Dark Horse joins Diamond’s Final Order Cutoff program
Dark Horse will officially join Marvel and DC in Diamond Comic Distributors’ “Final Order Cutoff” program. This program allows direct-market comic-book retailers to make adjustments to their comic-book orders about three weeks before the on-sale date.
Dark Horse’s FOC program will begin on Monday, April 20.
“We are pleased to announce this move to the FOC,” Dark Horse President, Mike Richardson said in a release. “As every comics retailer knows, times are tough. It is important that Dark Horse not only support them with great product, but with our best efforts to make their ordering decisions as easy as possible. This system will help every retailer who orders Dark Horse product and should lead to better business for all of us.”
The timeline for Final Order Cutoffs for Dark Horse graphic novels will be about three months prior to release.
- Matt Price
Chicago retailer named to ComicsPRO board
Eric Kirsammer
ComicsPRO has named retailer Eric Kirsammer of Chicago Comics to the open spot on the organization’s board of directors.
Kirsammer has owned Chicago Comics since 1991 and received the Will Eisner “Spirit of Comics” Retailing Award in 1997. Kirsammer purchased Quimby’s bookstore in 1997.
Kirsammer was appointed to fill the board position of Ben Trujillo, of Star Clipper in St. Louis, Mo. Trujillo resigned to focus more fully on his MOBY point-of-sale system for comic retail outlets.
ComicsPRO is a retailer trade organization for comic book specialty stores. Its 140 member-retailers comprise approximately 180 storefronts.
– Matt Price
Flash, Green Lantern in spotlight in 2009
WORD BALLOONS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Flash and Green Lantern will be the “cornerstones” of the DC Universe in the coming year, said writer Geoff Johns, speaking at the ComicsPRO annual members’ meeting last week.
ComicsPRO is a nonprofit organization of direct-market comic store retailers.
Johns is the writer of the upcoming “Flash: Rebirth,” slated for release on April 1, and “Blackest Night,” which kicks off with a free No. 0 issue on May 2, Free Comic Book Day. “Blackest Night” No. 0 is the first original story created by DC for a FCBD giveaway. The first half of the book will be by Johns and Ivan Reis.
“It’s a 12-page story that’s a lead-in to the DC Universe through Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) and Barry Allen (Flash),” Johns said. “I look at Hal and Barry as very different in how they’re coming into the DC Universe.”
The Flash died a hero in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” saving the world from the Anti-Monitor, before returning in “Final Crisis” last year. Hal Jordan was turned evil by the entity Parallax and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps before dying in the “Final Night” series. In the 2004 series “Green Lantern: Rebirth,” Hal Jordan was purged of the entity and returned as a hero.
“There’s a line in (”Blackest Night” No. 0) where Hal says, ‘You died a saint and I died a sinner,’” Johns said, referring to the different situations in which the two close friends now find themselves.
Barry Allen returning from the dead is “the worst thing that ever happened to him,” Johns said.
“I think a lot of people are wondering why we’re bringing Barry Allen back,” Johns said. “But really ‘Flash: Rebirth’ is knee-deep in doing what we do best.”
“Flash: Rebirth” is from the creative team of “Green Lantern: Rebirth,” Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver.
DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio announced that, based on pre-orders, “Flash: Rebirth” No. 1 will be DC Comics’ top book for April.
“Blackest Night” No. 1 will launch July 15, written by Johns and drawn by Reis. It will tie in with “Green Lantern” and “Green Lantern Corps.”
“I’ve been working really hard on Green Lantern for the last few years,” Johns said. “When we did (the) Sinestro Corps (storyline), it was kind of a surprise for a lot of people,” Johns said. “But now that we’re headed toward ‘Blackest Night,’ the fact that readers, retailers, DC, everybody’s really excited about it, that gets me excited, because I’ve been wanting to tell this story for a long time.”
By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
ComicsPRO meeting: Thoughts and comments
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the third annual ComicsPRO members’ meeting drew to a close, retailers said they felt refreshed and recharged from the three-day conference.
“This experience has refined my understanding of what my job is,” said Atom! Freeman, of Brave New World Comics in Santa Clarita, Calif. “The day to day can really muddy your perceptions … being in a room full of people who know what you’re going through can refine what is you should be doing.”
Several retailers revealed in informal conversation that they believe the ComicsPRO conference to be the most important event on the comics retail calendar; the increasing membership and presence of the largest suppliers, most available to connect with on a one-to-one basis, would seem to bear that out.
While some retailers shared fears with me prior to the meeting, after the meeting, retailers said they felt better prepared to face the challenges of the future.
Some additional notes:
– While I plan much more in-depth coverage on this later, I’ll say now that talking to Geoff Johns about the upcoming “Flash: Rebirth” and “Blackest Night” has me very excited about the DC Universe in 2009.
– Vertigo’s “The Unwritten” (pictured) by Mike Carey and Peter Gross looks to be a must for Harry Potter fans over the age of 17.
– Diamond Comics announced a plan to import magazine/figure combos, similar to the Eaglemoss Marvel and DC magazines, featuring Star Wars characters and vehicles.
– Dark Horse Comics announced their intention to more clearly communicate with retailers about stock levels, when items would be unavailable, and when they might become available again.
– Joe Keatinge of Image received positive feedback to his preview of “Viking,” shipping April 1, by Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein.
– Filip Sablik of Top Cow showed lots of amazing artwork that we hope to have to show at Nerdage later, including art from Marvel Fusion, featuring Cyberforce, Hunter/Killer, Avengers and Thunderbolts.
– Matt Price
ComicsPRO attendees tour new comics distribution center
OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — ComicsPRO meeting attendees toured the new facility of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., to close out this year’s annual meeting.
The 600,000-square-foot distribution center replaces three such centers previously housed in Memphis. Diamond has two additional distribution centers, in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and in Los Angeles. The Olive Branch facility is now the most technologically advanced of the bunch. The new inventory control system allows workers to pick items via computerized voice commands over a headset, and the quality control system will eventually be able to all but eliminate short-packed boxes with mechanisms that will make sure shipment weights are correct within ounces.
After the tour and a catered barbecue dinner, Diamond representatives answered questions from attendees about the facility and other distribution topics. Retailers said the answers they received, and the tour of the facility itself, helped to calm fears brought on by some shipping issues as the system was being implemented.
Diamond representatives acknowledged there were still kinks being worked out, but that once the system was fully implemented, it would be more efficient and cost-effective for everyone.
– Matt Price
ComicsPRO directors elected
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The results of the ComicsPRO board member elections were announced at the ComicsPRO annual meeting. Named to the three ComicsPRO director positions up for election were Joe Field, Brian Hibbs and Chris Powell. The board also announced its officers: Field was re-elected as President; Chris Powell was named President Pro-Tempore; Amanda Emmert was named Corporate Secretary/Treasurer; and Carr D’Angelo was named Recording Secretary.
More information from ComicsPRO about the elected directors:
Joe Field has owned and operated Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in the suburban city of Concord CA since 1988. He is a recipient of the Will Eisner “Spirit of Comics” Award for retailing excellence. He previously worked in the broadcasting field and has also done freelance public relations. Joe is also the founder of Free Comic Book Day, the industry’s only coordinated outreach effort.
Joe is a founding member of ComicsPRO, having donated his time and energy to the organization in its formative stages. In addition to running board meetings and overseeing the work of ComicsPRO’s Communications Coordinator, Joe also is the Chair of the Public Relations committee and is a member of the Mentoring and Member Benefits committees.
In his duties as ComicsPRO’s president, Field has attended numerous industry events to find new members for ComicsPRO and to increase awareness for the organization. These events include ComicsPRO members meetings in Las Vegas and a member recruitment meeting in Philadelphia, as well as giving his time to attend and run retailer programming at Comic-Con International-San Diego.
Chris Powell is the General Manager of the north Texas-based Lone Star Comics and mycomicshop.com.
Powell has been with Lone Star since 1989 and has worked at every level of the organization. He has served on the Board for 3 years and as ComicsPRO’s President Pro Tem for 1. At the ComicsPRO meeting, Powell was named president of the Board of Directors of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
Brian Hibbs opened Comix Experience in San Francisco at the age of 21, on April Fool’s Day, 1989. He was a founding member of the ComicsPRO board of directors.
Ben Trujillo, of Star Clipper in St. Louis, Mo., announced his resignation from the board. He told the assembled membership his retail business and his responsibilities to his software development business, which handles the point-of-sale system MOBY, made it impossible to dedicate the needed time to the board. Field thanked Trujillo for his time on the board, and the membership applauded Trujillo’s time on the board with a standing ovation.
The remaining board members are Rick Lowell, Phil Boyle and Gary Dills.
– Matt Price
ToW Distribution promotes selling bargain books
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Joe Havorka, president of ToW Distribution, a distributor specializing in remainder books, talked to assembled retailers at the ComicsPRO annual meeting about sales possibilities in bargain graphic novels.
Havorka said he believes stores who designate a “bargain book” section can see returns on a percentage basis that exceeds that of new merchandise.
ToW Distribution sells graphic novels and related merchandise to retail stores. Retailers who want to apply for an account can do so at www.towdistribution.com/
– Matt Price
Print still important, publishers tell retailers
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The continuing importance of print comics — and particularly those sold through the direct market — was at the forefront of several publishers’ presentations at the ComicsPRO annual meeting.
“You still represent the dominant sales force of graphic fiction,” Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley told ComicsPRO attendees as part of his keynote address. Buckley said the most important thing for Marvel to do was to lead new customers into direct-market stores.
DC Comics Executive Editor Dan Didio agreed, in his own presentation to ComicsPRO attendees, saying the biggest part of his job was to drive periodical sales in the direct market. DC Comics sponsored an entire day of programming at the ComicsPRO meeting as part of its commitment to direct-market retailing.
Dirk Wood, director of marketing at Dark Horse Comics, said the ComicsPRO show was the only show that saw an increased budget from Dark Horse in 2009, as Dark Horse aimed to increase its efforts to communicate with direct-market retailers.
While digital comics and the possible threat those posed to the direct market were much discussed prior to the meeting, publishers indicated they did not want digital products to harm direct-market sales, and in fact hoped digital content drove readers to stores.
DC Comics stated again no plans to develop for the Amazon Kindle. Buckley said Marvel doesn’t want to be in the business of consumer sales and customer service. However, they are continuing to look at ways to expand into the digital arena, including the upcoming Spider-Woman motion comic.
In addition to the public presentations, ComicsPRO board members met with publishers privately to share member concerns. ComicsPRO board member Brian Hibbs said these meetings were “incredibly productive.”
“The level of transparency and the level of candor from our suppliers has been very heartening,” Hibbs said, adding that this year’s ComicsPRO annual meeting was, he believed, the most beneficial industry event he had attended in his 20 years in retail.
– Matt Price
Top Cow promotes direct-market initiatives
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik outlined several of Top Cow’s initiatives at the ComicsPRO annual meeting of direct-market retailers. First and foremost among Sablik’s points was the company’s promise to hold the price point of its regular books at $2.99 through 2009.
The trade dress of the books has been redesigned to highlight the price. Sablik said any book at a higher price would have more pages or extras included.
Sablik also reminded retailers of the direct-market exclusive pricing on the first volumes of the Ron Marz “Witchblade” and “Darkness: Accursed,” which retail through comic shops at just $4.99. These each collect six issues. Volume 2 of “Darkness: Accursed” is set for April release at $9.99.
Sablik reminded retailers to sign up for Top Cow’s “Let Us Win You Over” campaign, in which selected retailers will receive free books to give away to consumers. It will feature 25 stores per month, and is a yearlong campaign to attract new readers. More information is available at www.topcow.com/freecomics.
– Matt Price
CBLDF outlines board changes; Powell named president
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Comic Book Legal Defense Fund executive director announced changes to the board of directors for the Fund while speaking at the ComicsPRO annual meeting.
Chris Staros of Top Shelf is stepping down as president of the board to focus more time on his publishing company, Brownstein said. Larry Marder, creator of Beanworld,” will join the board. Chris Powell of Lone Star Comics was named the new president of the CBLDF board.
Powell, also a member of the board of ComicsPRO, spoke to the assembled retailers.
“We value everybody in this room as one of the groups we’re here to protect,” Powell said. “The Fund is vital, because we don’t just protect you; we protect your customers and we protect your suppliers.”
Powell spoke to ways retailers could continue to support the fund: through memberships that are solicited through Diamond Comics Distributors; through eBay auctions that designate some funds to the CBLDF through MissionFish; through a donation jar on the counter; or through signings and events benefiting the Fund.
“Besides monetarily, one of the things you can do … is to help us continue to get the mission out,” Powell said.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community.
– Matt Price
