Broken Frontier

Comics fans and pros know Randy Lander best for his tenure as the editor-in-chief of Psycomic and for the smart, insightful reviews he’s posted over the years at SnapJudgements.com, The Fourth Rail, and, currently, ComicPants.com.  But Randy has worked for years on the retail end of comics, and in February 2007, he took the big plunge, buying the Dragon's Lair in Round Rock, Texas, which he renamed Rogues Gallery Comics and Games.

Read part one here .

GP:  Tell us about a book you underestimated and a book you overestimated in terms of sales and what you learned from the experiences.

RL: Well, either one can kill a store, but if I had to do one, I'd under-order rather than over-order. Fortunately, we haven't had too many problems with either. We had the right number on Captain America #25 (we sold out fast, but we sold out of four times our regular numbers on the first day and we reordered quickly and aggressively so that everybody who ordered one got one) , the right number on Buffy and Angel and Dark Tower, we haven't had any big books where we had way too many or way too little. FOC helps a great deal in that regard.

Our underestimations are sort of a case-by-case basis, like Batman and the Outsiders, Metal Men, or the most recent Martian Manhunter series all having stronger sales legs than we initially expected. But thanks to reorders and DC generally keeping these available for a few weeks after their initial on-sale date, we're able to get them in, put them up on our story arc or back in stock racks and sell them pretty well.

The biggest over-estimation I can remember is actually tied into World War Hulk. Not the main series, which sold gangbusters for us...

GP:  Whew!  Good!

RL: ... but the initial wave of tie-in titles like Ghost Rider, Heroes for Hire and Iron Man. They sold out their first prints immediately, and so we ordered fairly heavy on the second prints, only to find out that the interest in these ancillary tie-ins was somewhat fleeting. What we learned from that is that the tie-in books tend to sell a lot more up-front but increasingly slowly as the event goes on, but the main event tends to retain sales momentum all the way through.

GP:  What kind of factors go into your deciding how many copies to order of an indie or creator-owned comic book?  (This is an entirely self-interested question, incidentally.  As I start coming out with creator-owned work, I'm very interested in learning the best ways to get the positive attention of comic book store owners.)

RL:  Tough question to answer, because of the weird nature of ordering. It's down to a number of factors, from knowing how many of our customers are fans of that creator, to how that creator's last project did (and how much of that we think was related to the creator instead of the character) to how good the cover looks and how interesting the concept sounds. It even matters who the publisher is, in general, because a creator-owned book from Image or Dark Horse is going to sell differently from one put out by Oni Press or Boom! Studios, which is going to sell differently from one that is self-published. There are no hard and fast rules, unfortunately, but all of those are a few of the factors that go into it.

GP:  Is there such a thing as a local market in comics?  For example, are there books that sell particularly well in Austin that don't sell as well in other areas?

RL:  Absolutely. I had dinner with friends who run a shop in Colorado Springs during last year's San Diego Con, and we were surprised at how different regional sales patterns were. The big books sell the same everywhere, so the top 20 Marvel/DC books are probably selling well in all the stores. But the middle-range (i.e. majority) Marvel/DC, the books from Image, Dark Horse, IDW, etc. all seem to sell very differently depending on the area. I think that middle-range is where retailers have the most impact by hand-selling.

GP:  Any books that do surprisingly well at your store in particular?

RL:  I know that Dynamo 5 is one example of a book we do very well with, selling at or above Invincible numbers and moving at least one copy of the trade every single week. I can't honestly remember what books I was talking about with my fellow retailer, I just know that we were surprised by what sold at his store versus what sold at mine, and how something that sold only a couple copies at his place could sell a dozen at mine, and vice versa.

GP:  How important is the internet to you as a tool in reaching out to customers and generating business?

RL:  Given how much of an Internet junkie I am, I'm surprised to report that it's almost a non-issue. We have a website and a weekly email newsletter, but I think our most important advertising is positive word-of-mouth. Which is frustratingly difficult to influence except by running a really good shop and making sure everybody who shops here leaves happy, which we strive to do.

GP:  How important is the internet to your business in terms of how talk on comic sites and message boards has an impact, positive or negative, on sales?

RL:  Honestly, and it kills me to admit it as someone who has spent close to 15 years trying to push my favorite comics online, I'm not really sure Internet buzz has that great an effect on sales. The overwhelming online love for True Story Swear to God hasn't helped it turn into a mega-seller in my store, despite my hand-selling it as well. And the overwhelming negative buzz on Amazing Spider-Man didn't prevent One More Day from selling out, although Brand New Day has been declining pretty quickly in sales. I think that's more down to customers not enjoying it than customers picking up vibes from online, though.

GP: Related to that, you write (excellent) comic book reviews for  ComicPants.com -- and I've noticed that many other retailers write reviews for their own or other sites.  Do you ever worry about the negative effect that slamming a book in a review could have on sales in your store?

RL: Well, first, thank you for the kind words about the reviews. As for worrying about a negative effect? Nah. I don't tend to write a ton of negative reviews, just because I don't have a lot of time to write reviews and I'd rather spread the word about a lesser-known great book than kill a well-known mediocre book, whether it affects my sales or not. More importantly, while I think it pays to be diplomatic about your opinions on comics with your customers, I don't think you do any good by lying if they ask you your opinion directly, and going to my website to read my reviews is essentially asking what you think my opinion of a comic is.

That's different, of course, from offering up an unsolicited opinion on the lack of merit of books someone is purchasing from me, ala the Comic Book Guy stereotype. That kind of thing I would never do.

I've actually had cases of folks coming into the shop because of my reviews, whether they were a long-time reader passing through town who wanted to show their support (or just see the store) or a few of my customers who knew of my reviews and come to the store either out of loyalty for years of reviewing or because they appreciate my taste and can use it to help find stuff in the store.

GP:  Any worries or predictions regarding the long-term viability of the single-issue comic book?

RL:  Worries, yes. I generally think that the Internet, and many of the smartest folks in the industry who don't work retail, have a skewed view of both the shift from single issues to graphic novels and the shift from single issues to the web. Both of these things are happening, but it's still very much in the early stages. Anyone who has been in a good comic shop in the last year knows that single issues aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

However, if you asked me my number one concern, long-term, it is this: Will comics eventually go the way of CDs? In other words, will the rapid transition from Tower Records to iTunes (a revolution I took a pretty hefty part in as a consumer) happen in the comics medium? I tend to think not, because there are numerous differences between downloadable music and downloadable comics, but I spend time every day thinking about it, and I'm definitely on the lookout for any changes that I need to affect in my business model as the Internet economy gathers more and more steam.

GP: What are three things that publishers or creators could do (or do better) to help you sell more of their books in your store?

RL:  The number one thing is to ship on time. If a book comes out monthly (or even every five to six weeks) it's a lot easier to create a pattern of customer buying. If it comes out at random intervals, or takes too long between issues, readers quickly realize "Hey, I went three months without reading this... guess I can go forever."

Plenty of books can get away with late shipping, like Ultimates. But most can't, and even the ones that do get away with it see a greater sales attrition than they would if they were on-time. And I'm not guessing here. This is the result of observation of sales patterns from six years in retail. Late books sell less. Late books that aren't mega-hits die from lack of sustained reader interest.

The other thing is not to promise something you can't deliver. This happens more often with the indie guys than the big guys, but if you start a 6-issue limited series, don't end it at issue 3 because of lack of sales or lack of interest and expect me (or my customers) to buy your next series. Don't launch an original graphic novel series that's clearly to be continued in later volumes and never create another volume while the creators go on to something else. This kind of thing doesn't just undermine the creator and company responsible for that particular project, it undermines consumer confidence in all independent comics, and that's a huge disservice to the rest of the industry.

And finally, everyone knows this, but it bears repeating: Market the hell out of yourself and your projects. Get buzz going on the Internet, get people excited to read the book, tell them to go their local store and preorder it. If I'm on the fence about an indie book but I know at least one or two people are planning to buy it, it will definitely get a shelf copy as well.

GP:  Okay, speed round of faves and recs -- best entry level comic book or trade to get unsuspecting civilians hooked?

RL:  I'm gonna cheat and give you three, based on what I've seen at the store and my personal favorites as well:

1. Bone graphic novels for kids and their families
2. Walking Dead for anybody who has a fondness for horror or suspense
3. Y The Last Man for almost anyone, but especially women and college guys

I've yet to see anyone pick one of those up and not return for the rest. And Y and Walking Dead in particular have been great for bringing folks in who start expanding into other comics.

GP:  Best comic for kids?

RL:  The Marvel Adventures line, particularly the Hulk, Iron Man, Avengers and Fantastic Four.

GP:  Best DC title for non-DC readers to pick up?

RL:  Batman and the Outsiders. Nothing spectacular, but very good art and solid, action-oriented, accessible writing from Chuck Dixon.

GP:  Best Marvel title for non-Marvel readers to pick up?

RL:  Well, for a few more issues, The Order. Damn I'm gonna miss that book.

After that? Nova. Great science-fiction superhero adventure with light Marvel continuity and fantastic writing by Abnett and Lanning, good art throughout that will probably be even better when Paul Pelletier comes aboard.

GP:  Three books everyone should be reading?

RL:  Only three?!
Fables at Vertigo
Dynamo 5 at Image
BPRD at Dark Horse

Thanks for reading -- we’ll be back soon with another thrilling installment of “Pak Talks Comics.”  Please click here to submit your questions for our Reader Q&A section and see you next time!

© 2008 Greg Pak.  All rights reserved.  For more about Greg Pak’s comics and films, visit www.pakbuzz.com.