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Thursday, September 2, 2010
Retailing and the Independent/Small Press Scene
Talking with three people putting their money where there mouth is with I/SP books
The beauty of the independent and small press comics scene lies in the diversity of both the I/SP product and the I/SP fan. One thing not often mentioned (at least, in general conversation) is the I/SP friendly retailer. Certainly, there are retailers who are famous for their promotion of and support for the small press (James Sime of Isotope probably being the most obvious example, thanks to his The Comics Pimp column for Comic Book Resources). Aside from the various comic conventions and I/SP oriented shows like APE, MoCCa and SPX, the local retailers – at least, those willing to support and promote the comics that rarely climb to the top of Diamond’s Top 300 chart - remain a viable option for getting that I/SP fix on a regular basis. While ordering directly from creators and companies has its advantages, being able to have the product in one’s hands is always a good thing. That way, a customer can always look past the hype to see if the product is worth purchasing. In order to discuss how retailers support independent and small press comics, it only made sense to approach a few retailers to get their perspectives on their role in the small press scene. Chiming in from the direct market are Calum Johnston of Strange Adventures Comic Bookshops in Halifax, NS and Fredericton, NB; Matt Price of Speeding Bullets Comics and Ricochet Café in Norman, OK; and Kristian Boose of Comic Swap, Inc. in State College, PA. The Benefits and Drawbacks of Stocking I/SP Books To the retailer, the benefits of stocking independent and small press comics are as various as the titles that are available. One of ways retailers benefit by stocking I/SP books comes from the diversity of material. “Marvel and DC do what they do very well, but what they do is primarily superhero-related, excluding Vertigo,” Price said. “To find comics that appeal to those who might not be interested in superheroes, the small press and independent comic scene is where to look.” Similarly, the books offered by independent and small press publishers often have that crossover appeal to people still operating under the impression that comics are a children’s medium. “Some of the best comics being done today are small press, and we not only expose ourselves to them, but expose our customer base to them as well,” Boose said. “Our small press selection is popular with the college students here at Penn State University, professionals in the community, and we get many mail-order requests from customers and readers in other areas of the country. “Once word gets out and a reputation builds that we carry such comics, it expands our clientele. We can put a good foot forward and show off the best material our industry produces. It helps legitimize our business and our industry by showing folks things like Joe Sacco’s FIXER or the PERSEPOLIS book.” Johnston made a rather cogent point on how the retailer benefits from stocking I/SP books, and one I must admit I hadn’t thought of when thinking about doing a column on the subject: “[Independent comics] have a longer shelf-life. Many I/SP books have a strong story appeal that will last for years. OPTIC NERVE, BONE, TEENAGERS FROM MARS, HEROBEAR AND THE KID, SQUEE!… these books will sell and sell and sell. They are not anywhere near as time sensitive as mainstream superhero books that will have a new issue out in a few weeks.” Johnston also notes one of the drawbacks retailers face when offering independent and small press book. “Certainly, the I/SP books require a retailer to try and get as many people through the door as possible, rather than to only try and sell to the already existing customers,” Johnston said. “It is essential to broaden your customer base – how you do that is another story, but it’s essential.” Another difficulty in stocking a variety of I/SP books comes from choosing which books to take the chance on. “There are so many levels of I/SP books, from the smallest self-published comic to the slick products of the larger guys like IDW, Fantagraphics and Slave Labor,” Boose said. “There are more and more titles to wade through to find the interesting ones and the outstanding ones. It’s easy to get lost in it all – you have to listen to your customers, your own personal tastes, your gut instinct, and sales histories of creators and series.” A way around this problem is being knowledgeable about the product. “Ordering blind is an absolute no-no,” Boose said. “There are too many unknowns. Often, we need to see the book, or sample pages (maybe online) for us to consider ordering.” The Appeal of Independent and Small Press Books As in other forms of entertainment, the appeal of I/SP books comes down to quality, and, at times, subjective interests. “THE COURIERS from AiT/Planet Lar does action amazingly,” Price said. “If you’re looking for a Harry Potter vibe, COURTNEY CRUMRIN does a good job of that.” To Boose, the appeal of I/SP books varies from situation to situation. “Sometimes, it’s due to the fact that we enjoy the books and we’ve built a trusting relationship over the years with our clientele,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s simply the artwork or buzz about a book that gets it noticed. We’ve cultivated a more cultured and small press oriented customer base over the years.” Johnston sees the I/SP scene as being more inclusive than genre-specific entertainment. “Certainly, the navel-gazing group has their fans and followers, but they also might try some of the lighter stuff. I/SP stuff sells well across all genres if it’s good,” he said. Like Johnston, Price and Boose agree that the quality level of I/SP books is what keeps bringing customers back. “The ‘goth’ style books tend to do well with a particular crowd, and a certain crowd prefers manga,” Price said. “But, in general, I think that independent titles can do well almost regardless of genre, as long as [the work has] a fresh approach to it.” “As long as it’s done well, I don’t think it matters what genre a book is,” Boose said. Deciding Which I/SP Books To Order Each retailer has a different method of choosing which books to order. A chief factor all three retailers agreed on was seeing a sample product, either in hand or online. “Anyone who sends me preview material at least gets considered,” Price said. Without such preview material, the retailers job becomes that much harder. “If it’s something I have not seen, I have to judge it by the solicitation,” Johnston said. “If it interests me or makes me feel like it’s something that will appeal to readers, then I will try one or two and see the book when it comes out to gauge whether to get more or not.” Like Johnston, Price relies on distributor solicitations for books without samples, and looks at other factors as well. “I’ll look through Previews, I’ll look through any new Cold Cut offerings,” Price said. I try to keep up with recommendation lists online (particularly on the Delphi forums).” With longer running series, ordering I/SP titles doesn’t differ much from ordering product from the larger publishers. “If it’s a series we’ve been carrying already, I check out how rack sales are and order accordingly. We order enough stock to cover our special orders and to have copies on the shelf for a bit,” Johnston said. Still, finding the right balance between supporting various titles and making a profit can be tricky. “It’s sometimes difficult to pare down – I’m not in a situation where I can sell everything offered in Previews, even – but I try to make sure to order books I think will find an audience.” Other tools these retailers use in ordering titles include online reviews, industry buzz and customer requests and feedback. Promotion Is The Key Whether speaking of I/SP books, comics retailing or retailing in general, promotion becomes necessary in getting people to purchase product. Perhaps the easiest (and most effective) form of promotion a retailer can utilize is simply being knowledgeable about the product and the customers, especially when hand-selling I/SP books. Johnston, Price and Boose (and their employees) read the I/SP comics they stock in order to decide to whom a title might appeal. From that understanding of the product, hand-selling becomes that much easier. In addition, Boose and Price use customer e-mail lists to promote I/SP books, and Price has a Delphi forum that he uses to communicate with his customers outside the store. Perhaps the most important thing a retailer can do to support their entire product line (and, specifically, their I/SP books) is to promote their stores aggressively. Around the time of last year’s Free Comic Book Day, I did a column focusing on the event and marketing strategies to get people in the door. Not surprisingly, the retailers who devote more than just time into their shops are the ones most likely to engage in some aggressive marketing strategies. Johnston’s Strange Adventures Comic Bookshops uses the same kind of promotional giveaway items that the television stations I work for use: posters, pens, fridge magnets, coffee mugs, etc. Trinkets like these have multiple uses. They provide branding opportunities on items people will use or look at many times a day, increasing a store or company’s awareness, and people are generally more than happy to get something for free. Strange Adventures also makes use of television and radio commercials and ads in local newspapers, the local music magazine and the arts weekly. Boose’s Comic Swap also uses print ads and television commercials, and has listings on several independent publisher web sites, the SPX web site, and are in the process of developing an informational web site for the store. Price’s Speeding Bullet Comics and Ricochet Café does what price calls “the typical things – yellow pages, newspaper advertising – but some less typical things as well, such as donations to the library, and giving talks at any school or library that will have me.” However, there are difficulties in deciding how best to market a store. “It’s difficult to track exactly what advertising works in a niche industry like this,” Price admits. Still, in many ways, the product itself is it’s best marketing tool. “The one thing that does sell comics is comics. Getting comics in people’s hands is always a good first step, so we do lots of promotions with the idea of getting people to look at a comic book.” With an industry as small as the comic book direct market, store branding is an increasingly necessary marketing strategy. That’s not to say that promoting individual titles isn’t important in the direct market, but in order for a comics retailer to succeed, s/he needs to prioritize getting people into the store. After the customers (or even curious, open-minded passersby) are there, hand-selling becomes an important tool, especially with I/SP titles that don’t have the benefit of a major movie tie-in as Ghost World and American Splendor did. This goes back to the previous point of knowing one’s customer base, but it goes further – especially in the cases of new customers. Knowing the product helps make educated guesses as to what someone may like based on his or her interests, such as suggesting FADE FROM BLUE to someone who reads Cosmopolitan or Maxim (creator Myatt Murphy regularly contributes to the magazines, and includes magazine-style pieces from the point of view of one of the characters at the end of every issue), recommending NOWHERESVILLE to someone who mentions an interest in Beat literature or handing a copy of BEANWORLD to that esoteric, intelligent fellow who seems to be interested in a bit of everything. Another sales tool is the increasing media attention I/SP titles are getting in the mainstream press. “Every time a comic or book is reviewed on Time.com, in Entertainment Weekly or in our local paper, we at least get some folks asking about the book in question and checking it out, often resulting in sales,” Johnston said. In addition to the newfound mainstream media attention (and the sales resulting from it), Boose has noticed an rising interest in comics among educators. “We’ve gotten comics into several Penn State classes due to the more literary media attention some comics have gotten,” he said. We are getting books into the local town library … it’s not a landslide, but slowly the attention is helping change people’s perceptions. “The trick is getting more real world advertising for comics and getting people who love to read, go to the movies and watch TV to want to try comics as another entertainment medium … We can only do so much with a small business budget on a local level, and this type of national media exposure is huge in the long run for our industry.” Getting Mainstream Customers To “Make The Leap” To Indy Comics If spending time on a comic book message board is any indication, there are some people who absolutely refuse to entertain the notion of trying an independent or small press title. “Some people are set in what they want, and it’s best to just leave it at that,” Price said. There are ways, however, of getting around that. “Most people just want to enjoy what they read, and if you let them know about the most interesting stuff, they’ll at least take a look at it.” Another difficulty in getting mainstream comic fans to accept I/SP books is format-related. “Price and quality of publication [can be a problem],” Johnston said. “If it doesn’t ‘feel’ or ‘look’ like it’s worth the cover price, it’s going to be a hard sell.” To combat this, Johnston suggests intro issues that demonstrate the series’ style and theme, as well as examples of a creator’s work in an anthology title or collection. Price has also faced problems selling I/SP comics because of format. “Some people,” Price said, “have a prejudice against books that aren’t in color.” Other factors preventing more people from picking up I/SP books is availability and exposure. “If people don’t know about [the I/SP titles], they can’t buy them,” Boose said. “Many stores don’t carry these comics, so people don’t see them. That’s being countered by things like SPX, web sites, and book stores now stocking sections of graphic novels.” Some Ways I/SP Publishers and Creators Can Help The Retailers Admittedly, this information is probably old hat for those already publishing comics today, but aspiring self-publishers can always use suggestions on how to get their books into the hands of readers. So, here are what these three retailers had to say on the subject: Matt Price: Sending promo material is always nice. Having a professionally done book that comes out on a somewhat regular schedule helps. In-store signings, when possible, will help the retailer who hosts the event. I’ve also found, on a micro level, that creators who interact on our store forum will often motivate someone to check out their book, so internet interaction can be a positive as well. Having sample interior pages to check out online is a big help when determining how to order a book; often, the cover and description in Previews isn’t a lot to go on. And outside advertising and coverage for the book helps as well. Kristian Boose: Providing us with sample copies of the work is always a big help. We can read and review the books to see how we enjoy them, and then figure how to stock and sell them, or whether to pass completely and move on. Web sites are a huge help now to review artwork, pages and information about the series. Getting books to Cold Cut so they can review and offer them is good too. Previews from Diamond is a huge black hole of a catalogue, and unless one spends hours going over every entry, it’s difficult to find anything or even to know what it is. Calum Johnston: A preview web site that shows the cover, some interior pages, info as to paper stock, page count, format and when it will ship are essential. Then, it’s just a matter of coming through on what you say. Don’t solicit for February if you aren’t going to be done with your book until March! As much as retailers try to push I/SP books on their consumers, you can take an active role in getting people to try independent and small press books. Most likely, you know which of the people around you are most likely to try something from the small press. Recommend the books you are willing to stake your reputation on to those people. Or, better yet, buy those books for the people you know will “get” what the creators are trying to do. Often times, a recommendation from a trusted friend is more powerful than any marketing tactic. If you need some examples of I/SP books and publishers these retailers suggest, I’ve provided a list below. Books and Publishers These Retailers Recommend: Titles: CEREBUS, BONE, HEROBEAR AND THE KID, MILK & CHEESE, DORK, JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC, SQUEE, TEENAGERS FROM MARS, FREAK BROTHERS, DEAD AT 17, THE GOON, USAGI YOJIMBO, ATOMICS, BLACK HOLE, PLASTIC FARM, STRANGERS IN PARADISE, STYLISH VITTLES, THE INTERMAN Publishers: IDW, Slave Labor, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, Top Shelf, Alternative Comics, Oni Press, Ait/Planetlar -- Ed Cunard
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
