Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This week, Bennett takes a look at the pre-announcements for Comic-Con.
Last week I wrote how Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World might turn out to be this summer’s only real non-animated blockbuster but sadly neglected to mention how important the release of Volume 6 of the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour would be to the bottom line of comic shops. With a remarkable print run for a graphic novel (see "'Scott Pilgrim 6'€™ Gets 100K 1st Printing") it’s something that most likely will be available for sale just about anywhere, but a large number of its potential readers want to buy it from us.
Super-Fly Comics & Games had a midnight release party for it (the only shop in Ohio to do so) and while we had a strong turnout just as importantly sales were also strong on Tuesday; we definitely benefited from having it available for sale early as opposed to waiting for it to ship on Wednesday with the rest of this week’s Diamond Direct shipment.
We’re still days away from SDCC (as I’m now forcing myself to call it) but recently there have been all sorts of interesting announcements coming from the major publishers which while not exactly big are big enough I have to wonder what they’re holding back to announce in San Diego. DC announced a Tiny Titans/Little Archie crossover miniseries which at first seemed more like a April Fool’s Day joke than an actual announcement. After roughly a decade of false starts a new Thunder Agents has finally worked its way onto the DC schedule, and one with a premise that won’t immediately alienate the few remaining fans who actually know who the Thunder Agents are. And almost as unlikely was Dynamite sending out word that they would be doing a Warlord of Mars title; maybe they’ll be the publisher who will finally figure out a way to do a self sustaining John Carter comic -- but that’s not where the smart money would bet.
And while it can’t be considered “big” there was also the announcement of the cancellation of Billy Batson* and the Magic of Shazam putting into sharp focus the Johnny DC line’s long list of superhero comic book casualties which include Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures In The 8th Grade, Super Friends and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Proving... I’m not quite sure exactly, that maybe kids aren’t interested in superhero comics in general, even when they’re intentionally aimed at them and based on a popular cartoon series?
But San Diego might be a good place to find out -- by asking some actual kids. Dan Didio has in the past argued that the economics of comics didn’t permit DC to do market research. That it was somehow far cheaper to have a comic book written, drawn, edited, printed and distributed, then have it fail spectacularly, then to ask if anyone wanted it in the first place. And I’ll admit that he and his editors probably do have a fairly good handle of what their readers want. But when it comes to kids nobody knows but kids. And since they’ll most likely be in the vicinity of the DC booth in San Diego you might want to actually ask some. I’m guessing they (and their parents) would be willing to answer some questions about their reading preferences and be willing to look at mock-ups of proposed new comics in exchange for some promotional swag.
Danny Spiegel has a piece in this week’s TV Guide, both online and in print, titled "Comic-Con: It'€™s Not Just For Science Fiction Shows Any More" which called the event “the ultimate experience for TV fans” that goes far beyond the “obvious ‘genre’ programming” to shows that have “tangential relationships to genre entertainment.” Meaning, to use the piece’s example, that ABC mystery series Castle “a program that doesn’t seem to quite fit in with the event’s original premise” deserves a place a the Con because it stars Nathan Fillon who was on Firefly. Fillon is quoted as saying “At the beginning it was comics, and now it’s anything that a group of people can rally behind, that they can be fanatical about."
No sir, I don’t think so. I know it’s popular to complain about how the SDCC isn’t the same now that it’s gone all multi-media, something that would sound particularly hollow coming from someone who has never actually been there. Frankly I don’t care if we let Hollywood in (even if it means E! Online will have stories on it with titles like Superhero Fashion Police! Hot Capes & Bat-Nipples), but leave us never forget who’s party this is.
* I swear without noticing I originally typed Billy Batman. There’s a terrific idea of a Time-Warner children’s book for you; there’s this kid, named Billy, who runs around in a Batman Halloween costume. It writes itself.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Column by Steve Bennett
Posted by ICv2 on July 22, 2010 @ 12:34 am CT
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