MARKETING THE TSUNAMI

**MattBrady** · 01-22-2003, 04:05 PM

It’s probably easiest to describe Tsunami by saying what it isn’t. It’s not a “line” per se, it’s not an all-out manga initiative, and it’s not aimed exclusively at current Marvel readers. Simply put, Tsunami is Marvel’s effort to reach a new market, by adapting the methods by which manga has become a dominant force in American bookstores.

By invoking both Marvel Knights and the Ultimate line in describing their new initiative, Marvel has set the bar fairly high. Marvel Knights, for better or worse, brought a new sensibility to Marvel, which ultimately resulted in Joe Quesada being named Editor in Chief, while the Ultimate line arguably revitalized Marvel’s direct market sales, creating multiple, new cash streams for the company.

Big shoes to fill, and all it has to do is reach out and bring in new readers, primarily teens who are almost exclusively manga readers and get their fix at the bookstore.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Bill Jemas stressed that while the direct market is one of the targets for the Tsunami titles, the bookstore market is at least an equal and perhaps greater target, given its potential to bring in new readers. In doing so, Jemas clearly stated what publishers know – the importance of the newsstand to the comic book market is virtually nil.

“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 eh 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.

“There was a theory that we’ve never seen proved true, that you should leave a gap between your monthly book and your trade paperback release, but again, since Marvel does limited edition printing of our monthly books, our sense is that the faster we get out the trade paperback, the trade becomes the next jumping on point for the next series of monthlies,” Jemas said. “So, as soon as we can possibly collect a book, we collect it and get it into bookstores, and comic shops.”

Jemas didn’t comment regarding the size or price of the Tsunami trades, whether they would be standard comic-book sized, or more in line with the manga reprint trades of Tokyopop and Viz. Nor did he comment on advertising outside of the comics market for the titles, but suggested that a larger plan (complete with a unique trade dress) related to trade paperback collections of the titles was in the works.

Previously, in speaking with Quesada, the Editor-in-Chief told Newsarama that the cmpany was ready to experiment more with monthly books that, despite average sales in the direct market, continue monthlyb publication because of the potential for solid bookstore sales.

"In some cases, that’s absolutely true," Quesada said previously. "In some cases, you roll the dice and say, ‘This is more of a bookstore book.’ Great content always rises to the top, it may happen in the comic shops if not we see it perform well in the bookstores.

According to Jemas, despite the superhero leanings of the line, the costumes of the characters of Tsunami won’t push female readers away. Citing the popularity of both the X-Men comics and X-Men animated series with a female audience, Jemas said that he feels it to be dangerous to typecast make and female readers as being interested in one particular kinds of subject matter, such as romance.

“Clearly, there were more female fans of Spider-Man than of any other property in this past year, and that’s Spider-Man,” Jemas said. “What we’re doing here with this is that we believe that part of what makes manga interesting to boys and girls are the human elements behind the stories. Sometimes it’s a kids’ relationship with their parents, and sometimes it’s a kid’s relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend. We think that when you distill down the popularity of the genre, it really relates to the human relationship, and these books emphasize that.”

While the human element mentioned by Jemas may be key to the formula that Marvel hopes to bring to the Tsunami titles, Quesada stressed again and again that the initiative, like Marvel Knights and the Ultimates before it, are an experiment.

“We all tried to figure out what it is about manga that is so appealing,” Quesada said. “Is it just the art? Is it just the storytelling? Is it a combination of all those things? When you look at the most popular mangas, you realize that there are inconsistencies in all those areas. In the American market, it’s easy for us to define what will be a hit book. In the manga department, it’s a little bit of a mystery, and I would be lying to you to tell you that we had the formula figured out.

“This is something that we’re going to be going out there and try a number of different things. Some books will be solid wall-to-wall manga in the sense that they’ll have that style of storytelling and art. Some will be a mixture of Americanized storytelling with Japanese style art, or the other way around.”

In Newsarama's December interview with Quesada, he explained the (yet-unnamed) line as such: "Absolutely. It’ll have the same feel as traditional shoujo manga, and some will feature new characters created by Japanese creators, and some will be new takes on Marvel characters, some by Japanese creators, and some by American writers writing with a Japanese flavor.

"It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what it is about manga that makes it work, but guess what? Figuratively speaking, we’re going to give it 20 shots. And out of those 20, if 5 stick – even if one sticks, we can look at it, and figure out what made that one work. From there, we’ll get a better idea. I won’t lie - it’s the great unknown for us, but if you don’t take these chances, you’re not going to really succeed. What happens in the end is that you take 20 chances, and you end up with two great successes, and people perceive the entire initiative as a failure, because the others didn’t work. But that’s okay; we anticipated that in a way. Without trying it 18 times, there’s no way you can succeed. You can’t go out there and throw one dart at the dartboard and count on it being a bull’s eye on the first throw."

Quesada later used Mystique’s Jorge Lucas as an example of the experimental nature of the plan. “[With Lucas] we’re deviating from the formula, because in all honesty, we’re not 100% sure what that formula is,” Quesada said. “So, in some cases, we may try tradition manga story, with manga art, or we may try a tradition manga story with non-manga art. Jorge is a little bit of a deviation from that, but that’s because again, we’re trying to experiment with the format to see what we can tap into. Maybe there is no real format – but if you don’t throw enough stuff up against the wall, you’re not really going to know what sticks.”

Editor C.B. Cebulski added that the Tsunami books will be similar in that they all will be more character-driven, emulating the best mangas in a sense, and all the stories will be told “with an eye on the trade paperback.”

Speaking specifically about some of the titles, while stressing the inter-personal relationships that will be at the core of the series, Quesada reiterated, using Mystique as an example, that the Tsunami titles will be all-ages, citing Mystique as an espionage book in the Marvel style that would be between the PG-G level.

When questioned about the appeal of Venom to Tsunami’s target demographic, which includes teenage girls, Quesada pointed out that there were many girls at the last horror movie he went to, and at the hear of the matter, Venom is still a good character to work with.

“We had a great character in Venom form his inception,” Quesada said. “When we decided to make Venom into his own lead, I think there were a bunch of signals that got crossed here at Marvel, because we only really do books about heroes. How do you do a book about a real villain like Venom? What you ended up having was a whitewash or a dilution of what the character should really be.

“We came across a way of producing a Venom title, much like we’re producing the Punisher title, where we can tell an honest story about this creature that’s not very nice without diluting the essence of the character. I think you’re going to find a Venom that’s truer to its original roots than what you’ve seen in previous Venom series.”

Quesada also added that the bulk of the Tsunami books were designed to have a strong connection to one of the publisher’s main universes, and ultimately, act as feeders to Marvel’s other titles.

Kevin T. Brown · 01-22-2003, 04:16 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
It’s probably easiest to describe Tsunami by saying what it isn’t. It’s not a “line” per se, it’s not an all-out manga initiative, and it’s not aimed exclusively at current Marvel readers. Simply put, Tsunami is.....

....a bad marketing ploy gone horribly wrong...

fistofkhonshu · 01-22-2003, 04:28 PM

All the books look bad to me art-wise. But thats just my opinion. Concept wise they may turn out to be something. Its a marketing ploy that worked KTB. Everyone has been eating up the message boards since the teasers were first posted. Whether or not the content will attract any new readers we'll have to wait and see. But I doubt it will cause a significant shift. Most people are too limited in what they think of as a comic. Fans and Non-Fans alike

LFKittsteiner · 01-22-2003, 04:29 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
our sense is that the faster we get out the trade paperback, the trade becomes the next jumping on point for the next series of monthlies

Why not make an OGN instead of the mini-series, that leads into the monthly? The OGN would give a more complete reading experience, paving the way for the monthly. When was the last time that Marvel released an OGN? It could serve to reach an audience that doesn´t want to come back month after month for the next part of the story. The initial story of the OGN could change their minds, and give them an incentive to buy a monthly. And if that doesn´t work, there´s always TPBs.

BillRitter · 01-22-2003, 04:34 PM

Curious thing, this producing monthly comics with a seemingly ultimate goal to get a line of trade paperbacks into the bookstores. More and more titles appear to be developed with this strategy/goal in mind.

Can't help but wonder this dedication to the bookstore trade will force abandonment of the monthly titles. Seems this is a plan to build one aspect of the line while not truly supporting the other.

Where does the monthly strategy get some attention?

Arnout · 01-22-2003, 04:46 PM

they talk about manga as if they know what the hell they're talking about, while they clearly don't. Manga isn't a genre it's a medium. Is that so difficult to understand? There's no "traditional manga style" of art or story... Have these people even read manga? (I know C.B. has, but he just continues to let me down ever since moving to Marvel).
Please give me an example of a "traditional manga".
Card Captor Sakura is about as similar to 'X'(Both by Clamp) as Cape Fear to X-Men, but for some reason, (because it's printed perhaps?) both are considered what their target demo craves?
Besides, a lot of bad manga is targeted at adolescent boys (you know that's why it's called shonen manga). I don't like that stuff at all, because it too much 'formula' and not enough originality. HunterXHunter, Dragon Ball, Shaman King spring to mind. The same goes for a lot of the 'girly' shoujo-manga.
(I don't dislike DB per se, as it is a mould for all the derivative shonen, and certainly something like the first 20-30 volumes were ok to very good, byt by the end it got really repetitive, I mean, how strong could they get? Or how often could Goku die?)
So if this 'line' is an attempt at finding the 'formula' behind whatever they think manga is... they'll succeed at that, but not at producing quality stuff.
There's more to this discussion than my arguments, but allow me to pull an Ellis and bail out, becuase it tires me to talk to brick walls. If I want manga, I'll go to the masters: Vagabond, Lone Wolf & Cub, Monster, Eden and I'm not buying any of these at more than 10 bucks per volume, because I speak French...

Last point: why for a second would I shell out up to 3 bucks for 32 pages of something that reads like a commercial break interrupted by story when they make it clear now that the collection will be inexpensive????

btw, I can't believe Marvel even puts ads in their trades now. I swear, 3 or 4 pages in the Ultimate Daredevil collection! What gives?

(edited because i can't shut up as much as i'd want to ^_^)

Kevin T. Brown · 01-22-2003, 04:53 PM

Fist,

A good marketing ploy generates excitement and anticipation. The wanting to see exactly what it is that us hidden from us... Having us craving to buy the product.

This ploy generated (for the most part) nothing but ambivalence and apathy from most to downright hatred/disgust from others. Yes, it did generate a lot of talking, but it's obviously not going to generate sales. Most of those posting have said they're not buying these books...

So, yep, a bad marketing ploy that went horribly wrong is an accurate description....

Fan4Fan · 01-22-2003, 04:56 PM

[quote]Originally posted by fistofkhonshu:
Its a marketing ploy that worked KTB. Everyone has been eating up the message boards since the teasers were first posted.

Yes, but you'll notice that sheer volume of posts seems to have dropped off once the teasers were replaced with facts of who was on creative teams. So, I'm not sure that it has worked... yet.

As you say, we'll have to wait and see.

What I can't figure out is why they believe that these TPB's appearing at bookstores will automatically be purchased. Will there be some marketing done to get readers of real manga to try these trades?

Thanks,
Fan4Fan

NicholasWyche · 01-22-2003, 05:00 PM

[quote]Originally posted by BillRitter:
Curious thing, this producing monthly comics with a seemingly ultimate goal to get a line of trade paperbacks into the bookstores. More and more titles appear to be developed with this strategy/goal in mind.

Can't help but wonder this dedication to the bookstore trade will force abandonment of the monthly titles. Seems this is a plan to build one aspect of the line while not truly supporting the other.

Where does the monthly strategy get some attention?

Probably not at all. The monthly pamphlet form is more than likely on it's way to being the minority format in the comics industry. Within the next decade I predict two major changes:
#1) TPBs will be the majority format for the comics industry.
#2) The bookstore market will be 50% or better of the sales for the comic book industry. Given the new BISAC categorization program announced, the Graphic Novel will actually begin to get the attention it's due in the REAL retail market.

Monthly pamphlets and the direct market will be, IMO, a small fraction of this industry in the not-too-distant future.

Elayne Riggs · 01-22-2003, 05:00 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
According to Jemas, despite the superhero leanings of the line, the costumes of the characters of Tsunami won’t push female readers away. Citing the popularity of both the X-Men comics and X-Men animated series with a female audience, Jemas said that he feels it to be dangerous to typecast make and female readers as being interested in one particular kinds of subject matter, such as romance.

Oh, absolutely true, girls are no more a monolithic reading group than boys are. That being said, there are things you can generalize about in terms of trends - other entertainment forms do that all the time. For instance, girls appreciate female protagonists. The only female protagonist I can see so far in the Tsunami books is Mystique, and she's drawn (at least in the promo picture) in goodgirl style rather than manga style. So some girls will pick it up because any female-protagonist book is better than none, and other girls will look at the T&A and dismiss it as being for boys.

In terms of story, girls also tend to appreciate characterization and relationships over fisticuffs; insofar as the books will lean towards the latter over the former, they're liable to be of more interest to boys.

For more info on what girls have bought over the years, check out Trina Robbins' book From Girls To Grrlz, a history of girls' comics.

- Elayne

AForceOfOne · 01-22-2003, 05:02 PM

LOL...these posts are great. Right. Marvel doesn't know what they're doing but the fans do. Right. Just making sure i got the point.

gwangung · 01-22-2003, 05:13 PM

LOL...these posts are great. Right. Marvel doesn't know what they're doing but the fans do. Right.

Right. And that's why Marvel has posted higher sales in 2002 than 2001, and increased revenue in 2002 by 20% over 2001. Marvel sure doesn't know what they're doing. They need fans to tell them the Right Way.

Just making sure i got the point.

Got it in one.

jasinmartin · 01-22-2003, 05:15 PM

[quote]Originally posted by NicholasWyche:

#2) The bookstore market will be 50% or better of the sales for the comic book industry. Given the new BISAC categorization program announced, the Graphic Novel will actually begin to get the attention it's due in the REAL retail market.

What is BISAC (bookstore association?), and what is the categorization program?

Velvet Glove · 01-22-2003, 05:15 PM

Why did the last poster just re-post the entire story??

For my part, I'm just sort of underwhelmed by all these titles. I've really cut back on buying into hype and buying so many books each month. On the surface of this only Human Torch looks kind of interesting, although the Vaughan books might have potential even if I can't stand Mystique as a character. The Namor book MIGHT be good if Jemas hadn't gotten his clutches on it as "co-writer." Did the unanimous critical acclaim for "MARVILLE" pass me by or something? Feh.

Nathan Jewell · 01-22-2003, 05:20 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:

Quesada also added that the bulk of the Tsunami books were designed to have a strong connection to one of the publisher’s main universes, and ultimately, act as feeders to Marvel’s other titles.[/QB]

Stress added by me...

Matt,

Is this supposed to answer the question of which Marvel universe these comics tie into?

Thanks..

Nathan

Super Skrull · 01-22-2003, 05:35 PM

When it comes to understanding Manga, Marvel comes off as suit and tie, corporate outsiders trying to make a buck off something they don't understand but know is generating money for others that do understand.

This whole thing has the look and feel of well, for example: Skateboarding is huge with kids and generates millions, so marvel is gonna get a peice of the action! They launch six titles of marvel heroes that skate board. "It's Marvel meets Thrasher Magazine, kids are gonna love it!"

This whole line looks cheesy. Of all the characters they have to market, they end up with "manga" versions of Human Torch, Namor, Mystique, Venom, The Iron Giant and runaway kids with a dark secret?

fournwah · 01-22-2003, 05:36 PM

I will reserve final judgment until these books hit the shelves, however, my initial reaction is that these books will fizzle out in less than a year. It reminds me of the M2 and MTech line from a few years ago. Throw several titles out there and maybe one will stick (a la Spider-Girl). I just can't see Namor or Mystique being the types of characters that draw people into comics.

Tom Daylight · 01-22-2003, 05:42 PM

[quote]Originally posted by AForceOfOne:
LOL...these posts are great. Right. Marvel doesn't know what they're doing but the fans do. Right. Just making sure i got the point.

Now you know why I love Newsarama

J.L. · 01-22-2003, 05:42 PM

This Arnout guy’s is about as interesting as a glass of water. You type these long messages of verbal diarrhea that’s makes you wonder if you even know what your talking about.

Kevin T. Brown, did you miss the part where they said their throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks? So maybe none of this works. Fine. But at least they will know that for the future. Besides, everyone knows that 99% of the people that post on Web Pages are just lonely and have nothing else to do with their lives but try to make other people miserable.

I commend Joe and Bill for trying something different. If they don’t then who else will? It sure as hell won’t be any one from DC.

**MattBrady** · 01-22-2003, 05:43 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Velvet Glove:
The Namor book MIGHT be good if Jemas hadn't gotten his clutches on it as "co-writer." Did the unanimous critical acclaim for "MARVILLE" pass me by or something? Feh.

No, but some of it for his last co-writing stint with a writer known for quality indy work must have.

MattB

jcrichards · 01-22-2003, 05:46 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Kevin T. Brown:
This ploy generated (for the most part) nothing but ambivalence and apathy from most to downright hatred/disgust from others. Yes, it did generate a lot of talking, but it's obviously not going to generate sales. Most of those posting have said they're not buying these books...

So, yep, a bad marketing ploy that went horribly wrong is an accurate description....

no...you're wrong. you're forgetting the one intrinsic truth of the internet posting community...it's the opposite of the Golden Rule. no one comes on boards to say how much they like something. the vast majority of people who post only do so to say how much something sucks and to try to be more clever in their wording than the last guy.

personally, i know of a great number of people who think these teasers did their job. the truth is that no one wants to admit it, they just want to bash Marvel.

negativity breeds faster than any virus known to man. kind of like free publicity.

theodoros · 01-22-2003, 05:57 PM

[quote]Originally posted by jcrichards:

negativity breeds faster than any virus known to man. kind of like free publicity.

I like the Ultimate line, a lot of Marvel knights, some times Max, the new X-Men, Avengers and Captain Marvel.

I tried Iron Man, Marville and some Icons. Didn't like them.

BUT I AM NOT GOING TO BUY THE NEW WAVE COMICS. THIS IS MANGA DONE WRONG. THESE ARE WANNA-BE-MANGA. And I am mature enough to judge by the cover and the way Bill Jemas supports them. Got it?

BillRitter · 01-22-2003, 06:13 PM

[quote]
Typed forth by AForceofOne:
LOL...these posts are great. Right. Marvel doesn't know what they're doing but the fans do. Right. Just making sure i got the point.

Yeah, just like I'm sure the gang running Marvel into it's 1990s bankruptcy knew what they were doing. And I'm sure the Comico, First Comics, Eclipse, Capital City, and countless hordes of other companies' leaders of days past knew what they were doing.

In fact, Marvel may not know what it is doing -- beyond experimenting with anything and everything to see what work. Let's not confuse a strategy to try everything with a business plan or effective strategy. Jury is still out on which Marvel is practicing...at least IMHO.

And if enough fans say the end product is poor entertainment (such as many no-longer with us Marvel titles), well, matters not whether Marvel knew what it was doing or not because the idea and strategy will fail - based entirely on those same fans you dismiss.

Sock Puppet #9.5 · 01-22-2003, 06:14 PM

[quote]Originally posted by jcrichards:
the opposite of the Golden Rule. no one comes on boards to say how much they like something.

Mr. Cranky does a bang up job knocking down movies. Not just BAD movies, mind you. All movies. I'm sure there are sites like that for books, too. The TV sites that bash Survivor and American Idol are too numerous to count.

Hell, Simon on American Idol MADE the show because he IS so critical!

The only people that say, "If you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything" are mothers.

cbrown93704 · 01-22-2003, 06:22 PM

I can't say any of these new titles makes me want to start marking the days of my calendar, but I do have to say that I respect Marvel for trying to reach different groups of readers. It is a truly amazing thing going on in libraries, schools, and bookstores right now. All three seem to be embracing the comic form as something beneficial again.

I remember when Ultimate line was going to start up and folks thought that that would be the death-knell for their favorite book...instead IMHO it seems the whole line has gotten better (with few exceptions). I prefer to let Marvel takes chances, even if it means ignoring (or at least warping) continuity to reach a new market. It seems to me that the rest of the Marvel playground will do just fine, and that Marvel won't let us aging fanboys/girls out in the cold.

Oh, and the death of the monthly "pamphlet" is greatly exagerated. I think the reason why Marvel doesn't do OGN anymore is that some of us already end up buying both products (the monthly and the trade)...maybe it's that dang collector in us. I know I pick up single issues of Powers just because of the letter columns...and the "DVD extras" suck me into buying the trades as well. [Damn that Bendis! Damn him to...hmmmm Goldfish hardcover...must have]

I'm just excited to see that there's something for everyone to read. The Call, which I thought was god-awful, my wife LOVED. Now I have to add the monthly to my pull list. While things may not be "your cup of tea", chances are they are someone else's. And I love that my wife now preuses our local comic book shop for more stuff that she would like to read, when she once thought comic book stores were places that were for guys only. Kudos for Marvel, Oni, DC, Crossgen, DHC, Image, and others for shattering that myth.

-Chris "Lefty" Brown