Valiant Entertainment Announces Valiant Retailer Direct

[muzzsucker]

I'm seriously dissapointed in hearing this.

It seems that the book was canceled from Diamond on Friday.

We are hearing about it THREE days later....When this happened IMOP we should have found out so we could answer the call and take other means of ordering it. Printing out the info for our retailer to order it through VEI.

Three days seems like time wasted to me...

-Brian

Yeah, I agree with you, Brian. You would think this site of all places should be hearing this info first.

I DO think that we are hearing about it first......but three days later than we should have....

Thats the problem I'm having with it.

Comic retailers are lazy it's sad but true and this will hamper a great deal of other retailers from taking that extra step in getting the HC in there stores. Again it's a sad reality.

If this is what it takes to put the HC at Borders and Barnes & Nobles I'm all for it. But untill I see that I'm still wondering the real reason for Diamond dropping the HC 5 days before it's release.

-Brian

hmm, could it be like the future comics thing. Could diamond be out to screw Valiant because they are afraid Valiant could come back and be a force in the industry once again?

[ManofTheAtom]

The more I think about this the angrier I get.

[betterthanezra]

I'm seriously dissapointed in hearing this.

It seems that the book was canceled from Diamond on Friday.

We are hearing about it THREE days later....When this happened IMOP we should have found out so we could answer the call and take other means of ordering it. Printing out the info for our retailer to order it through VEI.

Three days seems like time wasted to me...

-Brian

Yeah, I agree with you, Brian. You would think this site of all places should be hearing this info first.

I DO think that we are hearing about it first......but three days later than we should have....

Thats the problem I'm having with it.

Comic retailers are lazy it's sad but true and this will hamper a great deal of other retailers from taking that extra step in getting the HC in there stores. Again it's a sad reality.

If this is what it takes to put the HC at Borders and Barnes & Nobles I'm all for it. But untill I see that I'm still wondering the real reason for Diamond dropping the HC 5 days before it's release.

-Brian

hmm, could it be like the future comics thing. Could diamond be out to screw Valiant because they are afraid Valiant could come back and be a force in the industry once again?

If thats the case and I doubt it.....Wouldn't Diamond benefit from Valiant becoming a force again when orders start coming in...both companies are in this make money period thats the bottom line.

Valiant becoming a positive force in the industry would be a positive thing for Diamond not a reason for them to drop your product 5 days before it's release date. Just my 2 cents.

-Brian

[Daniel Jackson]

I'm seriously dissapointed in hearing this.

It seems that the book was canceled from Diamond on Friday.

We are hearing about it THREE days later....When this happened IMOP we should have found out so we could answer the call and take other means of ordering it. Printing out the info for our retailer to order it through VEI.

Three days seems like time wasted to me...

-Brian

Yeah, I agree with you, Brian. You would think this site of all places should be hearing this info first.

I DO think that we are hearing about it first......but three days later than we should have....

Thats the problem I'm having with it.

Comic retailers are lazy it's sad but true and this will hamper a great deal of other retailers from taking that extra step in getting the HC in there stores. Again it's a sad reality.

If this is what it takes to put the HC at Borders and Barnes & Nobles I'm all for it. But untill I see that I'm still wondering the real reason for Diamond dropping the HC 5 days before it's release.

-Brian

hmm, could it be like the future comics thing. Could diamond be out to screw Valiant because they are afraid Valiant could come back and be a force in the industry once again?

If thats the case and I doubt it.....Wouldn't Diamond benefit from Valiant becoming a force again when orders start coming in...both companies are in this make money period thats the bottom line.

Valiant becoming a positive force in the industry would be a positive thing for Diamond not a reason for them to drop your product 5 days before it's release date. Just my 2 cents.

-Brian

You would think so anyway. It's just odd that they would choose to do this so late in the game. It would make a lot more business sense to cancel a whole lot sooner than a week before it ships.

[cinlach@aol.com]

so besides buying the hc, what can we as fans do to help?

[Cyberstrike]

I'm seriously dissapointed in hearing this.

It seems that the book was canceled from Diamond on Friday.

We are hearing about it THREE days later....When this happened IMOP we should have found out so we could answer the call and take other means of ordering it. Printing out the info for our retailer to order it through VEI.

Three days seems like time wasted to me...

-Brian

Yeah, I agree with you, Brian. You would think this site of all places should be hearing this info first.

I DO think that we are hearing about it first......but three days later than we should have....

Thats the problem I'm having with it.

Comic retailers are lazy it's sad but true and this will hamper a great deal of other retailers from taking that extra step in getting the HC in there stores. Again it's a sad reality.

If this is what it takes to put the HC at Borders and Barnes & Nobles I'm all for it. But untill I see that I'm still wondering the real reason for Diamond dropping the HC 5 days before it's release.

-Brian

hmm, could it be like the future comics thing. Could diamond be out to screw Valiant because they are afraid Valiant could come back and be a force in the industry once again?

If thats the case and I doubt it.....Wouldn't Diamond benefit from Valiant becoming a force again when orders start coming in...both companies are in this make money period thats the bottom line.

Valiant becoming a positive force in the industry would be a positive thing for Diamond not a reason for them to drop your product 5 days before it's release date. Just my 2 cents.

-Brian

You would think so anyway. It's just odd that they would choose to do this so late in the game. It would make a lot more business sense to cancel a whole lot sooner than a week before it ships.

Diamond is not known for sence.

[daydreamscomics]

so besides buying the hc, what can we as fans do to help?

1) have faith and confidence in VEI that they are working their hardest to make this work, given that a bomb was dropped on them three days ago. to be at the point they are now is quite a feat in my book.

2) have patience in getting these books. i don't see why everyone is making a big deal out of having to wait an extra week or two for something that we've all read before (other than the new story, which, if we've waited 10 years, what's another two weeks)

3) make sure your local retailer gets the info from VEI that they need to be able to place an order, and if they don't, make sure to report the store info to VEI so they can get in contact with your retailer.

we are all involved in this process whether we like it or not. we are the voice of valiant, so be heard!

- zach

[thePike]

Just got this e-mail from DCBS:

DCBS has purchased the Harbinger book from Valiant and we still expect to be able to fill all orders.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your business. We appreciate it!

Thanks,
Cameron

Thats good news!

[ManofTheAtom]

the voice of valiant

That be a cool name for a fan-produced VALIANT fanzine.

[Von Allan]

I just wanted to add that I actually went ahead and ordered my copy of Harbinger: The Beginning through Amazon.com and I received it this morning.

Now, what's interesting is that I'm in Canada and getting the book through Amazon.com was no problem. However, I used to run a bookstore here in Ottawa and I would have ordered it through my old shop. Unfortunately, there was no listing in Canadian Books in Print. I then tried Amazon.ca but there was no listing there, either. So I went with Amazon.com; that meant it had to be shipped in from the US. More then a smidgen odd. I'm assuming (though I could be wrong) that Valiant Entertainment did list the book through Bowker's Books in Print in the US. But if getting it into Canada is this problematic then it might be tricky for those outside of the States.

(oh, I should add that I'm happy lurker for the most part so apologies for the lack of a proper introduction).

Von

[Daniel Jackson]

I just wanted to add that I actually went ahead and ordered my copy of Harbinger: The Beginning through Amazon.com and I received it this morning.

Now, what's interesting is that I'm in Canada and getting the book through Amazon.com was no problem. However, I used to run a bookstore here in Ottawa and I would have ordered it through my old shop. Unfortunately, there was no listing in Canadian Books in Print. I then tried Amazon.ca but there was no listing there, either. So I went with Amazon.com; that meant it had to be shipped in from the US. More then a smidgen odd. I'm assuming (though I could be wrong) that Valiant Entertainment did list the book through Bowker's Books in Print in the US. But if getting it into Canada is this problematic then it might be tricky for those outside of the States.

(oh, I should add that I'm happy lurker for the most part so apologies for the lack of a proper introduction).

Von

Nice to have you aboard, keep on posting!

[Second_Death]

so besides buying the hc, what can we as fans do to help?

1) have faith and confidence in VEI that they are working their hardest to make this work, given that a bomb was dropped on them three days ago. to be at the point they are now is quite a feat in my book.

2) have patience in getting these books. i don't see why everyone is making a big deal out of having to wait an extra week or two for something that we've all read before (other than the new story, which, if we've waited 10 years, what's another two weeks)

3) make sure your local retailer gets the info from VEI that they need to be able to place an order, and if they don't, make sure to report the store info to VEI so they can get in contact with your retailer.

we are all involved in this process whether we like it or not. we are the voice of valiant, so be heard!

- zach

Yul Brynner says it best...."So let it be written....so let it be done!"

Great post Daydreams.

The three shops nearest to my home will be hearing from me in the morning about Valiant Retailer Direct.

[ManofTheAtom]

I hope Lovitz is watching these posts so he can get a good look at how this community supports each other.

[whetteon]

I've ordered my copy through Amazon.com a week ago (or was it two now? ) and tracking info show the book is currently in the Joplin area. So I should be seeing it tomorrow or Wednesday.

[magnusr]

Nice to have you aboard, keep on posting!

/Magnus

[magnusr]

Contact your local comics store and make sure they have received the Valiant Retailer Direct information we have sent them.

Has forwarded this to my shop.

/Magnus

[paradise]

I would suggest ordering through amazon.com if your LCS doesn't have it in stock.

-TWT

How about suggesting to find a store that does have it ? Amazon.com will not help the new Valiant. Unless stores get behind it it wont work, no matter how much amazon sells.

IF any of you are in the LA area, we'll have it, plenty of them, at 20% off, the usual graphic novel discount we give. It will be a few days now that I have to wait for Valiant to ship them, instead of this wednesday. But we'll have plenty.

And we ship too, PM me if interested. If not, it's perfectly fine, find a store locally or bug a store. If you do it enough they will get it.

Ed

[slym2none]

I would suggest ordering through amazon.com if your LCS doesn't have it in stock.

-TWT

How about suggesting to find a store that does have it ?

Not a bad idea, and one I'm sure wasn't meant to be excluded.

Amazon.com will not help the new Valiant. Unless stores get behind it it wont work, no matter how much amazon sells.

I think you underestimate the power of the internet, much less a site such as Amazon.com. Let's just say that VEI sells a million of these things (for argument's sake) and Amazon was "responsible" for 1/3 of them, or even 1/4? These guys are for real.



-slym (is NOT knocking the LCS, folks)

[paradise]

Still, I have never heard of a title that had no Comic Shop support that did well with JUST amazon. Just as it is comic shop owners responsibility to carry products their customers want, it's customers responsibility to protect those who make those products possible. Without LCS, there wont be Valiant, trust me.

[slym2none]

Still, I have never heard of a title that had no Comic Shop support that did well with JUST amazon. Just as it is comic shop owners responsibility to carry products their customers want, it's customers responsibility to protect those who make those products possible. Without LCS, there wont be Valiant,

I never said anything to the contrary.

trust me.

And who are you, exactly?





-slym

[paradise]

And who are you, exactly?

A retailer of 14 years who was there during the OG Valiant boom and the downfall after that, and is still there.

[400yrs]

I would suggest ordering through amazon.com if your LCS doesn't have it in stock.

-TWT

How about suggesting to find a store that does have it ? Amazon.com will not help the new Valiant. Unless stores get behind it it wont work, no matter how much amazon sells.

Excellent point and I agree 100%. Ordering from amazon.com will only help VEI in the short term where as sticking with the LCSs will help long term.

I think the worst thing that could happen would be for everyone who put in an LCS order to not let the LCS know that they are buying them from Amazon. If the LCS orders from Valiant direct and then gets stuck with a ton of copies (and I should add that a "ton" to some LCSs may be 1 or 2 copies..... these are HCs which aren't cheap) because customers who pre-ordered bought from Amazon instead, the backlash from LCSs may cause irrepairable damage to VEI.

IMO, you should stick with the LCSs and give them the contact info for Valiant direct. I hope that VEI is hooking the LCSs up with a great deal (it better be a better price than the Amazon rate or that's a slap in the face). Cutting out the middle man, I don't see why that wouldn't happen.

[400yrs]

Amazon.com will not help the new Valiant. Unless stores get behind it it wont work, no matter how much amazon sells.

I think you underestimate the power of the internet, much less a site such as Amazon.com. Let's just say that VEI sells a million of these things (for argument's sake) and Amazon was "responsible" for 1/3 of them, or even 1/4? These guys are for real.

If VEI indtends to publish serialized titles, they will need the LCSs and it would be a mistake to distribute this thing mainly through amazon. I checked Amazon's prices on a few single issues. The ones that they had were like $6.50 for an issue that I get from an LCS for $2.99 cover less 25%.

Amazon is great for trades and hardcovers, but to be able to print trades and hardcovers, there has to be the monthly issues sold through LCSs. Amazon isn't practical for distribution of monthly issues.

LCSs are needed. Yeah, it's great if they sell 1/3 of a million copies through Amazon, but that won't help the LCSs get involved. With the recent news of the drop by Diamond, I'd guess that probably upwards of 70% of the issues sold will be through Amazon...... which isn't good IMO.

In today's comic industry, it seems that monthly titles are written with the intention of being put out as a trade. IMO, it is great for the industry. Stories are more focused and start and end (in most cases) and the comic companies get to print trades which I've heard make a lot more cash than the single issues. Win, win all around.... but to print new stuff, the LCS is needed as the distribution channel to get the stories out there and get people excited.

I guess there's always a chance that VEI doesn't intend to produce comics.... In which case, distributing these reprints straight through Amazon alone would be sufficient. However, I think that there's a reason that they came up with this Valiant Direct thingy. They need the LCSs more than Amazon. Much more if they want to produce comics.

[magnusr]

Excellent point and I agree 100%. Ordering from amazon.com will only help VEI in the short term where as sticking with the LCSs will help long term.

Right. I agree with both of you. We gotta be talking to our LCSs.

/Magnus

[whetteon]

Looks like Diamond dropped them because of 'legal reasons' or aka VIP making trouble for them as late as possible in the game to screw them over.

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