Valiant's Survival in the Comic Marketplace

[Keith]

Very interesting article:

http://www.tracking-board.com/the-state ... part-five/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jmatt]

Great article, interesting to see they got some Cuneo quotes in there. We don't see that often.

[FormerReader]

Very insightful article. I hope every member here takes the time to read it.

[FlipMega]

This will be my new go-to when people ask why Valiant or when I'm trying to help a store owner or patron see the light. This is the stuff they don't seem to realize or take into consideration.

I practice Human Centered Design in my profession and this article highlights that Valiants core values and decisions are centered around the reader, which is how it should be. Designing with the user in mind and putting your staff and customers at the center of everything you do pays off in spades and that will hold true for Valiant as well.

V being the only indie publisher with an actual super hero (or any variety) universe was a point I shared with a shop manager this week when I was singing some praises. Valiant is in such a unique position right now it's incredible and I just can't root for them hard enough.

Great write-up!

[greg]

Very insightful article. I hope every member here takes the time to read it.

+1

[Tony_H]

Thanks, Keith. That's one of the most informative articles I've yet read about VEI, and the company's story is a nice reminder to everyone that it pays to stick to your guns.

[ShadowTuga]

Great article. Thanks for the link, sir.
I will also say that every member here should read this.

[myron]

very nice article...thanks for sharing

[Sunlight on Snow]

Seems to be a great article. I don't have much time right now but it's good to know
"Valiant Entertainment is, in fact, not just surviving in the marketplace, it’s actually thriving."

Will continue reading later.... or start from the very beginning.

Thanks for sharing!

[mkb28]

Great article! Thanks for sharing.

[TheeBaldMoose]

Great article! I've passed it along to others, trying to do my part

[possumgrease]

We've all read the article, but I thought this needed extra attention:

“We built the business in such a way that we never need to make a movie to survive. Publishing is the most important ting to us, but licensing has also become hugely important, as has digital. The rest of it, movies, TV, video games, those will all come, but we’re also having success because we’re not in a rush to push that stuff forward. It behooves us to push these projects, because they provide much larger audiences for our material, but they’re not necessary for survival. Our primary commitment is to the comics.”

As cynical as I am, the above comes across as being genuine.

[Shadowman99]

In agreement with everyone else here, yeah, that was a really good article. Some very nice insights into some of the rationale of the marketing and publishing.

[jmatt]

Our primary commitment is to the comics.”

As cynical as I am, the above comes across as being genuine.

It's Dino and the VEI crew running things. They are comic book fans, not just corporate stiffs.

[Ricomortis]

Our primary commitment is to the comics.”

As cynical as I am, the above comes across as being genuine.

It's Dino and the VEI crew running things. They are comic book fans, not just corporate stiffs.

[Shadowman99]

Our primary commitment is to the comics.”

As cynical as I am, the above comes across as being genuine.

It's Dino and the VEI crew running things. They are comic book fans, not just corporate stiffs.

And by the sounds of some of the quotes in the article, they're very much aware of that. It seems that they feel that not being at the beck and call of higher corporate demands is working in favour of the company and seem to have gone to some efforts to make sure it stays that way, so let's hope they keep it that way for some time yet.

Loving the statements by the VEI guys in this article, really reinforces my feelings that I'll be able to continue enjoying the entire VU for some time to come yet

[krylox]

well, it is kind of a puff piece. i'd say that the four sales guys did a pretty good job

i get that dino & crew really like the publishing side of things. but from looking at the raw sales numbers it doesn't take a genius mind to calculate that those can't pay talent and the not-so-little-vei-staff. just can't. saying that publishing is what they care about is slightly hyperbole. is it the core of everything? absolutely. would vei succeed if the comics are crap? never ever. so: yes, it is true that they put publishing first, but not for the revenues out of the publishing but for getting pr and testing intellectual property which then can be sold/optioned by studios. this makes for some good, entertaining comics. but the fact alone that they don't do events and big crossovers just shows that it's really not about the "universe" feel marvel and dc is going for, but creating the definitive runs for their iconic properties, and through media rights earning their invest back and some.

this is true for EVERY SINGLE comics publisher out there. without all the media deals and options and whatnot for tv and big screen the comic market, as we have it right now, would not exist. look at those sales numbers at image, boom, etc and do the math.
probably only the top100, let's be very optimistic and say top200 comics of every month turn in profit from publishing alone. and aside from the top50 it's not money all those talented people couldn't earn in other creative fields. the big money influx comes from outside the comics industry, which has now become a test field for big budget tv/film.

[mrwoogieman]

[AnarchoMambo]

well, it is kind of a puff piece. i'd say that the four sales guys did a pretty good job

i get that dino & crew really like the publishing side of things. but from looking at the raw sales numbers it doesn't take a genius mind to calculate that those can't pay talent and the not-so-little-vei-staff. just can't. saying that publishing is what they care about is slightly hyperbole. is it the core of everything? absolutely. would vei succeed if the comics are crap? never ever. so: yes, it is true that they put publishing first, but not for the revenues out of the publishing but for getting pr and testing intellectual property which then can be sold/optioned by studios. this makes for some good, entertaining comics. but the fact alone that they don't do events and big crossovers just shows that it's really not about the "universe" feel marvel and dc is going for, but creating the definitive runs for their iconic properties, and through media rights earning their invest back and some.

this is true for EVERY SINGLE comics publisher out there. without all the media deals and options and whatnot for tv and big screen the comic market, as we have it right now, would not exist. look at those sales numbers at image, boom, etc and do the math.
probably only the top100, let's be very optimistic and say top200 comics of every month turn in profit from publishing alone. and aside from the top50 it's not money all those talented people couldn't earn in other creative fields. the big money influx comes from outside the comics industry, which has now become a test field for big budget tv/film.

So many good points are made here. This is a valuable perspective to keep in mind.

[Dr. Solar]

Good article about the business side of our Favorite Publisher.

[Phoenix8008]

well, it is kind of a puff piece. i'd say that the four sales guys did a pretty good job

i get that dino & crew really like the publishing side of things. but from looking at the raw sales numbers it doesn't take a genius mind to calculate that those can't pay talent and the not-so-little-vei-staff. just can't.

I'm assuming that you don't actually have access to their financial books to see exactly how much their bringing in revenue-wise versus how much their paying out in salaries and operating expenses. You are assuming that your genius mind just 'knows' how it is. Nobody anywhere knows how much anybody is making in digital sales, and sales from overseas aren't recorded or published anywhere either that I've seen or heard of. All we have is physical US sales to go by. And unless you're in the comic book industry or have knowledge of VEI's accounts and their contracts with their talent, I don't think you can rightly assume what you're trying to assume.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

saying that publishing is what they care about is slightly hyperbole. is it the core of everything? absolutely. would vei succeed if the comics are crap? never ever.

You just leave this hanging here, seeming to imply that their comics ARE crap and therefore obviously VEI can't succeed just on the comics alone. Most people I talk with seem to think they aren't crap though. Most folks that read some Valiant stuff find it to be as good or better than a lot of Marvel/DC stuff.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so: yes, it is true that they put publishing first, but not for the revenues out of the publishing but for getting pr and testing intellectual property which then can be sold/optioned by studios. this makes for some good, entertaining comics. but the fact alone that they don't do events and big crossovers just shows that it's really not about the "universe" feel marvel and dc is going for, but creating the definitive runs for their iconic properties, and through media rights earning their invest back and some.

What they said in the article is that they put publishing first so that they could survive just as a comics company if it came to that. Not to get wildly rich, or to make YUGE profits as quickly as possible, but to continue putting out comics how they're doing it in a controlled fashion. I also dispute that having big huge crossovers is a necessity for having a shared universe feeling. In fact, after seeing how badly some of Marvel's big crossover events have gone in recent years, I'd say maybe staying away from that kind of thing isn't a bad idea.

“We built the business in such a way that we never need to make a movie to survive."

Yes, they do want to build their IP's and such as well. They said that in the article too.

“A successful, thriving comic book publisher in today’s world has to have its fingers in all forms of media,” he says. “That’s just part of the business and it’s not going away. But we don’t need to get a movie up to survive."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

this is true for EVERY SINGLE comics publisher out there. without all the media deals and options and whatnot for tv and big screen the comic market, as we have it right now, would not exist. look at those sales numbers at image, boom, etc and do the math.
probably only the top100, let's be very optimistic and say top200 comics of every month turn in profit from publishing alone. and aside from the top50 it's not money all those talented people couldn't earn in other creative fields. the big money influx comes from outside the comics industry, which has now become a test field for big budget tv/film.

Gearing the whole business to that end is the mistake which 'Ack-lame' made... before they went bankrupt. The point that Dinesh makes in this article is that they aren't out to get a massive profit in as little time as possible. They are there first and foremost to make comics and SURVIVE well at doing that. Until one of their projects eventually goes big enough to provide more boost. It is a goal they have, but they don't have to run the business in such a way that they won't make it if that doesn't happen. But even the eventual potential movie or TV success is seen as something that is not just for profit in and of itself - it's also meant to widen the audience of the comics themselves, thus growing and enforcing what they see as the primary side of the business. Because you can't have comic book movies without the great comic book stories!

"Publishing is the most important thing to us, but licensing has also become hugely important, as has digital. The rest of it, movies, TV, video games, those will all come, but we’re also having success because we’re not in a rush to push that stuff forward. It behooves us to push these projects, because they provide much larger audiences for our material, but they’re not necessary for survival. Our primary commitment is to the comics.”

[agent_graves]

Great article, thanks for sharing.