Retailer rampage: At ICv2.com, retailers are all abuzz over Free Comic Book Day, Marvel subscription ads, and translating movie success into actual comics sales.
 
Joe Krolik of Comics America, on FCBD: "... The most popular item: The Tokyopop Sampler.  Most folks couldn't believe that a book of that size was free.
 
"My comment to publishers, if Tokyopop is willing to make such a great book-sized sampler completely free to retailers, why shouldn't the other publishers make their offerings completely free?  Tokyopop got it right.  Since the event, we have seen return business from fully two thirds of those from the 'never-befores,' as well as several new customers who got word-of-mouth.  That's the idea of the program.  Who cares about regular collectors getting full sets of the books?  We want NEW READERS.  New readers mean new customers... potentially REGULAR customers, and the younger the better because that's the future of our marketplace."
 
Anthony Furfferi of Empire Comics, on subscription ads: "I never understood why retailers complain about Marvel Comics doing this and that; where was it ever etched in stone that Marvel Comics owed comics book specialty shops anything?  Did you all forget that you choose to sell the products in your stores?  You're not 'Marvel Comics Stores' so stop thinking you are and stop acting like they owe you anything.
 
"The single copy issues of Marvel Comics are theirs to insert ANYTHING they choose to and that includes subscription inserts and any forms of ads they want.  It makes total sense to me why Marvel Comics does what they do at times, but I must admit some of their moves in recent years leave me scratching my head.  BUT, if anyone thinks griping and whining is going to make Marvel comics change good luck.  It's as simple as this: it's a big monster that gives us milk and eggs and yes, we all would like to slay them at some time or another."
 
Tim Davis of Alternate Reality, on the movies: "As of this writing Spider-Man 2 has made somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter of a billion dollars in two weeks of release.  So far my take has been approximately $10.00 to $15.00 in guaranteed trickle down money from the film.  ... If every independent comic book store in the country (9,000 last I heard) made an average of  $15.00 extra income due to this film, that would be a whopping average of $135,000 dollars nation-wide we raked in from our Spider-Man 2 trickle down.  ...
 
"... Next summer Marvel's Distinguished Competition will have a movie in theaters that could be as big as Spider-Man 2 is this year -- Batman Begins is less than a year away. ... DC has always been good at long form multi-part Batman stories.  'No-Man's Land', 'Knightfall', 'Hush', 'Contagion' are just a few DC's done over the last decade.  "Bruce Wayne Murderer" and the upcoming 'War Games' were/are both kicked off with a 10/12 cent prologue story.  In the case of 'Bruce Wayne Murder' it was a cliffhanger that set up readers with a storyline that began the next week.
 
"What if DC did a multi-part 'Batman Event' storyline that began with a FREE giveaway comic available only at movie theaters when a patron bought a ticket to the film.  The giveaway ends with a cliffhanger that would continue in the Batman comic that shipped that opening week of the film.  DC or Warner's could negotiate with theater chains (bypassing the filmmakers) to carry the book and stores that wanted to participate in this promotion could pay for part of the book's production (just like we do for FCBD).  Since we would pick up part of the freight for this promotion, participating stores in that theater's zip code could have their names and address printed somewhere on the comic pointing them to where readers could get the 'Next Thrilling Chapter' of this story."