Commentary and advice on marketing, mostly for publishers (traditional and brands) and writers, but sometimes from a broader perspective.
Who doesn't like free comic books? On Saturday, May 7th, 2005, participating comic book shops across North America and around the world will be giving away comic books from more than 25 different publishers absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores, as part of the 4th Annual Free Comic Book Day, celebrating "an original American art form." "The selection of titles is a testament to the diversity in the industry," says Diamond Comic Distributors Marketing Communications Manager and Free Comic Book Day Committee spokesperson, Barry Lyga. "More than anything else, Free Comic Book Day exists to show that…
In Part I of this two-part interview, Arcana Studio's Publisher, Sean Patrick O'Reilly talked about Arcana's successful first year, what really happened with Ant and Image, how Ezra became their most popular title, and what it takes to succeed in the comic book business. Today in Part II, we take a peek into Arcana's future, talking more about marketing, the pros and cons of Free Comic Book Day, and get an exclusive announcement about, and sneak peek at, their newest title, The Assassin. Comic Book Commentary: Looking to the future, you have six new titles listed as coming soon on…
In the midst of my ever-growing pull list, there is an elite group of comic books that rank as Must-Buys, even if it means eating Ramen for lunch all week! Two of the books currently in that group are published by Arcana Studio, the fledgling Canadian indie that is home to 100 Girls and Ezra. "Arcana Studio was formed in 2004 by Sean Patrick O'Reilly...with a vivid dream and much ambition." Coming off of a successful first year, I caught up with O'Reilly online last night, still recovering from his trip to this weekend's Emerald City ComiCon. Two hours later,…
There's a perennial debate on which creative setup works best in comics, the collaboration or the solo creator. With superior examples on both sides, of course, there is no definitive answer, but for every good example, there's at least as many bad ones. Creator/writer/artist Mario Gully's intriguing concept - eight-year old Hannah Washington creates an imaginary world in her journal, a world where she is the powerful superhero known as Ant, a world that may not be as imaginary as it seems - has lots of potential, but, unfortunately, it qualifies as Exhibit A for the case against solo work;…
It's an old joke: Why is Black History Month the shortest month of the year? There's no punchline to that one, of course. The question is the joke. In time for Black History Month 2005, Marvel Comics is relaunching the Black Panther in his own series, his fifth including the short-lived, unfortunately-titled but highly-regarded Jungle Action in 1974, by Don McGregor and Billy Graham; and his most recent eponymous incarnation, under the Marvel Knights imprint, which lasted six years under the redefining direction of writer Christopher J. Priest and a passel of artists, before ending in September 2003. This time…
1. One of the sequences in Comic Book Superheros Unmasked (2003) dealt with the crash of the comic industry during the early 90s. I'd like to bring up one point made by Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada during the interview, where he basically states that the variant cover phenomenon during that time played a big part in the industry's crash. Back then, the hottest books were selling in the several hundreds of thousands. Nowadays, a publisher would kill for 150,000! Well, more than a decade removed and it looks like the industry is back at it. This time though, rather than…
When the New Mutants re-appeared on the stands 20 months ago, I was just returning to comics after a 15-year hiatus and welcomed the sight of a familiar face to ease me back into the monthly habit. Joshua Middleton's beautiful cover art featuring some of the women from the original lineup drew me in, and Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir's patient, nuanced introduction of the first mutant of the new generation, and their reintroduction and use of a tortured Danielle Moonstar as the story's anchor, kept me glued through to the last page. The closing dialogue sealed the deal for…
