Comments on: This is my obligatory marketing-focused analysis of Minx’s demise.

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:17:12 +0000

The Minx comics were pretty well represented in the UK (anecdotally, at least). There are a lot of dog-eared copies of the Plain Janes and Clubbing, for example, in even local branch libraries. Also, you can buy them in WH Smith, which is like a really portly newsagent’s.

By: ensie

ensie — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:44:58 +0000

As someone who worked for Borders at the time that the Minx line launched (although I was laid off with 300 others in June), and as a big fan of comics, here's my take - Borders, while giving a lot of lip service to "graphic novels" hasn't really had a clue what to do with them since the loss of Kurt Hassler some time ago. Essentially, all that's been done is to pack the shelves with everything and see what sells. Mostly it's manga. The Minx line would have been an ideal opportunity to cross promote within the YA section as well as graphic novels and the manga section and Borders did absolutely NOTHING. I'm not sure if that was due to lack of marketing support at the publisher level or if Borders has been so wrapped up in their own fail that they have ceased to care. It may have been a combination of both. I own all of the Minx books and find the quality of writing and art to be extremely high. While they certainly aren't all a home run, none of them are miserable failures (I even have a soft spot for Water Baby as the talented Ross Campbell does one of my favorite books - Wet Moon).

By: UncleTigger

UncleTigger — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:22:23 +0000

“every market failure can be blamed on marketing”

Sometimes stuff isn’t valuable though, so , people won’t buy worthless things wil. . . . .

*Thinks about 70% of things people buy*

oh.

By: Evan Waters

Evan Waters — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:52:04 +0000

I didn’t see or hear much about the line either beyond its launching and THE PLAIN JANES. They really failed to establish a “brand”, IMO.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:00:42 +0000

1. Thanks for the clarification.

2. I couldn’t agree more that their organization in the graphic novels section is usually awful. Perhaps instead of moving the books to another section based on author, an overhaul of the GN organization is needed.

By: Kevin Church

Kevin Church — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:14:20 +0000

So, just because theyâ€™ve written material in other genres, we should lump all their works into that category? If itâ€™s a comic or graphic novel, why treat it otherwise, it defeats the purpose of the entire organizational system.

1. Mediums, not genres. 2. The current "organizational system" at most chain bookstores throws Spider-Man in with Peanuts reprints in with Dungeons and Dragons books in with Persepolis. That seems more absurd to me.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:48:31 +0000

“The graphic novel section isnâ€™t where Iâ€™d shelve works by known YA writers, even if they were comics.”

So, just because they’ve written material in other genres, we should lump all their works into that category? If it’s a comic or graphic novel, why treat it otherwise, it defeats the purpose of the entire organizational system.

Though, if market demand for the books in question were high enough to warrant it, I’d say an additional endcap display within the YA section wouldn’t be unwarranted.

By: Entz

Entz — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:26:28 +0000

Number three is probably truer than you think.

By: Mike McGee

Mike McGee — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:49:09 +0000

My guess — and this is me guessing, based on nothing but idle speculation — is that the decision was made from On High. Because I swear I can remember reading (before the line even debuted) that DC knew Minx would be a slow burn…which of course it would be. Don’t get me wrong: Poor shelving practices and a name that made it sound like an imprint devoted to gothic lolitas or something almost certainly caused the books to underperform, even by the standards of whatever modest expectations DC had. But they had to go into it knowing that they were going after a market they hadn’t pursued since…uh…the early ’70s, at the latest, and that it would be an uphill battle. My guess is that some WB exec was looking at a spreadsheet somewhere and said, “Minx? Thafuckizzat?”

By: Kevin Church

Kevin Church — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:34:18 +0000

The graphic novel section isn’t where I’d shelve works by known YA writers, even if they were comics. Almost every B+N and Borders I’ve been to has the same weird selection of DC/Marvel/Dark Horse/Fantagraphics titles piled on top of each other with no organization.