Broken Frontier

Here’s the first in another focus point for the ever-expanding OTB Universe… The OTB Fan Plans! These columns will cover solid, concrete, simple and down-to-earth plans that introduce ways fans can help improve the state of the comic book industry. So, without further ado, here’s our guest columnist for the week…Brian Thomer!

First off, I’d like to thank Chuck for allowing me the opportunity to write this column.

Although the idea of comic swaps has been around in some form for years, I was introduced to them in this thread on the Byrne Robotics Forum, where a group of Doom Patrol fans were hoping to get more people to try out their favorite book. As soon as I heard the idea, I immediately felt that it could have a great impact on how readers of all comics garner support for their favorite books.

The basic premise behind a comic swap is that the reader of one book agrees to read an issue of another one in exchange for someone trying his favorite comic. For example, a Manhunter fan agrees to try an issue of She-Hulk if a She-Hulk fan agrees to try an issue of Manhunter. Of course, one is not limited to merely trying a single issue, if the parties agree, they can try multiple issues or a trade. You do not have to name the book you want to swap for, you can simply put up the name of the title you want someone else to try and the other person will name the book he wants you to try. If you are willing to try that book, then a swap is on. Once the swappers have tried the agreed upon issues, each participant then posts a review of what he or she read on the forum discussion in which the swap was agreed.

The desired result of such a swap would be that not only have the two direct participants liked the swapped-for book enough to keep getting it on his/her own, but also that he/she posts a positive review that may encourage others to try the book. What is more, the review serves the purpose of showing that the person did indeed go out and try the book as agreed. So, even if the review is a poor one, the participant still needs to take the time to write it.
The only other stipulation is that one must purchase the books firsthand from a retailer (it can be a local comic shop or an online retailer, but not secondhand on eBay), but there is no actual exchanging of books between participants. Aside from all that, the participants are free, to set up any additional criteria if they wish.

Swapping can be done on any message board. One could start up a general comic swapping thread, one geared toward one book or jump in on an existing thread that’s looking for support for a particular title. For instance, check out this Aquaman thread on the Geoff Johns board, which originally started by asking the question: “what will it take to get you to try Aquaman?” For a couple of posters, the answer was for someone to try their favorite title in return.

In the few weeks since I first started doing comic swaps, I’ve been able to get a handful of new readers on board for Manhunter, as well as Deadshot and Aquaman. And that’s just me alone. Comic swaps have also helped Doom Patrol, of course, as well as other books like Tom Strong, Dragonball, and She-Hulk. The idea has even been appealing to comic creators. Marc Andreyko of Manhunter was able to get seven new people to try that title and Dave Rodriguez of Starkweather not only used comic swaps to try to get people to try his own book, but also Ron Marz’s Samurai: Heaven & Earth.

The concept even works offline and for retailers, as Chris Hansbrough, owner of Emerald Towers in Ontario, has learned. He is in the practice of giving an additional 15% off to pairs of customers coming in looking to try each other’s book! A retailer could even ask his readers to submit a review and then put them up next to the relevant issue. Also, rather than just waiting for customers to come in looking to do their own swaps, retailers can turn it into a regular event at their shop. A retailer could designate a specific time each week where fans can come in and organize swaps with other customers, similar to how many retailers schedule gaming tournaments. Or they could have a sort of log where customers can write in a book they want to offer up for a swap and someone will come along and sign up for it. The retailer can even put the swapped issues with the customer’s pull list to ensure he/she gets it.

(CES: If any retailers out there are doing anything like this, or a variation on the Swap Plan, let us know here at OTB by posting in the column’s forum or by emailing me directly. If someone is finding this a successful tool, I’d like to follow up with you!)

The reason I see this idea having so much merit is because all of us, as fans, have seen one (or numerous) of our favorite titles pulled out from under us, and even though we praised the book wherever possible, we still had difficulty getting new people to try it. Now, with comic swaps, other readers have an incentive to try a book recommended by another because, in turn, someone will be trying their favorite book as well. In the end, two deserving titles are helped rather than just one.
Additionally, how often have you been in the market for trying a new title? Well, instead of just getting a recommendation from other readers, you can also get someone to try one of the books you are already reading at the same time. I know some of you are thinking, “What’s a dozen or so new readers going to do for a title?” Well, a dozen new readers were achieved on Manhunter by two people (Marc and myself), so imagine what would happen if this became a popular practice. Imagine, instead of Peter David’s suggestion that Fallen Angel readers all buy one additional copy to help the title reach an amount of 15,000 copies sold in an attempt to save it from cancellation, they all arrange at least one comic swap? To me, that is a much more realistic goal. Ten thousand Fallen Angel readers are not going to buy two copies of the book every month; even if they do for issues #19-20, it would only get the book a very temporary stay before ultimately being cancelled. A more long-term goal is to get more readers onto the title, something that can be accomplished through comic swaps. You’re spending the same amount of money as you would have if you had bought the extra Fallen Angel copy yourself anyway, except with comic swaps you may be gaining a new long-term reader for your favorite series as well.

The earlier on in the title’s existence that its fans start arranging comic swaps for it, the more time it will have to help the book. Plus, it’s easier to get someone into a title at #1 rather than at #11. Which I’m sure fans of Monolith, Richard Dragon, Alpha Flight and Bloodhound will recognize as being too little too late, because by then the publisher had already announced those titles’ cancellations. These books need help at the start, not at the end.

Comic swapping is an idea that can help every aspect of the industry. It enables the fans to take an active hand in promoting a title when the publisher cannot or will not promote it any further. It allows writers of smaller books one more opportunity to get more people to try their work. Comic swaps allow retailers to sell off extra inventory and, possibly, gain new readers for books currently not selling well in their stores. The more retailers can see that there is a market for these books, then the less difficulty these smaller books will have in getting support from the retail community in the first place.
Using Fallen Angel as an example once again, look at how often Peter David relays stories of people not being able to find the book at their local comic shop or of people hearing about the title’s existence just recently, despite his efforts to get the word out. Finally, it allows publishers to continue publishing titles that, while they may have gotten critical rave reviews, have had difficulties finding a sustainable audience. The fewer these titles getting cancelled, the fewer fans will become pessimistic towards comics and discouraged from trying new titles in the future. Overall, swaps will have a positive effect on the comics industry as a whole.

- Brian Thomer

Thanks Brian! Now, jump over to the OTB Forums and check out our  Comic Swaps thread! This is an open invitation to post a series you would like to set up swaps for. Have at it OTB Fans!

Next Week: Sellner returns to the OTB saddle with a special column on Comics Making a Difference and his first challenge to EVERY publisher out there! The following week, another guest columnist steps up to bat and we begin our most in depth feature yet: a five-part series on re-examining the newsstand sale of comics and developing a viable model!