Post by BIGKEV on Aug 27, 2007 16:14:32 GMT -5
I understand that, to celebrate Sandman's 20th Anniversary, Neil Gaiman was to write a "Sandman" mini-series. However, recently the project was pulled.
When asked, Neil said, "We couldn't come to an agreement that would allow me to do a new six issue Sandman story for DC, and many people at DC and my agent tried hard to make it happen. Pity."
I understand that certain people at DC are quite upset - though not with Neil or his agent. Given the performance of the "Endless" hardcover volume, this could have been expected to be a No.1 best seller in the direct market for all six months and the No.1 in the bookstore bestseller lists.
I understand that at the Baltimore Retailer Summit in September, Diamond are going to announce either a reduction or abolition of the Diamond reorder penalty on most or indeed all non-Premier publishers.
What am I talking about?
One of the bugbears of comic retailers and non-Premier publishers is the reorder penalty. Any book that's reordered after it was initially solicited, has a reduced discount to retailers. Only books from the designated "Premier" publishers - Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image and, bizarrely, Acclaim - can be reordered at full discount. It's basically a penalty for not ordering those books when they were initially solicited. It forces retailers to order heavy upfront if they want to minimize costs. But it also discourages retailers from reordering from non-Premier publishers at all. Indeed, why support a non-Premier book when, if you sell out of it, it will cost you more to get more copies? Some publishers have chosen to pay for the reorder penalty to retailers themselves to get retailers to keep their books in stock. It's a system that has entrenched the comics publisher ghetto.
However, of late, a number of retailers have discovered that if they order through bookstore distributors, they can get near enough the same discount as reordering a non-Premier publisher title. Which has led to a number of retailers deserting Diamond for all their non-Premier books. Diamond's decision to change things will no doubt help many publishers, increase the diversity of comics in many stores, encourage growth - and also stop the bookstore trade from stealing Diamond's direct market share.
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Spoiler&&&&&&&&&&spoiler&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A "Dark Knight Returns" spoiler from a Gutterati working across the road from filming. He described, "a funeral scene being filmed. Tons of white flowers, and all sorts of people dressed to the nines. And, low and behold, on top of the coffin is a large framed picture of Morgan Freeman."
So there you go.
When asked, Neil said, "We couldn't come to an agreement that would allow me to do a new six issue Sandman story for DC, and many people at DC and my agent tried hard to make it happen. Pity."
I understand that certain people at DC are quite upset - though not with Neil or his agent. Given the performance of the "Endless" hardcover volume, this could have been expected to be a No.1 best seller in the direct market for all six months and the No.1 in the bookstore bestseller lists.
I understand that at the Baltimore Retailer Summit in September, Diamond are going to announce either a reduction or abolition of the Diamond reorder penalty on most or indeed all non-Premier publishers.
What am I talking about?
One of the bugbears of comic retailers and non-Premier publishers is the reorder penalty. Any book that's reordered after it was initially solicited, has a reduced discount to retailers. Only books from the designated "Premier" publishers - Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image and, bizarrely, Acclaim - can be reordered at full discount. It's basically a penalty for not ordering those books when they were initially solicited. It forces retailers to order heavy upfront if they want to minimize costs. But it also discourages retailers from reordering from non-Premier publishers at all. Indeed, why support a non-Premier book when, if you sell out of it, it will cost you more to get more copies? Some publishers have chosen to pay for the reorder penalty to retailers themselves to get retailers to keep their books in stock. It's a system that has entrenched the comics publisher ghetto.
However, of late, a number of retailers have discovered that if they order through bookstore distributors, they can get near enough the same discount as reordering a non-Premier publisher title. Which has led to a number of retailers deserting Diamond for all their non-Premier books. Diamond's decision to change things will no doubt help many publishers, increase the diversity of comics in many stores, encourage growth - and also stop the bookstore trade from stealing Diamond's direct market share.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Spoiler&&&&&&&&&&spoiler&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A "Dark Knight Returns" spoiler from a Gutterati working across the road from filming. He described, "a funeral scene being filmed. Tons of white flowers, and all sorts of people dressed to the nines. And, low and behold, on top of the coffin is a large framed picture of Morgan Freeman."
So there you go.