Daredevil Message Board

[Daredevil24]

I hate Mark Waid's Daredevil run and I won't read it no matter what number it is. I still buy the issues because I support Daredevil but I don't read them.Seriously the praise that Mark Waid gets for his really average Daredevil run surprises the heck out of me. I mean this guy probably get more praise than Miller Bendis and Brubaker put together,it's utterly ridiculous.

[qtmxd]

Well, I'm not sure if you're doing us indeterminate number of malcontents any favors by buying it, but I'm guessing it makes little difference. Maybe I shouldn't write without checking, but I have an impression that DD's sales are middling no matter what, with only temporary boosts now and then. He does have a remarkable capacity to win Eisner awards with different writers. It's clear that they're not using the 50th for much publicity... This breath of fresh air thing is 3 years old, and they can't possibly believe anyone will think his moving to San Francisco and fighting Stuntmaster is "supremely exciting". Maybe they think DD is entrenched with his middling numbers no matter what they do, so why bother to do anything major. Maybe they'll have another meeting before the tv show starts.

[GrinchieDog]

I graphed the DD sales data over several years using the data on this website.

Waid's run hasn't increased sales and in fact, sales continue to slowly decline. When his run began, monthly sales were around mid 40,000 and now they are around mid 30,000 range. The only sharp increases in sales, albeit temporary, are when #1s (or #100, or #500) come out or Spiderman crossovers occur. This is contrary to when Kevin Smith took over - sales went from around 25,000 a month before Smith to immediately around 80,000 issues/month with Smith. Why there is a difference between Waid's initial flat sales versus Smith's initial high sales is unknown to me and I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts. I wasn't in the game when Smith took over.

I had figured with all the hoopla around Waid's run that sales would have been increasing, instead of decreasing.

I'm not a fan of Waid's run but I buy them to support DD and read them w/o taking the stories too seriously. I do appreciate the fact that Marvel continues to keep DD out of those multi-title expensive crossover runs (well, other than the crappy Shadowland titles that a lot of us ignored).

If I ever figure out how to attach an excel graph to this post, I'll do it to share the sales data.
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GrinchieDog

[qtmxd]

Thanks. I saw your initial post, but didn't remember who and where, so I was hoping you'd see mine and respond. Did you get what was happening post-Smith... through Mack, Bendis, Brubaker, and the odious Shadowland? I got the impression from the initial post that it was a slow decline, and continues to get lower now. I assumed that Shadowland sold reasonably well to somebody, since I'm sure I remember their initial stated plan was to do a Thor-type hiatus, but they did the Waid relaunch instead. I remember reading that the End of Days hardcover was a top seller, which suggests that there remains an audience for the noir version. If that's the case, and it's not just a handful of malcontents on this site, I really don't get why they're sticking with the Waid version. It seems like indifference.

[GrinchieDog]

Hey QTMXD, thanks for the reply. I think you are right that there is a strong following for the DD Noir genre. I enjoyed End of Days although I understand a lot of folks criticism of the storyline. As for Waid, he is ok to me but I was reminded how much I enjoy DD with the "other DD" Dark Knights series - can't quite put my finger on it but Waid surprises me that he is getting so much fanfare - people do love him.

Kuljit is helping me get the sales graph on this website, which again I think is quite enlightening. I'll get it out there soon.
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GrinchieDog

[qtmxd]

Thanks! I would be good to see the sales regularly... not that it will or should change anyone's mind, but we always hope what we like will be successful, and that the sales on what we don't like will encourage a change. I understood the criticisms of End of Days, though I thought it had some good points.
Since you mentioned it, I haven't really followed the M Knights series, so I only have impressions. The Weeks story looked ok, with much better art than I remember him doing ( I thought he was a good, but not great artist), though the story looked sentimental. The current story looks awful to me... Misty Knight, inflatable doll, meets Mike Murdock.
Well, anyone who loves Waid got their wish... it looks like at least another year of him.