FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Its no news to regular comic fans that this Saturday May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day. But FCBD http://www.freecomicbookday.com/ is not about regular comic fans. Sure its a chance to pick up a couple of free books that may interest you, and most shops that participate in the event hold some sort of sale that day.

But the main purpose is to promote the comic book art form to those who may not be as enlightened as the rest of us.

Tell as many friends as possible. Anyone with kids in your social circle should definitely be brought into the loop. Help spread the word that comics are still around, they are great entertainment value, and fun and educational at the same time.

I will be encouraging as many customers as possible to read the Free comics they get this Saturday, and then pass them along to someone else. Maybe just leaving one behind on the TTC on your way home, could bring one more customer into a comic store with a craving for these funnybooks we all love so much.

At Comics & More,the giveaway will be handled a little differently this year. In years past, I simply put stacks of the various comics out for people to pick through and choose the ones that interested them.

The problem was the confusion, and mess this caused in the store.

This year, all the comics I'm giving out have been randomly bundled into grab bags(in 3 age appropriate categories), and as customers leave the store, they get one of these bags to take with them.

Sure some people may not like all the selections in their bag(each bag should have 5-6 comics), but from experience, most people show up in groups, sometimes with up to a dozen kids in tow. It should add a little to the fun, getting kids to look through their bags and trade amongst themselves after they leave the store.

I think a big part of the hobby that has been lost over the years is the actual collecting and trading among friends. This randomness to the giveaway may encourage more of that.

Plus I can add stuff other than comics to the bags. Most will have a Wolverine poster(promoting the movie) as well as assorted loose packs of various superhero and gaming cards.

Aside from the Free comics, if the weather permits, I will have some tables of

10/$1.00 comics outside, and the bargain table at the front of the store will be loaded with paperback and hardcovers at up to 70% off. At the back of the store will be a table loaded with all-ages appropriate books at 20% off cover price.

MARCH PREVIEWS -MARVEL

Time to look at some of the stuff from the March Previews, due to arrive in May.

Marvel seems to be going with a new strategy of shipping a crap load of new first issues in the first week of each month. That is, new comics in the sense that they are being newly printed not that they are new or original ideas. For instance, bringing back the title New Mutants, for what seems to be the 3rd or 4th time. Same characters, same old story(Legion is back), its just surprising not to see a Bill Seinkiewicz cover, although Alex Ross does a pretty fair imitation.

Also, since Planet Hulk was a huge hit, why not do it again, only with Hulk's son Skaar. This comic comes complete with a mysterious blanked out character on the cover, so you know its going to be full of suspense. Will the first meeting of Hulk and his son result in a battle that splits the earth in two? I'm betting not.






Marvel continues their 70th anniversary specials with a Human Torch issue. These actually look pretty good, although the cover made me think Iron Man was on fire. Paying an extra buck for a 10 page back-up reprint at least feels right in a case like this where the idea is to celebrate the history of the character.
You know, for characters that don't even have an on-going title, the Young Avengers sure get a lot of play time during these crossover events.

There are 2 books that actually do impress me with a certain amount of originality, despite being knock-off DC ideas. Lockjaw and the pet Avengers is basically a Marvel version of the Legion of Super-Pets, but if DC doesn't have the brains to properly market ideas like that, then I can't blame Marvel for jumping in and stealing it. For an idea of what the DC super pets comic could be like, check out any recent issue of Tiny Titans.
Spider-Man the Short Halloween is written by a couple of Saturday Night live regulars as a one-shot special. Why a Halloween Special in May? Will Marvel fans even get the pun of the title? Who knows, but its drawn by Kevin Maguire who's well known for a more comedic style that should fit this book perfectly.
Lets see if I can actually get around to looking at some DC titles and the rest of the catalog before the month runs out.

AFTER WATCHMEN

Someone at the "big two" is finally thinking ahead. D.C. Comics has just announced a great program to capitalize on the Watchmen movie fever. I've already seen a swell of interest in other Alan Moore projects from many new readers who invariably ask, "after reading Watchmen what should I try next". D.C. comics will be answering this question by releasing 5 specially priced $1.00 comics, each one the first issue of a popular series of stories or collections.

The first of course is none other than Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, which introduced us all to the talented Mr. Moore.

Due to arrive on March 11th, this is a great introduction to the Saga of the Swamp Thing hardcover collections, the first of which was just released earlier this month. The following weeks will give us Transmetropolitan #1, Planetary #1, Preacher #1, and Identity Crisis #1, all for only $1.00 each.

As a bonus, the first Wednesday of March, I will be putting out copies of Fables #1 special and Sandman #1 special for only 50 cents each. And to further encourage new readers, a special promotional price will be offered in store on any volume 1 paperbacks connected to these special issues.

Even if you already have these great titles, this is an excellent opportunity to pick up some great reading for friends of yours who've read your copy of Watchmen and bugged you for something more.

MARVEL's GONE CRAZY

As you can tell from the title of this posting, I have just gone through the Marvel Preview catalog for books shipping in April. There can be no other answer for why Marvel believes it is a sound idea to ship 20+ new first issues, in the first week of April. Not to mention all their regular titles that week. Sure the majority are one shot specials and mini-series, but the fact is, unless this is some kind of demented April Fool's joke, I can't see how any of these books have a chance when racked all together on the same day. I mean seriously, my new comics rack only holds about 50 facings, and Marvel expects me to fill half of it with #1 issues. And every single one of them is priced at $3.99 U.S.

The rest of the month follows with more Wolverine first issues. I know there's a movie coming out, but seriously, how do they expect the character to sell well when he pops up in nearly every single comic they put out.

Check out the link to the on-line store to see this massive mess of Marvels.

http://shop.comicsnmore.ca/online/index.php?cPath=359

Oh Yeah, DC is expecting to ship Flash Rebirth that day as well.

I am positive that despite this schedule nightmare, I will probably still sell as many Flash #1's as I do of all the #1 Marvels that week put together.

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Just checked my order info for April. Marvel is also planning on shipping Wolverine variant covers(in a ratio of 1-10) for nearly every title they ship that month.

Yes, Marvel has truly gone insane.

E-Mail problems

Sorry everybody, but I'm having e-mail problems with the site again.
If you need to get in touch, leave a comment here on the blog, or e-mail me at
comixcarp@hotmail.com

Thanx
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Problems been corrected. Orders through the on-line store were not affected, so there's no need to resend any of those.
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Tired of Obama Yet?

Yeah, you're probably all tired of hearing about this by now, but I need to mention that the 2nd print versions of Spider-man #583 are sold out. Marvel will be shipping out 3rd print editions for January 28th. Here's a look at the slightly altered cover.

I'm kinda wondering just how far Marvel is willing to go on this one. I guess as long as they keep selling, Marvel will keep it in print. I still have a few 2nd prints available, but they are going fast. I doubt if I'll have any left for the shelves by next wednesday, so if any regular customers still want a copy, get in touch with me soon.

SPIDY/OBAMA DAY 1

Well so far I've taken a very impressive 37 calls for the Barack Obama variant of Spider-Man #583. That's just today!! And I've only been open a few hours. Not counting calls over the weekend or earlier this week, which would put the total closer to a hundred.
This would be fantastic news, if I had any to sell. Sure the 2nd prints are coming next week(and I still can't believe Marvel got them back to press that quick), and I've put the majority of the callers down for a copy or two, but it sure would have been nice to have those people spend money today. And I need to assume a certain percentage of these orders will go unfilled as people have a chance to think about it for a week, or find a shop closer to home.
Still it seems that the 2nd print will probably sell out within the week, and we can be sure Marvel will announce another variant for the inevitable 3rd print.
\\\ I took 7 more calls for the 'comic' while I was typing this out.///
It's gonna be a long day...