Commentary and advice on marketing, mostly for publishers (traditional and brands) and writers, but sometimes from a broader perspective.
Stealing a few minutes on Bloglines during lunch, a post from The Beat caught my eye, wherein Heidi links to a list of the top selling OEL of 2005. OEL=Original English Language, aka American manga. (Check out Tania Del Rio's great column on the terminology debate, "You Say Potato, I Say Manga".)I've only read one of the books on the list (Dramacon #1), and have a handful of the others on my radar, but I was a bit surprised to see Steady Beat #1 ranked at #27. Lacking actual sales figures, there's no telling what the differential is between the…
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month!My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/8/06. 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]ARCANA STUDIO 100 Girls #7 $2.95The final issue of the first story arc of one the best indie comics going. Can't wait!BOOM! STUDIOS Jeremiah Harm #1 $3.99No idea what this is, but I like the name, and in combination with…
Guess it depends on who YOU are?Shopping as I do at Midtown Comics, I've never pre-ordered anything before, and as a result, have never had a need to do more than quickly flip through a copy of Previews, Diamond Comics Distributors' monthly catalog of product being solicited to the direct market. I picked up the current issue last week because I was considering a new column for Buzzscope that would serve both as a pre-ordering primer for those unfamiliar, and a less-snarky spin on my weekly "On The Shelves" post here on CBC. It's an unwieldly chunk of pulped tree,…
It was a rough weekend here at stately Gonzalez Manor, between a nasty virus laying the kids low and our respective exhaustion meters hitting their red lines, coupled with my 9-to-5 making it impossible to stay on top of my four-color fixation most of the week. Days like this are what escapist entertainment were made for. If only I could stay awake long enough to escape! As a result, not much posting here, including my missing my first Vs. Card of the Week entry. :-(Anyway, in case you haven't gotten into the habit of checking Buzzscope every day yet (why…
Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month!My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/18/06. 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]AFTER HOURS 7 Days To Fame #2 (Of 3), $3.99One of several comics I owe a review of, the first issue was...interesting.AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Vaistron #3, $2.95Robot porn and so much more from the same sick bastard who…
I haven't had the time to really follow up on the whole Speakeasy situation myself, but I have been tracking the comics blogosphere which refuses to let the story die, including this rather humorous addition: Speakeasy Comics Archives, wherein a Jonathan Martin is attempting to pull together everything relating to the company's current woes. (CBR and NEWSarama still haven't bothered to cover it, of course.) Jason Richards - proprietor of one of my favorite comics shops, R!OT Comics + Culture, in Camp Hill, PA - has been the source of some interesting tidbits (as well as some great, heartfelt snark)…
Chuck Saterlee pulls the curtain back a bit further over on the Bendis Board thread that started it all. I'm quoting it in its entirety as I wouldn't be surprised if he was asked/made to delete it at some point, as it airs what could charitably be called dirty laundry.My name is Chuck Satterlee and I have/had two books with Speakeasy. The titles are SMOKE & MIRROR and OF BITTER SOULS.My association with Speakeasy has been decent on a personal level and disastrous on a professional level.To start, I have never had a personal problem with Fortier or anyone else,…
