Random Thoughts and an Update

So yeah, "minor" surgery is still surgery, and coupled with a drug industry and medical profession that takes "side effects" a bit too casually, I missed the entire NY Comic Con. The whole damn thing. The PopCultureShock party, too, which pisses me off the most, actually, as I was hoping to meet up with some people I hadn't seen in a while as well as putting some faces to blogs I enjoy.

Ugh.

Anybody out there who did attend the party? I can live vicariously through your feedback!

I spent most of the past week laid up in bed, periodically hobbling around the apartment to take a break from marathon sessions on my rarely used Xbox: Destroy All Humans!, Just Cause and Fable: The Lost Chapters. Not a single comic book tie-in among them, although throughout Fable I was thinking what a great license it would be to adapt for comics. It features a pretty solid storyline that's ripe for embellishment, especially since the main character is so malleable, by design, but driven towards his destiny by forces beyond his control, that much of the subtext takes place in the player's head.

I wonder if the rights are available and how ridiculously expensive they might be?

Other than video games and checking in on work here and there, I didn't do much else, including staying on top of the world of comics. That meant no Marketing Monday or On the Shelves this week. I've also got more than 300 posts in my Bloglines Comics folder that I'm skimming through now, but since most of them are probably about the Con that won't be a big deal.

One that caught my eye quickly, though, was 4thletter's David "hermanos" Brothers' "New York State of Mind" about the Black Panel and, more specifically, Michael Davis' "We define us." statement regarding the attempt to change the name from "The Black Panel" to "The African-American Panel". Having raised an eyebrow originally, Davis' take on it made me reconsider my overly PC gut reaction, especially since I personally have never taken to the label "African-American" because Africa is so many generations removed from my extremely mixed bloodline that it doesn't ring true. For me. And nobody defines me but me, so kudos to Davis for laying that out so succinctly.

I really wish I had caught that panel.

Double Ugh.

Anyway, things will probably get back to normal here in the next couplafew days; definitely by next Monday when Marketing Monday will return to its weekly schedule!

NY Comic Con: T-Minus 12 Hours

My surgery went well, and other than passing out on the way home, presumably from the combination of Valium and hunger -- head back, mouth open, wife yelling for help kind of passing out! -- I'm feeling pretty good now. Relatively speaking.

My 9:30am appointment got pushed back to 11:15am, so my wife and I walked across town to the Javits Center to pick up my Press Pass and get the lay of the land. We couldn't get past security and on to the Convention Floor itself, but we got a good look at things from the entrance and I took a few pictures before they told me to put the camera away.






There were about a dozen or so pros registering and a couple of other people down in the Press Room, but the only person I recognized was Heidi MacDonald who arrived as we were leaving. I've still yet to meet her in person, but will hopefully rectify that at some point during the Con.

I doubt I'll be back on my feet before Saturday, so it looks like I'll only be able to catch the latter part of that day's session and/or Sunday. I'm still going to the PCS After-Party, though, even if I need a cane and a bottle of Motrin!

NY Comic Con: T-Minus 2 Days

I haven't been nearly as enthuastic about this year's NY Comic Con as I was about last year's, but that's primarily because last year's was so exhausting, my level of direct participation this year is drastically reduced, and I stupidly scheduled some minor surgery for tomorrow without realizing it was the day before the Con.

Despite dragging my feet, my press registration has been secured (Thanks, Phoenix!) and as long as all goes smoothly tomorrow and I'm on my feet as expected by Friday, here's what I'm hoping to catch this weekend:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23

10:30AM - 11:30AM
Kids Comics: The Category Waiting to Explode

Nice to see they picked up this theme again this year, though it's too bad that it's scheduled during the trade-only portion of the show. Of course, considering the majority of the audience for my similar panel last year consisted of retailers and a couple of pros, it makes sense, I guess. Glad to see Jimmy Gownley in the mix, too, as Amelia Rules! is an excellent comic deserving of much more attention.

1:30PM - 2:30PM
Graphic Novels: Direct Distribution or Book Wholesalers?

Last year's version of this panel was incredibly informative and woefully underattended by publishers and professionals. It's a little disappointing to see the distributor representation on the panel isn't as strong as it was last year, though.

2:30PM - 3:30PM
Capturing Female Readers: The Fastest Growing Audience for Comics
Comics Bloggers: Rewriting the Rules of Tastemaking and Trade Influence

Tough call here, as I'd love to see both, but I'm currently leaning towards the "Female Readers" panel as I figure the bloggers will post the details of their own panel. I am curious to hear what MediaBistro's Ron Hogan has to say, though.

4:30PM - 5:30PM
MARVEL: World War Hulk

I've really been enjoying "Planet Hulk", and considering it was Greg Pak himself who convinced me to try it out during his appearance at last year's NYCC, this should be a fun panel.

6:30PM - 7:30PM
Mothers & Daughters: Female Graphic Novelists and the Family

If I'm not completely burned out, I may check this out out as it has the makings of a candid, insightful session.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24

12:30PM - 1:30PM
Don't Quit Your Day Job! The Truth About Breaking Into Comics

I believe this is the panel Rich Johnston has been added to, which should make for an interesting discussion.

2:00PM - 3:00PM
The Black Panel

Terrible name, but interesting lineup makes this a must-see.

6:00PM - 7:00PM
Who Reads Graphic Novels? Who Doesn't!

Intriguing line-up here.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25

2:00PM - 3:00PM
NYCC Comics School: Writing Under Pressure

Another intriguing line-up.

And, of course, don't forget Saturday night's PopCultureShock's After-Party!

On the Shelves: 2/21/07

Reading is fundamental. Read what you like; don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/21/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

PICK OF THE WEEK


House of Sugar

DARK HORSE COMICS
Conan #37, $2.99

I'm finally caught up on my post-Busiek Conan reading and am happy to see that Truman has taken the baton relatively cleanly and is running forward with it. If I wasn't a hard-won fan of the series, I'd probably consider waiting for the trades at this point, but there's something to be said for consistently entertaining serial adventures at a time where that's increasingly difficult to come by.

DC COMICS
Brave And The Bold Cvr A #1, $2.99
Helmet Of Fate Black Alice #1, $2.99
Robin #159, $2.99

The Big Two need a solid team-up book, featuring done-in-one (or two, at the most) stories that pair up their handful of A-list characters with an assortment of B- and C-list characters and send them on continuity-free adventures. Marvel Team-Up was nowhere near to being that book, but hopefully Brave and the Bold will be. *** Damn Helmet of Fate sucked me in via a completely irrational affection for Dr. Fate and while none of the stories have been terribly compelling so far, they've been solid enough to keep me onboard until the main series launches. *** I've enjoyed Adam Beechen's OYL take on Robin, and I've been hoping for a long while that Geoff Johns would step aside and let someone else take over Teen Titans, so having Beechen on both is a promising turn of events that will hopefully result in some meaningful character development for Tim Drake over the next year or two.

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Heartbreak Soup Palomar Vol 1 TPB, $14.95
Maggie The Mechanic Locas Vol 1 TPB, $14.95

I've wanted to get into Love & Rockets and Los. Bros Hernandez for a long time now, so maybe these will be the gateway collections that finally make it happen.

GINGKO PRESS
Burning New York Graffiti NYC TPB (resolicited), $39.95

This is a pricey tome but it looks interesting and Gingko did right by me last time I picked up a couple of their books. Still, yet another non-comic book in the comic book section of the list. Seriously, how's that work?

HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS
Reinventing Comics TPB (Harper Collins Ed), $22.95

I'm about halfway through Scott McCloud's Making Comics and it is an amazing piece of work, absolutely essential reading for anyone creating or writing about comic books. Based on that, and the equally essential Understanding Comics, I'm going to have to finally stop procrastinating and check out Reinventing Comics.

MARVEL COMICS
Annihilation Book 1 HC, $29.99
Civil War 1 For 75 Turner Sketch Var #7 (Of 7), AR
Immortal Iron Fist #3, $2.99
Legion Of Monsters Werewolf By Night #1, $2.99
Powers #23, $2.95

I've seen so many positive reviews for Annihilation, and coupled with the fact that Quesada admitted that he didn't hype it too much because it wasn't his cup of tea, my interest is piqued. Not sure about the Hardcover only collecting half of the saga, but I might pick up the eventual TPBs if I like what I see when I flip through them. *** So, what does it take to get a 1-for-75 variant cover? Assume the average retailer is paying approx. $1.46/copy for the regular issue, so that's approx. a $109.50 investment for each variant copy, most of which will likely be flipped for at least half that much if not more on eBay, except for the major retailers who are ordering 300+ copies of the issue anyway, and can afford to price them lower. Retailers who give into this scheme in the name of superior customer service are ultimately harming themselves because Marvel and DC justify the continued use of variants as supplying the demand. So, who's killing comics?

TULIP TREE PRESS
House Of Sugar GN, $10.00

Well, check this out! A book I've never heard of, and the publisher, Tulip Tree Press, has a nicely designed web site that turns up on the first page of a Google search for "House of Sugar"; detailed information and samples of the book (the WHOLE book, actually); and ordering and contact information for the creator and publisher. Imagine that! It does get a demerit, however, for its lack of availability on Amazon.

VIRGIN COMICS LLC
Devi Sp Extended Coll Ed #1 & #2, $6.99
Sadhu Sp Extended Coll Ed #1 & #2, $6.99
Snakewoman Sp Extended Coll Ed #1 & #2, $6.99
Walk-In #3, $2.99

Nice to see Virgin making their comics accessible by releasing these bumper editions of the first two issues, but their Web site makes no reference to them or why they seem to cost more than the two issues did individually. Is there extra content? Dunno. Too bad, too, as I might have been tempted into getting one or two of them, but lacking that info, it will now depend on them actually being on the shelves when I get to Midtown, quite likely for a large retailer, but what about those LCBS' with tighter budgets and less experimental clientele? Missed opportunity, I think.

Marketing Monday: No-Brainer Marketing Efforts

Thanks to Adam Kubert, today's Marketing Monday column will be delayed until later this evening.*

So far, we've looked at the five basic steps to developing a simple marketing plan and how they specifically relate to marketing comics. Last week, I put forth five specific marketing efforts, no-brainers that every aspiring publisher should be ready (and able) to implement in order to separate themselves from the hobbyists with a Previews solicitation, a blog, and idiotic message board posts** whining about the state of the industry and how stupid superhero comics fans are. (Oh, look! Another one. Sigh...) This week, we'll take a closer look at a couple of them.

Marketing No-Brainers

1) Professionally designed logos and trade dress.

2) A non-Flash Web site, with a regularly updated blog; separate landing pages for each title and creator, with links to reviews and interviews; PDF and JPG samples of all titles, current, upcoming and backlist; publisher and creator contact information; release schedules and retailers list; viral downloadables, ie: wallpaper, screensavers, AIM icons, signature banners, podcasts, etc.

3) A PowerPoint presentation promoting the publisher's niche in the marketplace (actual and/or hoped for); titles -- current, upcoming and backlist; creators, awards, reviews, press, etc.

4) Basic marketing materials, ie: business cards, booth signage, brochures, postcards, pins, pens, etc.

5) Well-written, informational press releases with a specific call-to-action.

The latter two are pretty obvious, if not always properly implemented, and I'm not going to spend any time on them right now. There are tons of non-comics-specific resources available that address both of them, and other than booth signage and promotional giveaways, they're all free or relatively inexpensive. The first three items, though, are extremely important and can be the difference between distributors and retailers ordering none, a couple or several copies of your comic book or graphic novel.

Simple Marketing Fact #3: Vestis virum reddit.

"Vestis virum reddit" is the only Latin phrase I remember from my one-and-a-half years of high school Latin -- it means "the clothes make the man" -- and I had to Google it to get the spelling right. Nevertheless, it is a marketing truism, the publishing equivalent of the most common advice to new salespeople to "look the part" and "act like you know".

The next time you're in your favorite LCBS, take a step back and scan the shelves in front of you. Which front-facing titles stand out from the crowd? Which spines are immediately identifiable, no matter the thickness? Which logos properly communicate the tone of the story underneath the covers?

Focusing on the spines of TPBs and OGNs for a second, one thing that stands out to me is how Marvel and Image prioritize their own branding, placing their logos at the top of the spine, while DC, Scholastic and First Second, among others, all give the title of the individual publication that primary position, placing their logos at the bottom of the spine. Neither approach is right or wrong, but both are very specific and notable long-term marketing decisions that are important to consider at the beginning.

Now, visit your local bookstore and do the same thing. What's similar, and what's different? How does a Stephen King novel differ from a Charlie Huston novel, and how do they both differ from the latest Star Wars or Forgotten Realms novels? Can you tell a Harper Perennial from a Beacon from a Soft Skull? Do you need to?

When developing the logos and trade dress for your own comic books, don't assume that just because you have a great artist that they're also a great designer, too; logos are to art as poetry is to fiction, and rarely does the talent for both reside in one person. You also have to look way beyond the comics industry for good examples, especially those publishers whose attention is focused primarily on the direct market. One of the most important marketing investments you'll make in the beginning will be in your logos and trade dress, and there are many resources available that focus on these things, either offering advice on how to do it yourself, or companies who specialize in designing them for you. Use them.

Simple Marketing Fact #4: Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Your Previews solicitation cannot be the first time someone hears of your book. When developing a marketing plan for a new comic book -- whether an ongoing or mini-series, trade paperback or original graphic novel -- the implementation needs to begin 6-12 months before its expected publication date. The process will be somewhat different for a periodical publication targeting the direct market vs. a TPB or OGN targeting the direct and mass markets, particularly the timeline, but the ultimate goal for both is the same: maximizing your publication's visibility and convincing distributors and retailers of its saleability.

Having a fully functional, informational, search engine optimized Web site is an essential second step. Once your logos and trade dress are designed and approved, before the first press release goes out to announce your existence, you MUST have a viable Web site established. It can be via a free service like Blogger or WordPress, or it can be something fancier, if your budget allows, but it's an absolute must-have and you'll need adequate storage space and bandwidth available to avoid any unwanted surprises.

Registering at least a primary .com domain is not prohibitively expensive, and there are hosting plans as cheap as $4.95/month, so there's simply no excuse not to have a Web site.

As I said last week and repeated above, this Web site should NOT be Flash-based, because not everyone can, or wants to, view Flash sites. They're also not search engine friendly and are more difficult to update than a traditional HTML-based site. Flash sites look cool, but letting your ego make your marketing decisions for you is a recipe for disaster.

Your Web site should, at a minimum, include:

1) Definitive URLs (".com" and ".net") for the publisher and individual titles

2) A regularly updated blog

3) Individual landing pages for every publication and creator

4) PDF and JPG samples of all publications, current, upcoming and backlist

5) Mailing list

6) Publisher and creator contact information

7) Release schedules and distributor/retailers list

8) Online store, via CafePress or similar POD provider, for brand-extension merchandising

Additionally, any feasible viral downloadables should be made available, including wallpapers, AIM icons, signature banners, podcasts, screensavers, etc. These are the things that can encourage virtual street teams to organically develop, spreading your marketing message far and wide, acting as brand advocates and demonstrating your publication's ability to attract an audience.

I've purposefully left message boards off of this list because they are a tricky proposition and can lead to various levels of frustration and/or embarrassment. Poke around the various forums on Image's site and in most of them you'll find a dozen or so people hanging around, an awkward combination of fans and sycophants, most aspiring creators themselves, cheerleading the efforts of their fellow creators or talking smack amongst themselves as if they were hanging out in each others' living rooms. Several other publishers host almost barren forums that are little more than repositories for unread press releases and updates on shipping delays.

An abrupt To Be Continued... this week as this one's getting too long and we still have to cover The Presentation and its importance in reaching distributors and retailers you may never have the opportunity to meet with face-to-face.

*****

* Quick Marketing Tip: Throwing colleagues under the bus is a major no-no, even if you're Geoff Johns and you apparently think your shit doesn't stink.

Doing so to "protect" one colleague over another is even worse.

Comics are a collaborative art, extremely dependent on a level of trust between all involved to ensure the best possible end result, and as Salvador Larroca made clear a little while back, an artist who doesn't have a vested interest in a story is one less inclined to stay on schedule: "When I am not so interested on the story, I tend to work less and take time to play tennis and other sports."

Johns should know better.

** SIDE NOTE: Snarking on the internet is not a smart idea for fledgling publishers (or creators). It's an insular, thin-skinned industry and as easy a target as some people may be, snark is best left to pundits with nothing to lose, or established, influential creators who can [theoretically] afford to piss in other people's Cheerios. Remember, marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them.

Comic Book Commentary v2.0 and Other Stuff

Random, somewhat connected thoughts on the site, traffic and future plans...

ITEM: Ever since I got back on the blogging horse late last year, traffic has been on a steady upswing, which is very nice. January was our best month since our peak early last summer, and February is tracking quite nicely. Many, many thanks to Dirk Deppey in particular, who drives a ton of traffic here every time he posts a link on Journalista!. Thanks also to Johanna Draper Carlson, whose Blogs Worth Reading link sends a regular stream of traffic this way, too.

ITEM: Speaking of Deppey, If I'd have known how much traffic I could get from an off-the-cuff post about Wizard, I'd have made it a monthly column! Who would have thought that Journalista! readers were more interested in Wizard's sculpted butts and busts than in Stephanie Fierman (another unexpectedly popular post) or a series of columns on marketing comics? Rubber-neckers!

ITEM: Speaking of linking, our own Blogs of Note links in the sidebar represents personal blogs of note and not obligatory link swaps. While I'm always flattered by someone linking here, it doesn't automatically mean I'm going to reciprocate. That expectation goes the other way, too, as I don't expect reciprocity from those I link to. The Watchtower, on the other hand, includes links to pretty much every comics blog I come across.

NOTE: For those who DO link here, the preferred URL is www.comiccommentary.com, which currently redirects to the blog, and will simplify the eventual transition to Comic Book Commentary v2.0.

ITEM: A few new tweaks to the site include the addition of an email option for notification of new posts to the blog, via FeedBurner; a Babelfish translator, via AltaVista, for our non-English speaking visitors; and a bookmarking feature, via AddThis, that offers access to your favorite social bookmarking functions (all over in the left sidebar). The Creator Directory is being updated periodically, focusing on lesser-known, up-and-coming creators as I come across them; and the CBC Bookstore, powered by Amazon.com, is perfect for some focused grapic novel and TPB shopping, with a variety of suggestions for almost every taste.

ITEM: I've been on Blogger since 2003 and despite their painfully slow adoption of new features, haven't been terribly compelled to switch to another service. I recently considered WordPress but the thought of converting everything for what seems like a marginal upgrade was off-putting. Last week, though, I discovered iJoomla Magazine, and fell in love. It offers the kind of functionality that fits perfectly with my vision of Comic Book Commentary v2.0, which I've been brainstorming ideas for since I relaunched the site under loudpoet.com last summer, as well as better fitting into my larger plans for my own writing this year.

ITEM: I've signed up for Robert McKee's Story Seminar in March, a huge first step in my shift from simply talking about wanting to focus more on my own writing and actually focusing more on my own writing! I left the poetry scene back in 2003 (though really, my heart stopped being in it back at the end of 2001) and fell into comics blogging by accident in 2004 (not unlike how I got into poetry, actually, believing I could do better than most of what I'd seen) and while it's been great for keeping the juices flowing from a mechanical perspective, creatively, it's been a bit of an obstacle as it sucks up the depressingly little bit of free time I have. The Story Seminar is an investment in, and a commitment to, changing that. Comic Book Commentary v2.0 will fit into that quite nicely, I think.

I hope...

More Fun With Civil War

Another Civil War parody in the mother-f***ing house, as Spencer Carnage makes with the funny, GYWO style!



Why are these parodies all so much better than the story itself?

NOTE: There's a giveaway tied to this, too, so click through, laugh your ass off, and then take a shot at winning a cool assortment of TPBs, including the first three volumes of Y: The Last Man.

More Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters, Please

Newsarama has an interview with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters co-writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray that includes some commentary on the evolution of the mini-series from Grant Morrison's initial revamp of the characters -- with no credit given to Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Arthur Peddy, Paul Gustavson, Len Wein or Dick Dillin for the original creations -- to the story I've been enjoying far beyond my expectations when it was previewed in Brave New World.

Justin Gray: It's interesting how the series has evolved behind the scenes. Two years ago we started working with a blueprint developed by Grant Morrison. We had character foundations and a series of plot lines that he put together, but as we began to live with these new Freedom Fighters, things began to evolve in different ways.

...rolling into the second issue we began making significant changes to the direction of the book and the characters. Jimmy and I knew we'd have to make people pay attention because the team itself wasn't going to be a huge draw. Ray Terrill and Miss America became a big part of that plan. The one thing we had working in our favor was the connection to legacy characters and with that we hoped to draw the attention of JSA fans. Another part of the plan was to give Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters a unique voice and style, something to separate it from other team books. When your lead character is Uncle Sam, you might as well go over the top in terms of story ideas and villains. That's why we took Grant's idea of Gonzo and pushed him in a different direction.

My review of the first issue noted the surface similarities to Civil War, crediting Graymiotti for "doing more with less" and hoping that it might fulfill its potential by the end, and with one issue left to go, I'd say it has done that and more. Great ensemble cast with solid character development; good old fashioned fisticuffs; a nice balance of real-world and DCU political ideology; distinctive artwork; a genuine sense of consequence; separate but not completely removed from the primary DCU.

I plan to do a full review when the mini-series is completed, but Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters and American Way are two of the best superhero comics DC has published over the past few years, far surpassing the overhyped likes of Civil Crisis, et al.

So, yeah, more Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters, please!

You're On Notice!

Call somebody out!