Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by retailer Steve Bennett of Mary Alice Wilson's Dark Star Comics in
My last column seems to have struck a nerve amongst retailers, but unfortunately those who've been responding to it were never my intended targets (you know who you are). It was never my intent to belittle or disparage you or your stores and I certainly never wanted to give the impression that I was telling a lot of very hard working people their problem was they weren't working hard enough.
David Seigler of Ground Zero Comics made a very good point in this response; Free Comic Book Day has become stagnant. Sure, it's still generating a remarkable amount of free press for something that happens every year like clockwork and if anything people today seem more interested in getting a free comic book than ever before. But do you know who could really make more of an effort?
The Publishers
Oh, sure, as in past years there were some fine entry level comics from Archie, Bongo and Gemstone and Image certainly came up with a smart and original twist on their traditional sampler, giving us pages from upcoming issues of several of their series.
But I don't know if Dark Horse really thought through their choice of material in the Conan/Star Wars flip book; due to the violence in the Conan portion we had to monitor which customers received that one (wouldn't it have made more sense to pair Star Wars with a Little Lulu story?). And while Marvel definitely deserves credit for giving us something new, the Runaways/X-Men lead was a little too Marvel Team-Up for my tastes -- I would've much preferred seeing the entire issue of Marvel Adventures The Avengers #1 (a really genuinely great kids take on the franchise that, sadly, features much better art than in a lot of 'regular' Marvel comics) with the Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius back-up.
And as for DC... well, we all already know it was their uninspired first choice of another reprint of Justice League Unlimited #1 which led them to correct their initial mistake with a last minute reprint of Superman/Batman #1.
Remember a couple of years ago when Marvel and DC got into a discount comic book price war? DC fired the first shot with Batman: The Ten Cent Adventure, a mediocre story that attempted to jump start a big 'story arc' going through (like a pig through a python) the regular Batman comics. Then Marvel trilled 'me too!' and gave us their nine cents issue of Fantastic Four that not only introduced the characters beautifully, it did it in the context of one of the best FF stories in decades.
Well, I think each of these should be the model for all future Free Comic Book Day comics yet to come.
OK, the day is primarily supposed to be about attracting new readers, particularly kids, but shouldn't there be something for the rank and file fan, something that would get them genuinely excited and make their attendance absolutely mandatory?
Like, instead of releasing Civil War #1 the week of FCBD they could have released a free Civil War #0 that sets up the premise then ends on the cliffhanger of Nitro blowing up the school bus full of kids; talk about 'to be continued.'
Or, say, DC wants to (again) relaunch Wonder Woman and swear up and down, honest, this time it won't go pear shape in under two years. Well, what would be a better vote of confidence than to give everyone a free sample?
Each year each publisher could choose one character, either their hottest or one they believe deserves more attention, and then hire the best writers and artists they can find to produce the best single, done in one, story possibly can. Something than totally encapsulates the appeal of the character; an evergreen which will be just as relevant ten years from now.
I suppose you could argue there's no overwhelming reason for Marvel/DC to spend that kind of money on a giveaway comic, but don't you think it makes sense on a corporate level to have one comic, for each of their could be/would be blockbuster franchises, that would sum up exactly why anyone would want to wear their t-shirt or go to their movie in the first place. I hate to be reasonable, but wouldn't having that sort of promotional tool handy just make sense?
Oh, and just to prove I'm not completely, 100% upbeat about this year's FCBD, Dark Star did have a few problems. Like the way Diamond canceled, at the very last minute and without explanation, our order of FCBD merchandise including temporary tattoos, extra window clings and a t-shirt. And, finally, next year would it hurt all the publishers to agree beforehand to the size of the white space on the cover of their free comics where our store logo is supposed to go? This year we sprung for some very nice looking stickers that were just the right size -- for some of the comics (and of course the Tokyopop manga sampler had no space for the sticker at all).
