Since I don't really have anything today to say about today's page, let's talk about an e-mail I got this morning.
I normally don't re-post things (well, besides my webcomics I suppose...), but the timing on this was pretty surprising, so I figured why not? Before I hit the PASTE button, though, I need to talk a little about Conventions.
For most of my Comics Career (such as it is), the Convention Scene has been my lifeblood. The average person has no idea how difficult it is to promote a book. When I'm at Cons, people ask me, "Well, can I buy this in my Comic Book Shop?" And I don't have thirty minutes to thoroughly explain that the only way I can get my comic into a comic shop is if Diamond, the only comic book distributor of note in North America, agrees to carry my book, and then my book, which no one has ever heard of before, is ordered by retailers in quantities of something like 2000 units. I think the best selling TORC Press comic OF ALL TIME has sold something like, 120 units, maybe? I also would have to explain that Diamond gets a 60% discount when they purchase my comics from me to put in comic shops. Using HFSAC 18 as an example, I make my comics for around $2.05. I sell the new HFSAC for $3.50, which means if I sell the book direct to the reader, I make a whopping $1.45 in profit. If I sold to Diamond under my current system, I would Lose about 90 cents an issue. In order to work through Diamond, I would need to work with a "For Real" Printer, which require several Thousand Unit minimums on their comics, which keeps the Unit Price incredibly low, but means that every single time I want to make a book I would need thousands of dollars, which is hard to save up when you work in a sawmill and have bills to pay. Nowadays, Dave Sim can't make the Diamond Model work, so I don't hold out a lot of hope that a Nobody like me could make it work. Another option is selling your book through "Indy Friendly" Comic Shops. Now, this is a cool option, because it's awesome that there are Indy Friendly shops out there in the first place. The only downside is that A) almost universally the store takes a 50/50 cut AFTER the book sells, and doesn't recoup shipping, which means I would lose 5 cents an issue plus the cost of shipping, and B) As cool as it is that there are Indy Friendly shops out there, I've seen the Indy racks at most of these places. It's a sad lonely place with comics that have sat around collecting dust for a decade or more.
(We could now start a whole debate about, "Hey, Joseph, why not just charge more for your books?", but if you know me you already know why. 1) I'm a bad businessman. 2) I believe in giving people a really good deal on a comic, and I don't believe in overcharging people for something just to make a buck.)
The internet doesn't work either. SDF has been online for over a year now and there have been ZERO unique online orders for the comic. Not a single person who wasn't already a TORC Press Reader has decided to financially support the book. None.
So, Conventions were the only answer when it comes to promotion. They weren't profitable, of course. Small Conventions have cheap tables, but the low foot traffic usually equals poor sales. Big Conventions tables are so expensive that it was impossible to make your Table Money back (let alone Hotel, Gas, and Food, those Losses are written off before I even leave the house), but the higher foot traffic used to mean higher sales (or at least it did, until C2E2 and Wizard World Chicago proved me wrong).
But Conventions have become hostile environments for Small Press Publishers lately. The crowds don't like us, for some reason. And now, it appears that Conventions have turned against each other.
Before I hit the PASTE button, I want to state I have worked the MCBA Springcon, and it is a Really Great Show. The Tables are FREE to Small Press, and they serve us Free Steak one night. And they're friendly and cool and pretty organized. Unlike Wizard World that Jacks Up Table Prices every year while openly promoting a comics community that is openly hostile to Small Press Work. So maybe I'm a little biased.
WIZARD STRIKES AGAIN
Seems the "New Wizard" is Same as the old Wizard
Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, MN (August
12, 2013) - The New York based Wizard World convention organization has
once again decided to reach out and attempt to bully a long standing
regional convention group. This time it's the Twin Cities based
(Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN) all volunteer, not for profit Midwest Comic
Book Association that is Wizards target.
Oddly
enough the MCBA, an all volunteer, not for profit group was initially
excited to hear the rumors that Wizard was coming to town. For 25 years
they've been dedicated to providing promotions, service and support to
the comic book industry and the creators/retailers who make their living
in it. They viewed Wizards arrival and high industry profile as an
opportunity to grow the community and looked forward to working with
them in a support capacity as well. The more the merrier. Unbeknownst to
the MCBA, Wizard evidently has other plans.
Every
year for the past 25 years the MCBA has sponsored two public events.
One is the SpringCon show, a two day show traditionally held in May and a
one day show called FallCon in October. So out of all of the dates
available to Wizard, they choose to schedule their premier event in the
Twin Cities on May 3 & 4, 2014. Just two weeks ahead of the weekend
SpringCon which is held May 17 & 18, 2014). Seems like the "new
Wizard" is just like the old Wizard.
Recently,
Nick Postiglione, one of the lead MCBA volunteers recently spoke with
Peter Katz, Senior VP of Business Affairs& Development for Wizard
who informed him "we had no idea that we were scheduling so close to the MCBAs event" and further continued that the proposed space (the Minneapolis Convention Center) "Only had the first weekend in May available to us".
The MCBA SpringCon dates for 2014 have been posted for quite some time
on numerous industry websites and the MCBA website as well. In addition,
one quick phone call inquiry to a space rental employee about space
availability at the Minneapolis Convention Center put the lie to his availability statement. Evidently, the first week in May was specifically and strategically chosen.
Another interesting tidbit casually mentioned by Postiglione "About a year ago, we were approached by Wizard to see if we were for sale or absorption" he continued "I
told them that given the fundamental structural differences in our
respective organizations, that probably wouldn't be possible. But we'd
be happy to help their efforts in establishing a presence here. I just
had no idea that they actually intended to land right on top of us. It's
an unfortunate situation, a huge disappointment for many of our
volunteers, and ultimately a missed opportunity for the various
communities we serve as well."
There
you have it. A group that has donated over 30 tons of food to the food
shelves, over $100,000.00 to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the MN
Lupus Foundation and the MN Literacy council, as well as promoting
retailer and creator events and other regional events is about to be
bullied about by the corporate Wizard World convention machine. Again,
seems like the "new Wizard" is just like the old Wizard.
Most
people in the comic book world are acutely aware of Wizards history of
predatory convention and comic book industry practices. Wizards will
claim it is not so and that the "new Wizard" is a "much different
organization" than that of years past. This is simply not true. This
situation perpetrated by Wizard is a willful and purposeful attempt to
corner a market and squash the local competition regardless of the
negative effects it would have on the regional community and highlights,
once again, Wizards self serving, predatory instincts.
To
be sure, we live and work in a free market system based on competitive
principles. Competition generally serves us well. But, given the unique
nature of the comic book industry, the situation is definitely unique
and traditionally acts as such. It's a multi layered community composed
of many different, and ever evolving, wildly diverse creative and
financial elements. Minneapolis St. Paul is the 15th largest media
market in the United States and should easily be able to handle two
events of this type. However, that's not in question here. What is in
question is Wizards ethics.
It's
all about timing and making a proactive choice to help build a
community or deciding to simply show up, bully the locals and pillage
what others have built. The question is obvious "Is there a difference between having the right to do something as opposed to doing what's right?" Evidently everyone, except Wizard, knows the answer to that question is "Yes!"
While
this issue may or may not be concerned with your specific geographical
area or affect the way your participate in the world of comic books
right now, make no mistake, it is your community here that is under
assault and this is your call to action! Vote with your dollars and your
heart when choosing what events to support and attend. Please e-mail or
call Peter Katz at Wizard and let him know where you stand regarding
this type of predatory market behavior. Your community needs you to be
heard!
Based
on what the MCBA has stated in public, if Wizard did the right thing
regarding their event dates, they would welcome them with open
supportive arms and continue to help build a bigger, better, healthier
comic book community for all of us.
FW - The Super Anti Wizard Guy
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