Commentary on various aspects of publishing and marketing, primarily focused on books, magazines, and social media.

Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment

A number of new comics publishers have targeted specific niches over the years, seeking to better serve and/or exploit untapped audiences in an effort to carve out a viable niche for themselves. Whether its minorities, women, GLBT, pre-teens, etc., it’s a topic I’ve covered specifically or peripherally several times in the past, so this latest effort caught my eye as taking a unique angle and, perhaps, having the most potential next to those targeting Christian readers.

MILITARY VETS FORM ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION COMPANY

Military veterans Ernesto Haibi, Tom Waltz, Gerry Kissell, Robert Scott McCall, Steven Fish and Michael Abrams, along with Richard Pille, who served as a civilian contractor for the U.S. military in Vietnam, announce their formation of Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment, Inc., an entertainment company whose primary focus is on making motion pictures, comic books and other entertainment about soldiers and the military.

Gerry Kissell of Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment states, “All of us at Charlie Foxtrot feel that in a time when war is at the center of mass consciousness of this great nation, somehow Hollywood, and others in the entertainment industry, manage to produce less than 1% of their over all productions about the military. There has been a gaping hole in entertainment, whether it is in film, television or in publication, regarding our soldiers serving in harm’s way. We see it as our job to fill that void, and to expand the coverage, making certain audiences and readers have the chance to experience what and who our soldiers really are, and to let our military know that they are not forgotten and are appreciated, and to insure that they are not dehumanized and relegated to being just some anecdote on the evening news. They are not just cannon and news fodder. Our men and women in uniform are amazing people, doing amazing things, and its time everyone knows it. We have made our creed simple and to the point, ‘By soldiers, about soldiers and for soldiers’.”

First project on their list is the epic war comic series, CITY of FIRE, due out in early 2007.

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Review: American Born Chinese

American Born ChineseBy Gene Luen Yang (First Second, 2006; $16.95)When I first heard about American Born Chinese back in July, I pegged it as the highlight of First Second's second wave of releases purely based on a few preview images and its solicitation copy. After doing so, I crossed my fingers that it would actually live up to my lofty expectations, as Deogratias had set the bar pretty high. It took me a while to finally pick up a copy, and before I did, it was named as a finalist for this year's National Book Award in Young People's Literature,…

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On the Shelves: 12/28/06

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Thursday, 12/28/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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 Captain Gravity and the Power of the VrilAMERICAN MULE ENTERTAINMENT Public Enemy #2, $2.99 It was nice to see Public Enemy promoting their comic book alter…

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Crystal Ball: March 2007 Solicitations, Part II

Support GOOD Comics! Pre-order something new EVERY month. Part I featured a look at Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse's offerings for March 2007, and now Part II casts the spotlight on the most interesting books being solicited by "independent" publishers. Links to full solicitations from almost every publisher can be found at MillarWorld. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your local comic book shop (LCBS) offers a pre-ordering service, download a convenient order form from Diamond and be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com…

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Two Cents: Lightning Round

We're heading down to Virginia for the holidays and I'm planning to post a bunch of TPB reviews throughout next week -- in between catching up on sleep and movies -- including Stagger Lee; American Born Chinese; Opening Lines, Pinky Probes, and L-Bombs, and a few others. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the holiday giveaway I mentioned a few weeks back; I just haven't had the time to pick and pull the comics in question. Stay tuned and have a great holiday!TWO CENTS*** Archie's Redesign: Not feeling it at all, but then, I'm not the target audience. Considering the…

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Indie Bookstores Bailing Out; Bad Sign for Comics?

[UPDATED: 9:55 pm] PW Daily has a sobering article about several independent bookstores shutting their doors thanks to increased expenses and competition, and I can't help but think about how it parallels the current state of the comic book industry, both on the publishing and retailing side, and how it could potentially affect graphic novel sales, one of the few growth categories in publishing right now. In New York City, after 34 years serving Manhattan's Upper West Side, the independent mystery bookstore Murder Ink will close on December 31. Owner Jay Pearsall also announced that the attached bookstore, Ivy's Books…

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On the Shelves: 12/20/06

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/20/06 follows. The full shipping is list 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 Walk In #1APE ENTERTAINMENT Black Coat Call To Arms TPB, $12.95 I met Ben Lichius back in 2005 at Wizard World Philadelphia, where he'd gotten himself…

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