!!

[Daniel Ashe]

There is a vast difference between hating Didildo (Which I assume everyone does) and disliking New 52 and railing against it like a child throwing a tantrum.

[Belle Tain-Summer]

Jeez, in virtually every other subscription-proffered industry it is subscribers that get preferential treatment over retail just for doing the issuer the favor of a regular income and a predictable output. How is comics managing to be so different from every other subs industry out there? Even if it was an "extra-speshul" edition, subscribers would normally be offered a cut price version of that issue just to prevent them leaping ship and disrupting the predictable income stream. Telling subscribers to go f--- themselves is nuts, especially in this internet driven age where ordering from the comfort of your computer is becoming ever more the norm. Or maybe DC just hate computer users, they did drag their only computer based heroine away from hers after all.

[TimH]

Marvel and DC have mostly ruined direct subscriptions with all the crossovers. And the constant renumberings, stopping and restarting series with new number ones--it all makes the direct mail hard to follow.

For awhile, I direct-mail subscribed every mag I could due to the discounts (the discounts were much higher in 2008--50% off the cover with renewal incentives better than what you first subscribed for). But, you'd deal with weirdisms--like checking on line to see when your Captain America sub ran out. Scenario: It's issue 48. Your subscription runs out with issue 610. "Fu**'in bonus, man!!!!!"

Yeah, not so fast, trooper.

When DC converted to nu52, I had maybe 5 mail subs, all of which were cancelled and I received random reassignment notices (at which point I had to call and change them around).

When Marvel went from an industry mail subscription agency to Midtown Comics, it's services improved because at least Midtown understood the ridiculous business model.

I'm re-reading Brubaker's Bucky-as-Cap run on Marvel Digital Unlimited and wonder why I dropped the series at 603 (the writing is all great stuff).

It's because I was so annoyed by the 50-th issue anniversary! Then 600-th issue anniversary! right in a row. And if you don't know what's going on, the digital numbering makes it look like you have a 550 issue gap.

Maybe digital first will end a lot of that crap. It's no longer relevant.

[TimH]

First, why the short notice? Surely they've known this was coming up

The simplest answer is that DC and Marvel's subscription service is run by separate department from the editorial department, and editorial never bothered to contact subscription until a manager in subscription emailed Didio with a panicked, "what are we supposed to do with this $7.99 comic???"

The subscription department doesn't carry a lot of clout, so they likely are the last to know. Hell, the subscription manager probably learned about Detective Comics #27's price-hike by reading Bleeding Cool..........

It's just how big companies work. Mail subscription is probably a legacy service the big 2 hope to shed sooner or later. Its manager definitely isn't invited to the planning meetings.