INVIGORATED
ComicsPro and the direct market as blessing
Ever since superstar cartoonist Tony Fleecs brought Stray Dogs to the 2020 event, he and Collector’s Paradise’s Ed Greenberg have been telling me that I absolutely must attend ComicsPro, with added encouragement from more recent convert Matt Bors. Since then, I’ve known that I would bring Free Planet to the annual comics retailer meeting but, having now done just that, I’ve realized something: I should have started attending ComicsPro years ago.
Hundreds of comic shop retailers from around the world descended upon Glendale, California this past week for the annual ComicsPro industry meeting. While there, they attended workshops and classes, took in speeches and announcements from publishers, and, my favorite, participated in speed dating-style roundtables with anyone possessing the intestinal fortitude required to run the retailer gauntlet. During four two-hour roundtable sessions, Jed Dougherty and I gave everyone a sneak peek at Free Planet.
Though I failed to consider that our poster – while incredibly awesome – would be nigh-impossible to fly home with (a significant learning for next year), retailers were blown away by our Free Planet ashcan. They’re full-size versions of the complete first issue, limited to only 407 copies; I know because I hand-numbered them. The ashcans were necessary because – in light of the way in which we have designed each spread – Free Planet is a book that must be read in print. In light of that, I also brought color print-outs of issues 2 through 6; those came home with me though.
If you’ve ever seen me at a con, you can imagine what our Free Planet roundtables were like. If you haven’t had the pleasure, I’d say it’s a mix of carnival barker, infomercial pitchman and evangelical preacher; my sales technique entails a high-energy, enthusiastic haranguing, delivered standing, in perpetual motion, and with a big old smile stretched across my face.
And the retailers – just like con attendees and folks I’ve cold called in the past – absolutely loved it. I only had ten minutes with each group, so I had to move fast to cover everything: Introduce ourselves, mention previous work, get email addresses, distribute ashcans and posters, encourage them to flip through #2-6, explain concept, cover our two guiding philosophies, and then show off as many cool passages as possible. I always went past the buzzer, was often left out of breath, and might have been completely drenched in sweat by the end of it.
It’s easy for me to bring the enthusiasm when I’m discussing my books; for me, it’s a proud demonstration of my confidence in and excitement about the work. This past weekend, retailers didn’t just pick up on our enthusiasm; they returned it in kind. Obviously, it feels wonderful having people tell you how smart, exciting and challenging you work is but it’s not even the biggest reason I’m feeling so invigorated from attending ComicsPro.
For all my best medium, worst industry grousing, the comics industry is truly blessed by the existence of the direct market and the network of specialty shops it comprises. This was driven home to me in dramatic fashion this past week, as, everywhere I turned, there was yet another engaged, excited, forward-thinking comic shop retailer, not just willing but eager to not only advocate for my work but actually invest in it. It was so invigorating, such a potent confidence booster, that I was buzzing with energy all week despite barely sleeping and falling below my daily caloric benchmarks by a significant margin.
In addition to helping me lose three pounds and making me feel like I could lift a truck over my head, ComicsPro also gave me an opportunity to refine how we talk about Free Planet. I’ve always known what I find most interesting about the book: Its complexity. However, conveying that complexity – especially in only ten minutes, with so much else to cover – isn’t an easy task. Doing it over and over again, in such quick succession, allowed me to hone in on the things to which people respond the most and best.
A partial list of the things that most excited retailers about Free Planet includes: the book’s literary nature; Free Planet as an art object; the research informing the world; our usage of spreads; charts, graphs and infographics; formal techniques harnessed; the astonishing blurbs we’ve received; and my uncle Howard Chaykin’s connection to and influence on the project. Over the coming months, I’ll be delving deeper into each of these right here in Atlantis still sunk.
As I’ll be repeating every week until May 7: The best way to help make Free Planet a success is to call your local comic shop and preorder the book. Doing so not only ensures you’ll get a copy of the first printing but indicates that there’s demand for the book. If you don’t have a comics shop in driving distance, my friends at Collector’s Paradise have you covered. And if you are – somehow – still not sold on the shape of comics to come, check out this preview.
NEXT WEEK: In light of how much everyone liked hearing about the doorstop tomes I used to research Free Planet, I’ll be discussing Hugh Thomas’ The Spanish Civil War, one of two books I sent Jed upon Free Planet being picked up by Image Comics.
Aubrey
Someday I’ll attend. Glad things went good.
No one will care about this, but Hugh Thomas' work has always fascinated me because his own political affiliations shifted throughout his career, including a stint backing the Contras alongside Reagan and then a mid-90s conversion to liberal centrism. Is this good or bad? Who cares! What it tells me is that this is (I was going to write "was," but he's still alive) a historian/politician capable of getting inside the heads of all the people about whom he wrote.