By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/5/2016
It’s time for our annual look at what’s happening in comics and where creators see things going and what impacted them in the past year. This time as always we have a wide range swath of creators, publishers and retailers, with all kinds of opinions. And if you look closely you’ll see lots of news […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/27/2011
[Yesterday we chatted with one half of the Bonfire Agency, Ed Catto.Brands not already woven into the fabric of our culture – and that’s most of them – have a harder time. Remember, we’re a demographic that likes to read – for fun! While brands are blown away by our passion, they’re often frightened by our intellect. While they respect our power to set and influence cultural trends, they freak out when they fall short of our expectations and we tell everyone we know all about it – by every means available. Most brands and their traditional agency partners just don’t know how to talk to us. But they will try. And, more often than not, they will fail. Bonfire was created in part to service these brands – to build relevant bridges between them and an audience of consumers that just might become their most effective advocates, if they could only learn to swim in our pool without inadvertently peeing in it.
THE BEAT: You’re coming off a stint with a large comics publisher. What is the biggest lesson from that period that you are bringing to Bonfire?
ROTTERDAM:
There are so many, Heidi. I think the biggest lesson, at least in relation to Bonfire and the ways in which we intend to work with clients and partners, is something that I thought I knew before I went to DC, but didn’t really appreciate until after I got there. And that’s the importance of talking with your customers and not at them. A conversation that begins with one party already knowing
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/26/2011
The Bonfire Agency,
In a time of great change for the industry we wanted to see where Catto and Rotterdam see things going and how they hope to approach their business. First, an interview with Catto who has made his mark on the comics scene with his retro yet fresh relaunch of the Captain Action brand of toys and comics. Catto discusses how he put that deal together and where he sees Bonfire going in the following interview.]
THE BEAT: I would have to suspect that you were a lifelong fan of Captain Action before you found the license and brought it back to life. Would that be correct?
ED CATTO: Yes, but more than that, I’m a passionate comic/toy fan and collector. In fact, I first tried to understand the world through the lens of 60’s superheroes: the Batman TV Show, comics, and Captain Action
Need more creator diversity. Thanks.