5 Good Reasons Against Opening a Comic Book Store
1) “Bookshops’ latest sad plot twist” THIS is the paradox of modern bookselling. Even in an entertainment-saturated age, people still buy books. But the casual reader has many other places to get bestsellers and topical books, from warehouse stores to the mall. Meanwhile, book nuts — the ones who simply must buy several volumes a
Blogaround Challenge 2007 "Winners"
Well, damn! Who knew giving away FREE comics would be harder than selling gas-guzzling SUVs when gas prices are $2/gallon and rising?!?! I was corresponding with a fellow blogger recently, one who’s been around since the Usenet days, and she noted how the Comics Blog Boom of the past couple of years seems to have
For Black History Month: Flashback
I have a love-hate relationship with Black History Month, simultaneously appreciating the thought behind it while despising its continued necessity. As such, I’m not planning to make a big deal about it ’round these parts; it’s a thing for less diverse sites and blogs to take note of, an opportunity to pay lip service to
Numbers Game: Shuffling Deck Chairs on the Titanic
Marc-Oliver Frisch’s always enlightening sales analysis is now posted at The Beat, looking at DC’s estimated numbers for December 2006, and buried towards the end is a very interesting breakdown of the Average Sales per Title of their three primary imprints. I’ve spotlighted the DCU as a point of interest: DC UNIVERSE 12/2003: 29,26312/2004: 36,92512/2005:
Suburban Dysfunction & Blaxploitation
Ghost World By Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics Books, 1998; $11.95) I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn’t my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But,
Stephanie Fierman: Villain, Victim…or Scapegoat?
According to Rich Johnston, as reported in yesterday’s Lying in the Gutters, DC’s outgoing SVP of Sales & Marketing, Stephanie Fierman, “is still on contract at DC for another year and will work on special projects with DC Publisher and President Paul Levitz while she looks for a new position within Time Warner.” If true,
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
Quesada on DC Becoming Marvel
From NEW JOE FRIDAYS WEEK 27: “There’s a reason Batman is the greatest DC hero, he’s the closest to the Marvel formula, but the rest of the DC universe I feel suffers from the same flaws as Superman. In his time, Superman spoke of the immigrant experience which was very important in America at the
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
On The Shelves: 12/13/06
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, 12/13/06 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