Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 29, 2014 14:00:09 GMT -6
www.thestarpress.com/article/20140427/BUSINESS/304270008/Free-Comic-Book-Day-Mark-Waid?nclick_check=1
For comic book readers, Free Comic Book Day is like the geek Black Friday.
Each year, the industry publishes special editions of the hottest comics and makes them available free of charge through comics sellers around the country the first Saturday in May. Fans turn out in big numbers to snap up the special stories.
For the people in the business of selling comic books, Free Comic Book Day is a day to bring people who aren’t regular customers into stores.
Since free comic books don’t generate income, thousands of stores around the country will use Saturday, May 3, to attract paying customers who they hope will purchase regularly-priced comics, trade paperbacks and other merchandise.
And the effort usually pays off.
“It’s the biggest sales day for the industry,” said Jason Pierce, co-owner of Alter Ego Comics on East Adams Street downtown.
Awareness of comic books has never been greater thanks to hit movies like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and hit TV series like “The Walking Dead,” Pierce said.
“Comic books drive pop culture right now,” he said. “They are the foundation for pop culture, for blockbuster movies. And the interest in comics has really driven the industry to up its game, to put out better books.”
Alter Ego has big plans for Free Comic Book Day, but they’re not the only game in town for four-color heroes.
Stores new and long-lived
Just a couple of blocks from Alter Ego downtown, Atomic Comics is marking its second annual experience with the comics industry’s biggest day.
The owner of Atomic, Slade Smith, and daytime manager Bob Breitung plan to appeal to free comic book seekers by cutting prices on the rest of their stock.
“We’ll have the Free Comic Book Day books, but we’ll also do half price on every other comic, even the dollar comics,” Breitung said about the Mulberry Street shop.
Bob’s Comic Castle on White River Boulevard is probably the dean of Muncie comic book shops.
In business since 1985, Bob’s has been owned by Trent Reeder since 1994. Reeder has worked at the store since the beginning and knows the business well.
Reeder acknowledged Bob’s — which does carry the free comic books each year — doesn’t book a lot of special guests. What Bob’s offers that others can’t is its longtime location.
“People who haven’t been in Muncie for 10 years know where we are,” he said.
Interest high now
At Alter Ego, comic book industry “names” are a big part of the business every day. Along with Pierce, co-owners of Alter Ego include Mark Waid, one of the industry’s top writers, who happens to live locally, and Christy Blanch, a writer and educator who is a central figure in SuperMOOC, which is a Massive Open Online Course about comic books. SuperMOOC has featured speaking sessions with some of the industry’s movers and shakers.
Pierce opened Alter Ego on McGalliard Road in 2004, moving downtown last fall. Since then, the store has scheduled several events to attract customers: viewing parties of comic-inspired TV series like “Agents of SHIELD” and “The Walking Dead,” an appearance by a replica 1966 Batmobile built by Ball State University graduate Mark Racop and signings by top comics industry talent.
There’s more of that to come, Pierce said. For Free Comic Book Day, guests include Waid — who writes the popular “Daredevil” book — along with “Daredevil” artist Chris Samnee and writer Scott Snyder, who writes the “Batman” comic and is, as Pierce said, “the hottest writer right now.”
Moving downtown gave Alter Ego more room for events to bring in the public and, in a way, a higher profile.
“This business is something you never get rich off of,” Pierce said. “But since moving downtown, sales have been up across the board. Interest right now is probably the best it’s been in a long time.”
For comic book readers, Free Comic Book Day is like the geek Black Friday.
Each year, the industry publishes special editions of the hottest comics and makes them available free of charge through comics sellers around the country the first Saturday in May. Fans turn out in big numbers to snap up the special stories.
For the people in the business of selling comic books, Free Comic Book Day is a day to bring people who aren’t regular customers into stores.
Since free comic books don’t generate income, thousands of stores around the country will use Saturday, May 3, to attract paying customers who they hope will purchase regularly-priced comics, trade paperbacks and other merchandise.
And the effort usually pays off.
“It’s the biggest sales day for the industry,” said Jason Pierce, co-owner of Alter Ego Comics on East Adams Street downtown.
Awareness of comic books has never been greater thanks to hit movies like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and hit TV series like “The Walking Dead,” Pierce said.
“Comic books drive pop culture right now,” he said. “They are the foundation for pop culture, for blockbuster movies. And the interest in comics has really driven the industry to up its game, to put out better books.”
Alter Ego has big plans for Free Comic Book Day, but they’re not the only game in town for four-color heroes.
Stores new and long-lived
Just a couple of blocks from Alter Ego downtown, Atomic Comics is marking its second annual experience with the comics industry’s biggest day.
The owner of Atomic, Slade Smith, and daytime manager Bob Breitung plan to appeal to free comic book seekers by cutting prices on the rest of their stock.
“We’ll have the Free Comic Book Day books, but we’ll also do half price on every other comic, even the dollar comics,” Breitung said about the Mulberry Street shop.
Bob’s Comic Castle on White River Boulevard is probably the dean of Muncie comic book shops.
In business since 1985, Bob’s has been owned by Trent Reeder since 1994. Reeder has worked at the store since the beginning and knows the business well.
Reeder acknowledged Bob’s — which does carry the free comic books each year — doesn’t book a lot of special guests. What Bob’s offers that others can’t is its longtime location.
“People who haven’t been in Muncie for 10 years know where we are,” he said.
Interest high now
At Alter Ego, comic book industry “names” are a big part of the business every day. Along with Pierce, co-owners of Alter Ego include Mark Waid, one of the industry’s top writers, who happens to live locally, and Christy Blanch, a writer and educator who is a central figure in SuperMOOC, which is a Massive Open Online Course about comic books. SuperMOOC has featured speaking sessions with some of the industry’s movers and shakers.
Pierce opened Alter Ego on McGalliard Road in 2004, moving downtown last fall. Since then, the store has scheduled several events to attract customers: viewing parties of comic-inspired TV series like “Agents of SHIELD” and “The Walking Dead,” an appearance by a replica 1966 Batmobile built by Ball State University graduate Mark Racop and signings by top comics industry talent.
There’s more of that to come, Pierce said. For Free Comic Book Day, guests include Waid — who writes the popular “Daredevil” book — along with “Daredevil” artist Chris Samnee and writer Scott Snyder, who writes the “Batman” comic and is, as Pierce said, “the hottest writer right now.”
Moving downtown gave Alter Ego more room for events to bring in the public and, in a way, a higher profile.
“This business is something you never get rich off of,” Pierce said. “But since moving downtown, sales have been up across the board. Interest right now is probably the best it’s been in a long time.”