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The SKTCHD and Off Panel September 2023 Chat-stravaganza!
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Mike Lanuzo
8:39
What's been your favorite first issue in the last five years?
AvatarDavid Harper
8:39
This is a tough one on the spot. It's a very good question, though.
8:40
I think I am going to say The Nice House on the Lake #1.
Wait, no I'm not.
House of X #1.
I still remember where I was when I read that.
I went to my comic shop, then went to a local bakery and bought a sandwich, inhaled it, and then went in my car and read it as I listened to Johann Johannson's Arrival score.
8:41
The otherworldly feel and general mystery and big vibes and extreme new to it just blew me away.
X-Men fans have been chasing that HOXPOX feel ever since.
Charles F
8:41
I love events but they are not always the best. What's the key to a good event comic?
AvatarDavid Harper
8:41
I also like events a whole lot, but I think the simplest possible answer I have is they need a reason to exist beyond sales.
8:42
You can tell when a story exists for one reason and that's sales. But Judgment Day, for example, stemmed from Kieron Gillen's work on Eternals and Immortal X-Men.
It felt important and properly emotional because of that connection.
8:43
It was born of story not of bottom lines, and that's a key to me.
Bon Alimagno
8:43
Why don’t direct market retailers force Marvel to charge less for these tentpole issues? They have all the actual purchasing power but continue to act totally powerless.
AvatarDavid Harper
8:43
Bon, it is hilarious that you asked this, because I thought of this same idea yesterday.
I wondered what would happen if every retailer, or at least every big account, zeroed out orders for GODS #1 at FOC.
8:44
Just as a statement of "This is not working for us or for our customers."
The reason they don't, though, is simple: a retailer has little power, but all the retailers in combination do. And, as you likely know, getting them all to move in the same direction is not going to happen.
Ever.
Even if they all agree!
Let's say Brian Hibbs organizes said FOC zeroing.
8:45
And his Bay Area peers know this.
They pretend they're going to zero out, but instead one orders heavy and corners the market.
I'm not saying something like that would happen, but FOMO and distrust is enough to convince folks to not go this route.
8:46
But I agree, I think shops should do what they can to make statements with their orders. It's just incredibly difficult to get everyone aligned to do so. GODS #1 would really be the place to do it, though. They might do it accidentally from the sound of it!
Cameron
8:46
Do you watch What We do in the Shadows?
AvatarDavid Harper
8:47
I do, or have. Love the movie. Love the first two seasons. Feel like it's been a bit lost since. My wife and I have not watched any of the most recent season. We will, though!
I actually have grown to like Wellington Paranormal, the other spin-off, considerably more. It's so good and clever!
Scott H
8:47
Since (I believe) you're still on Twitter, are there any myths about the comics industry that you wish people would stop perpetuating? Or even just something you see people saying all the time that is obviously incorrect about the industry?
AvatarDavid Harper
8:48
I'm a loiterer on Twitter but I am just using it for promotional stuff at this point. It's a broken platform.
I do wish people would judge comics less based off random panels. That seeing a single panel out of context is enough to bring out the knives always seems self-defeating to me.
8:49
I also wish that people wouldn't speak with such confidence and certainty about industry side things they don't really know anything about. You could probably say the same about me, of course, but I at least put in the work and talk to people.
8:50
The truth is, if you take away our ability to speak with confidence about things we don't understand, Twitter would go away. See: all sports fans ever.
People are just going to do their thing and I'm not going to police them for that.
Even though I'd like to sometimes!
Jenner Lathrop
8:50
Because I’m nothing if not predictable, I’ll ask are you picking up any comics today? It seems to be a pretty light one from the independent side of things…
AvatarDavid Harper
8:51
I am! The funny thing is when I am not doing The Pull, I don't actually look at release lists. So, for that reason, the only comics I know I am getting are Birds of Prey #1 and Immortal X-Men #15, both of which I'm excited about.
It does speak to the state of comics marketing and the larger comics conversation a bit that even through an area of effect, someone like me has no idea what is coming out today in comic shops.
8:52
Next week is the main event, though. Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki's Roaming! Get hyped, everyone! (I tried booking them for Off Panel through D&Q and never heard back. Alas.)
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