Double Take this week released 10 trade paperbacks, collecting every ongoing comic book title in their publishing line simultaneously, “for the ultimate binge-reading experience.”
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The diverse lineup of stories — all set in the universe established by George Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead — are more than just a compilation of the five installments Double Take have published as comic books to date. Ten teams of artists, writers, and editors spent 45 days re-drawing, re-writing, and re-ordering each five-episode series so that they are more like “director’s cuts.”
The books will be available at local comic shops, bookstores, and online. Each graphic novel retails for $9.99. 2T has also bundled the graphic novels into two distinct collections of five books each. The “Living Dead Revival” Binge Box features Rise, Slab, Medic, Soul, and Honor: stories that all follow favorite characters from the 1968 cult classic from their last dying breaths to their first zombie steps.
The “Superheroes Rising” Binge Box includes Dedication,Spring, Z-Men, Remote, and Home: fun, original stories featuring uncanny superheroes, Secret Service agents, and more. Each Binge Box retails for $40.00.
The Binge Boxes are an extension of their best-selling product, “super packs” that allow fans to buy up all ten of their single-issue comics at a time at a reduced price point.
“In the beginning, it was very important to us to have readers be able to pick up one series and just follow that series and not have to worry about the other nine books,” Senior Story Editor Michael Coast told ComicBook.com. “The universe was almost more of a bonus. What we found was that as people started to read one series and then two series, they would really dive in from there. The ten packs, of super packs, have been the preferred purchase among most of our readers actually. As people start to get a taste of the universe, they’re really diving into it from there.
“[Comics] retailers have two problems: open-to-buy dollars, and open space on the shelves,” said Double Take chief Bill Jemas, who has been in comics since serving as the head of Marvel in the ’90s. “It still was a little bit of a trade off. The ten pack was more open-to-buy dollars, so we sell it at a lower price point so there’s more sell-through, but the ten pack really is an advantage for shelf space. That one slot [on the shelf] sold ten titles, and if the retailers just tried it, and especially those who have gone out of their way to read the books and hand sell them, they’re having great results with the super packs.”
Now, with the trade paperbacks coming out, Jemas and Coast hope that they can attract new fans to try the books for the first time with similarly low cost of entry. Jemas boasted of the success that creating a shared universe from a recognizable property has brought the publisher, but also conceded that the enthusiasm of Double Take’s parent company Take-Two Interactive has been helpful in the sense that Jemas and Coast have people willing to spend money to put their plans into action.
“I think other companies, if they had even just a little bit more information about consumer patterns and a lot more financing, they’d have a common universe and they’d be doing things like we’re doing,” Jemas said.
You can get the trade paperbacks for Double Take’s first year of comics at your local comic shop, Barnes & Noble, or digitally on ComiXology today.
