Marketing Monday: First Things First

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…

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Review: The Guardian Line

Joe and Max #1
By Jason Medley, Claude St. Aubin & Chris Chuckery

Genesis 5 #1
By Lovern Kindzierski, Claude St. Aubin & Chris Chuckery

Code #1
By Mike Baron, Lovern Kindzierski, Howard Simpson, Dave Ross & Chris Chuckery
(All published by The Guardian line, December 2006)

Any sincere attempt by a comics publisher to reach new audiences (particularly from an all-ages perspective) is deserving of high praise, and Urban Ministries is doing exactly that with The Guardian Line, targeting the Christian demographic for whom the adventures of the superheroes they grew up with are neither representative of their beliefs nor appropriate for their children.

Of course, while good intentions are important, the final judgement should be based on the most basic of criteria: are they any good? The answer to that question is…they could be.

(more…)

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Much Ado About Cowboys & Aliens

I knew a lot of people in the comics industry didn't like Platinum Comics' Scott Rosenberg, but holy cow!Comics writer A. David Lewis (the excellent The Lone and Level Sands) absolutely flipped his lid last Friday upon seeing Entertainment Weekly's sporadic comics sales chart showing Cowboys & Aliens in the top spot, according to Midtown Comics:"What smarts most is that C&A is listed as the top-selling graphic novel. Yes, Entertainment Weekly crowns it as #1.First, that's crap. I think we all know that's crap. And, by 'we,' I mean people who actually go to comic book shops on an almost…

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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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Download Comics Legally

I'm pretty sure I've seen some advertising somewhere for Wowio recently, but had no idea what it was until I saw it mentioned in this Newsarama article about Devil's Due publisher Josh Blaylock's latest project, Pullbox Online:NRAMA: What effect do you think this will have, a) on your print titles, and b) on your properties overall? Could you see a revival of, say, your superhero line?JB: I think this is great for print titles and the sale of trade paperbacks. Think of the most common scenario for hundreds of independent series out there that fail. As a customer, you see…

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Help Wanted: Comics Promoters?

Comics Should Be Good offered an essay yesterday by the extremely likeable comics creator Jimmie Robinson that, in his own typically rambling style, makes a good point but lays the "blame" at the wrong doorstop:If you're reading this, that alone makes you exceptional, makes you care about the medium of comics. You might even visit your comic store each week to see what's new on the rack. You perhaps display a few trade paperback collections on your shelf at home. But let's not split hairs here, while I applaud your efforts there's no denying the fact; you are not helping…

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AdWatch: Platinum Studios’ "Babes"

"You may not be able to get into her pants...but you can have her in yours.Platinum Studios Mobile"It's in Flash format, so I can't figure out how to save it and display it here, but I came across it on the main page over at The Pulse (of all places) and you can view it here: mobile_120x600_babes.swfI'm guessing this predates Jim MacLauchlin's joining Platinum as EiC, but considering the fit he threw behind the scenes over being a suspect in last year's Mid-Ohio-Gate, you'd think he'd want to be a bit more careful about being associated with such blatantly sexist…

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