Broken Frontier

At last! A handy guide for fans everywhere to use to evaluate new publishers or studios! Ask the right questions, look in the right places and chances are you’ll be able to make a pretty good guess as to whether the new kid on the block today will be the new kid on the chopping block tomorrow!

Thanks where Thanks is Due…
Luke Hackenberg has been a big supporter in both places where I frequent online, and helped inspire this two part column, so thanks Luke! Also, be sure and check out Broken Shakespeare’s lengthy post in my forum starting off talks about a new form of newsstand distribution! Read it and post your thoughts and responses!

Alright, first, let me say this…
Obviously the first and most important factor in choosing whether someone should buy a comic or not is really simple: Does it look and read like something you would really enjoy? The hopeful thing here is that people will take a look at what all is out there and not stick with the ‘tried and true’ formula.

To use an analogy, if someone only eats chocolate cake, because they know they will like chocolate cake, that’s bad enough! But if all anyone ever eats is chocolate cake, then that means that eventually the only thing that will be available is chocolate cake! This somewhat applies to the comic market that has supported established super-heroes to the greatest degree. As a result, the market has continued to shrink in terms of the broader diversity while expand on books with ‘X’s’, ‘S’s’, spiders and bats on them.

That’s sad, because if we look back at comics history, almost every single major development in the industry can be linked to a new publisher that first introduced or perfected an idea. Think how Dark Horse redefined the viable movie license comic,  Image put creator owned books on the map, IDW really expanded the horror comic market, Devil’s Due showed that comics based on toy properties could excel, or Vertigo (yes, DC, but an imprint) proved sophisticated comics were possible! Likewise look at the single-vision comics that on their own have added something remarkable to the industry by breaking the mold!

Likewise when someone fails, everyone tends to want to blame every aspect of what they did to be part of their failure. For example, many people have linked the failure of CrossGen to them publishing genre comics when it had nothing to do with that. Despite CrossGen’s ultimate failure (not a new Marvel title by the way) they were successful in showing there was a supportive market for genre comics.

So the first thing we need to do as the comics buying public is allow ourselves to see a slightly more complex world, where everything is not simple black and white. Then, if we’re riding the fence on supporting projects from someone new in the market we need to do some serious evaluation, looking at a number of factors before we make the decision to plop down our hard earned cash. Well, for those fans willing to take the challenge, here is one man’s view of…

The New Publisher Survival Guide 2005

Identity Crisis
Our culture today offers a wide variety of choices in everything. As a result, savvy business-folk launching into any arena of business know one of the first steps is to establish an identity that gives them expertise within the larger domain of their business. The most successful publishers in the last decade and a half have all launched with a specific theme, focus, or identity that gives them an air of expertise in that slice of the larger market. Instead of first competing with the ‘entire’ comics market, they establish themselves as the best horror / genre / licensed publisher. Even when Image launched, there was a common identity among their initial books, an ‘Image’ style if you will. This identity could be as simple as the uniqueness of the one book a small publisher publishes, but companies without that core identity face a difficult challenge because they are trying to attract everyone, and not anyone in particular, not good marketing fundamentals.

This is not to say companies cannot expand later, as Devil’s Due is now doing with its Aftermath line, and experience success, but most companies or studios that have not had a clear identity when they launched have also gone under within the first three years.

Infrastructure
If a studio or publisher is going to be successful they have to have an infrastructure that will allow them to succeed. Learn about companies you’re considering supporting. Do they have a clearly defined staff? Do staff have experience and background in their positions? Are there clearly defined individuals whose focus and expertise is in business, development, and publicity, the key factors in a business entity succeeding? Do they identify and verbalize enough of a corporate vision and plan to show they know what they’re talking about? Of course, no publisher is going to put out all their plans, the very act of doing so might cause some to fail. But good businesses can verbalize enough to sound intelligent on that aspect of their venture. If not then they aren’t ready to be publishing.

Launching Titles
Companies that are most successful know enough to start with a small effort, and then grow it. For example, a number of new publishers have pegged four books in the initial launch to be an optimum number. Why? Well, that one’s simple, comics ship weekly, issues ship monthly, four titles allows a new title every week when the average customer comes in, and keeps their name on the new release shelf regularly. That small-steady launch is realistic in committing resources, allowing a maximum focus of their PR and admin folks on each book, etc. Not to mention, it allows a new system adjustment, to work out the kinks, perfect the flow, etc. before they attempt to balance more books.

It’s easy enough to get lost in the maze of comics being released every month by everybody. Any effort, and there's been a number over the years, that just ‘explodes’ on the scene, by launching some unwieldy number of titles, usually implodes, because their books usually get lost in their own maze and retailers and fans, already having so many options, get overwhelmed.

Publicity: Genuine Buzz vs. Hype
First, let’s make sure we all are on the same page concerning comics press. Its not like general media, where professional reporters make value judgements on what is ‘newsworthy’. Comics media folks are very professional and kind, but basically most of the major sites will run press releases given to them by companies in the market place as a courtesy. Interviews are requested from both directions (media / publisher), and most often they will be granted, and done very conveniently via email.

So, when evaluating, check two things here. First, are the Press Releases done professionally? Do they focus on the material and what makes it good or unique? Or are they a lot of empty hype? Do you come away knowing enough about the book to be interested? Or were you basically just told over and over how great it is, the company is or the guy behind it is? If it’s the latter, and you remember it was probably written by the person paid by, or who was the one being hyped…well, it can fall a bit flat. Second, look not at Press Releases alone, but the discussions generated in forums and MB’s as a result. Are they positive? Do they point out good things or concerns? These are often good indicators of how a company or studio will do.

Consistency / Timeliness
If you are looking at stuff on titles, check to see how long titles stay in development, being touted as ‘Coming Soon’ before they are released. Do they move along fairly well? Do they ship fairly on time? Of course there are always exceptions, but most studios and publishers who spend most of their time promising titles for months, which seem to regularly be delayed, who miss ship dates, etc. will generally continue to do so. If you want to deal with the hassles attached, go for it. But the problem is generally that somewhere in the production system, unless of course it’s the exception and not the rule, there is a problem in being organized enough, or having funds enough, or infrastructure enough to keep a book on time. Even if it’s a small publisher with a single series, there are systematic ways to keep books on time and build in a schedule and lead time that enable books to be on track.

Not having this consistency, even if you decide to stick with a publisher or book, will mean that a lot of others will not.

Web Sites
Everybody has a website these days! Check to see how well any company or studio maintains their site. This is an easy ‘window’, if you will, into a company or studio’s organizational level. These sites are not rocket science. Any company that cannot keep their website up to date probably does not have the organizational capacity to publish a line of comics effectively and survive in the market. It’s like the difference between riding a bike and flying the space shuttle…would you trust an astronaut who can’t ride a bicycle?

I’m not demeaning the skills needed to maintain a website by the way, I’m simply saying one skilled person can do that, it requires a team of several specialized individuals with specific skill sets to maintain all the small pieces of an overall publisher. If they can’t get one going….

Integrity / Paying Debts
This is one of the biggest sore points in the industry today. I’m sorry, but I have little pity here. Studios, publishers or publishers touting studios who do not pay debts to creative people, string them along with empty promises, or rip off retailers and fans in various ways should not continue to publish in the market. Usually these types of issues leak out in various ways. I can’t think of a single instance where rumors about a studio / publisher NOT paying its people, or honoring its debt, turned out to be false. (If I’m wrong here, someone let me know.) As a result, if you want to support the industry as a whole, avoid books from companies where the rumors and news items are collecting about outstanding, unpaid debts. It’s just a matter of time before it catches up to them.

Creative Talent
(This obviously does not include smaller, creator-driven studios) Creative talent is another good gauge. If studios doing multiple books are ALWAYS tapping the same talent, or other talent seems to be entering and exiting through a fast spinning door, or studios within a publisher are moving in and out, then chances are, somewhere there’s a problem. If a studio or publisher can attract some established pros to work for them, get a variety of creators involved, or have solid longer relations with talent and studios, then they obviously have their act together. If nothing else, this would evaluate their ability to make good assessments in who to hire / partner with.

Ego Versus Trust Building / Commitment
If a new publisher or studio focuses on what they’re doing that’s good, focuses on the books themselves, speaks respectfully in terms of seeking support from fans, and hoping to earn the trust of fans…then their heart is in the right place. If a new publisher or studio focuses on hype, ‘hey look at me’ language in public media (sites, news sites), or launches with an initial speculation of how they will give Marvel and DC a run for their money…run for the hills. Over my time following comics I have known four publishers who started with that vision personally, two never made it; two went down quick and sure. Studios or publishers who are ego driven do not look to build models on what fans want and what the market supports, they build models based on what they want as individuals. That is not a successful way to launch a business!

Closing
All this being said, none of it is foolproof. Publishers who may have some of the minus elements of surviving still may thrive in the market. This may be because they learn from their mistakes, are fortunate enough or good enough to get sufficient support despite their mistakes, or adapt as they go. All I’m attempting to say in this guide is that by looking at the factors and elements at work within a studio or publisher, which I do personally, I can make an educated assumption about how long a publisher will last.

For example, CrossGen…
I was a major fan of their books, loved every one of them. However, when they launched I was concerned the books were too disconnected from readers frame of reference, being on all other worlds that ran by totally different rules. Success of that model is the exception, not the rule. Their structure, full-time, in-studio employment, while ideal, was not practical. Some of the press and things coming from higher up concerned me, and then when they began rapid expansion, I knew they were building the frame too big for the foundation.

I stuck with them, because I enjoyed every issue, but knowing full well, the clock was ticking. Near the end, I did not even start the later titles, because I knew the end was near, and I just side-stepped the disappointment. This is the point I’m making here. Look hard at the studios and publishers doing the books, so you can make an informed decision how much to invest in them, if at all! If nothing else, if you make more informed decisions about supporting new ventures, you may feel more daring supporting them, and disappointed less often the better you get at it, because you will choose ones that have a better chance of still being around three years later.

Of course, I could be wrong.