Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

For Black History Month: Flashback

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 1, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:5 Comments

I have a love-hate relationship with Black History Month, simultaneously appreciating the thought behind it while despising its continued necessity. As such, I'm not planning to make a big deal about it 'round these parts; it's a thing for less diverse sites and blogs to take note of, an opportunity to pay lip service to diversity for the next 28 days before returning to the status quo. (Cynical? Not me!) That said, in light of some recent relevant discussions across the blogiverse, I thought I'd "reprint" the first really good post I ever made here (and to-date, still one of…

Let’s Stop Blaming Retailers, and Start Blaming Publishers

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 31, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

This started out as a quick comment over at The Beat, in reference to someone blaming retailers for dim road ahead for the recently canceled The Boys series, post-DC, because retailers will order less copies from the eventual new publisher thanks to the likelihood of lower discounts than they receive from DC.It's a knee-jerk response, and one I've made often in general reference to retailers who focus only on the Big Two, but in thinking about it, I've changed my mind a bit.Marvel/DC-only retailers are like the corner bodega: they stock a basic supply of staple goods from major suppliers…

"Driving Bigger Wedges in to Society"

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 30, 2007
Post category:Media
Post comments:12 Comments

I was going to sit this one out but it really does fall right into my wheelhouse...The unflappable Loren Javier has been hosting a handful of interesting debates over the past couple of weeks at his One Diverse Comic Book Nation blog -- which is showing promising signs of becoming exactly the kind of niche site I think the comics internet needs -- and I've jumped into a couple of them, partly because I appreciate the civil tone he sets, even when he's being unfairly attacked.After mixing it up with Gail Simone yesterday over The All New Atom, I finally…

On The Shelves: 1/31/07

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 30, 2007
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/31/07. 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 Why Are You Doing This?DC COMICS Batman And The Mad Monk #6 (Of 6), $3.50 Blue Beetle #11, $2.99 Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #7…

Numbers Game: Shuffling Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 29, 2007
Post category:Media
Post comments:2 Comments

Marc-Oliver Frisch's always enlightening sales analysis is now posted at The Beat, looking at DC's estimated numbers for December 2006, and buried towards the end is a very interesting breakdown of the Average Sales per Title of their three primary imprints. I've spotlighted the DCU as a point of interest:DC UNIVERSE12/2003: 29,26312/2004: 36,92512/2005: 44,99312/2006: 44,641---------------6 months: -12.6%1 year : - 0.8%2 years : +20.9%3 years : +52.6%As would be expected, the main DCU has seen some impressive growth over the past three years, fueled largely by Infinite Crisis and its numerous lead-ins, crossovers, tie-ins and spinoffs. What's hidden beneath that…

Marketing Monday: First Things First

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 29, 2007
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:4 Comments

Among the myriad challenges comics publishers of all sizes face, one of the biggest -- and most frustrating, personally -- is marketing. Way too many publishers believe that marketing is little more than sending out badly written press releases and snagging previews, reviews and interviews from Wizard, Newsarama, Comic Book Resources, et al. While some recognize industry trade shows and fan conventions as being a necessary part of any marketing plan, few understand what it takes to maximize their presence at such events. Perhaps most astoundingly, many publishers don't even have the sense to invest in a solid web site…

Blogaround Challenge 2007 Update

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 26, 2007
Post category:Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

...and the Massive Archaia, Viper & Spider-Man Giveaway!3 Prize Packs, 33 comic books...FREE SHIPPING!!!On your own blog, in a post titled "Blogaround Challenge 2007", write a brief review of three blogs that are not currently on your personal blogroll. Mine the blogrolls of your favorite blogs, Google's Blog Search, the Watchtower, or the all-new Comics Weblog Update; discover (or re-discover) three blogs that have piqued your interest, and briefly review them. In that post, also link back to the original Giveaway post, and then leave me a comment with the link back to your post so I can compile them…