How to use this Page

It’s one of the most durable licenses in comics: the WWE. And this time, Boom! is doing the honors, as revealed in the LA Times with a John Cena illo by Jamal Campbell. “Here at Boom! we’re thrilled to be a part of WWE’s return to the comic book medium,” said Boom! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt […]

DC has been combining all sorts of strange characters from old television shows with the Batman ’66 Adam West in the publisher’s digital-first offerings on Comixology and later on in print. In the tradition of Green Hornet and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. comes a pairing with The Avengers. No, not those Avengers, Steed and Mrs. Peel […]

By Nicholas Eskey During the tail end of last year’s Wonder Con, it was announced that the convention which had spent the last three years in Anaheim would instead next be hosted by the city of Los Angeles. The change was for a simple reason; the Anaheim convention center already had another event booked for […]

Earlier today at WonderCon, BOOM! Studios announced LUCAS STAND, an original limited series coming in June from Kurt Sutter, the creator of “Sons of Anarchy.” Shown off was the above Lee Bermejo cover for the first issue. Lucas Stand #1 (of 6) Limited Series Publisher: BOOM! Studios Writers: Kurt Sutter & Caitlin Kittredge Artist: Jesús Hervás Cover artists: Main cover: Lee Bermejo […]

They fought off monsters, piloted giant robots and netted 100,000 advance units sold to comic book stores! That’s nothing to scoff at nowadays in the sales charts, especially if you aren’t a major publisher. This is precisely why the upcoming Power Rangers comic book from Boom! Studios is something worth celebrating. Announced via Hero Complex yesterday, […]

§ Boom announced they’re making Over the Garden Wall an ongoing, via its KaBOOM! imprint, written by Jim Campbell (Star Wars, The Krachmacher) and  show writer Amalia Levari, with art by Campbell and Cara McGee. The series, based on the popular, cartoonist-employing cartoon, debuted as a one shot then a four-issue mini last year. Art above is […]

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 […]

Does KLAUS bring tidings of joy, or is the series full of coal?

It’s a great time for buying spooky comics on the cheep, and Comixology is getting in on the action with a 50% off Halloween sale for Submit, their creator owned comics portal. Among the books available, theindie comics anthology Sleep of Reason, John Carpenter’s Asylum, the indie vampire comic Day Black and many more. There’s […]

WE(L)COME BACK has been extended past a 4-issue mini to an open-ended series. Thx for all your support. Let's party! pic.twitter.com/zaZ6mQCag0 — Christopher Sebela (@xtop) October 22, 2015 We have good news for all you WE(L)COME BACK readers. Christopher Sebela, WE(L)COME BACK writer and Clown Hotel resident, announced on Twitter that Boom! Studios has agreed […]

Boom is kicking off NYCC with a signing at Forbidden Planet Thursday, October 7 from 7-9pm (NYCC badge NOT required), featuring the following creators (additional creators may be announced): Brooke Allen (Lumberjanes) Frank Barbiere (Broken World, Black Market) Matthew Daley (Lantern City) Michael Dialynas (The Woods) Eryk Donovan (Cognetic, Memetic) Brian Joines (Imagine Agents) Simon Spurrier […]

Although the comics industry seems to be hitting a rough patch, one thing that I noticed at last week retailer summit is that a bunch of people have just been hired as staffers to actually work in the comics business! And interestingly, many of them are working directly with comics retailers. I think if you're going to invest money in your business at a time like this, investing in new employees who work directly with the people who buy your products is a pretty smart move. Here's the new faces:

The Beat chats with Pat McHale, creator of the Cartoon Network miniseries "Over The Garden Wall" and writer of the 4-issue limited series at BOOM.

Last week some of our most elite staffers that contribute to The Beat found themselves in an impossible situation. When our entire team worked on apprehending Spider-Man rogue Mysterio, he suddenly opened a portal to a brand new comic book world — one very familiar to those who are acquainted to the work of Jack Kirby…that’s […]

Team Beat, a group of the world’s most elite comic book reading/writing forces assembled in the Stately Beat Staff Manor to deliver The Beat — the world’s premiere comic book website. Recently, Marvel and DC characters from decades past have found themselves wandering through the manner including Bessie the Hellcow, Ruby Tuesday, Vibe, Prez and […]

Eva Cabrera is one of the exciting new talents to come out of Mexico in recent years, along with her Boudika Comics cohort Claudia Aguirre. I stumbled upon their table of comics a few years ago at San Diego Comic-Con. Boudika Comics has a few collaborative books available now, including The House of Dreams, Daymares, and the brand new Mavi.

Eva recently dipped her toe in the big publisher pool with two variant covers for BOOM! Studios’ Adventure Time comic and Bravest Warriors. She has also worked on various other projects like Esa Visita children’s book and No Entren Al 1408 Stephen King tribute anthology.

You can follow Eva Cabrera and see the latest art on her twitter page here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

Over the past few weeks, BOOM Studios has made a bevy of announcements to drum up excitement for their San Diego showings.  It’s their tenth anniversary, and they’re celebrating in style.

First off, Grant Morrison will be writing Klaus, which is what Morrison describes as “Santa Claus: Year One.”  He’ll be working with artist Dan Mora for the six issue run, focusing on developing the character’s Viking and Siberian mythological roots while shying away from the more corporate cola takes on the jolly red fellow.  Morrison describes the book as an all-ages title, but I’m not really sure I believe him.

Then, we have Ollie Masters, best known for his work on Vertigo’s The Kitchen, who recently announced that he’ll be writing a new BOOM series in the vaguest way possible.  Seems to be something about family and lies.  Maybe it’s The Sopranos.  Or Breaking Bad.  Oh god I hope it’s Breaking Bad.

Not to be outdone, Mike Carey and Mike Perkins have released a teaser image for their upcoming BOOM series.

Returning to the realm of specificity, Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, and Dave McElfatric, creators of the hit webcomic Cyanide and Happiness, will be releasing a collected edition of works through BOOM.  This collection, entitled Stab Factory, will feature thirty new strips.  Four of them are available now on Comics Alliance.

Finally, BOOM is working with Philip K. Dick’s estate to bring cartoonist Tony Parker’s 24 issue Eisner-nominated adaptation of Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? back to print as a collected hardcover.  Jay Shaw will provide the edition with a brand new piece of cover art.  The collection will also feature essays from prolific comics professionals including Warren Ellis, Ed Brubaker, and Matt Fraction.

Recently, James Tynion IV announced Cognetic, a new three issue limited series to be published by BOOM Studios.  Described as the spiritual successor to last year’s breakout hit Memetic and the second in a trilogy of post-apocalyptic stories, Tynion describes Cognetic as a “psychic Die Hard.”  The plot is kicked off by a being that takes control of the minds of everyone in the Empire State Building, coalescing their minds into one universal hive (which, not-so-coincidentally, parallels the ending of Memetic).  The world has to fight to save its individuality or be subsumed into bland one-ness.

Tynion describes his work on Cognetic and Memetic as mediation on the fragility of control:

I just really think that’s frightening. There’s a sense of that in a lot of my work, the idea of what happens when you try to take too much control, when you try to control every aspect of a situation in the way that you might want to, and the way that reality tries to take that aspect of control away from you.

So the comfort of having total control over everything is a deep, comforting feeling. But it’s also something that is deeply dangerous, and it’s dangerous to the people who actually try to wield that power, and it’s very dangerous for the people that power is wielded over. Like, what happens when you just become a pawn, or just a little bacteria in the stomach of this larger being? It’s a concept that really unsettles me, and I want to poke at it, and make other people unsettled by it.

So if Memetic is about the body and Cognetic is about the mind, perhaps the last of the trilogy will focus on a crisis of the soul.

I imagine some people will be excited about Rebecca Sugar (Steven UNiverse) and Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) being at the BOOM! booth; others perhaps by Bryan Cranston and Mia Furlan. What are Walter White and Danielle Rousseau doing at BOOM!? I guess it has something to so with comics!

Also the Boom party returns Thursday to the Hilton this time with 10th Anniversary flair.

Award-winning comic book publisher BOOM! Studios and its imprints, KaBOOM!, BOOM! Box, and Archaia, announced today it will return to exhibit for the 10th straight year at Comic-Con International in San Diego, to be held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California July 8-12, 2015.
 
BOOM! can be found at Booth #2229 on the show floor and will host an army of talent for signings, including appearances by Alyssa Milano, Bruce Boxleitner, Bryan Cranston, Seth Green, David Petersen, Mark Waid, Frank Barbiere, James Tynion IV, Noelle Stevenson, Rebecca Sugar, Asaf Hanuka, and many more. BOOM! will also host its 10th Annual Comic-Con drink-up, which has been renamed the BOOM! 10 Year Birthday Bash to celebrate 10 years of publishing.
 
APPEARANCES
 
The following talent is scheduled to appear at the BOOM! booth throughout the weekend:
 
• Alyssa Milano (HACKTIVIST)
• Adam Smith (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA)
• Asaf Hanuka (THE REALIST)
• Bruce Boxleitner (LANTERN CITY)
• Bryan Cranston (SUPERMANSION)
• Collin Kelly (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
• David Petersen (MOUSE GUARD)
• Frank Barbiere (BROKEN WORLD)
• Jackson Lanzing (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
• Jake Wyatt (LANTERN CITY)
• James Tynion IV (THE WOODS, UFOLOGY)
• Jen Wang (ADVENTURE TIME WITH FIONNA & CAKE: CARD WARS)
• Jillian Bell (SUPERMANSION)
• Joe Madureira (SUPERMANSION)
• Mark Waid (STRANGE FRUIT, IRREDEEMABLE)
• Matthew Fox (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA, UFOLOGY)
• Matthew Daley (LANTERN CITY)
• Matthew Senreich (SUPERMANSION)
• Michael Alan Nelson (HEXED, DAY MEN)
• Mira Furlan (LANTERN CITY)
• Noelle Stevenson (LUMBERJANES)
• Olivia Olson (ADVENTURE TIME)
• Rebecca Sugar (STEVEN UNIVERSE)
• Seth Green (SUPERMANSION)
• Shannon Watters (LUMBERJANES)
• Thomas Willeford (LANTERN CITY)
• Trevor Crafts (LANTERN CITY)
• Zeb Wells (SUPERMANSION)

 
In addition, the BOOM! Studios booth will host sketch artists all weekend, including:
 
• Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES issues #9-12) will be sketching on our all-new LUMBERJANES sketch covers
• Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
• Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
For $30, fans can request and purchase custom sketches to be drawn on blank Get-A-Sketch covers at the show. Fans can also pre-order sketches in advance starting now on the BOOM! website and pick them up at the show. Supplies are limited so act now!
 
• To pre-order a LUMBERJANES sketch on our brand-new LUMBERJANES sketch covers from Carolyn Nowak, go to http://bit.ly/LJSketch.
• To pre-order an ADVENTURE TIME, BRAVEST WARRIORS, BEE AND PUPPYCAT or STEVEN UNIVERSE sketch from Ian McGinty, go to http://bit.ly/Iansketch.
• To pre-order an ADVENTURE TIME, BEE AND PUPPYCAT, STEVEN UNIVERSE,     or THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL sketch from Travis Hill, go to http://bit.ly/TravisSketch.
 
Listed below is the schedule of appearances at the BOOM! Studios booth, #2229. (Please note these are subject to change. Check at the booth for the latest updates.)
 
Wednesday, July 8th
Signing:
6:30-7:30pm Mark Waid (STRANGE FRUIT, IRREDEEMABLE)
 
Sketching all evening:
Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES)
Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
Thursday, July 9th
Signing:
11am-12pm Jen Wang (ADVENTURE TIME WITH FIONNA & CAKE: CARD WARS)
3-4pm Olivia Olson (voice of Marceline on ADVENTURE TIME)
3-4pm LUMBERJANES with Carolyn Nowak, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
 
Sketching all day:
Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES)
Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
Appearing all day:
Adam Smith (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA)
Collin Kelly (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
Frank Barbiere (BROKEN WORLD)
Jackson Lanzing (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
James Tynion IV (THE WOODS, UFOLOGY)
Matthew Fox (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA, UFOLOGY)
Michael Alan Nelson (HEXED, DAY MEN)
 
Friday, July 10th
Signing:
11am-12pm LUMBERJANES with Carolyn Nowak, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
1-2pm Asaf Hanuka (THE REALIST)
2-3pm David Petersen (MOUSE GUARD)
3-4pm Mark Waid (STRANGE FRUIT, IRREDEEMABLE)
 
Sketching all day:
Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES)
Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
Appearing all day:
Adam Smith (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA)
Collin Kelly (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
Frank Barbiere (BROKEN WORLD)
Jackson Lanzing (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
James Tynion IV (THE WOODS, UFOLOGY)
Matthew Fox (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA, UFOLOGY)
Michael Alan Nelson (HEXED, DAY MEN)
 
Saturday, July 11th
Signing:
11am-12pm LUMBERJANES with Carolyn Nowak, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
12-1pm Rebecca Sugar (STEVEN UNIVERSE)
 
Sketching all day:
Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES)
Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
Appearing all day:
Adam Smith (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA)
Collin Kelly (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
Frank Barbiere (BROKEN WORLD)
Jackson Lanzing (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
James Tynion IV (THE WOODS, UFOLOGY)
Matthew Fox (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA, UFOLOGY)
Michael Alan Nelson (HEXED, DAY MEN)
 
Sunday, July 12th
Signing:
12-1pm David Petersen (MOUSE GUARD)
 
Sketching all day:
Carolyn Nowak (LUMBERJANES)
Ian McGinty (MUNCHKIN, BRAVEST WARRIORS)
Travis Hill (ADVENTURE TIME)
 
Signing all day:
Adam Smith (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA)
Collin Kelly (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
Frank Barbiere (BROKEN WORLD)
Jackson Lanzing (HACKTIVIST, MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS OFFICIAL GRAPHIC NOVEL PRELUDE)
James Tynion IV (THE WOODS, UFOLOGY)
Matthew Fox (LONG WALK TO VALHALLA, UFOLOGY)
Michael Alan Nelson (HEXED, DAY MEN)
 
The following signing events are TICKETED. Tickets are FREE (though purchase of an item to be signed may be required) and are available for pick up on a first-come, first-served basis on the morning of the signing.
 
SUPERMANSION (Thursday, July 9, 1-2pm)
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios creators and members of the voice cast of the upcoming Crackle animated stop-motion comedy series will be signing FREE copies of the “SuperMansion” San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive comic book.
 
Bryan Cranston (voice talent)
Jillian Bell (voice talent)
Seth Green (executive producer)
Matthew Senreich (writer, executive producer)
Zeb Wells (writer, executive producer)
Joe Madureira (comic book cover artist)
 
ADVENTURE TIME (Thursday, July 9, 3-4pm)
Olivia Olson, the voice of Marceline on the Adventure Time animated series, will be on hand to sign Adventure Time comics!
Olivia Olson (voice of Marceline on Adventure Time)
 
LANTERN CITY (Saturday, July 11, 1-2pm)
Creators and cast members of the cast will be signing copies of the Lantern City #2 San Diego Comic-Con Variant ($10) and other Lantern City products.
Trevor Crafts (co-creator)
Bruce Boxleitner (co-creator)
Matthew Daley (writer)
Mira Furlan (Martha Ellen Gray in the upcoming LANTERN CITY TV series)
Jake Wyatt (cover artist of the SDCC variant)
Thomas Willeford (creative collaborator)
 
HACKTIVIST (Saturday, July 11, 4-5pm)
The creator and writers will be signing copies of the Hacktivist Vol. 2 #1 San Diego Comic-Con Variant ($10) and other Hacktivist products.
Alyssa Milano (creator)
Collin Kelly (co-writer)
Jackson Lanzing (co-writer)

BOOM! 10th BIRTHDAY BASH


On Thursday, July 10th from 9pm until close, BOOM! Studios will hold its 10 Year Birthday Bash at the Odysea Bar, located inside the Hilton Bayfront Hotel at 1 Park Boulevard, two blocks south of the Convention Center. It is open to the public and no RSVP is required.
 
Additional details about BOOM! Studios Panels and Exclusives will be released shortly.

The West Coast editorial shuffle continues as star Dark Horse’s editor Sierra Hahn has just moved over to BOOM! where she’ll have the title of Senior Editor starting July 1st. Reporting directly to E-i-C Mat Gagnon she’ll develop new titles and help with mentoring Boom! younger staffers. Hahn is a much liked and respected editor so this is a nice get for BOOM! At Dark Horse she was the Joss Whedon wrangler as well as editor on projects including Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case, Two Brothers by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá and more.

With DC’s move to LA, there’s been a lot of shuffling around at West Coast publishers, so who knows, there could be more musical chairs in the future.

Hahn began her career in comics in 2005 at DC Comics/Vertigo, where she served as Publicity Representative under then Vice President of Publicity David Hyde and worked with notable talents like Brian Azzarello, Becky Cloonan, Bill Willingham, Brian K. Vaughan, Jason Aaron, and Cameron Stewart. In 2007, she realized her dream of becoming a comics editor and moved to Portland, Oregon to work for Dark Horse under Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie.
 
“Sierra not only brings with her years of expertise as an editor, but also the respect and admiration of some of the industry’s greatest creators,” said Gagnon. “Sierra is a phenomenal addition to our team who will make an impact on day one. In her role as Senior Editor she’ll be bringing in new projects, helping mentor some of the younger editors on our staff, and be an important voice for our company on new projects, initiatives, and throughout the industry at large. One of our core missions at BOOM! is to help build a better, healthier industry for everybody who loves comics; Sierra not only shares that sensibility, she’s an important part of helping all of us move closer to our goals.”
 
“With titles like Lumberjanes, Bee and Puppycat, Giant Days, The Fiction, and the upcoming Strange Fruit, BOOM! Studios consistently delivers fun, edgy, and unexpected books,” said Hahn. “Their growing backlist brings a wide range of exceptional talent to readers of all ages and tastes, but their monthly titles for kids and young adult readers are especially compelling for me. I’m honored to be part of this innovative, tight-knit publishing house.”
 
When asked what she considers to be her greatest achievement while working in comics thus far, Hahn said, “It’s the relationships I’ve made over the last 10 years. Good editing only really works when there is a foundation of trust between the artists and the editor, and there can be this incredible, unspoken bond between the storyteller and the person advocating for that story. I’ve finally reached a place in my career where I’ve learned enough to have built those connections and recognize them as they happen.”

When I was a kid, I wasn’t as well versed in pop culture as I am now.  Thus, I missed out on Beetlejuice and Michael Keaton’s stint as the Batman.  My first experience seeing him in theaters was in his role as washed up actor Riggan Thomson in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Best Picture winning Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).  What a first experience it was.  His acting blew me away, so I’m glad to say that we’ll be seeing him again in cinemas through an adaptation of Brian Joines’ Imagine Agents.

As announced on The Hollywood Reporter, award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios is excited to reveal that Michael Keaton (Birdman, Batman) will star in and produce a film adaptation at 20th Century Fox of the comic series Imagine Agents, created by Brian Joines.

Written by Joines (Krampus) and illustrated by Bachan (Rocket Salvage), Imagine Agents is the story of two agents who work for clandestine organization I.M.A.G.I.N.E. to keep kids’ imaginary friends under control. Little do they know that an abandoned “friend” from long ago is about to disrupt the status quo and turn everything upside down. The series was published from October 2013 to January 2014, with a collected edition released in December 2014.

“Imagine Agents has been the most rewarding project I’ve worked on and the fact it’s going to be a movie with Michael Keaton, whose work had a huge impact on my teenaged years and indirectly played a role in my decision to become a writer, is just a mind-blowing continuation of that reward,” said Joines.

BOOM! has a first-look feature film deal at 20th Century Fox that includes first-dollar gross on films based on any of its comics, which the publisher splits with its creators.

BOOM! Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie will produce the film with Keaton and Anonymous Content’s Michael Sugar. President of Development Stephen Christy will executive produce with Anonymous Content’s Eli Selden. Senior Vice President of Film Adam Yoelin will co-produce in cooperation with Anonymous Content’s Ashley Zalta.
Keaton, best known for his roles in Beetlejuice and Batman,  is coming off his award-nominated performance as washed-up superhero actor Riggan Thomson in New Regency Pictures’ Birdman and is currently filming The Founder, a biopic about Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonald’s fast-food chain.

Note: The distribution numbers used below are estimates, not hard sales numbers.  They’re accurate to the trends, but take the exact unit measurements with a small grain of salt.

Recently, Comichron released Diamond distribution numbers for May 2015.  To little astonishment at the feat but some awe at the scale, Marvel’s Secret Wars #1 took the number one slot for the month with 527,678 copies distributed to stores by Diamond, besting the distribution of DC’s April event book, Convergence #1, by nearly 400,000 copies.  Interestingly, however, Boom’s Bravest Warriors: Tales from the Holo John #1 took the number two slot with 502,737 copies distributed, besting series based on established properties including Star Wars #5 (146,850), Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #1 (131,839), and Secret Wars #2 (210,807).  In a world where even DC struggles to pull outstanding numbers on event books, which are traditionally considered to be defibrillators for comic sales, it’s surprising that a new title from one of the smaller major publishers pulled such a high distribution volume.  How did Boom pull it off?  Well, as Comichron writer John Jackson Miller notes in his analysis, “nearly 500,000 copies” were bought by Loot Crate, the largest nerd potpourri vendor on the internet.

According to the statistical analysis presented in the article, it is clear that the Loot Crate Effect has begun to not only change, but completely distort the direct market.  Comic sales were up by $5,800,000 compared to May 2014, but $2,500,000 of that was thanks to the mass order Loot Crate placed on Holo John.  That’s nearly half of the distribution growth.  In a superficial analysis, you might think that this doesn’t really matter.  After all, sales are sales, right?  Regardless of who is buying or who ultimately ends up with the comic, greater sales mean healthier publishers.

However, while Loot Crate is definitely helping line publishers’ pockets, they aren’t nearly as helpful as you might expect.

Where we don’t see the distortion is in Diamond’s dollar shares, which only look at the dollars it was paid — and there, Boom is in fifth place. According to Diamond’s dollar rankings, it sold 2.4 copies of Bravest Warriors for every Secret Wars #2 it sold — and yet the distributor made more money on Secret Wars #2. Since Secret Wars #2 and Bravest Warriors cost the same — $4.99 — that would indicate that Loot Crate got a much better deal from Boom at wholesale on its copies than retailers got from Marvel.

What this means is that even though Boom’s market share is rising in terms of quantity, the company’s profit margins aren’t improving enough to match that growth.  Not only that, but there’s no quantifiable proof that readership improves after companies dump large quantities of a single issue into Loot Crate’s hands.  October 2014’s The Walking Dead #132 is one of the best performing single issues of the 21st century with 326,300 copies distributed, over 200,000 of which were purchased by Loot Crate.  Meanwhile, September 2014’s sales of issue 131 are reported to be 69,810 and November 2014’s sales of issue 133 stand at 68,093.  There was actually a net loss of readership following The Walking Dead‘s appearance in the Loot Crate.

It’s harder to determine the effect that Loot Crate has on the readership of series that have their first issue included in the service.  Rocket Raccoon #1 sold 311,000 copies, over 200,000 of which were bought by Loot Crate.  Issue 2 sold 56,597 copies, which presents a steep drop in readership even if you ignore Loot Crate’s wholesale order on issue 1.  That’s not an atypical performance trend in comics, but it does serve as addition indication that Loot Crate isn’t really helping sales in the long term.

Like event books, it seems like Loot Crate has become another sales defibrillator– a way to improve sales in the short term that doesn’t necessarily help the industry grow in the long run.  On the plus side, selling mass orders to Loot Crate has a much lower production cost than the creation of a new event series, where you have to hire writers, artists, and saddle marketing with a lot of additional work.  With Loot Crate, you just pull the trigger and print more copies of the book you already paid to have made anyways.  Unfortunately, this new method doesn’t seem to pad profits nearly as much as event books do.

One of the big critical darlings of last year, Lumberjanes is a fabulous comic series written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, with art by Brooke Allen and co-created by BOOM! Studios editor Shannon Watters.

For those unfamiliar, it follows a group of young women spending the summer at scout camp, where they encounter supernatural phenomena like Yetis, giant falcons and the like. It started out as an eight issue mini-series, but demand proved so high, that BOOM! decided to make it an ongoing. Lumberjanes is great fun and, for my money, a terribly important and accessible all-ages comic.

It’s no surprise then that Hollywood would eventually come calling, and so via 20th Century Fox in a report from The Wrap, a movie adaptation is on the way with Boom’s Ross Richie, Stephen Christy, and Adam Yoelin teaming up with Fox’s Kira Goldberg and Ryan Jones to produce the film. Will Widger, who is best known for his 2014 “Black List” script, The Munchkin, will take on writing duties for the film.

It’s a bit of a bummer that an all female created series, that focuses on female characters, has a male screenwriter; but his script for The Munchkin (which is pitched as a Chinatown type thriller about the world of The Wizard of Oz) sounds idiosyncratic enough that he may have a good spin on the material.

The Beat Staff has been…busy lately with two events going on and the Ultimate Universe coming to an end (sort of) this week. All of us that write here at The Beat live at the Stately Beat Manor where our heads are stuck in the printed page from early morning to late in the day. However, we’ve had some…distractions as of late. We have had a series of unwelcome guests from the pages of these…comic books come and crash our party — or unwavering focus on delivering the news delivered straight to our astute fans and readers. Unfortunately, our newest guest did the unthinkable when he made his way over to the Beat Manor. His name — Matter-Eater Lad of the Legion of Superheroes. We noticed our comics supply dwindling over the past few weeks, and in truth, we we’re happy with it. Here at the Manor, the Beat Staff has been running low on space to store their books — but when crucial high priced back issues were missing from the pile, we had a feeling that something was wrong. After a Beat Stakeout we caught one of the weirdest legionnaires in the act of literally devouring expensive older issues. We took him to small claims court and relinquished a large part of the Legion’s monetary reserves. All’s well that ends well — here’s our top comics picks for this week.

Alex’s Picks:

A-Force #1

Writer: G. Willow Wilson & Marguerite Bennett Artist: Jorge Molina Cover: Jim Cheung

Marvel’s Mightiest Women finally get their own explosive series! In a secluded corner of the Battleworld, an island nation is fiercely protected by a team of Avengers the likes of which has only ever been glimpsed before..Fighting to protect the small sliver of their world that’s left, the Amazing A-FORCE stands shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to take on the horde!

No single issue this week has been buzzed about more than A-Force #1. The comic has been the headline of more than a couple of fascinating news stories, and was supposed to be announced on The View. Afterwards, a piece from Jill Lepore via The New Yorker lit the internet on fire. Now, the comic is finally here written by the incredibly well respected author G. Willow Wilson and Marguerite Bennett featuring the art of Jorge Molina. The comic is a tie-in to Marvel’s new Secret Wars event, that fetures various Avengers females teaming up together in a certain region within Battleworld. The pedigree of the tale alone should allow it to become more than just a silly news story — but it’s up to the quality of the book to capture the attention of the readers.

Oh Killstrike #1

Writer: Max Bemis Artist: Logan Faerber Colorist: Juan Manuel Tumburus Letters: Jim Campbell

WHAT’S TO LOVE: Say Anything frontman Max Bemis writes a love letter to 1990s superhero comics in this tongue-in-cheek homage to the era, featuring the art stylings of Logan Faerber – reminiscent of works by Chip Zdarsky and Jeff Lemire. Much like Polarity, Oh, Killstrike is very personal to Bemis: It’s about a new dad who loves comics from his youth. Part twisted buddy comedy, part profound coming-of-age story, we could not stop smiling when reading Oh, Killstrike. WHAT IT IS: Jared, a new father, fears parenthood. An old comics fan, he turns to them for comfort. But when he unwittingly lets loose his favorite character, Killstrike – a single minded, vengeance loving anti-hero – onto the world, Jared must find a way to send him back before he harms all the people he loves the most. But before that happens, Killstrike leads Jared on a quest of self-discovery to make him realize the kid who loved this character is not the man he has become.

In the wake of the end of the Ultimate Universe, we chose to look at something a little different — Oh Killstrike #1 from Boom Studios. The series has an incredibly enticing premise, featuring a vengeance seeking 90’s rebel attempting bothering the life of Jared, a brand new father attempting to escape his stressful via the escapism of comic books. Killstrike is on the difficult new quest of acclimating Jared to his upcoming quest of being able to cope with a brand new kid. Author Max Bemis has written some interesting stories with titles like Evil Empire and Polarity. He’s joined by Logan Faerber — an alumni of Bravest Warriors, Adventure Time, and Regular Show — this story is a departure from the rest of Faerber’s works.

Brandon Schatz’s Pick:

Optic Nerve #14

Optic Nerve 14 brings Adrian Tomine’s multifaceted, expressive cartooning to a new peak with two stories and a bonus autobiographical strip. “Killing and Dying” is about a father’s struggles to be supportive: it centers on parenthood, mortality, and stand-up comedy. “Intruders” depicts a man obsessively trying to find his way back to a former life by revisiting places he once knew. Optic Nerve 14 will appear on the twentieth anniversary of Tomine’s beloved comic book series, in whose pages the landmark graphic novel Shortcomings was first published. Each story in Optic Nerve 14 reveals new dimensions to Tomine’s unique visual sensibility and complex, character-driven stories.

A new issue of Optic Nerve is a rare and beautiful thing to behold. Adrian Tomine is one of those fancy-pants comic creators who make the bulk of their “money” doing “art” for the “New Yorker” instead of rolling in the fat stacks of cash that exist in the comic book industry. As a result, issues of Optic Nerve occur few and far in-between – but the results are always stunning. Everyone in Optic Nerve seems to be screaming just behind the eyes whether they know it or not, as they claw and attempt to find perfection in flawed worlds. Equally uncomfortable and exquisitely beautiful, this is the event comic I wait each and every year (or two) for.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have stacks of comics in boxes to ignore as I read through this before my store opens.

WOW!  Forbidden Planet in New York City, one of the oldest and best comics retailers in the country, has an amazing amount of events planned this week!

First off, on New Comics Wednesday:

Dan Slott and Chris Miskiewicz will be signing from 6 PM until…?

Then, on Thursday, the 30th, things get really interesting!

Words fail me, so here’s some PR:

Forbidden Planet is stoked to announce a Troma signing on Thursday April 30th at 7PM! The Troma Team and Ship to Shore Phone Co. are celebrating the release of the Class of Nuke ‘Em High Original Soundtrack Lp and the Blu-ray releases of Class of Nuke “Em High Part 2 and The Toxic Avenger part 2!

Meet Lloyd Kaufman (Troma President and creator of The Toxic Avenger), Ethan Hurt(Composer of the Class of Nuke ‘Em High Theme), and Lisa Gaye (star of Class of Nuke ‘ Em High 2 & 3, Toxic Avenger 2-4, and many more Troma classiscs!

That’s right!  Blu-Ray!

Friday?  They take a break.  Because Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!!!!

And what an amazing signing!  Ed Piskor!  Dash Shaw! At Noon! (Oooh… what if they collaborated? My mind reels…)

Here’s the fine print, and it’s mighty fine!

Forbidden Planet NYC will be giving away bags of comics starting at 9am, May 2nd.  All ages bags will also be provided as this is a family-friendly event and there’s little else we like more than comics in the hands of a new generation of readers.  We give away COMPLETE bags of books until we start running out of titles, and will do so as supplies last, so remember to ARRIVE EARLY.

Didja see that?  COMPLETE BAGS!

Madness.

But pretty dang cool.

What’s more, ALL comic books, graphic novels and manga in stock will be ON SALE at 15% OFF for the entire day!!!

Buy one of those gigantic colossal Artist Editions. Or grab something for your niece, nephew, cousin in their great kids section!  Lots of toys, games, t-shirts, collectibles as well!