Chapter 52: Additional Printing
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
[Bronze Mark (14/100)]
[Faith (1688/10000)]
In the afternoon, Colin, who was at the Messenger Newspaper, saw that the [Faith] in the text had shown a significant increase.
Obviously, it was the result brought about by Messenger Comics sold at newsstands.
Of course, a slight influence from old newspapers might also be mixed in.
"...Quick, Colin, quickly tell the factory to print another ten thousand, no, twenty thousand copies of Messenger Comics!"
Pushing open the main door of the Messenger Newspaper, Harry Donenfeld shouted to Colin in an excited tone.
Since yesterday, he had been monitoring the printing progress of Messenger Comics at the factory.
After the printed comic books were loaded into the delivery trucks, he rushed non-stop to the newsstands around New York City.
He waited at several newsstands in a row to confirm the distribution of Messenger Comics.
Although the distribution of Messenger Comics varied slightly at different newsstands.
Overall, the sales of the comic were better than Harry had initially expected—no, it should be said they were beyond his wildest imagination.
For Harry Donenfeld, who had built his career by publishing pulp magazines for a long time, it was truly difficult for him to understand why people were so obsessed with the comic characters printed in the comic book.
But this did not prevent him from being excited about the success of Messenger Comics.
"How can twenty thousand copies be enough?"
A little later than Harry, Jack returned to the newspaper office.
Hearing his friend and partner talk with Colin, Jack couldn't help but shake his head and say, "A hundred thousand copies. I've already asked the factory to print another hundred thousand copies of Messenger Comics overnight and distribute them to even more newsstands in New York City."
"A hundred thousand copies?"
Hearing Jack's words, Harry's previously excited expression calmed down a bit, and he said with a hesitant look, "Won't that be a bit too much? What if..."
Harry's concern was not unreasonable.
Although Messenger Comics had good distribution at all the major newsstands.
But after all, it was just the inaugural issue, and without any previous works building up anticipation, suddenly printing a hundred thousand copies of the comic book. If any problems arose during this period, the newspaper office would suffer a considerable loss.
"The audience for Messenger Comics is larger than you imagine; don't overlook the readers who previously followed the Superman serialized story in The Messenger—they are loyal fans of the Superman comic."
Facing Harry's doubts, Jack Liebowitz was particularly insistent.
He firmly believed that the potential of Messenger Comics had not yet fully burst forth; once these readers flooded into the newsstands, the sales of Messenger Comics would experience another explosive growth, and the hundred thousand comics they had printed beforehand would simply not be enough to meet market demand.
Inside the newspaper office, Little John watched Harry and Jack engage in a heated debate before him.
Little John quietly pondered to himself that a 10-cent price tag was no small expense, even for him.
But if it was for Superman.
He would rather skip a meal than not buy a copy.
After all, this was a brand new color edition of Superman, where he could see a clearer image of Superman than in The Messenger's serialized story.
Meanwhile, Little John was inwardly conflicted, wondering if he could use his position to ask his boss for a copy of Messenger Comics.
On the other side, Harry and Jack had stopped their argument and turned their gaze toward Colin at the desk.
Both of them knew clearly that although they had been invited by Colin to join the newspaper office as partners.
In reality, the one who could make the final decision was Colin himself.
"A hundred thousand copies?"
Feeling the gazes directed at him from within the newspaper office, Colin's face showed a thoughtful expression.
He glanced at the continuously growing [Faith] in the text and made a decision in his heart.
"Since the distribution of Messenger Comics is going smoothly, as the publishers, we naturally have no reason to back down. On this point, I agree with Jack's view: the potential of Messenger Comics has not yet fully burst forth, and a mere hundred thousand printed copies is not enough to meet market demand. I have confidence in the future of the comic market, so..."
"Inform the factory to print an additional two hundred thousand copies of Messenger Comics."
"Two hundred thousand copies?!"
Colin's decision clearly exceeded the expectations of everyone in the newspaper office.
Even Jack, who initially requested a hundred thousand copies, didn't expect that Colin would not only agree to his request but even double it.
"Isn't two hundred thousand copies a bit too much? Perhaps we can first try printing an additional hundred thousand copies to gauge the market's reaction and then adjust the printing quantity for the next issue of Messenger Comics based on the inaugural issue's distribution?"
After exchanging glances with his partner Harry, Jack, contrary to his previous stance, tried to persuade Colin.
Regardless, printing an additional two hundred thousand copies was still a bit excessive.
Quietly listening to Jack's words, Colin was not worried.
If he remembered correctly.
Action Comics, which serialized Superman, took off like a rocket from its inaugural issue, with its first issue selling a full two hundred thousand copies, and its subsequent seventh issue reaching as many as five hundred thousand copies within a month, thus ushering in the Golden Age of American Comics.
With such a precedent, and the increasing [Faith] value in the text before his eyes.
Colin was naturally full of confidence in the sales of Messenger Comics.
Seeing Colin's firm attitude, Harry and Jack said no more. The two of them, with uneasy hearts, conveyed Colin's request to the factory printing Messenger Comics.
Faced with an order of a full two hundred thousand copies, the factory was naturally ecstatic.
The four-color printing presses in the factory began operating 24 hours a day, non-stop, for printing and coloring, and the factory worked overtime to print additional copies of Messenger Comics.
At the same time, the delivery trucks traversed all the newsstands, big and small, across New York City.
Delivering the newly printed Messenger Comics into the hands of these newsstand owners, and with the successful distribution experience of the previous edition, this time, the newsstand owners showed immense enthusiasm for the additional print run of Messenger Comics, with many newsstands buying more comics than before.
The newsstand that bought the most purchased a full five hundred copies of Messenger Comics, and the Superman cover occupied all the display shelves in front of the newsstand.
Even more exaggerated news came from a delivery person in the Lower District.
Reportedly, a newsstand owner there got into a big fight with another newsstand owner to secure Messenger Comics.
(end of chapter)