When I Go South for FCBD
I'm flying down to Austin today for my appearance at Randy Lander's Rogues Gallery Comics and Games. I'll be there signing and chatting, trying to have the Rick Castle experience, as well as enjoying some fine Austin food and drink.
I'll be Twittering about the event and posting pictures. As much as I can, at least. If things get busy, and let's hope they do, I can't promise hourly updates or anything. But I'll do what I can to give you the virtual Thom Zahler Free Comic Book Day experience. And I'll try to hit you up with a blog entry every night or so, too.
And, to continue my internet presence, I've just joined FriendFeed, too. So, if you're of a mind to Feed the Friends, check it out here.
Review of LNC#10-Free Comic Book Day
Here's a link to another review of Love and Capes #10, this one by Blake Petit over at Comixtreme.com. With Free Comic Book Day being tomorrow, I expect more than a few of these to show up in the next couple of days.
What? You want a snippet? Okay, here goes:
When you march down to your comic shop on this Free Comic Book Day, there are going to be a lot of books to choose from. Love and Capes #10 should be at the top of your pile.
And, the full review is here.
FAFCBDQ (Frequently Asked Free Comic Book Day Questions)
As a participant/Silver Sponsor, there are a couple of questions I get each year about Free Comic Book Day: Is this a new issue? The answer to that is “yes”. Then I get asked: Why are you giving away a brand-new issue?
That’s a much longer answer.
Every company has to do what works for best for them. For some people, that’s reprints or for others, samplers. For me, it’s a new issue.
Financially, the FCBD edition, and it’s follow-up retail issue, do almost as well as a regular run of the book. That’s because of a lot of things, from being able to gang the printing of both versions and bringing down my per-unit cost, to being able to sell advertising based on the higher circulation numbers that I can’t for the regular run. As a participant, we’re asked to provide the books at cost. I actually provide mine below cost, to compete with the bigger companies.
From a reader’s point of view, I don’t want my readers to be upset that a book they bought X months ago would have been free if they’d just waited until Free Comic Book Day. Especially since I publish quarterly, I don’t have as many issues between a year-old issue and a Free Comic Book Day issue to lessen that feeling.
And from a philosophical point of view, I just think FCBD should be about giving away a product that’s as close to the regular product as possible and that means a full issue. Free Ice Cream Scoop Day, on which FCBD is heavily based, gives you a full scoop of ice cream. Not a little taster spoon. And not a scoop of mint chocolate chip with a little less sugar and no chocolate chips, but trust us the real thing is even better. It’s the full experience.
None of this is to take away or insult the choices other publishers make. You’ve got to do what’s right for you. Doing a full brand-new issue of Love and Capes is right for me.
Pre-FCBD Appearances
Thursday will start the Thom Zahler Media Glut.
I'll be doing a presentation/class on cartooning for the Shaker Heights Public Library. I'll be there from 3:15pm-4:45pm doing the Obi-Wan Cartoonobi thing.
I'll also be appearing on the tremendously-taented Jackie Kashian's Dork Forest radio/podcast show. The show airs at 7:00pm Eastern, 4:00pm Pacific. Check it out here. Hopefully, my phone line will hold up this time. I have bought new phones for the occasion, just to be sure.
Con/Appearance Schedule 2009
With the big FCBD coming up, I thought I'd finally post my 2009 con/appearance schedule. Hopefully some other signings and such will be added as I go.
Free Comic Book Day • May 2
I'll be at Rogues Gallery Comics and Games in Austin, Texas.
Heroes Con • June 19-21
Charlotte, North Carolina. My first time at this show!
Comic-Con International • July 22-25
It's the biggest show of the year, and I'll be at booth #2000.
Mid-Ohio-Con • October 3-4
It's my home show, and I'll be there again!
Baltimore Comicon • October 10-11
What? The weekend after? Am I crazy. Wait, don't answer.
Button Up
Affordable Buttons produces those little band buttons that I giveaway at conventions. They had a special running to get some two-and-a-quarter-inch buttons made at a crazy good price. No fool I, I ordered 100 of these new, bigger Love and Capes buttons. So, my question to you, Interwebs, is what do I do with them?
I could certainly just give them away to people at conventions. Maybe people I have a good conversation with, or cute girls, or Felicia Day (who actually would qualify under any of those criteria). But there seems like there should be some promotional thing I can do during con season. Does anyone have any ideas?
The button here can be, wait for it… wait for it… clicked and embiggened.