Monday, February 23, 2009

TINY TITANS vs. TEEN TITANS GO!


UPDATE: I'm more puzzled than ever by recent comments at New York ComicCon concerning the distribution of TINY TITANS. Here's the quote from CBR:

"
How come "Tiny Titans" can't get into the newsstand market?

Bob Wayne: The entire print magazine category -- from "Time" and "Newsweek" and all the way down to comics -- is incredibly difficult right now. It's going to be a very, very tough period for almost anything to survive in that environment, and it's very difficult to get any number of new comics into that environment. When we do put things in that environment, since it's a returnable environment, we get so many copies back.

The reality is the distribution is there isn't that much distribution out there; it's not that wide. There aren't that many places where [periodicals] are on sale anymore. Comics, in your lifetimes, have gone from something you can find anywhere to something you have to seek out on your own. All the forces of how the marketplace works are working against [reversing the direct market system]."

How is it again that TINY TITANS could possibly sell "twice as many copies" as TEEN TITANS GO! if it doesn't have newsstand distribution?

ORIGINAL POST:

I was puzzled by
Dan Didio's comment in his 20 Answers, concerning the appeal of comics aimed at a tween market: "Well, we did do a number of series aimed there, with books built off the animated interpretations of our characters, and we always found sales wanting. Quite honestly, going to numbers for a second, a book like Tiny Titans sells twice as well as a Teen Titans Go!. It’s as simple as that. I think what we need from the kids books is a clear delineation of what they say and what they stand for, and need to address the market that we’re pointing them at."

Let me preface my comments by saying this: I enjoy both TINY TITANS and TEEN TITANS GO! I think TINY TITANS (by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani) is adorable and cute beyond words. And I think the creative team behind TEEN TITANS GO! (J. Torres and Todd Nauck) did a fantastic and faithful job of bringing the animated series to the printed page.

But, is TINY TITANS really selling twice as much as TEEN TITANS GO!, a series based on a successful cartoon with millions of viewers? Seemed dubious to me. Let's look at some sales figures....

02/2008: Tiny Titans #1 — 15,238
03/2008: Tiny Titans #2 — 11,432 (-25.0%)
04/2008: Tiny Titans #3 — 11,197 (- 2.1%)
05/2008: Tiny Titans #4 — 10,369 (- 7.4%)
06/2008: Tiny Titans #5 — 10,909 (+ 5.2%)
07/2008: Tiny Titans #6 — 10,636 (- 2.5%)
08/2008: Tiny Titans #7 — 10,234 (- 3.8%)
09/2008: Tiny Titans #8 — 9,795 (- 4.3%)
10/2008: Tiny Titans #9 — 9,521 (- 2.8%)
11/2008: Tiny Titans #10 — 9,239 (- 3.0%)

compared to:

11/2003: Teen Titans Go #1 — 29,055
11/2004: Teen Titans Go #13 — 15,279

11/2005: Teen Titans Go #25 — 12,598 (- 3.1%)
12/2005: Teen Titans Go #26 — 11,790 (- 6.4%)
01/2006: Teen Titans Go #27 — 11,609 (- 1.5%)
02/2006: Teen Titans Go #28 — 11,568 (- 0.4%)
03/2006: Teen Titans Go #29 — 11,260 (- 2.7%)
04/2006: Teen Titans Go #30 — 11,225 (- 0.3%)
05/2006: Teen Titans Go #31 — 11,140 (- 0.8%)
06/2006: Teen Titans Go #32 — 10,736 (- 3.6%)
07/2006: Teen Titans Go #33 — 10,516 (- 2.1%)
08/2006: Teen Titans Go #34 — 10,328 (- 1.8%)
09/2006: Teen Titans Go #35 — 9,940 (- 3.8%)
10/2006: Teen Titans Go #36 — 10,214 (+ 2.8%)
11/2006: Teen Titans Go #37 — 9,642 (- 5.6%)
12/2006: Teen Titans Go #38 — 9,529 (- 1.2%)
01/2007: Teen Titans Go #39 — 9,425 (- 1.1%)
02/2007: Teen Titans Go #40 — 9,132 (- 3.1%)
03/2007: Teen Titans Go #41 — 8,895 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: Teen Titans Go #42 — 9,050 (+ 1.7%)
05/2007: Teen Titans Go #43 — 8,918 (- 1.5%)
06/2007: Teen Titans Go #44 — 8,738 (- 2.0%)
07/2007: Teen Titans Go #45 — 8,554 (- 2.1%)
08/2007: Teen Titans Go #46 — 8,427 (- 1.5%)
09/2007: Teen Titans Go #47 — 8,229 (- 2.4%)
10/2007: Teen Titans Go #48 — 7,927 (- 3.7%)
11/2007: Teen Titans Go #49 — 7,699 (- 2.9%)
12/2007: Teen Titans Go #50 — 7,966 (+ 3.5%)
01/2008: Teen Titans Go #51 — 7,602 (- 4.6%)
02/2008: Teen Titans Go #52 — 7,496 (- 1.4%)

source: http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com

So, it took TEEN TITANS GO! 40 issues to reach the sales level TINY TITANS is at after 10 issues. This is double the sales?

OK, these sales don't include newstand, bookstore and mass merch sales. But I would guess that would only BOLSTER the sales of TEEN TITANS GO! if you compare. TEEN TITANS GO! had a show on constant rotation on Cartoon Network with millions of viewers. I'd guess managers at Borders and WalMart would order more copies of TEEN TITANS GO! (something they recognize) vs. TINY TITANS (something they don't).

So, somebody needs to show me how TINY TITANS is selling double the numbers of TEEN TITANS GO!

Also, TEEN TITANS GO! isn't an accurate measure of a book created for tweens. Because it wasnt a book created for tweens. It was a book created to capitalize on the success of a cartoon, which was aimed at 6-10 year olds. And even after that cartoon ended and was taken off rotation, it's a credit to the creative team that it continued to sell as well as it did.

My point (and I do have one) is that Didio's conclusions are not logical.

Honestly, he sounds like he doesn't even understand the issue.

10 Comments:

  • At 2:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hell yeah thats what ive been telling you to do all this time...write your opinion on the matter...i was also thrown off by his response to the question

     
  • At 1:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    It's no secret that Didio wanted TTG gone. I just wish he would tell us the truth instead of giving us that tired old line about 'sales.'

     
  • At 6:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Teen Titans Go was way beyond a better book than Tiny Titans. Sales have showned that. I used to bring Teen Titans Go issue to my nepphews and niece and they loved it. Now I bring the Tiny Titans to them, they wouldnt lift a finger to grab them. DC dropped the ball big time on Teen Titans Go book as well as the animation series. I am just baffle as their executive's decision and if I was running DC right now. The heads of those executives that make those decision would role as in pink slip. They have no excuse for stupid decisions like those. I am a major Teen Titans collectors and has been collecting TT stuff for over a decate now. Even a TT faithful like me have to drawn line somewhere as I boycott the Tiny Titans. The art is kindergarden at best. Storyline is juvenile. Even 5 years old kid wont touch them. And you now all 5 years old kid like everything. I will be glad when the Tiny Titans book get shelve and DC would blame it on the slow ECONOMY. LOL.

     
  • At 2:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    the animated shows was aimed at around 6-10 year olds?! 18 year olds were watching it LOL.... oh i miss it so much *cries

     
  • At 6:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have to say, I enjoy both Teen Titans Go! and Tiny Titans, but on different levels. And if the choice ever came down to getting one over the other, it would always be TTG!. I loved that show, and I was pretty disappointed when they ended it. TTG! was that cloud's silver lining, knowing that I'd still get to see the animated gang doing their thing.

    But honestly, do we really need to discuss the incompetency of Dido anymore than we already have? I haven't even really picked up a DC book since Final Crisis started, and I'm not sure if I will in the near future. DC needs some healing, to get rid of the tumor that is Dido.

     
  • At 9:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I couldn't agree more!!! But I still cannot believe he made up such a childish excuse for canceling Teen Titans Go!

    XOXO

     
  • At 2:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I thought it was odd when didio said that tiny sold twice as many issues as go.

    I figured more kids would go for the version they watched as a cartoon (because that is what I did as a kid)

    But then I thought that maybe Tiny Titans was getting a boost in sells form grown up comic book fans who get the book because it is so cute.

    at least that is the reason everyone I know that reads the book say they read it.

     
  • At 1:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    If we don't just think it is one of those things where the people in charge just throw random numbers around (which happens a lot, it seems), then I suppose the argument is what you mentioned - we don't know how much these things are being moved in mass market outlets.

    For all I know, Tiny Titans is being packaged with every purchase of a superhero toy at Wal-Mart or something like that, ya know?

    We need someone to examine the comics being sold at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.!

     
  • At 5:14 AM, Blogger MetFanMac said…

    I'll bet Didio will also claim that The Brave and the Bold is outselling Blue Beetle...

     
  • At 8:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I love tiny titans!

     

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