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The Black Friday Chat-Stravaganza
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AvatarDavid Harper
12:01
Alright, just getting the word out on social media, but I'm almost ready to start. I have my coffee hot, the Christmas music playing, and a cat on my lap.
Lots of great questions to get to, though, so thanks to everyone for participating on the busiest shopping day of the year (in the U.S. at least)!
Ryan Alcock
12:02
I think most people go through a phase of preferring grim and gritty fiction before moving into more optimistic and heartwarming fiction as they get older.
What is the average age Superman overtakes Batman as the preferred character?
AvatarDavid Harper
12:02
This is an interesting theory, Ryan!
12:03
I don't know if I've ever heard this one before, but it seems reasonable.
I will say, I don't think I have a preference in one direction or another, personally. Sometimes I like super hopeful stuff. Sometimes I prefer grim and gritty. Sometimes it's a Zodiac day. Others it's a Paddington one. We all contain multitudes.
12:04
But to give a specific answer, I'm going to say...45. Let's call it a hopeful halfway point, and something far enough away from me where I could see the transition happening.
12:05
Generally speaking, though, I'd say Batman's advantage over Superman is he just has more great stories, and I'd say that's where his lead comes from rather than any demographic shifts (and it's kind of funny that one of the best evergreen sellers for Superman is Superman: Red Son, a comic that is...grim and gritty Superman, to some degree!).
John NeSmith
12:05
What non-comic related podcasts do you currently listen to?
AvatarDavid Harper
12:06
So, I've said this before, but I figured I'd just say it again. I'm not much of a podcast listener!
That's especially true when it comes to comic podcasts. I regularly listen to zero comic podcasts.
I did recently listen to two that I enjoyed, though.
12:07
One was Badr Milligan's chat on The Short Box podcast with Heidi MacDonald from The Beat. https://open.spotify.com/episode/74E4xkqfEI3Aa3EXNomR5H?si=13eafe3af8e...
Another was Comic Book Couples Counseling's chat with Juni Ba. https://open.spotify.com/episode/68wojc5MFkC9RXnz83KdKR?si=015cb01905c...
12:08
I listened to those both because I like the guests but also because it's interesting to hear how other people interview folks you chat with. They both had fun approaches to the chat!
Anyways, which podcasts do I actually listen to regularly? There's only one. The Lowe Post, a basketball podcast ESPN's Zach Lowe hosts.
12:09
It's fantastic. I do dabble in The Dunker Spot, another NBA podcast from Steve Jones and Nekias Duncan, and Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano's Six Trophies.
But because I have zero commute and I don't listen to things I have to actively think of while working, there's very little podcast time. Alas! So that's it!
Jon Auerbach
12:09
You are given money to open a comic book shop in your city of choice. (Enough to start up and run for several months). What would your focus be (single issues, back issues, trades, etc.) and what's one crazy marketing idea you would implement?
AvatarDavid Harper
12:10
This is a great question. Naturally I'd probably just select Anchorage because that's where I live.
My focus would be I wouldn't have a focus.
12:11
I'd make it a curated reader shop, sort of like the best parts of Border's Books at its apex but for comics and graphic novels. Have comfy chairs. Have a coffee shop inside.
Graphic novels, trades, and manga would probably get the focus for obvious reasons, but I'd have a balance.
12:12
I'd have other products, though, and I'd try to have events that build community. Book clubs, happy hours for people to meet each other and chat comics, etc.
I'd also have a robust online store to ensure I get sales from everywhere, especially in a state that is VERY physically separated but has a lot of fans out there. Shipping is a big thing in Alaska.
12:13
My crazy marketing idea is...I would do marketing. Namely, I'd run ads through a programmatic advertising platform where I target based on content people are engaging with (i.e. manga, comics, graphic novels, comic movies), I'd geofence other businesses in similar spaces, and I'd retarget people who visit my site but don't buy anything, at the very least.
12:14
That way there's a constant drive of discoverability for people who might be interested in comics/graphic novels but aren't shopping with me already, and I'd do it for the whole state.
The hope is I'd have my base of customers quickly while constantly finding new ones through these methods. And it's super inexpensive, so it wouldn't be hard to do.
12:15
Would it work? Maybe. But I'd love to try it, especially in a city where the incumbent shop has a tendency of resting on its laurels.
Amber Harper
12:15
What's your favorite holiday activity?
AvatarDavid Harper
12:15
That's my wife, asking me this as she puts up the Christmas tree!
My favorite holiday activity is actually buying presents for people!
12:16
I love really thinking about people in my life and trying to come up with good presents for them, ones that surprise and delight them. Some people stress in present giving, but it's something I think about year round. I bought my first Christmas presents for people back in MARCH!
12:17
Besides that, I like wearing warm clothes and listening to Christmas music and drinking coffee with people I love, which I am currently doing. It's the best. I just love the holiday vibes.
Cameron
12:17
Do you ever get a sense from retailers of the average number of books on a customer’s pull list for their store? And in these stretches when we worry about the DM and floppies, is that more reflected by customers with fewer titles dropping all together, or customers with big pull lists trimming?
AvatarDavid Harper
12:17
Cameron, this is an incredible question.
I am texting two retailers right now to get a real answer.
12:18
Okay, questions out.
12:19
My take: I think there's a pretty big gap from the biggest buyers and the tidiest lists.
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