INDUSTRY BUZZ #2: Hype Will Eat Itself

Industry Buzz is my monthly roundtable column at Buzzscope, featuring some of the most outspoken creators, retailers, pundits and advocates in comics commenting on the issues affecting the comics industry. This month, we took a look at hype, and what, if any, affect it has on sales.

Does marketing/hype help sell more copies of a comic book? Would, say, the first volume of Runaways have sold better if Marvel had promoted it half as much as House of M? What about reviews? Do they have any measurable effect on sales, especially of independent comics that lack the marketing resources of the Big Two?

Sitting at the table this month:

Ronée Garcia Bourgeois: National VP / PR, Friends Of Lulu
Johanna Draper Carlson: Reviewer, Comics Worth Reading
Brian Scot Johnson: Proprietor, Khepri.com
Frank Miller: Proprietor, Richmond Comix
Chris Pitzer: Publisher, AdHouse Books
Jason Rodriguez: Editor, Hoarse & Buggy
Rose Vess: Reviewer, Shrew Review

Plus, Special Guests:

Jim Demonakos: PR & Marketing Coordinator, Image Comics
Scott Beatty: Writer, Son of Vulcan, Batgirl: Year One
Joshua Dysart: Writer, Captain Gravity & The Power of the Vril, Swamp Thing
Joshua Hale Fialkov: Writer, Elk's Run
Debbie Huey: Creator/Writer/Artist, Bumperboy

Check it out.