By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/17/2015
One of the trademarks of Archaia’s plineof graphic novels was that all their books have been published in hardcover—a look that Boom! stuck with after acquiring the publisher. And the result was a series of gorgeous books, from Return of the Dapper Men to Cursed Pirate Girl. But sometimes a more affordable paperback edition is […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/8/2015
It’s no secret that Jeremy Bastian’s Cursed Pirate Girl is one of the most gorgeous comics out there, with Bastian’s detailed lifework and imaginative creatures making for one jaw dropping page after another. Unfortunately this kind of spectacle takes time and it’s been a while since there was a new Cursed Pirate Girl issue…but good […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/6/2015
Mairghread Scott (Transformers: Windblade) and artists Kelly & Nichole Matthews are giving the story of Macbeth a comics reinvention with Toil and Trouble, a 6-issue mini series coming out from Archaia/BOOM! next month. Formerly titled The Third Witch, this version focused on the three witches and their cauldron of woe for Scottish lord Macbeth. Riata, […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/30/2015
• Valiant announced VALIANT ORIGINS a web series spotlighting the origins of Valiant’s biggest heroes. 10 episodes will be released bi-weekly Valiant’s official YouTube channel. Heroes in the spotlight include Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Ninjak, Livewire, Quantum and Woody, Divinity and more.
• In July Valiant is releasing the BOOK OF DEATH. Teaser art by Robert Gill.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is now exclusive with IDW with many new projects to be announced. “Kevin is one of my oldest friends in comics and it makes me extremely happy that he’s going to be part of the IDW team, said IDW CEO and Publisher, Ted Adams. “Kevin’s contribution to pop culture can’t be overstated and everyone at IDW is looking forward to helping him bring his new ideas into the world.”
• Archaia is release an Art of Mouse Guard book in July:
THE ART OF MOUSE GUARD 2005-2015
Author: David Petersen
Artists: David Petersen, Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, Bill Willingham, Various
Cover: David Petersen
Format: 12″ x 12″, 368 pages, color and B&W, hardcover
On sale: July 2015
Celebrate the first 10 years of a comics classic from the very first sketch. For the first time since the series debut, David Petersen’s process for creating the world of Mouse Guard and bringing it to life in stunning illustration is documented in exquisite detail. With never-before-seen sketches; 100 pages of full-color, oversized artwork; and commentary from colleagues, collaborators, and Petersen himself, readers and fans get an unprecedented look behind the pages at how their favorite characters and adventures were born.
• Boom is releasing Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wars, a miniseries by Jen Wang (In Real Life) and Britt Wilson, also in July.
Cake is a Card Wars champ who can’t be beat, and Fionna…is really tired of getting beaten! They set off in search of a challenger who can really test Cake’s mettle. When they stumble across some gamer slugs, they think they’ve hit the jackpot, but these guys have never heard of Cake and refuse to even play with her!
• And Dark Horse is releasing TEN new series!
Barb Wire #1
Chris Warner (W)
Patrick Olliffe (A)
On Sale in July
Nail-hard tough and drop-dead gorgeous, Barb Wire is the baddest bounty hunter on the mean streets of Steel Harbor, where gangsters can lift bulldozers and leap rusting factories in a single bound. The hunting is stupid good and the bounties are hella big—if Barb lives long enough to collect!
King Tiger #1
Randy Stradley (W)
Doug Wheatley (A)
On Sale in August
Blood, death, and fire—the darkest kind of magic. A monstrous secret from King Tiger’s past has found the mystic warrior, but can Tiger’s skills and sorcery triumph against an unthinkable supernatural obscenity linked to his own destiny? If the Tiger falls, the Dragon will rise!
Negative Space #1
Ryan K Lindsay (W)
Owen Gieni (A)
On Sale in July
When one man’s writer’s block gets in the way of his suicide note, he goes for a walk to clear his head and soon uncovers a century-old conspiracy dedicated to creating and mining the worst lows of human desperation. A corporation has manipulated his life purely so they can farm his suicide note as a sadness artifact that will be packed and shipped to ancient underwater creatures who feed off our strongest and most base emotions. Our hero partners with a cult intent on exposing the corporation, and only a suicide mission can solve the whole mess.
The Tomorrows #1
Curt Pires (W)
Jason Copland (A)
On Sale in July
A bold new speculative-fiction comic from the mind of writer Curt Pires, each issue illustrated by a different brilliant artist!
The future: art is illegal. Everything everyone ever posted online has been weaponized against them. The reign of the Corporation is quickly becoming as absolute as it is brutal—unless the Tomorrows can stop it.
They told you the counterculture was dead. They were wrong. Welcome to the new reality.
Death Head #1
Zack Keller, Nick Keller (W)
Joanna Estep (A)
On Sale in July
When Niles and Justine Burton go camping to get a break from their stressful lives, they expect to find peace . . . not an abandoned village hiding an ancient evil. In a turn of events ripped straight from a horror movie, a brutal killer wearing a plague doctor’s mask begins hunting Niles, Justine, and their two kids. Who is the Plague Doctor? What does he want? And how will the family survive?
Zodiac Starforce #1
Kevin Panetta (W)
Paulina Ganucheau (A)
On Sale in August
They’re an elite group of teenage girls with magical powers who have sworn to protect our planet against dark creatures . . . as long as they can get out of class! Known as the Zodiac Starforce, these high-school girls aren’t just combating math tests. They’re also battling monsters—not your typical afterschool activity! But when an evil force from another dimension infects team leader Emma, she must work with her team of magically powered friends to save herself—and the world—from the evil Diana and her mean-girl minions!
From Kevin Panetta (Bravest Warriors) and Paulina Ganucheau (TMNT: New Animated Adventures, Bravest Warriors), this super-fun and heartfelt story of growing up and friendship—with plenty of magical-girl fighting action—delivers the most exciting new ensemble cast in comics!
Adam.3 #1
Scott Kolins (W/A)
On Sale in August
Award-winning writer and artist Scott Kolins (Past Aways, The Flash, The Avengers, Solomon Grundy) premieres Adam.3.
On a futuristic island paradise populated by talking animals and monitored by orbiting control satellites, the peaceful lives of Adam and his wife Skye are troubled by growing tension between Adam and his previous son, Beo. The situation goes from bad to worse when an alien invader infects the animals—turning them into aliens themselves. When Beo is captured, Adam must battle his transformed animal friends to save his son—and their island home!
Power Cubed #1
Aaron Lopresti (W/A)
On Sale in September
On his eighteenth birthday, Kenny’s inventor father gives him a phenomenal piece of matter-reinterpreting technology, attracting the attention of a bumbling Nazi scientist and an elite government agent. Aaron Lopresti delivers a comical coming-of-age tale in a fantastic sci-fi universe!
The Steam Man #1
Mark Miller (W)
Joe R. Lansdale (W)
Piotr Kowalski (A)
On Sale in October
The Old West (but not as we know it): Giant robots that run on steam power are created to take down invading Martians and armies of killer albino apes in an all-out brawl. The Steam Man, a giant metal man operated by a team of monster hunters, seems to have the town protected and the West under control, until a crazed and powerful vampire comes to town to bring forth the apocalypse.
Chimichanga: Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face #1
Eric Powell (W)
Stephanie Buscema (A)
On Sale in late 2015
Wrinkle’s Traveling Circus’s most adorable bearded girl and her savory-named beast are back, and there is a new act in store! Come one, come all to the Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face! But beware: those who look behind the curtain are in for an awful treat, and it’s not just his face we’re talkin’ about!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/9/2015
Rell is your typical space mercenary except for the fact she has a halo. The halo is part of a 3D hologram she projects as her appearance—and it’s a technology a lot of people would like to get their hands on. Meanwhile, Rell would just like to get rid of her halo so people don’t project their angel fantasies on her—and her new job searching space for the huge floating body of the dead god Det’houna isn’t helping.
That’s the set up for Halogen #1 by Josh Tierney, Afu Chan and Giannis Milonogiannis, a lively SF tale set on a space station with two levels—¨p top for the good guys, and down below for the space mercenaries who hang out in bars. There’s a lot of back story and set-up crammed into the first issue but it’s all executed by Chan with the great character designs that are his signature. All sorts of aliens, robots and floating dead space gods jump out at the pages—comics world building reporting for duty.
Halogen #1 is the first issue of a four part series from Archaia, the first issue goes on sale March 4, and the FOC is today so do your thing.
HaloGen #1 (of 4)
Publisher: Archaia, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Author: Josh Tierney
Artist: Afu Chan
Cover Artists:
Main: Afu Chan
10 Years Incentive Cover: Ramón K. Pérez
Incentive Cover: Giannis Milonogiannis
Format: 32 pages, full color
Price: $3.99
Synopsis:
WHY WE LOVE IT: We’ve published four books thus far in Josh Tierney’s Spera series because we simply love his characters and storytelling. Now, he teams up with fellow webcomic creators Afu Chan (Spera) and Giannis Milonogiannis (Old City Blues, Prophet) for a new creator-owned, sci-fi adventure.WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Having first collaborated on the Eisner Award-nominated Spera series, the creative team behind HaloGen is no stranger to kick-butt ladies, epic world-building, and sweeping adventures. This time they’re strapping on their sci-fi boots for a series perfect for fans of Prophet, Rocket Girl, and The Fifth Element.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: There’s a rumor on Cityship Q that the gigantic body of a dead god was found floating in space. Rell, an agent woking for the HaloGen organization, is tasked with finding the location of the god and retrieving it by any means necessary. Using her ability to form hyper-realistic holograms, Rell is about to take on the first mission she might not be able to finish.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/5/2015
Have I ever told you I love http://afuchan.tumblr.com/? Maybe I have but let’s say it again: I love Afu Chan! His art has the popular post-Moebius line mixed with action packed layouts and weirdly angled figures that are just irresistible and his character designs are gorgeous. It’s surprising he hasn’t gotten a lot more attention, but his output has been rather limited. I loved his work on Spera and his illustrations, and now he’s back with HaloGen, written by Spera’s Josh Tierney ; Giannis Milonogiannis (Prophet, Old City Blues) is a co-creator of the series and contributes covers.
The book, as you might guess from the title, is SF:
In HaloGen, there’s a rumor on Cityship Q that the gigantic body of a dead god was found floating in space. Rell, an agent working for the HaloGen organization, is tasked with finding the location of the god and retrieving it by any means necessary. Using her ability to form hyper-realistic holograms, Rell is about to take on the first mission she might not be able to finish.
Spera was a very enjoyable fantasy webcomic that featured some of the best artists around (Emily Carroll, Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei, Cécile Brun, Luke Pearson, Leela Wagner) and this looks to be another very stylish book.
HaloGen#1 10 Years Incentive Cover by Ramón K. Pérez (full wraparound shown)
HaloGen #1 Incentive Cover by Giannis Milonogiannis
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/14/2015
Plunder #1 Main Cover by Skuds McKinley
If nothing else, Archaia’s new horror series Plunder has the best named team in comics, Swifty Lang and Skuds McKinley. “Hey have you seen Skuds and Swifty?” is what everyone will be saying at Comic-Con 2015.
The book arrives in February, and offers us a tale reminiscent of both Captain Phillips and The Thing.
“Horror on the high seas,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “That’s what Swifty and Skuds have created with Plunder. This is a visceral horror story that has a killer setup and a flat-out intense narrative. Step on board for a wild journey!”
After facing off with an illegal Chinese vessel, a gang of Somali pirates tries to board what they think is a research vessel, only to find themselves in the midst of a massacre. As their worst nightmares become reality, the 14-year-old boy who went from translator to reluctant pirate not only becomes the key to survival, but must decide for himself how far he is willing to go in the name of self-preservation.
Plunder #1 10 Years Incentive Cover by Ramón K. Pérez (Full wraparound image shown)
Plunder #1 Retailer Incentive Cover by Daniele Serra
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/2/2014
Josh Tierney’s Spera is one of the best looking webcomics/graphic novels out there with work by a bevy of amazing artists such as Emily Carroll, Michael Dialynas, Meg Gandy, Cory Godbey, Amei Zhao and Sam Bosma….and more. The web versions have been collected by Boom/Archaia into three hardcovers thus far.
And now an all new graphic novel is coming out this October with Giannis Milonogiannis (OLD CITY BLUES), Atelier Sentô (which is comprised of the duo of Cécile Brun and Olivier Pichard), Mindy Lee, Sourya Sihachakr (Rouge), and Valentin Seiche (Anguille et Baldaquin). This marks a new book from the Archaia imprint at Boom and should uphold the usual standards of a great looking book.
SPERA is a stunningly illustrated mash-up of some of the best things in life: webcomics, young-adult fantasy, retro video games, pulp adventure comics, and fairy tales. Fans of Zelda, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Frozen, author Tamora Pierce, and LUMBERJANES will love this series! Following the three previously released volumes of SPERA, ASCENSION OF THE STARLESS is the launch of a new, epic, multi-volume story that follows the adventures of two princesses as they once again join forces to combat a common threat. This is the perfect starting point for new readers to fall in love with SPERA charcacters Pira, Lono, Chobo, and Yonder alongside loyal fans of the series.
In SPERA: ASCENSION OF THE STARLESS VOL. 1, the Starless Queen is plotting an invasion of Spera, and has sent the merciless General Zeal to secure its capital. Unfortunately for the Queen, exiled adventurer Princess Pira—the Queen’s own daughter—and Pira’s best friend Princess Lono have discovered her plot…and will go to any lengths to stop her. Along with their friends—the fire spirit, Yonder, and the ruthless cat, Chobo—Pira and Lono set off on a perilous journey to warn the Speran King, up monster-infested mountains, through a village full of crazed warriors, and down dark tunnels walled with madness itself.
The SPERA: ASCENSION OF THE STARLESS VOL. 1 original graphic novel hardcover (176 pages, 6” x 9”, full color, ISBN: 978-1-60886-414-0) arrives from Archaia in comic shops on October 1st and bookstores on October 7th with a cover price of $24.99 and features a cover illustrated by Afu Chan. Not sure where to find your nearest comic retailer? Use comicshoplocator.com or findacomicshop.com to find one!
via BOOM!’s 15 Announcements Before Comic-Con: #2 – Archaia Announces ‘Spera: Ascension of the Starless’.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/3/2013
As I suggested in my early con impressions, WonderCon had a reasonable amount of space and handled the numbers of attendees pretty well. It was no surprise that Saturday brought bigger numbers than Friday, and the crowding was more obvious, but still never reached that feeling of pushing and shoving that can easily erupt at crowded cons. The floor occasionally got backed up, particularly around the constantly slammed DC Comics booth, where big names like Scott Snyder appeared frequently for signings and the DC booth’s location, at the very front of the con entrance, contributed to some difficulty getting onto the floor. I noticed that the retail side of things was fairly busy, too, with some crowding and difficulty navigating, suggesting that plenty of fans were there to buy back issues and memorabilia, as well. The artists alley at WonderCon was a little on the scanty side in terms of size and numbers of tables, but those artists who were present were very engaging and passionate about their work. They seemed to have regular followers who were coming in to buy their artwork and there was a strong representation of the fine art side of fantasy prints and original work, as well as handmade arts and crafts.
Open areas like the food court and outside atrium were a welcome oasis, but it also continued to be easy to exit the con into the outdoor plaza areas for a rest and there was no difficulty with re-entry. Though the floor only allowed a couple of doors for access, the many exterior doors were open for comings and goings, with several food trucks outside, far enough from the entrance not to cause back ups. One other surprise was that Sunday seemed just as busy as Saturday, as I heard retailers commenting. They were turning over sales at just as high a rate that day. This feeling may be due to the fact that there were slightly fewer panels on Sunday, making the floor more of a feature, or simply that people waited to do their shopping on the floor on Sunday. When I stumbled into the Arena, a venue I hadn’t seen before, I was impressed with the numbers it could hold, and also that it was completely full for a Joss Whedon Shakespeare film adaptation event. This suggested to me that the con was handling numbers well, since I generally had no idea that so many people were even at the con on top of the numbers moving in the open spaces of the con. It was Easter Sunday the last day of the con, and it closed a little early, at 5PM, perhaps for this reason, but fans still had a sense that they would have been happy for the con to go on a little longer, a good sign regarding WonderCon’s appeal.
One final follow up: I suggested initially in my coverage that people might find WonderCon in Anaheim appealing due to Disneyland access, and that this would appeal to people will kids particularly. Though this turned out to be true, I also underestimated the appeal of Disneyland to singles and younger congoers. I went to Disneyland the following Monday and found that quite a number of WonderCon attendees were there too, from a younger demographic than I expected. You could tell from their conversations and generally less pastel clothing what guests were in town for the con, and I’d say about 1 in 10 were from the con in the massive crowds Disney drew on that post-Easter day.
Final thoughts: it was a well run and appealing con, offering plenty of choice in terms of panels, keeping up with what’s going on in comics and pop culture right now. Marvel were a little under represented, though Dan Slott was participating in panels, and several pros who were there for DC panels were formal Marvel people. Marvel didn’t have a booth on the floor, driving up the demand for DC variants and signings, which they happily accommodated. I was also impressed by the energetic presence of the mid-sized presses like Dark Horse, Archaia, Image, IDW, and ComiXology, for taking the opportunity to flourish and interact with fans when given a little more space to do so. The mid-sized presses really shone in their engagement with fans on the floor, their foresight in bringing new and upcoming books to purchase and get a sneak-peak at, and also through their involvement on panels. This gave the general impression that mid-sized presses are on the rise and taking on the role, collectively, as contenders for the Big Two. Good for them!
Whether WonderCon is in Anaheim again or back in San Francisco in the future, the planning and structure of the con should continue to hold up to make it a comfortable as well as enjoyable, exciting event for fans. This won’t be one of the cons where you have to sacrifice personal amenities just to see your favorite artists speak or get the variant your collection is calling for. They have a sense of putting the customer first at WonderCon and let’s hope that continues; it sets a good model for the growing con industry, and there are some bigger cons who could learn a thing or two from this.
Without further ado, some highlights of the con in photos from my trusty partner in crime Michele Brittany who proved her moxie as a pop culture photographer at WonderCon 2013 in spades. Thanks Michele!
Photo Credits: All photos in this article were taken by semi-professional photographer and pop culture scholar Michele Brittany. She’s an avid photographer of pop culture events. You can learn more about her photography and pop culture scholarship here.
Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/31/2013
ComiXology’s Chip Mosher of Marketing and PR moderated a panel with Jeremy Atkins of Dark Horse, Dirk Wood of IDW, Mel Caylo of Archaia, and addition Hunter Gorinson of Valiant Comics with the goal of sharing tips and pro experience with indie creators and future marketers on Friday, March 29th at WonderCon. The result was quite an entertaining panel featuring their professional blunders and secret discoveries about he ins and outs of comics promotion.
Mosher started out by asking for the embarrassing stories each had accrued in their work experience, “professional blunders” that contained teachable moments. Atkins admitted to the cringeworthy common mishap of hitting “reply all” on an email and copying a person specifically to be excluded from a conversation, with plenty of sympathetic groans from the audience. Mosher’s own tale of woe was equally relatable, reading an e-mail from Emerald City Con and then forgetting to reply afterward, thereby losing booth space for BOOM that year. Wood was more circumspect about his failures, noting that “25% of marketing is what I would call blunders” that can lead either to success or to a “thud”, and that he finds it impossible to tell which will happen in some circumstances. Persistence, he advised, is the key to forge ahead despite an unpredictable market.
Caylo dredged up his own worst moments with a story of “drunk tweeting” from the wrong account, declaring his love for someone, a tweet that remained up on a company account overnight whereas Gorinson stuck to the ever-present bugaboo of typos in press releases regardless of how many times the releases are checked before sending them out. Wood’s observation that some blunders can have positive results prompted the panel to consider whether they had similar lucky moments. Wood, particularly, “stumbled into successes” by having random, unlikely ideas for promotion like sending Godzilla costumed promo agents to “smash” stores, something that met with great success. The panel quickly turned interactive, fielding questions from the floor, and the first question, probably also the first on everyone’s mind, was how to run PR and marketing strategies on a shoe-string budget.
Mosher wittily commented, “This guy thinks that we have budgets” to his fellow panellists before Caylo took up the question with what became perhaps the strongest message of the panel event: “It’s all about relationships”. He suggested that those seeking press for comics go to shows, have e-mail conversations that are “not always pitching”, so that it’s easier when you do want to ask a favor to bring it up. He also added that “offer giveaways” on sites that increase “cross-promotion” are a very smart move. Atkins, who was particularly earnest and animated throughout the panel suggested that Twitter is a major player in promotion for building and continuing to cultivate professional relationships, including the retail industry in your list of contacts. Wood spoke to the indie creator’s situation trying to get books distributed. “Nothing speaks louder than a consignment situation”, he said, and pointed out that Top Shelf started through delivering consignment issues to comic shops, “giving books” to shops and allowing them to sell them rather than seeking solicitation. This involves “relentless beating of the pavement” since there is “no replacing grassroots”.
Atkins used this idea to springboard into a gambling metaphor: “In gambling and in life, you only win when you can afford to lose”. You shouldn’t expect return immediately, he warned, but trying different approaches and continuing to do so as long as possible is key. Mosher had strong feelings on the subject, reflecting on the example of a student protester who brough the New York Stock Exchange to a standstill by busking for dollar bills all day, then throwing a hundred bills onto the exchange floor. It was the perfect example, for Mosher, of “getting attention at low cost” and using the least resources to garner the “biggest impact”.
Gorinson focused on knowing your material and audience to get attention. Knowing the pitch well, and the many angles from which it might be interpreted, breaking out of narrow genre definitions, for instance, may win the day. He recommended top comics news sites as vehicles for spreading the word, as well as working “with anyone and everyone”, including small blog sites. Mosher’s experience at BOOM confirmed this premise. Starting out publishing only 4 to 7 books a month, he scoured blogs, put people in press lists, and sent them PDF review copies in an era before most comics companies were using PDFs in this way, and thereby grew a press list of 400 contacts.
Wood added that looking at comparable publishers and types of titles to the comic you are trying to circulate is a good starting point, looking to see how and where they are doing their marketing and focus your attack in that way. A common pitfall the panellists all agreed on is when creators send a pitch to a company for a comic series that’s a 12 issue proposal or longer. Companies aren’t willing to take the risk, they advised, and a 3-4 issue format is much more appealing at the outset of a project.
A follow up question from the audience regarded strategies to capitalize on the rash of superhero movies and growing movie fans who might never have read a comic. Several panellists felt that there’s no one single approach to bring film fans into comics, but a more surefire method is to “start them young”, reaching young readers with comics visual literacy. Mosher agreed, stating that there are more kids comics today than in the past decade, and comics continue to have unique qualities of storytelling that continue to appeal as a child grows up reading them. Gorinson added that Free Comic Book Day is an excellent opportunity to “get into as many shops as possible” and reach new, young readers. Mosher and Caylo both returned to the subject of cross promotion between films, tv, and comics, like the inclusion of ashcan comics in dvd box sets to show fans what comics alternatives are available for their favorite products.
A direct marketing question from the floor focused on the similarities or differences between selling comics and other products, like household items. Atkins felt there was very little difference at all, except that it’s more possible in comics to “know who that person is” you are targeting since “They are me, or some version of me”, as a comics fan. He continued with some other salient advice, such as “You have to believe in what you’re selling” and believe that you are “one of the best advocates for it”. Gorinson felt that marketing comics is different from marketing other consumer products because he often feels an “obligation” to live up to the quality of the work he’s promoting in his own efforts.
Gorinson and Atkins also suggested doing some research into major news sites to find out who on staff might be a comics fan, “finding” that contact, or locating dedicated geek blogging attached to news sites. Atkins and Mosher commented that using social media makes reaching out to news writers more and more direct. Mosher admitted that not everyone may have the desire or “skill set” to promote their comics properly despite attempts, and in that case, he advised, you should find a friend who thrives on that kind of work and collaborate on promotion.
The final big topic addressed by the panel, and one which inspired some lively reactions from the speakers, was the use of transmedia and multiple media formats to draw attention to comics. Caylo said that it’s all about “synergy” between comics, films, and related video games, based on his work at Archaia. Atkins clarified, however, that adding transmedia content to promote comics, such as an app or video game should still be “meaningful to the overall story.
I posed a last question to the panel before it came to a close, wondering what the biggest pros and cons are to using social media as a promotional tool. Gorinson replied that you have to be “clever” in different ways to use social media properly for this purpose, while Mosher commented simply, but with some emotion, “Trolls!” as his biggest con. Caylo was the most personally engaged by the question and gave the following run down: social media’s benefits are “accessibility” and the quickness and “ease” of getting the word out about your product, especially when doing it for free. The “dangers”, however, are that “You are open to trolls and people who want to bait you”. “Ignore them”, he recommended, since once they “engage” you, they’ve “got you”. Block them if necessary, and learn to take “the bad with the good” when it comes to social media.
The panel was surprisingly lively, with all the panellists more than willing to share from their personal struggles to find the golden balance when it comes to marketing with limited budgets, and each expressed an obvious commitment to the survival and growth of worthy comics through good strategies and trying innovative methods to see what works for each book and each particular situation. Building personal relationships, watching out for the wrong kind of blunders, and learning from them when they occur, were paramount for these indie publishing marketers.
Photo Credits: All photos in this article were taken by semi-professional photographer and pop culture scholar Michele Brittany. She’s an avid photographer of pop culture events. You can learn more about her photography and pop culture scholarship here.
Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/20/2013
Archaia's stellar line-up of fantasy, children and licensed comics—from Eisner Award-winning Mouse Guard and Return of the Dapper Men; fan-favorite series such as Rust, Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal, and Fraggle Rock; and new releases such as Cursed Pirate Girl and Iron: Or, the War After—will soon be available via iVerse's Comics Plus app, starting in March.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/5/2013
The final issue of Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #6 goes on sale next week, and it wraps up not only the origin of the legendary Black Axe but a series of pin-ups that run in each issue. #6 features a pin-up by the team of Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart. David Petersen's fantasy epic starring mice has always been equal parts cute and majestic and Mignola/Stewart have nailed the vibe.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/23/2013
TweetSpeaking of manga pioneers, Shotaro Ishinomori created GoRenger (the precursor to Power Rangers), Kamen Rider, Cyborg 009, and Kikaider. The Guinness Book of World Records claims he’s drawn more pages of comics—170,000—than any other comic book creator. And it’s his birthday today. (Ishinomori died in 1998 at age 60.) To celebrate, comiXology—which has licensed the [...]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/19/2012
___________________________________________________________________________
A few months ago, I brainstormed about how Halloween mini-comics being offered by Diamond could be used in a variety of ways to promote comics and have some fun! (Read that again… there are event suggestions and a timeline there, which I’ve paralleled below, but did not exactly duplicate.)
During C2E2, Diamond announced that in addition to the extremely successful Free Comic Book Day, a second event, linked to Halloween, would be promoted.
With the July issue of Previews, Diamond has announced the event, titled “Halloween ComicFest“, designed to help comics shops market themselves as “Halloween Headquarters”.
Sure it’s only July, but do you know where you’re getting your Halloween costume and accessories? How about a gift for the horror fan in your life? Have you decided where the best Halloween events and parties might be?
Why it’s your local comic book shop, of course!
This year, comic shops across the world will band together for Halloween ComicFest, a celebration of your local comic shops and all the comics, tricks and treats they offer. Your local comic shop already does some great Halloween events and is a great place to visit Halloween in-store events, parties, contests, sales and more!
On the next few pages, you’ll find some new offerings from comic book publishers including some new comics that will be available during your store’s Halloween ComicFest celebrations. Make sure you mark your calendars with your local comic shop’s Halloween events!
Below are the actual mini-comics offered this year, in bundles of 20, with the text from the Diamond order form. The “Final Order Cutoff” (FOC) deadline for stores is August 30, 2012. (Westfield’s deadline is August 28.)
Ask your local retailer to order the following for you, using the Diamond codes (JUL12 xxxx). You should offer to pay for them in advance, since the comics shop will most likely consider these unusual items, and be hesitant to place the order.
Of course, if they’re a cool store, they are probably participating in Halloween ComicFest, and will be happy to add your order to their store order. Bundle orders over 25 (of all titles combined) receive an additional discount for the store.
If you do not live near a comics shop, or need to have them shipped somewhere, Westfield Comics (and many other online retailers) will allow you to order them for you. The links below for each title direct to Westfield, which I selected because I’ve used them in the past, their website is easy to navigate, they offer a discount on the price. and they were quick to answer my questions regarding the first three items. (ComicsPlus offers all the titles for sale, as well.)
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/12/2012
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Well, our crack Team Beat Elite are swarming all over San Diego, filing reports, having fun, and experiencing the Con in all its glory. (Been there, done that, got the tote bag.)
Meanwhile, back here at Stately Beat Manor, at what we’ve sardonically dubbed “The Undisclosed Location” (just in case someone decides to recreate Lex Luthor’s beachfront plan with a few nuclear missiles aimed at California), we’ve been monitoring the systems, editing reports, and excavating the chest freezer (we’re making a jambalaya of the freezer-burnt meat tonight, to have for tomorrow).
This isn’t quite a “studio coffee run” post, as I tend to ignore the many celebrity sightings at CCI, and because other staff do a better job. (I also don’t recognize most of the boldfaced names, so that’s another layer of disinterest.) But I do love animation, and while I don’t have a television, I am somewhat cognizant of the various media tribes and denominations which comprise the Great Geek Nation.
That said, here are some links of various reports. Stay tuned for reports for panels!
So, here we go!
➠ Nerdy Bird Jill Pantozzi interviews Thor Parker, Midtown Comics’ Social Marketing and Events Director, about National Geographic’s upcoming “Comic Store Heroes”. There’s a special airing on the NG Channel Friday at 8 PM ET.
Jill: And that brings up something the press, and fans, are likely to be talking about. What you just described is similar to what AMC did with Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men. It had a mixed reaction in the community as to how it portrayed us. I know I certainly had a strong opinion on it. What are your thoughts on that and the inevitable comparisons?
Thor: We all watched Comic Book Men when it came out. We’ve got a lot of big Kevin Smith fans at the store. When I saw it I could help but want more out of it I guess. I know that Kevin Smith’s name doesn’t go hand in hand with highbrow entertainment, but I think, and I beleive a lot of other people thought, the show could be so much more. I don’t blame the show for not providing the things the modern comic fan is looking for. That’s where we’ll come in I suppose. We’re striving to show how positive comics and the comic community as a whole is and can be. I don’t think Comic Book Men had a mission statement, but that would be close to what ours is.
National Geographic. Comics. *sniffle* The dream is coming true…
➜ AHEM… sorry… Elsewhere, the Hollywood Reporter asks, “Are Fanboys Still Worth the Time and Money?”
Here we go again, another July, another parade of movie stars and executives heading south to peddle their wares at Comic-Con. But before we all spend crazy money jetting in talent, booking lavish parties and crafting just the right teaser-trailer package, think for a moment: Is the Comic-Con crowd still the best audience on which to be blowing our marketing budget? A decade after Hall H became Hollywood’s must-stop venue on the path to the multiplex, what if Comic-Con is sort of over?
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/12/2012
Archaia is another company that’s throwing its hat in the growing category of “digital release, then print.” Certainly, digital comics are an increasingly common thing, but the relationship between digital and print is still evolving. They’re taking a direction with a couple titles that I think will end up being fairly common. They’re also adapting/remaking a classic manga title.
First off, the digital story. There are a few different schools of thought on digital comics. One school is they should be totally their own thing and not worry about print. Another is that they should come out as an afterthought (fortunately, this school of thought is on the way out, as it’s asinine). There’s a school of thought that digital and print come out at the same time. There’s yet another school that you do digital first and then reprint it in magazine format (DC’s current experiment). And finally, there’s what Archaia has just announced: digital serial, much like a monthly print comic, and then collect it in a book.
Serialize digitally and collected the material in a print book is something that has a track record in webcomics. The major difference being you tend to have massively larger audience bases in a free webcomic than you do for a paid download. We need to see several examples of this with the paid monthly download converting to a book and see how it works. That will happen soon enough, but it’s a very reasonable experiment.
This is also a little more interesting because one of the titles is revisiting the old Space: 1999 television show. Space: 1999 certainly isn’t Star Trek or Doctor Who, in terms of popularity, but it does have the sort of science fiction following that lingers on the Internet and may be more easily directed to a download than into a comic shop. Whether that audience is interested in a serial or just wants the whole book remains to be seen.
Details on the two series are available at the Archaia website.
Over on the manga side of things, Cyborg 009 dates back to the mid-60s in Japan. Definitely old school. Archaia is remaking the comic, which is also in tradition of remaking Japanese films (see: The Magnificent Seven, The Ring, The Grudge, etc.). New trend or one-off? Something to keep an eye on.
While Archaia touts Bradley Cramp for his production manager gig on Gattaca, I’d personally opt for his executive producer credit on the vastly under-rated (and totally mis-marketed — it’s a pitch black satire) Lord of War.
Award-winning publisher Archaia Entertainment is excited to announce a partnership with Ishimori Production Inc. of Japan to produce CYBORG 009, a modern adaptation of the classic manga series created by the legendary Shotaro I
5 Comments on Archaia Announcements: Space: 1999 Goes Digital Before Print and a Cyborg 009 Remake, last added: 7/12/2012Display Comments Add a Comment
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/5/2012
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Once again, I collected (almost) all of the Free Comic Book Day offerings, and offer my reviews on what’s good, what’s great, and what should have been better!
Titles are arranged alphabetically by publisher, and the images and summaries come from the offical FCBD website. My comments are in purple.
What did you grab? What did you enjoy?
Publisher: ANTARCTIC PRESS
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/13/2012
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There was a lot of cool stuff seen yesterday at the Diamond Retailer Summit, including black-and-white artwork from Before Watchmen. But what got my juices flowing was something the fine folks at Archaia handed me:
This is their 2012 Free Comic Book Day issue. Many comicsologists were amazed when they announced that the “free” comic they would offer this year would be a hardcover book! Usually, that free comic is the equivalent of a $2.99 comic book (and some publishers have given out an actual issue of a regular series).
So this is it. It’s comic book sized. It’s 48 pages of full color comics (some are in black-and-white). Forty-three pages of story.
And it costs retailers thirty cents a copy.
Granted, Archaia has to limit the number available, as they are losing some money on the copies sold. So, naturally, I asked what the suggested retail price would be on such a book.
Five dollars.
Let’s factor that cost, just so you can see why I was so gobsmacked.
A similar, everyday comic of that size costs $3.99. Usually there might be 40 pages of story, with advertising. Fans routinely complain about the cost, as the added story pages are not a “satisfying chunk” of entertainment… that is, not worth the extra one dollar in price.
So here we have $4 comic, with a nice cover and binding, for one dollar more. No advertising, aside from two pages showcasing the graphic novels, and the typical “meta” pages you find in a typical book (title page, table of contents, creator biographies). Normal book readers don’t notice or complain about such pages. (Seriously… graphic novels run ads in the back all the time, showcasing the creators’ other titles, as well as related genre titles.)
So, comics fans, would you be more likely to purchase a nice hardcover binding than a magazine binding, if the content justified the price? Would you buy an annual or a special one-shot if it had this binding?
Retailers, would you stock and sell such editions? Would it be easier to handle the back issues if you could shelve them like a regular graphic novel? Do you feel that “waiting for the trade” would be discouraged with such an edition?
Librarians, would you buy periodicals in library bindings? Would you shelve them as books, or as magazines? Educators, what do you think about this edition?
Publishers, distributors, creators; would you design and market such an edition? Does this hearken back to the square-bound prestige format popular in the 1980s and 1990s? (Dark Knight Returns, Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn, Elseworlds) Do you think there is a market for a hardcover comic book?
Myself, I hope more publishers pursue this. It takes a lowly comic book periodical, and turns it into a book! People are less dismissive of comics if it looks like a book. And that’s the first hurdle: perception. Get past that, get them to read it with few preconceptions, and the battle for the reader’s heart and mind is halfway finished!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/29/2012
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Here are a selection of books due out this month. All of the information presented below [aside from my aside/snide comments] are from publisher or distributor websites.
ALL information is subject to change, and something which might ship this month to a comics shop might show up months later in regular bookstores. So, if you see something here which has been out for a while, that’s why. Just consider it a reminder, in case you didn’t notice it the first time.
Unless it’s something amazing (like omnibus volumes), I tend to ignore ongoing books series. You either know about the series, or unlikely to pick it up if there are numerous volumes on the shelves. Yes, I know it’s almost April. But many publishers announce their new titles via “Out This Week” posts, so that’s why I wait. (And some don’t even do that!)
I do work for a bookseller, so everything posted here has nothing to do with my day job.
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Athos in AmericaSummary: Another all-original collection of full-color graphic novellas in the format of Low Moon, Athos in America takes its title from the lead story, a prequel of sorts to the graphic novel The Last Musketeer, in which the seemingly ageless swashbuckler turns up in a bar in 1920 New York and relates the tale of how he went to Hollywood to play himself in a film version of The Three Musketeers. Another tie-in with a previous Jason story occurs in “The Smiling Horse,” in which the characters from the story “&” in Low Moon attempt to kidnap a woman.
Also in this volume: “The Brain That Wouldn’t Virginia Woolf,” a mash-up of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, told in reverse chronological order; the Bukowski pastiche “A Cat From Heaven” in which Jason works on his comic, has a reading in a comic book store, gets drunk and makes a fool of himself; the dialogue-free (all the text occurs in thought balloons) “Tom Waits on the Moon,” in which we follow four people (one of them a scientist working on a teleportation machine) until something goes wrong; and “So Long Mary Ann,” a prison-escape love-triangle story.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/29/2012
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Got kids? Nieces? Nephews? Students? Or just love reading something fun and not too heavy-handed? Here are some new titles you might enjoy!
(But first, the serious boilerplate:)
So, here’s what caught my eye. Please comment below, and please feel free to mention titles I may have marginalized or overlooked. My tastes are eclectic, but there’s stuff which doesn’t interest me, or doesn’t evoke much of a response. I respect everyone who manages to publish something, but with some 400 graphic novel titles a month, I have to be selective.
CAVEAT: As I discovered while doing the publisher posts, that some titles have been canceled or postponed. The titles below, the information is subject to change. Some may already be out and on sale, some may be vaporous. Covers and text are supplied by the publishers.
Oh, and the advisory: I am employed as a bookseller. Nothing I say here or anywhere else online has any connection to my employer. I know my employer can take umbrage at any association people may make between my private and professional activities, so I’m careful to let Lions Mane Jellyfish be.
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Betty & Veronica: Best Friends ForeverDan Parent
Trade paperback, $9.99
9781879794764, 1879794764
Author Bio: Dan Parent (born 1964 in St. Albans, Vermont) is an American comic book artist and writer best known for his work for Archie Comics. A graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Parent began working for Archie immediately after graduation. His writing of the Love Showdown series from 1994 received widespread attention. Parent has also illustrated Felix the Cat, Barbie, Disney Adventures, and a wide variety of other titles.
Summary: Betty & Veronica’s very first full-length graphic novel story is another major step forward for the Archie book line! A follow-up to the successful full color Betty & Veronica: Storybook graphic novel collection of fun fairy-tale sendups—Best Friends Forever should continue to gain ground with girls in bookstores and libraries.
Features an engaging story celebrating the power of friendship featuring the most famous BFFs in all of comics in an all-out reality show friendship competition!
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Hades: Lord of the DeadGeorge O’Connor
Hardcover, $16.99
9781596437616, 1596437618
Author Bio: GEORGE O’CONNOR is the author of several picture b
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/24/2012
Who the heck is Afu Chan? He drew a story in Spera the fantasy anthology by Josh Tierney that also sports art by Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei, and Emily Carroll, and published by Archaia. But a glance at his Deviant Art page reveals an illustrator very much in the modern, pan-comics Moebius-inspired vein, but with violent, pastel brawls. breaking out all over the place.
Fresh.
Just the kind of thing to look at at the end of a long day.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/11/2011
While Archaia does publish comic books, they are best known for their graphic novels. (They will even publish a hardcover for Free Comic Book Day in 2012!) So it’s no surprise to see a lot of great titles from them, be they creator- or corporate-owned titles.
Marvel and Disney might own the rights to the Muppets, but Archaia has a good relationship with The Jim Henson Company, publishing everything else (“whatnot” in Muppet parlance) available in the archives, including a long forgotten screenplay! Plus there’s the “classic” Fraggle Rock comics originally published by Marvel/Star Comics back in 1985 (oh, the irony!) featuring art by Marie Severin!
Oh, and if that isn’t enough, how about a new title by Marjane Satrapi? Or the Dare Detectives? Or Miranda Mercury?
All links direct to Archaia’s excellent website, and many titles have previews!
What caught your eye?
By: David Elzey,
on 11/1/2011
written by Jim McCann illustrated by Janet Lee Archaia 2010 In a world, where time has stopped, populated by eleven year old children and their robot minders, comes a story of the day the men from space came to repair the damage that had been done long ago... It would be fun if I could say that this book struck a balance between Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland and the British TV
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 10/31/2011
Writer Victor Quinaz and illustrator Brent Schoonover, the creative team behind the recent Archaia and Before the Door graphic novel, Mr. Murder Is Dead, have created a brand-new strip just for Halloween.
MR. MURDER IS DEAD, published by Archaia, is a “who didn’t do it” set in the fading world of Golden Age comic strips “A criminal’s lament to all things past, present and meaningless.”
Click for a larger version.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/30/2011
THE IMMORTALS is the latest in the “Greek Gods are crazy and look great in superslomo” genre, but the fact it’s directed by Tarsem Singh, whose movies are full of insanely original visuals, and stars such totally watchable actors as Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Henry Cavill (Superman in Zach Snyder’s upcoming Superman), Luke Evans (Three Musketeers, The Hobbit), Kellan Lutz (Twilight), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionnaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Isabel Lucas (Transformers 2), and John Hurt (Harry Potter) means we’ll be there to watch when it opens.
It’s also one of a recent breed of movies that has tied in heavily with a graphic novel for that “transmedia” feeling. IMMORTALS, the graphic novel, features the work of a great lineup of creators including Brian Clevinger, F.J. DeSanto, Paul Tobin, David Gallaher, Justin Gray, Jock, Ron Marz, Jim McCann, Ben McCool, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Jeff Parker, Dennis Calero, Kevin Colden, Steve Ellis, Trevor Hairsine, Scott Hampton, Phil Hester, Jock, Rafael Kayanan, Patrick Scherberger, and Ben Templesmith and David Mack.
The book contains various short stories dealing with characters from Greek myth (and the movie) which, we’re told, provide vluable background on the film. In this video, F.J. DeSanto, David Gallaher, Jock, Ben McCool and Patrick Scherberger talk about their work. When you get to the end there’s also a secret code — if you go to this page and upload the code and watch a few other videos, you get to enter a contest to win a limited-edition signed Giclee print.
IMMORTALS: GODS AND HEROES, published by Archaia, goes on sales next week.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this!