Really, Marvel?

Fallen SUN? Come on now!

Great News, Everyone!

Despite the unfortunate implications of the Futurama reference in the title, I actually do have some good news:

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Jon posted about Bergen Street Comics on FCBD?

Well, it turns out that they've done something really cool- they've started carrying Danny Lewis' brand new mini-comic Slantwise! Danny, for those of you who don't know, is a webcomics artist, friend of The Long and Shortbox Of It, and all around cool guy. His strip, No One Believes In Monsters, has just started up again after a short hiatus, and is well worth your time.

Danny gave me a copy of Slantwise a couple of weeks ago and, although I haven't had time to review it yet, I've read it several times over and I can guarantee you that it's a fine read. If you happen to be in Bergen Street Comics, please check it out, so that when Danny makes more, Bergen Street will continue to carry them.

Disneyland Has Got Marvel's Goods!

So the first Marvel merchandise has appeared in a Disney theme park store, according to ICv2.com today. Although, The Hollywood Reporter proves it was at least a few days ago, right on time for the release of "Iron Man 2". It is, as ICv2 points out, a first step to the integration of Marvel(@Marvel) merch into Disney retail, which is good in and of itself, I think.

In fact, the Online Disney Store has started carrying a healthy amount of Marvel items as well. [See image below of Online Disney Store Marvel product details.]

[Image at left and original report, via The Orange County Register here.]

The appearance of Marvel stuff at Disneyland is the first real, tangible consumer-side proof that the acquisition has gone through. It took almost six months, which is exactly what the pundits were saying it would take for any effects to take hold at all. Hopefully, this means it will take even longer for them to get their hands dirty in the trenches of Marvel Comics editorial... if at all.

Generally, let's hope for: At all.

(Not that it would be 100% bad, but better not to tempt the dragon.)

More exposure for Marvel's goods and characters outside of the limits of 'kid's merchandise' is a good step forward for Marvel (the specific shop is in the more adult-oriented Downtown Disney). But will this cut into the market of the comic specialty shop? If someone already bought an Iron Man t-shirt last summer at Disneyland, will they be less willing to buy another one at their local shop?

I suspect the answer is no, but I also suspect that won't stop the comic shop retailers of America from getting upset about it anyway because, theoretically, if the Disney Store offers the same Marvel merchandise as the average comic shop. and the Disney store is more high profile, people will go Disney first and then not be interested in the comic shop.

BUT

Equally theoretically mind you, if someone really, really liked "Iron Man 2" and they happen to be in a Disney store they're going to buy Iron Man stuff but it is almost equally possible that they are going to be in a comic shop first and buy the Iron Man stuff there. Furthermore, if someone buys a T-shirt or a toy of ol' shellhead at a Disney store and they want more (like... trading cards, the new awesome COMICS by Matt Fraction[@mattfraction], or the cool old COMICS, hardcover COMICS collections, vintage action figures, buttons, pins, nice expensive statues!) they might just seek out their local comic-book store with an inquisitive and money-spending mind. And they might just buy some comics.

I say that the industry as a whole, from the publisher to the retailer to the consumer has more to gain and not to lose from the appearance of Marvel merchandise in Disney stores.

And after all, those old Warner Bros. stores used to carry DC Comics (@DC_NATION) stuff and the world didn't end.

I am, as always, hoping for the positive!

~ @JonGorga

"Casanova" is coming back. Twitter told me so.

Matt Fraction's super-brilliantly awesome creator-owned series is coming back!!

Josh posted about it on Facebook when the news broke a few weeks back....

"Josh Kopin
Full colored Casanova images FTW!
April 19 at 9:23pm via Tumblr · Comment · Like · View post

Jon Gorga Well, that's cool? I don't feel like it needs to be re-colored. I almost never feel like a comic needs to be re-colored.
April 20 at 1:43am

Josh Kopin There re-releasing it, via Icon, with new stuff to follow.
April 20 at 8:59am

Jon Gorga Well yes the new material part is very exciting!
But I liked "Casanova" in 16-page installments of two-tone color for $1.99. Well, I'll just have to get over it if I want to read the new stuff. What really bothers me is that it sounds like I'll have to buy at least a little of the old stuff, re-colored, to read the new colored stuff...
April 20 at 1:13pm

"

...but it wasn't real to me unil I saw Matt Fraction's recent update from his Twitter account (@mattfraction):

" proofing the lettering on the first new CASANOVA story in two years. the colors, the letters... i couldn't be more happy.#casanova2:52 PM May 6th via web

"

Well... I'd rather have new "Casanova" stories without having to buy re-colored old "Casanova" #1 and #2 combined.

But still.

Neither could I, Mr. Fraction. Neither could I.

~ @JonGorga

Subway Socializing, Party Time, and Good Deeds for Free Comic Book Day!

Saturday was my first FCBD in NYC and it was surprisingly crazy!

There was a young fellow named Hemsley I struck up a conversation with in the morning on the A train because he was reading the Marvel "Civil War" paperback collection.

There was an older gray-haired man on the 5 train reading a "Simpsons" comic. I asked him if it was the FCBD "Simpsons" comic. I shot him the double thumbs up!

AND A PARTY!!

After attending the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's annual Cherry Blossom Festival with my friend Shane, I finally saw the inside of Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, a shop I've been hearing of for months now. Very cool place. Nice wood shelves, great customer service. Owned by a husband and wife team!

Here's a cool, shoddy, little video of the festivities Shane and I enjoyed there!!

[That colorful stuff visible at about 0:05 is the front counter covered with the Free Comic Book Day comics!]

Officially, Saturday's party on Bergen Street was also a release party for four new comics from First Second Books:
"Foiled" written by Jane Yolen and drawn by Mike Cavallaro
"City of Spies" written by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan and drawn by Pascal Dizin
"Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess" by George O'Connor
and
"Resistance" written by Carla Jablonski and drawn by Leland Purvis

Yolen, Cavallaro, Dizin, O'Connor, Jablonski, and Purvis were on hand to celebrate and sign their comics! And we got to meet some of them as well as a few other very talented people such as Becky Cloonan (artist of "DEMO") who both Shane and I embarrassingly gushed over.

But the really exciting festivities at Bergen Street were the ones we missed. I met one of the owners and apparently, in the afternoon, the place was packed with kids doing planned activities and picking up the free comics!

I also happen to know that at least one comic shop in New York made a hefty amount of money more than they do on a regular Saturday! (When you consider the fact that the comic shops do have to pay for the comics they are then required to give away for free that's really, really important.)

Comic shops around the country and world were on the ball as well!

Hub Comics in Somerville, MA brilliantly offered any of their usual selection $1 vintage comics for free to anyone with each piece of non-perishable food brought in. A combination Free Comic Book Day and Food Drive!

By gods even the Internet got in on the game! Look at this newsletter I received from Wowio.com:

Pretty smart!

Now if only we could get some serious mainstream advertising for Free Comic Book Day. Advertising in places not just comics people look. All the Marvel Studios ads should have a little FCBD bullet with the date. All the Warner Bros. ads that have anything to do with comics should mention it. The major mainstream magazines should be sent some conservative ads with the logo and the date. That should not be hard to pull off for next year. Give it even wider support and we'll get an even wider range of people next time!

But we got young people reading comics, we got little kids reading comics, we got older people reading comics, a whole bunch of people got some free comics, and retailers made some money!

Sounds like a check in the win column to me.