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Happy Harbor, in it’s mad idealism of trying to do things that no one else does, publishes a semi-annual anthology called “Tales from the Harbor”. The book allows anyone to create anything they want and see it in print while working under the guidelines and deadlines of a publishing schedule. It even comes with the added bonus of being just like a real publishing company in that no one gets paid. HA! Zing!
Anywho, the first volume of “Tales”, released in Dec 06, did well. 200 copies of the 290 page book were printed and at this time, more than 160 have sold. Not bad. It did take some work to encourage many customers to try it out and many obliged. Some even commented on the stories on CG.
Volume 2 of “Tales” had a page count pushing 340 with the same $19.95 price tag so more bang for the buck should sell much better, right? Wrong. Out of the 200 copies released in June of 07, sales are currently under 75 copies. Granted, Volume 1 has had more time to sell but with both, the vast majority of sales came in the first couple weeks to months. Volume 2 doesn’t appear to have the legs to match 1 after 8 months of sales.
So what went wrong? Was the format of publishing anything and everything to much of a deterrant for some? Was the length to lengthy? Was the “quality” not there? Was the lack of a big, corporate logo a factor?
Last December, ICv2 columist Steve Bennent comment on the death of the anthology, stating that he believed most fans just don’t want anthologies any longer, even though they could easily produce more bang for the buck. But a compnay spending money to put top talent on a book that probably wouldn’t have any impact on that companies universe (Jimmy Olsen would never die in any book other than “Superman” or “Action Comics”, right?) doesn’t seem viable and the modern method of decompressed storytelling seems to work against the concept of short storytelling in an anthology.
Has the nature of storytelling evolved to a point that short stories aren’t wanted any longer? Has the demand from modern audiences for every story to have impact negated the desire for fun, off-the-cuff tales? Can the anthology come back and survive in today’s climate?
I won’t use “Tales” as a true gauge since it’s nature of being independant creator-owned material already puts it at a disadvantage but with Marvel returning their long running “Marvel Comic Presents” title this September, we’ll see exactly how the publisher approaches what material to print and excatly how the fans will react. Hopefully the book will be company supported for long enough to work out the bugs and bring the anthology back to the forefront of comicdom.
As a retailer who, even with all the space we have, is running out of room, I would be more than happy to see the end of the dozens of mini-series taking up shelf space and replaced with one book showcasing four different titles. Maybe it’s just me.
Shepherd
Jessica Leigh Clark said
September 17 2007 @ 1:14 pm
I’ve heard that a lot about anthologies… but I gotta say, I really love them. As a person who likes to sample new art and is always on the hunt for new talent, I think they are very much, as you say “more bang for the buck.” Ethan just turned me on to the “Flight” series, and I picked up an anthology of robot stories (I think its called 24/7?) recently and they are awesome bedtime (or bathtime) reading companions. Nice little bites of coolness… Of course, the writing has to be tight, the concepts fascinating and the art engaging or the book, like any other, wont fly for me.
I wonder if the anthology is just a better product for an art gallery gift shop or boutique bookstore than a comic shop? Someplace where the art of the short story or poem is more appreciated?
Keshia said
September 18 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Flight is the only comic anthology I’ve read so far (what? I’m a reformed manga-reader), and it’s awesome.
I might pick up Tales From the Harbor some time (probably when I’m done Flight; it’s kind of pricey for me right now), but to be honest, I tend to judge books by their covers. I see cowboys, I’m not interested (I would be if I was into Westerns). I see the covers of the Flight books, I am interested. It’s that simple, for me.
However, I don’t think anthologies are dead. I think they just have to be done in a really eye-catching way.
Keshia said
September 20 2007 @ 6:18 pm
Oh, and I didn’t mean Tales didn’t have a good cover.
I just kind of assume that what’s on the book will be what’s in the book. However, the idea of an anthology of local artists is awesome with awesomesauce.