Why is DC being killed by Marvel on Comic book sales

@mark_stephen: Who Marvel ?

Yep, all I ever hear about from them is events and tie-ins.

@mark_stephen: Well if it works it works

Yep, that's what they said when they made Smokey and the Bandit 2, Porkys' 2, Friday the 13th part 877... Just sell the comics and cash the checks and let someone else worry about quality.

Could just be the cycle swinging in their favor or it could be that you currently have to buy every goddamned Marvel comic just to understand what the hell is going on now days.

@mark_stephen: Your saying secret wars sucks ?

From what I've seen of it which admittedly is not much. To get to Secret Wars the storyline involving the Illuminati and the murder of heroes and worlds and then the callous disregard for life shown and now Doom in charge... Secret Wars as far as I can tell is basically a big What-If story that'll just allow the marvel writers to junk what every continuity they want when they re-esatblish a new universe. It's new coke done comics style.

Marvel seems to be a lot more gimmick-oriented these days which is unattractive to me.

No my friend Marvel sucks, don't get to comfortable Marvel Zombie a short decade ago Marvel was in DC's rear-view mirror it will happen again. Especially when all DC's movies hit big at the box-office (and they will) along with the great writing in many of their titles post N52. America is a fickle bitch, it will change it's preference again, DC is to good & too competitive to stay in the number 2 spot for too long.

@nite_nite: Are you serious? How many Avenger and X team titles does Marvel put out? Team after team of New Avengers or Astonishing, Uncanny etc; X-Men books, but you bring up DC using 4 Justice League titles. You can't claim foul on one while praising the other for doing the same thing, Marvel isn't any more original. Shit have you seen how many Avengers, X-Men & Spider books alone they are planning on launching after Secret Wars is over, talk about being unoriginal, for Christs sake.

Marvel's cheap number 1s and Star Wars.

@the_joker51: DC has been in the number 2 spot ever since the New 52 hype died down

@the_joker51: had to go read what I wrote since I forgot about this. I'll mark each point for you.

-I'm a DC fan more than I'm a marvel fan.

-what YOU say marvel does wrong don't mean a thing if they're outselling DC. Read the op.

-Each variation of their books with the same title used, have a different character roster. Which is why I stated on how they showcase MORE characters.

-I ain't say nothing bout "DC using 4 justice league titles"

-I never claimed "foul" on anything. The op asked a question, I gave an answer. Again read the op. He's not the only one who noticed the slack on sells, if you really were as "pro-DC" as your reply. You'd look within the company to see what's so bad about it.

Because most of the Marvel titles suck. The only good ones are Ms Marvel (for girls and kids), Hawkeye (for Dark fans), Daredevil by Mark Waid and Ultimate Spider-Man.

On the other hand DC has great titles like Batman, Harley Quinn, WW, JL, AC, The Flash, Animal Man, Swamp thing, Aquaman, Batgirl and probably more I can't think of right now.

I guess its a case of "There's no such thing as bad publicity". People buy Marvel because they saw on the news and online how bad their comics are going to be, and they have to see it for themselves.

Marvel is better at marketing.

Marvel is really good at marketing. The way they market is a bit of a gimmick but it works. I also I believe Star Wars is another big plus for them.

dc is boring and corny

@earthsmightiest: so many number 1 and 2 issues from Marvel though. People buy those because it gives the impression they'll follow the series easily.

@batjoseph: So? Bottom line is Marvel has a working formula to win.

Well said

@earthsmightiest: Eh, exactly.

Honestly, the current Sonic the Hedgehog comicbook is way better than anything DC or Marvel is putting out, and its sales are awful, in comparison. I guess most people just like reading mediocre garbage.

How... does that explain why Marvel is outselling DC?

Anyone know if there is any compiled data on total graphic novel sales out there?

It would be interesting to see how much specific books like Dark Knight Returns and Dark Phoenix Saga have sold worldwide.

^ I had a look, I'm not sure if this data even exists.

All I saw was someone mentioning that Watchmen was selling 100,000 a year until the lead-up to the movie when it jumped to 1 million

Oh how the tides have turned

Marvel have mastered the art of how to steal money from kids.

***0***. Star Wars. DC would need ti knock it out of the park with a full media press for Hanna Barbarra and Looney Toons properties to bridge the gap.

1. Marvel has a high rate of making number 1 titles.

2. Marvel's comic book and movie studio is much more integrated, creating a positive sales feedback loop.

DC had the brilliant(but great) idea to kill Bruce Wayne less than a year after the Dark Knight tops $1 billion dollars for a Superhero movie.

3. Marvel is able to swing bigger because they know how to play it safe. I can count on one hand how many DC comics I would feel comfortable buying for a 12 year old. I do not have that problem with most marvel titles.

4. Marvel has more teenage heroes with deep history.

5. Marvel has more history in their stories. There is an overall arc for their heroes and villains toward redemption. DC is just heading toward a Kingdom Come apocalypse or Injustice 2 Hellscape where mass lobotomizatiin for superheroes that are not ok with genocide is the Heroic option...

6. Marvel has a more honest approach with sexual assault in their 80s and 90s storylines. DC actually spent 20 years **teasing** that the Joker raped Barbara Gordon confront of her dad.

7. DC hates the truth of the Batman effect. So they troll Batman fans every few years (Brian K. Vaughn, Paul Jenkins, Geoff Johns) the result is the landscape before our eyes. Batman has outsold two Justice League titles that had him on the center cover for 30+ issues since New 52 launched.

8. Marvel actually has a long game. DC used Rebirth to fix what went wrong with DCYou. Which was a necessary, but ineffective, course correct of the New 52. And the New 52 was a cynical effort to bring the entire DC universe into alignment with their planned Murderverse.

9. Marvel does not punish readers for sticking around after a new creative team is introduced. Case in point...Wonder Woman New 52, DCYou, and Rebirth.

10. DC vs Marvel are best compared to the Cavaliers vs the Warriors. Even if the Cavs have the two best players in the game, they will still lose to the deeper bench of the Warriors. DC has Snyder, King, and Connor/Palmiotti for strong 50k+ potential for a title without an ensemble of cult fanbase characters. Marvel has so many established greats like Robinson, Waid, and Bendis that it is easy to ignore their much deeper lineup of Soule, Bunn, Hopeless, Pak, Slott, DeConnick, and many others.

Oh how things change.

get rekt Marvel

indeed

DC can't bridge the gap. Marvel is more popular for God knows whatever reason.

It's been that way for decades now. It's hard for a company to break out after being in 2nd place for so long. I think a lot of comic fans stick around even when quality is in the pits (from some sense of obligation, loyalty, I don't know)

Star Wars is the biggest reason IMO. I own very few original Marvel comics but I have dozens of Star Wars comics.

It doesn't help that they're whole universe is so Batman focused. Yes he sells the best but it's short sited. Marvel doesn't put all it's eggs in one basket.

Damn this thread so funny now

Marvel is giving its all on movies, toys, games, but specially on the cinematic sector, while DC is keeping with on this area, but they aren't giving their all as exception with Wonder Woman's last movie which had great special effects, a great budget, but otherwise, they're currently keeping a low profile on it while waiting for the right moment, they're starting in giving their all as well, thought, might they have been waiting for a better cinematic tech, better CGI effects to start from the very pinnacle in this regard.

Why? Is Marvel not still beating DC in sales? Honest question because I don't pay attention to sales.

Was there another reason?

Because they have an event every 2 weeks

Yeah DC been doing better as of recent as far as sales go. DC rebirth has been pretty successful and the events coming up are generating hype. Marvel been pretty meh atm so sales havent been as good hopefully they turn that around.

They always have, every since the 1960s. DC have not consistently been top dog since the golden age.