Commentary and advice on marketing, mostly for publishers (traditional and brands) and writers, but sometimes from a broader perspective.
Diamond Comic Distributors has announced this weekend in San Diego that Free Comic Book Day 2006 will take place on Saturday, May 6th, the second consecutive year the event will take place separate from the release of a comic book-based movie. Marketing will be in full swing for the summer slate of comic book-inspired movies, though, including Zoom's Academy, scheduled for release the following weekend, May 12th; X3, May 23rd; and Superman Returns, June 30th.It also won't fall on Mother's Day weekend again, a poor bit of scheduling that made it difficult for some fathers **ahem** to fully participate in…
In my never-ending quest for great independent comics, I've come across some real gems and promoted the hell out of them. 100 Girls, Fade From Grace, Western Tales of Terror, Elk's Run and Skyscrapers of the Midwest are all great reads that not nearly enough people know about. The latest inductee to that stellar group is...{drum roll, please} Debbie Huey's Bumperboy!I reviewed it this week for Buzzscope, but wanted to give it an extra special shout-out because it's THAT kind of good. Check out bumperboy.net if you want to really get sucked in like I've been. There's the great "Meet…
An email I just received via my resume on Monster.com:Dear,I've recently obtained your resume from the Monster Board and I was very pleased when I read it. I believe that you possess many of the skills and qualities that are consistent with some of our most successful Financial Services Representatives here at MetLife.I am seeking to expand our Agency and I would like to share information with you regarding a career opportunity in the Financial Services industry that you may find quite interesting. We can offer...- A sales training program - one of the best in the industry today, with…
APComics 2005 PreviewCharging full-price for marketing promotions isn't cool. If this were a Free Comic Book Day offering, or even a $0.99 promo, it might have earned an A.Catwoman #44New creative teams are always a good time to peek in on a title you've never read before, or dropped a while back, and Pfeiffer and Woods get off to an entertaining start that's relatively accessible to new readers. Deal with the Devil #2Schwartzrock's art is solid, blue collar work that complements the real-world feel of the story. Unfortunately, it's more plot-driven than character-driven, and while sporting an interesting premise, its…
With less than a week to go, the full court press is on to promote Batman Begins. I stated in a previous post that my Dad asked me when it comes out. The marketing gurus of DC's prized possession must be grinning ear-to-ear when they can get a 52-year old who was never into comics asking that question.2-3 weeks ago the country had only been treated to a handful of trailers promoting the release of the film, but now they're bringing out the big guns.Synergy is the name of the game, and all companies willing to pay, can play. Verizon…
Miller owns up to mistakes, promises 30 years of comics Alias Enterprises burst onto the comics scene a few months back, hot on the heels of a trio of successful titles published under the Image banner: Lullaby, The Imaginaries, and Lions, Tigers and Bears. With multi-page advertising spreads in Previews, and an all-out internet PR-blitz promoting their relatively little-to-unknown creators and/or properties and their $0.75 first issues, Alias was poised to make a bang throughout the month April with an aggressive slate of 12 brand new titles all scheduled to hit the stands before Free Comic Book Day. As the…
A month or so ago, Top Shelf Productions was running a great sale on some of their backlist, with an assortment of graphic novels and comix for $1 and $3. [EDIT: The sale is apparently still on, here.] A mixed bag of titles, the vast majority of which I'd never heard of, I decided to randomly pick several that caught my eye and see whether or not any of them could match the subtle brilliance of Craig Thompson's Blankets, a highly acclaimed Top Shelf publication, which I finally read earlier this year. A rather lofty standard-bearer, for sure, but when…
