It's been a week since the opening day of
DC's reboot, and comic book shops and fans have risen to support the
New 52. Week 1 saw strong sales for the new line of books, and Week 2 followed suit with similar numbers. While critics and speculators doubt the staying power of this relaunch, retailers around the nations are seeing record-breaking sales. In a recent round of interviews,
CBR chased down a group of shop owners to get their views on the recent reboot.
Jermaine Exum of Acme Comics in North Carolina had this to say:
I believe we did just as well as the first week, if not better. Something else I also noticed was that in the second week, people came in asking for the first week books as if they'd just come out. Information reaches people in different ways, and that's also something we're able to detect. Some of these people have been out of the loop for a while or they're legitimate, 'I have never read comics before now' customers. They're people in their 20s who have never read a comic, and this is their gateway in. So we're asking them where they get their data from and what websites they read.
Dan Meritt, owner of Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan takes a similar stand.
Sales were about the same: incredible. We ordered at least twice what we'd normally order on most of these books, and in some cases, several times more. Of this week's selection, we have zero left. We've sold out on every single release.
DC isn't the only benefactor for the reboot.
Marvel and
Dark Horse have seen an increase in sales. Exum stated:
I think we've added maybe 25 new subscribers at this stage in the relaunch. And they're not just asking for DC. Whatever new stuff is coming in from Marvel or Image Comics or anything we have to offer [is of interest.] And that's just fantastic. Whenever a small business can have a week where 25 new people are willing to say, 'I will see you next week and in two weeks,' that's a huge deal.
How about you? Has the
New 52 converted you yet?