Gail Burt of Metropolis Comics in Downey, California liked what CrossGen founder Mark Alessi had to say in our recent interview (see 'Interview with CrossGen's Mark Alessi') and how he does business.
In reading the interview with Mark Alessi of CrossGen, I have to remark one more time on just how on the money this guy is with his vision, his perception, and his approach to comics. CrossGen just has it together -
they understand, in a way I don't think any other publisher really does, how the publisher and the retailer and the product all work together to reach the consumer.
Timeliness: since I've been in business, again and again, I have fumed in frustration -- how can we sell something when it never comes out? Time and again, I have recommended a book to a customer, only to find my own credibility damaged -- sometimes beyond repair -- when the book fails to meet deadline month after month (can you say Battle Chasers, DV8, Wetworks, or a host of others?). I now refuse, with a few exceptions (self-publishers cannot be held to the same standards as larger indies, or the majors), to recommend ANY book until I've seen four consecutive issues come out on time. If there's no book, there's no buyer, period.
Quality: nobody who looks through a CrossGen comic can quibble with their quality, they stand beside any other comic from any other company proudly.
Innovation: CrossGen's books defy categorization -- there's nary a bit of spandex anywhere in sight, these are not traditional super-hero comics, but there's plenty of stuff that's out of the realm of ordinary to spark the interest of any reader.
His complaints against the distribution network are valid -- he cannot compete on a level playing field because he is not offered the same incentive that the majors are. His commitment to creating readers in the schools and using comics to achieve that is right in line with my own idea -- partnership with the schools and libraries to give kids reading material that is exciting, that they can relate to, that will interest them -- this is such a great idea (I have had the same idea for a long time, but don't really have the resources to go out and promote it large-scale. I want to supply a copy of some of the top graphic novels to the city library, which is across a long parking lot from my store, and then stock these several deep at my store so readers who have borrowed them can come across and buy a copy).
And his optimism and certainty that he will overcome these challenges is refreshing -- and has the ring of truth. I believe that CrossGen is in position to challenge even the largest of publishers eventually, because in some cases, I think the large publishers have lost sight of the value of what they have -- they're more interested in marketing gimmicks that will sell toys and other tie-ins than in actually producing products of quality (the often-discussed Superman movie has been nothing more than a toy-selling tool in the mind of the clueless corporate types for years; the Batman franchise was destroyed by the retards who insisted on returning to the BAM-POW mentality that made the public view super-heroes as gay guys wearing their panties on the outside rather than staying with the -- proven to be MORE successful -- vision of the darker, more serious night creature of the original Batman movie). Rather than actually attempting to make a good movie or a good book based on these characters, too often, the teams working on things fall back on splashy projects that rely on box-office gods. Makes you wonder if the original Superman movie were made today, would then-little-known Christopher Reeve have ever put on the cape -- would not-buff-at-all Michael Keaton ever have been Batman. Somehow, I don't see Alessi making the mistake of thinking that it's toys that create a lasting franchise; it's great stories, great characters that you care about, and longevity. I think, in the long run, Alessi and company are going to laugh all the way to the bank. I hope so - they deserve it.
