MattBrady
10-31-2002, 09:19 AM
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/campbell_01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/campbell_01_t.jpg" width="200" height="154" alt="Masters of the Universe #1 cover by J. Scott Campbell" border="0" align="right"></a>Following in the footsteps of comics based on its fellow properties from the ‘80s, the debut issue of Images’ Masters of the Universe has landed on top of Diamond’s sales charts for the month of November, selling over 100,000 copies, sources told Newsarama. Beating out Kevin Smith’s Daredevil: The Target and Ultimates, the ranking seems to indicate that the ‘80s push still has legs.
“We knew the response would be large, Masters writer Val Staples told Newsarama. “But, we weren't sure how big. I tend to relate the performance to a poll Wizard did online a few years back about the most popular boys’ action figure property of all time. Masters of the Universe came in second place.
”Masters of the Universe fans are numerous, as indicated by the insane amount of traffic He-man.org receives, so, the sales on the first issue of the comic seem par for the course, with the exception of the surprise debut of Battle of the Planets.”
Staples credits the relaunch of the Masters of the Universe property in multiple categories (action figures, video games, animation and comics) at the same time as a contributing factor to the book’s success, with a caveat – “It's no longer the 80's He-Man,” Staples explained. “It's a new beast. Now it's up to us to make sure the comic continues strong and that the quality is stepped up with every issue. We are fans, tried and true, and we care a great deal about the direction and performance of this title.”
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/earlnorem.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/earlnorem_t.jpg" width="200" height="154" alt="Masters of the Universe #1 cover by Earl Norem" border="0" align="left"></a>The writer also acknowledged that the two variant covers for the first issue by J. Scott Campbell and Earl Norem (in addition to the series regular cover by Emiliano Santalucia) possibly helped lift the order numbers for #1, but credited retailers for ordering with their heads.
“We won't know how much the covers of issue #1 contributed to the sales until we see sales on #2, where we just have two covers, much like Transformers had during it's G1 mini-series,” Staples said. “Retailers aren't stupid, though. They order what they can sell. You could have thirteen covers, it wouldn't matter. They will still only order a certain number of copies.
”The response we've had about the product from retailers and fans in general has been amazing.
We sent out a free Preview of the first five pages, and we were floored with the positive response. Emiliano's art is incredible, and is going to be the driving force on this book. The last page of #1 will be my desktop for a long time to come. And he continues to evolve to incredible heights on each issue. I've personally logged 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week since we received the license, with the exception of a few days here or there. I think I'm going insane, but at least now I'll have a smile on my face when they lock me up.”
Case in point, Staples response when he was told Masters of the Universe was #1 for November. “My first response was, ‘What about Batman and Daredevil?’ Then I proceeded to mumble incoherent statements due to about three days of almost no sleep making sure every detail of #1 was perfect before it goes to the printer this week, Saying that, I'm sure there will be a thousand errors after it is printed.
”Honestly, the risk we took with the license has been worth it, regardless of the sales,” Staples continued. “Being a part of the development of this property means the world to us. We could have sold 10,000 copies... it wouldn't have mattered. We are here for the duration of the license, and we will be there even longer if people continue to show interest.”
That said, Staples said he and the Masters team won’t be overly concerned by the traditional falloff between issues #1 and #2 of any new series – a drop in sales which can sometimes equal 50% of the first issues’ numbers.
“We're here to do the comic and make sure it's damn good,” Staples said. “We want people to pick up the book because it's good, not just because it's Masters of the Universe. If we have to combat a significant drop in sales with increased gimmicks, then we aren't doing what we need to be doing, and that's making a quality comic.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/iss2_FM.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/iss2_FM_t.jpg" width="200" height="154" alt="Masters of the Universe #2 cover by Francis Manapul" border="0" align="right"></a>”One thing that I won't hide is that you will see incentive covers for the regular series. We didn't plan on it, but retailers have come to us and requested them. I was kind of shocked by that. I'm still not sure how we are going to handle that. As such, we plan to continue two covers per issue, one by Emiliano Santalucia, and one by a different guest artist each month to give collectors and fans alike a taste of what the new Masters of the Universe looks like from their favorite creators. But we're very mindful of the fans, as anyone who visits the He-Man.org forums knows. And we will alter our plans if collectors/fans/retailers demand it.”
The #1 ranking for the miniseries first issue will have no effect on upcoming projects, as Staples and the team have their 2003 plans already made, and will not be adding any additionally releases to the scheduled projects in light of the strong sales. “We have a specific direction for the comic, and a lot of story to tell,” Staples said. “Mini-series and one-shots have already been cooking on the stove.”
The remainder of the top 25 comics for November, according to Diamond, are:
2. Daredevil: Target #1
3. Ultimates #10
4. New X-Men #134
5. Amazing Spider-Man #47
6. Batman #609
7. Ultimate Spider-Man #30
8. Ultimate Spider-Man #31
9. Ultimate X-Men #25
10. Ultimate X-Men #24
11. Uncanny X-Men #415
12. Transformers War Within #2
13. Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra #1
14. Transformers Armada #5
15. Truth #1
16. Wolverine #183
17. JLA #75
18. Thundercats #3 (re-solicitation)
19. Thundercats #4
20. Captain America #7
21. Spider-Man Peter Parker #50
22. GI Joe #12
23. Daredevil #39
24. X-Treme X-Men X-Pose #1
25. Green Arrow #19
Got something to say about this? <a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=agree>CLICK HERE</a> to register and join one of comics' most active online communities. Registration is fast and easy.
“We knew the response would be large, Masters writer Val Staples told Newsarama. “But, we weren't sure how big. I tend to relate the performance to a poll Wizard did online a few years back about the most popular boys’ action figure property of all time. Masters of the Universe came in second place.
”Masters of the Universe fans are numerous, as indicated by the insane amount of traffic He-man.org receives, so, the sales on the first issue of the comic seem par for the course, with the exception of the surprise debut of Battle of the Planets.”
Staples credits the relaunch of the Masters of the Universe property in multiple categories (action figures, video games, animation and comics) at the same time as a contributing factor to the book’s success, with a caveat – “It's no longer the 80's He-Man,” Staples explained. “It's a new beast. Now it's up to us to make sure the comic continues strong and that the quality is stepped up with every issue. We are fans, tried and true, and we care a great deal about the direction and performance of this title.”
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/earlnorem.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/earlnorem_t.jpg" width="200" height="154" alt="Masters of the Universe #1 cover by Earl Norem" border="0" align="left"></a>The writer also acknowledged that the two variant covers for the first issue by J. Scott Campbell and Earl Norem (in addition to the series regular cover by Emiliano Santalucia) possibly helped lift the order numbers for #1, but credited retailers for ordering with their heads.
“We won't know how much the covers of issue #1 contributed to the sales until we see sales on #2, where we just have two covers, much like Transformers had during it's G1 mini-series,” Staples said. “Retailers aren't stupid, though. They order what they can sell. You could have thirteen covers, it wouldn't matter. They will still only order a certain number of copies.
”The response we've had about the product from retailers and fans in general has been amazing.
We sent out a free Preview of the first five pages, and we were floored with the positive response. Emiliano's art is incredible, and is going to be the driving force on this book. The last page of #1 will be my desktop for a long time to come. And he continues to evolve to incredible heights on each issue. I've personally logged 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week since we received the license, with the exception of a few days here or there. I think I'm going insane, but at least now I'll have a smile on my face when they lock me up.”
Case in point, Staples response when he was told Masters of the Universe was #1 for November. “My first response was, ‘What about Batman and Daredevil?’ Then I proceeded to mumble incoherent statements due to about three days of almost no sleep making sure every detail of #1 was perfect before it goes to the printer this week, Saying that, I'm sure there will be a thousand errors after it is printed.
”Honestly, the risk we took with the license has been worth it, regardless of the sales,” Staples continued. “Being a part of the development of this property means the world to us. We could have sold 10,000 copies... it wouldn't have mattered. We are here for the duration of the license, and we will be there even longer if people continue to show interest.”
That said, Staples said he and the Masters team won’t be overly concerned by the traditional falloff between issues #1 and #2 of any new series – a drop in sales which can sometimes equal 50% of the first issues’ numbers.
“We're here to do the comic and make sure it's damn good,” Staples said. “We want people to pick up the book because it's good, not just because it's Masters of the Universe. If we have to combat a significant drop in sales with increased gimmicks, then we aren't doing what we need to be doing, and that's making a quality comic.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/iss2_FM.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Image/iss2_FM_t.jpg" width="200" height="154" alt="Masters of the Universe #2 cover by Francis Manapul" border="0" align="right"></a>”One thing that I won't hide is that you will see incentive covers for the regular series. We didn't plan on it, but retailers have come to us and requested them. I was kind of shocked by that. I'm still not sure how we are going to handle that. As such, we plan to continue two covers per issue, one by Emiliano Santalucia, and one by a different guest artist each month to give collectors and fans alike a taste of what the new Masters of the Universe looks like from their favorite creators. But we're very mindful of the fans, as anyone who visits the He-Man.org forums knows. And we will alter our plans if collectors/fans/retailers demand it.”
The #1 ranking for the miniseries first issue will have no effect on upcoming projects, as Staples and the team have their 2003 plans already made, and will not be adding any additionally releases to the scheduled projects in light of the strong sales. “We have a specific direction for the comic, and a lot of story to tell,” Staples said. “Mini-series and one-shots have already been cooking on the stove.”
The remainder of the top 25 comics for November, according to Diamond, are:
2. Daredevil: Target #1
3. Ultimates #10
4. New X-Men #134
5. Amazing Spider-Man #47
6. Batman #609
7. Ultimate Spider-Man #30
8. Ultimate Spider-Man #31
9. Ultimate X-Men #25
10. Ultimate X-Men #24
11. Uncanny X-Men #415
12. Transformers War Within #2
13. Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra #1
14. Transformers Armada #5
15. Truth #1
16. Wolverine #183
17. JLA #75
18. Thundercats #3 (re-solicitation)
19. Thundercats #4
20. Captain America #7
21. Spider-Man Peter Parker #50
22. GI Joe #12
23. Daredevil #39
24. X-Treme X-Men X-Pose #1
25. Green Arrow #19
Got something to say about this? <a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=agree>CLICK HERE</a> to register and join one of comics' most active online communities. Registration is fast and easy.