Batman: The 10 Cent Adventure

[James Harvey]

Comic Newsarama, at http://www.comicon.com/newsarama , posted a news report on th eupcoming Batman: The 10 Cent Adventure, which I think could be a very massive hit. Here's the article, written by Matt Brady,:

One thin dime.

Well, with a name like Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure, the price point is kind of a given already, right?
The idea of a 10-cent comic (albeit coming out in early 2002) engenders many responses from many fans - for some, it's a sign of DC's generosity. For others, it's a strong move to reach out to new readers. To still others, it's a manipulative gimmick.
All the people, all the time - there was something about pleasing them?

In any case, here's the skinny if you missed it the first time around - in early 2002, DC will publish Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure written by Greg Rucka, with art by Rick Burchett and Rodney Ramos. The issue will be a regular-sized comic book, and will be a primer of sorts for readers who may not know who the players in the Bat-books are. The story in The 10-Cent Adventure will kick off a larger storyline, "Bruce Wayne…Fugitive" that will unfold from the events in The 10-Cent Adventure, however, the issue itself will be a standalone story, with a beginning, middle, and end - oh, and one hell of a hook.
It's an experiment on many levels, from the creative side, where Rucka and Burchett have to tell a clear, compelling story to an audience that may or may not know who Batman, Bruce Wayne, Oracle, and Nightwing are; to the business side where DC is putting loads of money on the line; to the retailers who have to wrestle with how many copies to order.
We took a look at all three.

The Creative Angle

Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure represents a plum for a writer - a chance to write a simple story that will appeal to a wide audience, not just a specialized group of fans that know the character's continuity inside and out. It's something that the Bat-offices have been…batting around for a while.

"My first experience with the concept was that we wanted to do something simple and cheap that would be entry-level," Rucka said. "It was first mentioned at a Bat-conference last year where we had talked about doing simple, introductory issues of the Bat-books where the story would be very simple, allowing us to introduce the characters and let readers know what was going on, and we'd try to sell them on the cheap as primers - essentially bibles for the Bat-universe."
For any number of reasons, the idea for Bat-primers didn't go through, neither did a plan to set up a website that would serve as a primer for each issue of the Bat-titles. While the specific idea of "primer" books was back burnered, the idea of an entry-level Bat-book was still at the forefront of the Batman editorial group.

"Bob [Schreck] and Matt [Idelson] had an editorial get-together where they saw that we had a big thing planned for 2002, and they wanted to use the idea of a simple, cheap issue as an entry point," Rucka said. "There will be some pretty dramatic changes to the status quo in the storyline, and this would be a good place to come in and be familiarized with how things are and who everyone is - before the changes are made."

The storyline of course, is "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive," which will begin in Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure. Overall, it's a murder mystery with a surprising victim and Gotham's leading playboy bachelor fingered as the prime suspect. Perfect for Rucka to sink his teeth into.

"Once they had decided they wanted to do it, Bob contacted me about it, and I told him I'd like to write it, and he said that was good, because they were planning on getting Rick Burchett to draw it," Rucka said. "The story in The 10-Cent Adventure will be straightforward, with a beginning, middle and end. There will be a clear narrative throughout, and it will end with a huge hook. Ideally, of course, it will end so dramatically, that people will go running to their comic book shops afterwards and pick up the rest of the issues."

As for the story itself, Rucka opted to keep the victim's and the murderer's identities a secret, but did reveal that the individual dies a "pretty nasty" death in a location that serves to implicate. Rucka stressed that the mystery component would play a large role in the story, and as such, clues needed to be dropped. When his fellow Bat-writers were a little unclear as to the how clues to a brutal homicide are left behind, Rucka was more than willing to accommodate them at a recent Bat-conference, much to their…uh, interest.

"Ed Brubaker was quick to tell people all over the DC offices that I was acting out just how you would murder somebody and how the clues would have to be created," Rucka said. "At one point, I stood up and mimed what would be required what would be required on an invisible body in order for someone to kill a person, and leave the appropriate evidence. It was a fun day."

As is Rucka's style, the murder serves only for further character exploration and exposition, which may ultimately reveal some uglier sides of the members of the Bat Family. "First and foremost, it's a logical story - we've been working towards very specific things with the characters lately," Rucka said. "One of the things that began with Bruce and will reach its culmination in the "Fugitive" storyline - these consequently lead to their logical extensions, and there may be some defections within the family. Some of Bruce's oldest allies may find themselves wondering if he actually may have actually committed a murder."

And for readers who muttered a "pshyeah…right" at Rucka's calling "Bruce Wayne...Fugitive" a logical extension of ongoing storylines and see a multi-part storyline as nothing more than a cheap gimmick, the writer understands. "We're in an era in the industry where anything different is viewed as a stunt, and consequently, if you say stunt, the word 'stunt' is a huge pejorative right now - it sounds like you're doing it just to boost sales.

"In the eyes of some readers, there's no reason that's good enough to justify a multi-part storyline. But this is a big story. It's got wide reaching effects. It does not mandate that everybody buy every Bat-book. There is always the option to do it, and you get a different read if you do that - you get a deeper story, but you don't suffer for lack of it. We're trying to tell a good story, and this is the best mechanism by which to tell it. If we could do it in one issue, we'd do it in one issue, but this is a long story. It's got a ways to go to get where it needs to be, and hopefully, once it begins, readers will see that."

The Business Angle

Make no doubt about it - publishing Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure is a risk for DC. While they may be offering it to retailers at a deeply discounted rate, they're getting no such breaks on the price from Quebecor, the paper suppliers, the colorist, or even Rucka himself. The production cost on Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure will be essentially the same as the production cost on any regular DC Bat-title. While it would be nice for DC if a large enough volume of the issues were sold to make up the cost, making money on Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure comic is not the highest priority.

"This is another example of our ongoing efforts to find ways to help our retailers sell more copies of our comics," said Bob Wayne, VP - Direct Sales at DC, "We're investing in our future, more than any of our competitors. I believe Paul Levitz suggested the 10-cent cover price. Because of the history of our industry, that's a significant price point. But for those who aren't steeped in the history of comics, it's still an irresistible price point. We want to encourage massive sampling by comic book readers past and present.

"We're investing in future sales. If we didn't think it was possible that this would work to increase sales, we wouldn't be trying it. We keep looking for effective programs to sell more copies of our comics. We overprint our comics so that retailers can make reorders. We carry the largest, most comprehensive backlist in the industry. We've made numerous free overships of comics to retailers. We've produced low-cost samplers and starter titles for retailers to use to reach new customers, including our Cartoon Network and Batman Beyond promotions. We continue to invest in the future of comics, far more than any of our competitors."

That said, Wayne hopes the issue will both bring in and bring back Batman readers, and expects retailers to be creative in moving the issue, from placing it beside the register rather than on the rack, to other, more innovate ideas.

And no - while DC doesn't maintain a presence on newsstands, Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure will not be distributed to mass-market outlets. "Currently we're planning on offering this comic exclusively to the comic book specialty market," Wayne said. "The newsstand market has no significant interest in low cover prices, and the specialty market is our core market. Any house ads that we run in our titles to promote Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure will run in all of our comics, including newsstand and subscription copies. If this brings some of those readers into the shops, and exposes them to the full range of the DC Comics line, that's a bonus."

While Wayne stressed the importance of the 10-cent price point in terms of comics history, he also defended the book against the idea of it just being a free giveaway. If something is free, either little or no value is implied. Ask readers to pay for something, even a 10-cent something, and value is implied, along with the idea that the material has importance.
If the idea works, and DC is pleased with the result of a 10-cent comic book, Wayne didn't dismiss the idea that may only be the first. "If this promotion works, I would be stunned if the writers, artists and editors of other DC titles didn't suggest stories where we could do something like this again," Wayne said. "But for now, we'll wait and see the impact of this project on the ongoing Batman titles."

The Retail Angle

So you're a retailer, and you've heard about Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure that will be available at your standard discount from DC.

What do you do?

Sure, there will be a few that will complain that they still have to pay shipping on a book with such a low price point, which could effectively cut deeply into any profits realized from the issue, but by and large, retailers contacted by Newsarama were looking beyond that, and hoping to use it as a tool to get people into their shops.

"We order about 50-55 copies of Batman, but I can easily see ordering 500 copies of the 10 cent book - because we will 'make' every single person who walks into the store to buy it," said Matt Lehman of Comicopia. "We'll have fun with it. I know I'm going to automatically sign up all my subscribers for it. In fact, we'll probably encourage our customers to buy multiple copies so they can give them to their friends. Hell, I even could see myself ordering 1000, which is about what the equivalent retail price would be."

One thousand copies seems to be the popular number with many retailers. However, some retailers mentioned DC's slight scheduling change that that may affect the final order numbers - the book is shipping in early 2002, rather than December, when it would make an ideal stocking stuffer. That said, other retailers felt the date wouldn't make that much of an impact, and have been playing with numbers since the issue was announced, aiming for the roof - and beyond.
One such retailer is Phil Boyle of Coliseum of Comics in Orlando who expressed an interest in inserting copies of The 10-Cent Adventure in his local newspaper. "I'm looking forward to this," Boyle said. "I'm hoping it's a solid story on its own but that it does continue in the next issue. I think this fall under the 'teach a man to fish' instead of giving him the fish thing."
Brian Hibbs of Comix Experience in Berkeley said: "Its pretty clearly a title designed to not be profitable out of the gate, but instead to create long-term interest in Batman. Even ordering single copies, or your 'regular' Batman type numbers, you probably can't make money, considering shipping is 2-3 cents a book.

"The real trick is the content: it needs to be a satisfying read, in and of itself, but also have just enough hooks to lead into whatever the follow-up is in the regular titles. If they can do that, then this will be a huge success...if not, it will be a novelty. Personally, I'm sure I'll order a couple of hundred copies - at that price there's no reason not to - I imagine it will be quite the impulse buy on the counter...people with a dime left over in change from their regular purchases should really flock to it. I imagine it will be the first quarter-million comic in the direct market in quite some time."

The bad news side of the good news/bad news for retailers however, lies in the fact that The 10-Cent Adventure is the lead-in to a multi-part story. Sure, you can go a little wild with the orders on The 10-Cent Adventure, but how many copies of second, third, fourth, etc. parts of the storyline do you order? Regular numbers, and then re-order when you run out? Do you want to risk possibly alienating first time customers by asking them to come back next week because you're out of the second part of the storyline? Or do you order higher, expecting an increase in sales on the Bat-titles, and risk possibly having to eat copies of the "Bruce Wayne…Fugitive" storyline for the next year?
Hey, no one said selling comics was easy.

"Orders for subsequent issues of the Batman books that follow on the Batman 10-Cent Story are bound to be bollixed up," said Jim Hanley of Jim Hanley's Universe. "With people talking about inserting 20,000 copies in their local Sunday paper, the potential for a significant influx of mew customers is real. Deciding, in advance, how many copies to stock in on the subsequent issues is a not inconsiderable challenge."

George Vlastaras of Kings Comics in Sydney said: "If you go ahead and do your promotion for 20,000 copies of the 10-cent issue, what do you expect to order of issues two and three? Remember these will be at full cover price. Even if you go for 10%, that's 2,000 copies each of a $2.25 cover price. This may have been one of those things that we all jumped at without looking too closely at all the possibilities.

"The only alternative I can think of is not to go overboard in ordering the following issues, maybe only an extra 200 above normal orders, and rely on reordering or moving the customers over to other in stock Batman books. It still gets the people through your door, sells Batman, and you don't get hit big if the sales don't come through."

But Boyle has a plan. "If, big word, this is the first of, say, four issues, I want to offer a second bonus such as giving a 100% rebate via credit to those who pick up each of the next three parts. This would create the habit of stopping by the comic store once a month for 3 months and letting the newly initiated customer get used to the sticker price. I'll work out the details as more info comes in. Either way, the cost of this promo is not just the ten cent first issue, but the cost of the next 2 or 3 issues thereafter. Despite the cost, it looks like a solid marketing ploy on DC's part."

"It should be a good thing. But we, the retailers and DC, need to make that so," said Rory Root of Comic Relief. "Think of the possible news stories in the regular press - we need to have enough copies on hand and sell the hell out of the line when folks come in, not just a ten cent book, quite frankly, that's just bait. The real question kicks in with the following issues. Thank the Gods that it's DC that is doing this, I would expect them to: 1) take an inventory position, 2) follow up with reprints as needed, 3) most importantly, provide a great product. It should be a win/win."

[Mr. Eye]

OH MY GOD! This is exactly what I came back here to do. I was finished checking out al the new posts, but saw this and wanted to share ther good news with everyone.

Anyway, I hope everyone here plans to purchase a few issues of this comic. This is the opportunity to hook new people to comics, or or past comic fans that have been out of the loop. I know I'm planning on buying a big amount, mostly to give out to people. And I'm going to have a big talk with my comic book guy, and discuss how many copies to order. BTW, I think this issue could possibly sell over one milliom copies. Coments anyone?


Mr. Eye

[James Harvey]

I plan to buy multiple copies and distribute them on campus next year. I like the idea of stuffing them in the local newspaper, so I may stick them in the school newspaper, and see what happens. It's only around 2000 who read the paper, but that's potentially 2000 new readers. My comic shop guy in Moncton plans to buy about 1000 and plug them at every customer who walks in, Batfan or not. I hear the Canuck price will be either 10CENTS (YESSS!) or 20CENTS, which is still damn good. I phoned my comic guy in Fredericton and he plans to do the same thing. I think this could be a good seller at around 500, 000 copies, which is 5 times what a single ish of X-MEN sell. This could be HUGE. If only they got it out for Christmas. It would be the ideal stocking stuffer.

[Calhoun07]

Oh, yeah, finally AFFORDABLE comics! DC must be using this as a loss leader, obviously, but I hope it works for them in the long run. I'd like to see more of this from other companies!

[James Harvey]

I think this takes guts, becuase you can tell this book isn;t for profit. I'd love to see the BATMAN books benefit from this greatly. It would be amazing if (AT LEAST) Batman and DETECITVE crack the 200,000 reader mark,

[optimal321]

That all sounds great! Broaden the horizons of a much larger audience by making the books only a dime. My only worrry is that we'll get what we payed for. Then it could almost be like selling BATMAN AND ROBIN for a nickle.

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by DickGrayson
I think this takes guts, becuase you can tell this book isn;t for profit. I'd love to see the BATMAN books benefit from this greatly.

My feelings exactly. I'm really looking foward to this book and I just gotta know exactly when it's coming out so I can get in on it as quickly as possible!!

[James Harvey]

The book will be 32 pages, 24 of the story. With a story by Rucka and aert by Burchett, I don't see how we'll go wrong! I think we'll definatly get more! It'll be out in January or Febuary. They want to wait a few months after JOKER: THE LAST LAUGH crossover.