Before I get started, I want to extend a hearty “welcome back” to my friend and collaborator The Dome! Glad to see you’re up and posting again — it has been too long since our readers have been treated to your >ahem< kindly opinions on the state of science fiction. Although, with Galactica finally wrapped and Doctor Who yet to start, there’s not a lot out there, right? HAH! C’mon, give us your take on Dollhouse (nice surprise there, Wash), or the new Wolverine flick (huh… not bad); or even the comic store episode of Big Bang Theory (22 of the funniest televised minutes in history)!
Anyway, back to the blog. Free Comic Book Day was yesterday, and once again we saw… well, the same old faces we see every year at this event. Yes, free comics were given away, and (depending on your store) there were sales and promotions and artists doing in-stores and even free pizza. The storeowners I talked to said that they had done their weekend’s worth of business in a few hours on Saturday. But who was buying all this stuff? Regulars. Most of the people I saw at both stores I visited were old friends and acquaintances. The whole point of this event is to bring NEW CUSTOMERS into the stores, but this has just turned into a company holiday for comics fans. Where was the promotion? Where were the TV crews? Why didn’t the major newspapers have any articles leading up to this? Why didn’t the print & TV media have any ads hyping this event?
For the past week, I’ve been telling everyone I know at work and elsewhere that Free Comic Book Day is coming, and they should really go and check it out — if only to grab some Archies or Owlys for their kids. Everyone; EVERYONE I talked to about this thought that this was a great idea — are other stores doing this too? How long has this been going on? Close to ten years now, I told them, and they shrugged and wondered why they hadn’t heard of this before. Simple: it’s because NOBODY BOTHERED TO ADVERTISE THIS PROMOTIONAL EVENT OUTSIDE OF THEIR EXISTING CUSTOMER BASE!!!! If you want to get people’s attention, you gotta advertise.
Before I wrap, I would like to give a hearty thumbs-up to a new miniseries full of wit and humor, great art and storytelling and is one of those rarities — an all-ages book that can actually be enjoyed by adults. Yes, I’m talking about The Muppet Show comic by Roger Langridge. This is such a dead-on funny comic that I can actually hear the characters talking in their voices from the show! Folks, this is worth it for Statler & Waldorf alone. I know you think that buying a Muppet Show comic may make you look childish, but you can always hide it under whichever superhero comic you’re reading — you know, the one with muscle guys wearing tight form-fitting spandex, hitting each other in a way that doesn’t look a thing like repressed sexual frustration. That one. I’m sorry, am I not being specific enough?
Just buy the Muppet Show — it’s absolutely amazing.
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