ComixStreet Recap #1

Item 1: What is ComixStreet?

Welcome to the first installment of ComixStreet!  ComixStreet is a new brand I’ll be building in 2010 and years to come.  Tied closely to the personal brand I’ve been building for myself, I want ComixStreet to be synonomous with great comics, and more importantly, helping others to make great comics. I have whole host of ideas and plans in the works for what ComixStreet will eventually become, but even big ideas must start with small steps.

And thus, I’m introducing the ComixStreet Recap, a bi-weekly column in which I highlight five key items that catch my eye and seem relevant to the comics creating community.  I make an effort to stay tapped into the the comics community at large (it’s actually not that big a world after all) and often come across things that I find useful, interesting, puzzling or frustrating regarding comics.  The ComixStreet Recap will be the soapbox from which I share these things with you.  Items may range from a column I’ve read, a podcast I’m listening to, a video clip you need to see, or a forum discussion you need to follow.  A new installment of the CSR will post every other Thursday. I hope you’ll enjoy it, and find the things I have to share as useful or interesting as I do.

That said, let’s get on with it…

Item 2: Lee Nordling’s Comics Pro Prep will improve your pitch

I strongly recommend all aspiring comics creators (and hell, even pros wanting to stay in the biz) check out Comics Pro Prep with Lee Nordling, a new column featured over at Project Fanboy.  I must admit, I’ve been going through a bit of withdrawal over the past several weeks since Steven Forbes’ Bolts & Nuts column went on hiatus.  And while I look forward to that column returning, Lee‘s column will go a long way to filling the void in weekly comic advice from a pro.

Lee kicked off his new series with a revised and edited version a previously published series of articles on pitching.  This is MUST READ stuff, and I can’t stress that highly enough.  So, give it a read and tell him I sent ya.  For your convenience, here are the links to the three part series:

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 1

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 2

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 3

If you like what you read there, you’ll likely want to tune in to Lee’s column each Tuesday.  I know I will.

Item 3: Reading the tea leaves regarding Earth One, DC’s new Direct-to-Graphic Novel line

Last week, DC announced Earth One, a new publishing initiative relaunching their flagship characters in a real-world setting.  While comic fans will debate the pros and cons of DC’s decision to “Ultimatize” Superman and Batman, that’s not what I want to focus on.

What I find interesting is the fact that DC plans to release these as Direct-to-Graphic Novel books, and not as traditional comic floppies.  This makes me question what this move portends for the future of monthly comics.

Afterall, DC Comics is a business.  Sure they want to tell great stories and entertain you and I every week, but at the end of the day, they’re in it to make a profit.  So logic would say they are making this move because they expect it to be a profitable one, MORE profitable, say, than releasing it first as a monthly series.

Now, I’ve always understood it that graphic novels and trade paperbacks are more profitable than floppies.  They have much longer shelf lives and can be sold through major booksellers and Amazons, not just in the direct market.

What I don’t understand is why DC wouldn’t first put these longer graphic novel stories out in floppy form?  With top talent like J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis on Superman: Earth One and Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on Batman: Earth One, surely these comics would sell extremely well in floppy form.  So why abandon the release as floppies and collect in a trade model that’s been the standard?

What do you think DC is thinking here?  And what does this say about the prospects for independent guys trying to release standard size comics in the mainstream market?  Are the days of the floppy numbered?

Item 4: Take a trip to JAVILAND

Pack you bags and head to JAVILAND!  About a month or so ago, I discovered the JAVILAND Podcast, an informative show hosted by cartoonist Javier Hernandez, and featuring a weekly roundtable of independent (or as Jav likes to call it DIY: Do-It-Yourself) comic creators.  Jav and the gang put on an enjoyable bi-weekly show worth listening to.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I will be a guest on JAVILAND this Sunday, December 20th at 9pm. This will be a first trip to JAVILAND for me, but I look forward to joining Jav and the gang in their end of the year podcast spectacular.  The show is recorded live on the TalkShoe Podcast Network, so feel free to listen in, or join the chat and participate in the show.

For your convenience, listen to an episode of JAVILAND right here:

Item 5: Support Indy Comic Book Week

Indy Comic Book Week is fast approaching.  Diamond will not be shipping its usual allotment of mainstream comic books to stores the last week in December.  However, an army of independent comic creators are working hard to make sure there will in fact be new comics on the shelves that week.

Indy Comic Book Week, the brainchild of a group of independent comic creators including Jake Ekiss, Vinh-Luan Luu, Paul Milligan & Matthew Warlick, was a call to action that’s been answered by indy comic book creators and comic shops around the country.  For a list of participating creators and shops, go here.

I’m impressed and inspired by what the Indy Comic Book Week guys have built here.  Alas, I decided not to put a book out for the week.  The reason was purely financial…I couldn’t justify taking a loss on every book sold, which I would have had to do given the realities of the cost of printing.  Basically, many comic shops are happy to sell indy books…for 50% of the cover price.  It’s certainly understandable…they’ve got to get their cut.  Unfortunately, the current realities of the cost of printing make that impossible for me to turn a profit (or even break even) on books sold through the direct market, since I’m not printing my books in large enough print runs to drive the per book cost lower than 50% of a cover price I could reasonably charge.

While this dilemma was faced by nearly all Indy Comic Book Week creators, I’m very impressed with creators like David Hopkins, who found an extremely clever way to use social media to support his Indy Comic Book Week ambitions and not go broke in the process.

I think it’s highly likely this becomes an annual event, so if you’re like me and weren’t able to get your act together for this year, it’s never to early to start scheming and prepping for ICBW 2010.  As for this year, I’ll be looking to support the event with my wallet, and hopefully discover some cool new independent comics.

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That’s all for now.  Thanks for reading the first installment of ComixStreet!  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet @tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment here.

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