MARVEL'S TSUNAMI TRADES: NOT DEAD YET?

**MattBrady** · 10-22-2003, 12:57 PM

In a revelation Mark Twain would have appreciated, Marvel’s Tsunami trades appear to be getting life again – as digest-sized books retailing between $8 and $9 each, according to Publisher’s Weekly. Of the full Tsunami line, only Sentinel, Mystique and Runaways are mentioned.

The line, which will be called “Marvel Manga” format, according to PW, will be introduced in November, and the titles are being toted, appropriately enough, as stories with ties to the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises, and appropriate for younger readers, i.e., the teen market.

Since the line’s inception, it had been assumed that the series would be collected as trades, particularly in a manga-style format in order to compete in the burgeoning manga market, where DC and other publishers have already made some inroads.

As then-President of Publishing Bill Jemas said about the line's philosophy overall in January:

“The business model for comic books that had persisted right up until the mid-80s really doesn’t continue now, particularly that the mass market and the newsstand were the feeder system for comic book stores,” Jemas said. “As the comic shop business exploded, the mass market business exploded along with it, so you really had a situation where your impulse purchase happened at a newsstand, and happened somewhere between a quarter and 99 cents, and little Johnny could go down to the corner store with some change and buy a comic book. That doesn’t exist anymore.

“Our sense is that the entry-level, impulse buy happens at the bookstore, and it’s a purchase that a kid makes with their parent. The way to get at that demo that we’re looking for is with inexpensively priced graphic novels sold through bookstores.”

“Do we try to get more of these books at the newsstand to try and get more thirteen year-old girls? Newsstands are not for thirteen year old girls. Newsstands are for the demo that’s on the phone right now. The impulse buys for the new readers happen at the bookstores, and that’s where we want these books to be.

“Thank goodness for people like Tokyopop and Viz – they have created a buying pattern where the 13 year old female demographic is used to going to Borders, Waldens and Barnes & Noble to pick up the latest manga books. So, to some extent we’re going to ride that tide, but if we do our job right, we’ll be able to reach the heart and soul of the American kids the same way the Japanese storytellers have.”

To that end, Jemas said that trades of Tsunami series will be released to the bookstore market as quickly as possible, that is, as soon as each series ends its given arc. This model of business, Jemas said, works well for Marvel and the initiative overall.

What is unclear however is the recent cancellation (and confirmation that there were no plans to resolicit them) of all Tsunami trades for the direct market due to low orders, as stated by Marvel, despite the fact that the announcement was made by the publisher days prior to order deadlines for some trades (Namor, Runaways, Mystique and Venom) and a month or more prior to the dead line for the trades of New Mutants and Inhumans.

Many retailers are already reading the news from PW as a sign that the Tsunami “Marvel Manga” format trades will be available only to the bookstore market, and not the direct market. However, Marvel has said from the beginning that Tsunami books were aimed at manga readers who, predominantly shop at bookstores.

If the line is offered exclusively to the bookstore market, it would be the second time in recent months that Marvel has opted to do so, the first being the trade paperback publication of Marvel Masterworks that are only available to direct market retailers in hardcover at higher price points.

As for other Marvel trades and collections, according to PW, Mary Jane II by Judith O’Brien is scheduled for release near the July debut of Spider-Man 2. Likewise, Punisher: Born will be collected as a hardcover, and multiple Fantastic Four collections are being readied for next fall in time for their respective movie releases.

From the article:

“[David] Gabriel [Marvel manager of Sales and Administration] notes that Kmart and other retailers have expressed interest in Kyle Baker's The Truth, an unusual retelling of Captain America's origins from an African-American perspective, for Black History Month promotions, so it will appear as a trade paperback in late January.

Wolverine: The Brothers, collecting the first story line from 2003's bestselling new series, will be out in February, as will the fourth and final volume of the mature-readers cult hit series Alias. Other major Marvel projects due this winter include a coffee-table book, The Art of Marvel ComicsAmazing Spider-Man due in February. And, next July, Marvel will have a Neil Gaiman hardcover of its own, collecting his much-anticipated 1602 miniseries, a retelling of the Marvel Universe set in Elizabethan England.”

Hdefined · 10-22-2003, 01:07 PM

What exactly is established here? How come THIS gets a main news page and not the cancellation? All this said was "well, they might not be cancelled, just miniaturized as if they were actual mangas in order to try to fool the real manga audience . . . who know better not to buy into this crap."

I do think this is rather hilarious, though. Carry on.

Banana_Oil · 10-22-2003, 01:09 PM

GOOD.

THANK YOU.

HERE, HAVE SOME MONEY.

JK Parkin · 10-22-2003, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hdefined
What exactly is established here? How come THIS gets a main news page and not the cancellation? All this said was "well, they might not be cancelled, just miniaturized as if they were actual mangas in order to try to fool the real manga audience . . . who know better not to buy into this crap."

I do think this is rather hilarious, though. Carry on.

Considering the heated response the cancellation story received, it makes sense that this would be a main story ... I certainly appreciated it.

As for the story itself, good news ... it sounds like Marvel is following through on efforts to build readership outside of traditional comics retailers. But I wish I could just buy these through my retailer.

10-22-2003, 01:13 PM

Well just in case this is what Marvel has in mind:

_________ YOU MARVEL

You let the direct market retailers pimp these books for you,promote them, do all the work and then screw us up the ass by giving the trades to bookstores?

YOU BETTER NOT ____ US AGAIN WITH THIS or the backlash you saw when Jemas called us stupid will be nothing compared to this.

What is Marvel doing sitting around the office and saying"what can we do today to ____ our retailers" ????

MattB here - let's tone the language down.

Noah · 10-22-2003, 01:16 PM

Goddamn, you people get worked up over the stupidest things.

Dave Accampo · 10-22-2003, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MattBrady
What is unclear however is the recent cancellation of all Tsunami trades for the direct market due to low orders, as stated by Marvel. Many retailers are already reading the news from PW as a sign that the Tsunami “Marvel Manga” format trades will be available only to the bookstore market, and not the direct market. However, Marvel has said from the beginning that Tsunami books were aimed at manga readers who, predominantly shop at bookstores.

Cool. I was hoping we'd hear more about this. I think the digest-sized additions are a good move, will look good in a bookstore. It's too bad they couldn't make the direct market move, but it's true -- Marvel did say from the start that they were really pushing for the bookstore market.

I thought Cross-gen did a nice job with their "traveller" editions, but I guess the sales weren't there. Marvel may have a leg-up, though, with the ties to Spider-man and X-men.

I'll be very curious to see how this shapes up.

NotAnIssue · 10-22-2003, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hdefined
What exactly is established here? How come THIS gets a main news page and not the cancellation? All this said was "well, they might not be cancelled, just miniaturized as if they were actual mangas in order to try to fool the real manga audience . . . who know better not to buy into this crap."

I do think this is rather hilarious, though. Carry on.

Jesus Christ....what are you, abused?

Why do you spend SO much time on this board when it's obvious you've got a real problem with the entire comics industry.

Or are you really just a normal geek who buys as much as he can, even the stuff you shit on, but yells really loud for a little attention?

Dude- - you're old news, old hat.

Get a life and get off the board.

Back on topic....I'm happy to see collections of these books, whatever form it turns out to be. And I really hope the rumor about Sentinel being cancelled is false.

Garth Rockett · 10-22-2003, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by keithmeister
You let the direct market retailers pimp these books for you,promote them, do all the work and then screw us up the ass by giving the trades to bookstores?

I suppose what disgruntled retailers should do is not order shelf copies for books they won't be allowed to receive the trades (you wouldn't want to cut orders entirely since you need to keep the pull customers happy). Personally, I don't care either way since I don't read any Tsunami books, but it would be interesting to see what Marvel's reaction would be if retailers did revolt over this.

KACH · 10-22-2003, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noah
Goddamn, you people get worked up over the stupidest things.

You read my mind.

--J.

NotAnIssue · 10-22-2003, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noah
Goddamn, you people get worked up over the stupidest things.

Well, you can only actually obtain relevant information from about half the people on this site. And posters like Hdefined....jeez....if you do a tally, I think he hates just about every damn thing that's ever been published. I think a comic book killed his family.

Dan Feeser · 10-22-2003, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noah
Goddamn, you people get worked up over the stupidest things.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Hd - You actually read the main page? I just jump to the forum.

BlakSun · 10-22-2003, 01:27 PM

Nice strategy.

Release the news we heard yesterday, get people worked up, and then announce this.

Marvel had always said the books were for the bookstore crowd.

Makes sense on some levels.

But some people (comic store guys) will be pissed...

manosx · 10-22-2003, 01:32 PM

I am certainly not very knowledgeable about the business side of owning bookshops, but there some reason a comic store owner can't order a book the same way a Barnes and Noble person can? Can't you order any book you'd like to sell in your store? I honestly want to know.

Tom Daylight · 10-22-2003, 01:32 PM

YAY! This is exactly what I wanted. Low-price Tsunami trades (I don't care about the size - US comics are smaller than I was used to anyway).

I take back everything I said in the other threads. I will definitely be picking up a $9 Runaways tpb at the earliest opportunity.

classicist · 10-22-2003, 01:35 PM

I had thought that digest-sized trades were the plan all along... Didn't Vaughn mention, in his interview at the launch of Mystique, that they had been told to keep down the number of panels per page, so it would be clear when reduced?

10-22-2003, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BlakSun
Nice strategy.

Release the news we heard yesterday, get people worked up, and then announce this.

Marvel had always said the books were for the bookstore crowd.

Makes sense on some levels.

But some people (comic store guys) will be pissed...

As well ALL retailers should be plenty pissed off about this bullshit from Marvel(if this is indeed what they have planned). For the bookstore crowd? Show me ONE ___________ bookstore that has copies of the monthly Sentinal,Mystique,Runaways,or Venom on their racks. Marvel better stop trying to be "Marvel Japan" or "Manga Marvel" and get their damn heads out of their asses and take care of the direct market retailers who sell 99.9 percent of their ____ing comic books.And how is "Runaways" considered "Manga".Just by putting it in a digest size does not make manga you morons.Archie does digests when has anyone called Archie manga???

___your retailers once-shame on them

____them twice-LOOK OUT

Sean Walsh · 10-22-2003, 01:40 PM

Great to hear!

But there must always be a dark cloud ruining a very sunny day...

Quote:

Likewise, Punisher: Born will be collected as a hardcover[/b]

Ooh, didn't want to hear that........

But hey, we're getting Tsunami trades/digests/whatevers, so yay!

Sean

BlakSun · 10-22-2003, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by keithmeister
As well ALL retailers should be plenty pissed off about this bullshit from Marvel(if this is indeed what they have planned). For the bookstore crowd? Show me ONE FUCKING bookstore that has copies of the monthly Sentinal,Mystique,Runaways,or Venom on their racks. Marvel better stop trying to be "Marvel Japan" or "Manga Marvel" and get their damn heads out of their asses and take care of the direct market retailers who sell 99.9 percent of their fucking comic books.And how is "Runaways" considered "Manga".Just by putting it in a digest size does not make manga you morons.Archie does digests when has anyone called Archie manga???

Fuck your retailers once-shame on them

Fuck them twice-LOOK OUT

"But how do you REALLY feel about it?"

cyclopsfan · 10-22-2003, 01:46 PM

Sentinel, Runaways, Mystique.. Cheeeeeeeeep

And just to those who seem so bent on being negative have a rose, be happy
@-}---------

Franklin Harris · 10-22-2003, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by keithmeister
Show me ONE FUCKING bookstore that has copies of the monthly Sentinal,Mystique,Runaways,or Venom on their racks.

Books-A-Million, the nation's third largest bookstore chain.

Dave Accampo · 10-22-2003, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by keithmeister
As well ALL retailers should be plenty pissed off about this bullshit from Marvel(if this is indeed what they have planned). For the bookstore crowd? Show me ONE FUCKING bookstore that has copies of the monthly Sentinal,Mystique,Runaways,or Venom on their racks. Marvel better stop trying to be "Marvel Japan" or "Manga Marvel" and get their damn heads out of their asses and take care of the direct market retailers who sell 99.9 percent of their fucking comic books.And how is "Runaways" considered "Manga".Just by putting it in a digest size does not make manga you morons.Archie does digests when has anyone called Archie manga???

Fuck your retailers once-shame on them

Fuck them twice-LOOK OUT

Except retailers didn't ORDER enough of the books, did they? Bookstores can buy larger quantities so that people can come in and look around and notice something on the shelf. If direct market sales were low enough that Marvel chose to cancel the pre-orders, then it tells me that that retailers didn't or couldn't order the quantities necessary to sustain the program.

And no one said they were trying to make these books into manga -- they're trying to appeal to the manga market -- readers who buy manga in bookstores. They've done that with both form and content.

**MattBrady** · 10-22-2003, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Franklin Harris
Books-A-Million, the nation's third largest bookstore chain.

and Borders in my town. I hear they're a pretty big chain. Got three waterfall racks of comics.

MattB

Franklin Harris · 10-22-2003, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Garth Rockett
... but it would be interesting to see what Marvel's reaction would be if retailers did revolt over this.

And how, exactly, are retailers going to revolt? By cutting back their Marvel orders? That would hurt the retailers more than it would Marvel. Talk of a retailer revolt is just an empty threat.

Alex Scott · 10-22-2003, 01:53 PM

Quote:

For the bookstore crowd? Show me ONE FUCKING bookstore that has copies of the monthly Sentinal,Mystique,Runaways,or Venom on their racks.

Waldenbooks.

And I thought the whole problem was that the direct market DIDN'T sell enough Tsunami books. In fact, I've noticed some outright hostility coming from much of mainstream fandom. And since the desires of the direct market are clearly so vastly different from what the bookstores want, why is it even such a surprise that they'd go with one market when the books fail in another?