I have no great problem with most books being late, as long as they eventually DO come out, and are of the expected quality. (I remember awaiting issues 15 & 16 of Miracleman like a junkie.)

But I don't think any comic should be solicited until it's at least reasonably near completion. Luba's Comics & Stories #1 is shipping Friday, and I'm damn glad to get it, but I ordered it from the Fantagraphics catalog months ago.

This reminds me of the old Jerry Clower joke about the country boy who stood on the tracks and stopped a 40-car train. The conductor jumped down, shouting obscenities; the boy said, "I just wondered if you'd wanna buy a possum." The conductor finally composed himself and said, "Well, what you did was stupid, but I happen to love possum meat, so, yes, I'll take one. How much is it?" And the boy replied, "Oh, I ain't caught him yet."

I never mentioned boycott, cutting orders or punishing anyone.
I am not interested in who is at fault when a book is late.
I merely want those with whom I enter a business relationship to hold up thier end of our bargain to a higher degree than they do.
This last point seems to be unreasonable to many creators.
I understand that there are a lot of people involved in the production and distribution of comics. I used to work for the railroad, and there are a staggering amount of people involved in the movement of trains, and the timely delivery of the goods onboard those trains, far in excess of that involved in comics. Yet we had an on time delivery record in excess of 98% and constantly strived to improve it.
I don't expect perfection from anyone. But the problem of late books is a serious problem, one I would like to see addressed and improved upon to the extension possible. When problems arise I don't think wanting to identify and work to correct said problems is an unreasonable expectation, and I find it sad that anyone would think so.



[This message has been edited by Alias (edited 03-03-2000).]

Okay we now know that there can be a multitude of reasons why a book is late and they aren't always the fault of the creators. We also now know that some creators do not think that it is important to communicate with fans and retailers about why a specific book is late.

It's pretty amazing that with all this discussion on this thread no one has an answer for those that have asked "what do you reply to a customer that asks about late books?" Suggesting other titles may work to a point, but then you risk coming across as a high pressure salesperson (I hate when I'm shopping for furniture or a car and right away predatory salespeople are upon me before I get a chance to look around).

I think it's reasonable for people to want to know why something is late. When most people at their jobs are late, they have to provide a reason, why is this perceived as being so odd in the comics industry?

I agree with Mark Evanier that retailers may take books that are on time such as Groo for granted (I don't and it's an effective way to get return traffic), but the reason this is such a big issue is that the really late books are high profile books that the companies have gotten people all pumped for.

So if you own a shop or let's pretend you do, what would your response be to late books and people that ask about them? Just saying it's late and you don't know why doesn't reflect very well on your part does it?

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Alternate Reality Comics
Las Vegas,NV

"...but the reason this is such a big issue is that the really late books are high profile books that the companies have gotten people all pumped for."

Thank you, Ralph. In just one sentence you have summed up the point I'm trying to make.

It isn't anyone's fault except whoever controls when the book comes out whether it be Image, DC, J. Scott Campbell, Dave Sim, whoever. They need to find a way to stick to the schedult whether monthly, or not. Even if it mean work-for-hire. McFarlane did it. I think others can.

"I think it's reasonable for people to want to know why something is late. When most people at their jobs are late, they have to provide a reason, why is this perceived as being so odd in the comics industry?"

Because when most people at their jobs are late, they have to provide a reason to their boss, not possibly tens of thousands of readers, which can be daunting if the reason is of a personal nature.

"So if you own a shop or let's pretend you do, what would your response be to late books and people that ask about them? Just saying it's late and you don't know why doesn't reflect very well on your part does it?"

I can't imagine a circumstance where I would think poorly of a retailer because he didn't know the reasons behind a book's lateness, but I have worked the counter at a comic shop, so I have an idea of what you put up with. If your aim is to mollify your customers, maybe you could just tell them that the publisher had a scheduling problem (which is probably the truth in most cases). If you're more interested in getting the truth, good luck. Publishers are going to lie to you. It's their nature. If they're big enough, they have whole departments devoted to it.

The only other suggestion I have is to pass along what you hear on the internet. You'll seem informed, and if it's not true, hey, you're not a newspaper.

The only proper response to a customer inquiry is the truth. If you have no information, the answer is, "I don't have any information."

If you flaked and only ordered 15 copies of Danger Girl, the answer is, "I flaked and only ordered 15 copies of Danger Girl."

The latter is usually best followed by a promise to get more copies ASAP.

>>The only proper response to a customer inquiry is the truth. If you have no information, the answer is, "I don't have any information."<<

But, as you well know, Jim, that answer is most likely to be interpreted by the customer as "I don't know and I can't be bothered to find out for you."

(And not just in the comics biz; our mutual backgrounds in grocery retailing should lead to the same experiences in that field. Customers--in all retailing businesses--want real answers as to why product is not available.)

Best, Pat

Ok, I'll bite.
Once I tell the customer/potential new customer that there has been a scheduling problem with the book they came in to purchase, what should I reply to them when they ask "Well, when should I check back?"

They will ask that follow up question.

The general consensus seems to be that it is unrealistic for the consumers in this business to want reliable information as to when they will be able to purchase what we are trying to sell.
If there is another business on this planet that adopts that attitude, I can't imagine what it might be.

I think there's been a subtle shift here in the question. There's a big difference between customers asking WHEN an item will be in and them asking WHY it's late. The latter requests personal info on the inner workings of the company and/or the lives of the creative crew.

If you run a store and customers ask you when a book will be in, the only thing you can do is to ask your supplier and pass along that info. If their answer is "We dunno," that's all you can tell your customers.

That's pretty much how it works in any business. If you run a cheese shop and you're out of goat cheese...and your customers ask when you'll have more goat cheese in, all you can tell them is whatever your goat cheese supplier tells you. You can't expect a detailed explanation of how the goat milker got ill or how the goats all dried up after someone played a Kenny G. record too close to the herd.

Yes, your customers should receive reliable info as to when a late comic will be in. You should receive that from your distributor and the distributor should receive that from the publisher. But the earlier discussion here was about whether buyers were entitled to some sort of behind-the-scenes explanation for the tardiness...and I don't think they are. I also think that, when one is given, it's usually an incomplete or inaccurate cover story.

I'm coming in way late here.

It seems to me that a lot of folks are just talking right past each other. Assigning blame is ultimately a pretty fruitless endeavor. Ultimately, the publisher is responsible, if only because he's the one who's supposed to be coordinating (and paying for) everyhing.

With regard to fill-in issues, I agree that there's nothing wrong with using them so long as they're of comparable quality to the surrounding issues (which should be no problem), AND SO LONG AS THE FILL-IN IS WHAT THE PUBLISHER SOLICITS ORDERS FOR!!! Slotting in an unscheduled fill-in at the last minute is completely unacceptable under any circumstances. If an issue comes out that proves not be as solicited, not only does it become returnable at al levels, but it undermines the credibility of the publisher, the creators, and (illogical but true), the retailers among readers--who are bcoming scarce enough these days. Even issuing a book late is preferable.