Media

Commentary on various aspects of publishing and marketing, primarily focused on books, magazines, and social media.

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Marketing Monday: A Simple Plan, Part II

Last week I covered the first three steps of Kevin Stirtz' "Smart Marketing System", focusing on a marketing plan's Goals, Market and Message, and this week I'll take a look at the final two pieces of this simple but apparently often confounding puzzle: 1. The GOALS or objectives you want to accomplish 2. The MARKET you want to reach 3. The MESSAGE you want to deliver to your market 4. The MONEY you are willing to spend to deliver your message 5. The MEDIA you will use to deliver your message Money and Media, of course, are pretty much inseparable,…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

On the Shelves: 2/7/07

Reading is fundamental. Don’t waste your time reading bad comics out of habit!

My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 2/7/07. The full shipping list, as always, is 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]

PICK OF THE WEEK

The American WayBOOM! STUDIOS
Cthulhu Tales Rising One Shot, $6.99
Tag Cursed #1 (Of 5), $3.99

I’m not a Cthulu fan, but Boom!’s previous effort seems to have worked for those who are, and it’s nice to see them sticking with the anthology format. *** The first Tag mini-series ended rather abruptly but set up an interesting enough premise that I’ll probably check out the sequel if I don’t gag on the too-steep $3.99 cover price.

DC COMICS
American Way TPB, $19.99
Batman Year One Deluxe SC, $14.99
Detective Comics #828, $2.99
Helmet Of Fate Sargon The Sorcerer #1, $2.99
Jonah Hex #16, $2.99
Shazam The Monster Society Of Evil #1 (Of 4), $5.99

American Way narrowly missed making my Best of 2006 list, but it was an excellent read and one of the most underrated titles of the year. Hopefully more people check it out in TPB form. *** I’m up to the 5th volume of Jeff Smith’s colorized Bone series from Scholastic and am completely and utterly hooked. As a result, I’m curious to check out his take on the Big Red Cheese.

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
GI Joe Americas Elite #20, $3.50

When did the cover price go up?!?! [checks…] Ah, as of this issue, the conclusion of two-issue transitional arc. Not cool! $3 is my tipping point for comics, when I think a little bit harder about whether or not I really need to buy a particular title. I’ve been enjoying this latest version of G.I. Joe, but with a new creative team coming onboard, a price increase is like a “Jump-off Point” neon sign.

(more…)

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Make the F***ing Comics

Cheryl Lynn of Digital Femme, frustrated by the state of the comics union, nails the solution: "I can see that I am going to have to make the fucking comics. ...right now I'm doing the second easiest thing. And that is to not-so-politely bitch. Because I suppose I'm still hoping that someone else will make the fucking comics. Because there are a ton of people out there with infinitely more talent and monetary resources than I possess. People who already have an established reputation and a publishing house that adores them. And I don't. But they don't give a damn.…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Marketing Monday: A Simple Plan, Part I

Before I go any further with this, I want to establish the three basic principles that will represent the foundation for the Marketing Monday series of columns: 1) Publishing comics is a business, not a hobby; 2) Proftability within 3-5 years, if not sooner, is the goal. 3) The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company's products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby [ensuring] profitability. (Investopedia) Last week, I referenced Kevin Stirtz' "Smart Marketing System", a simple, 5-step blueprint for building and implementing a successful marketing plan, and posited it as a good…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Tidbits: Movies, Retail and Writing Aspirations

ITEM UPDATE: Wonder Woman Spec Script Review Latino Review's El Mayimbe has a preview/review of the Wonder Woman spec script that seemingly helped get Joss Whedon axed from the movie. Overall, a very great read. The writers did their homework. As a comic book character origin movie - it is just as good as Batman Begins. I can see why Silver supposedly took it off the spec market. If I was a betting man, I figure this is the origin story that Warners might stick with. My note to the studio is to not touch the script, leave it intact,…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

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 diversity for the next 28 days before returning to the status quo. (Cynical? Not me!) That said, in light of some recent relevant discussions across the blogiverse, I thought I'd "reprint" the first really good post I ever made here (and to-date, still one of…

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Let’s Stop Blaming Retailers, and Start Blaming Publishers

This started out as a quick comment over at The Beat, in reference to someone blaming retailers for dim road ahead for the recently canceled The Boys series, post-DC, because retailers will order less copies from the eventual new publisher thanks to the likelihood of lower discounts than they receive from DC.It's a knee-jerk response, and one I've made often in general reference to retailers who focus only on the Big Two, but in thinking about it, I've changed my mind a bit.Marvel/DC-only retailers are like the corner bodega: they stock a basic supply of staple goods from major suppliers…

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