Mei Man: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

Chapter 52 The Printing
[Bronze Mark (14/100)]

【Faith (1688/10000)】

In the afternoon, Ke Lin in the Messenger newspaper office saw that the [Faith] in the text had increased significantly.

Apparently, a result of The Courier Comics being sold on newsstands.

Of course, there may be a touch or two of old newspapers in it.

"...Quickly, Colin, let the factory print another ten thousand, no, twenty thousand copies of "Messenger Comics"!"

Pushing open the door of the Courier Office, Harry Donnelfield shouted at Colin in an excited tone.

Since yesterday, he has been watching the printing progress of "Messenger Comics" in the factory.

After the printed comic books were loaded into the newspaper delivery truck, they rushed to the newsstands around New York City without stopping.

He squatted at several newsstands in a row to confirm the release status of "Messenger Comics".

Although, in different newsstands, the distribution of "Messenger Comics" is slightly different.

Overall, the sales of comics were better than Harry had expected, no, it should be said to be better than expected.

For Harry Donnelfield, who started out publishing pulp magazines for a long time, it is really difficult for him to understand why anyone is so obsessed with the comic characters printed in picture books.

However, this does not prevent him from being excited about the success of "Messenger Comics".

"How can [-] copies be enough?"

Go back to the newspaper office a little later than Harry.

Hearing the conversation between his friend and partner and Colin, Jack couldn't help shaking his head and said: "One hundred thousand copies, I have asked the factory to print another one hundred thousand copies of "Messenger Comics" overnight, and put them in more newsstands in New York City for distribution. .”

"One hundred thousand volumes?"

Hearing Jack's words, Harry's originally excited expression calmed down a bit, and he said hesitantly: "Is this going to be too much, once..."

Harry's worries were not without reason.

Although, the distribution of "Messenger Comics" in the major newsstands is doing well.

But after all, it was only the first issue, and without any accumulation of previous works, a picture book of [-] copies was printed at once.Once any problems arise during this period, the loss for the newspaper office will not be a small sum.

"The audience of "Messenger Comics" is more than you can imagine. Don't ignore those readers who have followed the serialization of "Superman" in "Messenger". They are loyal audiences of "Superman" comics."

In the face of Harry's doubts, Jack Leibovitz was particularly persistent.

He firmly believes that the potential of "Messenger Comics" has not yet fully exploded. Once these readers flood into newsstands, the sales of "Messenger Comics" will once again usher in a wave of explosive growth. Thousands of comics are simply not enough to meet the needs of the market.

Inside the newspaper office, Harry and Jack were looking at the heated argument in front of them.

Little John thought silently in his heart. The price of 10 cents was a lot of money even for him.

But if it's for Superman.

He would rather skip a meal than spend money on a copy.

After all, this is a new color version of "Superman", where you can see a clearer image of Superman than in the "Courier" serial.

Here, Little John was wondering whether he could take advantage of his position to get a copy of "Messenger Comics" from his boss.

On the other side, Harry and Jack had stopped arguing and turned their attention to Colin at the desk.

The two knew very well that although they were invited by Ke Lin to join the newspaper in the name of cooperation.

But in fact, the person who can really make a final decision is Colin himself.

"One hundred thousand volumes?"

Sensing the gaze from the newspaper office, Ke Lin showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

He glanced at the [Faith] that was still growing in the text, and made a decision in his heart.

"Since the release of "Messenger Comics" is going smoothly, we as the publisher naturally have no reason to shrink back. On this point, I agree with Jack. The number of publications is not enough to meet the needs of the market. I have confidence in the prospects of the comics market, so..."

"Notify the factory to print another 20 copies of "Messenger Comics"."

"20 volumes?!"

Ke Lin's decision obviously exceeded the expectations of everyone in the newspaper office.

Even Jack, who asked for [-] copies at the beginning, didn't expect that Colin not only agreed to his request, but even doubled it.

"20 copies, isn't it too much? Maybe we can try to print [-] copies first to test the market's reaction, and then adjust the printing quantity of the next issue of "Messenger Comics" according to the distribution status of the first issue. ?”

Looking at each other with his partner Harry, Jack reversed his previous behavior and persuaded Colin.

In any case, printing 20 copies is still a bit too exaggerated.

Quietly listening to Jack's words, Colin was not worried about it.

If he remembers correctly.

In the beginning, "Action Comics", which serialized "Superman", skyrocketed from the first issue. The first issue sold a full 20 copies, and the subsequent seventh issue of comics sold out within a month. It reached as many as 50 copies, which opened the curtain of the golden age of American comics at that time.

There are such precedents as a basis, as well as the increase in the [Faith] value in the words in the eyes.

Ke Lin is naturally full of confidence in the sales of "Messenger Comics" in his hand.

Seeing Colin's resolute attitude, Harry and Jack didn't say anything more. They passed on Colin's request to the factory that printed "Messenger Comics" with trepidation.

Facing the order of 20 copies, the factory was naturally ecstatic.

The four-color printing machine in the factory started printing and coloring work 24 hours a day, and the factory worked overtime to reprint the "Messenger Comics".

At the same time, the delivery man's truck ran all over New York City's large and small newsstands.

The reprinted "Messenger Comics" was sent to the hands of these newsstand owners. With the successful experience of the previous edition, the newsstand owners showed great enthusiasm for the reprinted version of "Messenger Comics". With enthusiasm, many newsstands bought more comics than ever before.

The newspaper stand with the most bought [-] copies of "Messenger Comics", and the cover of Superman occupied all the shelves in front of the newsstand.

The more exaggerated news came from a deliveryman in the lower city.

It is said that a newsstand owner there got into a fight with another newsstand owner over the Courier Comics.

(End of this chapter)