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On Comic Ground on University is closing as well. Does not bode well that 2 comic stores are closing due to poor sales during a nerdy boom. I'm getting flashbacks of the 90's on this one.
Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic's Marvel Legacy #1, the oversized one-shot that set the Marvel Universe's new direction in the aftermath of Secret Empire, was the best-selling comic book of 2017.In total, Marvel Comics had five books in the top ten. In addition to Marvel Legacy #1, Chip Zdarsky, Adam Kubert, and Goran Parlov's Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 ranked #3; Nick Spencer, Daniel Acuñe, and Rod Ries' Secret Empire #0, the beginning of Marvel's summer event, ranked #4; Spencer, Steve McNiven, and Jay Leisten's Secret Empire #1 ranked #5; and Matthew Rosenberg and Leinil Francis Yu's Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #1 ranked #10.DC Entertainment had had five titles among the year's top ten - Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Metal #1, the first chapter of DC's crossover event, ranked #2, followed by issue #3 at #6, issue #2 at #7, and issue #9 at #9; and Doomsday Clock #2, the second chapter of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's series merging the worlds of Watchmen and the DC Universe, ranked #8.Among the premier publishers, Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead #164 was Image Comics' top book for 2017 at #82. Neil Gaiman's American Gods: Shadows #1, an adaptation of the award-winning novel by P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton, was Dark Horse Comics' top book at #292. Finally, Star Wars Adventures #1, an all-ages comic set in the Star Wars universe, was IDW Publishing's top book for the year at #381.
Diamond Comic Distributor founder, President, CEO, and sole owner Steve Geppi will give the Keynote Speech during Diamond’s 2018 Retailer Summit, on April 6th at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, before C2E2. Geppi’s address will focus on “The Past, Present and Future of the Comics Industry” and take place at the closing breakfast. “I’m looking forward to delivering this year’s Summit keynote address,” Geppi said. “I want people to be excited about our industry, with so many things ahead of us. Even more, I’m looking forward to talking with our customers and vendors about how we can improve the comic book industry and continue moving forward.”Geppi started with a single comic book shop in Baltimore in the 1970s, moving into the distribution business when he established Diamond in 1982. Since then, Diamond has become the largest distributor of English-language comic books, servicing thousands of retailers worldwide. Of late, declining sales, year on year from 2016 to 2017 — and in the months of 2018 so far — have caused much concern, especially with reducing comic book store numbers. A lot may hang on exactly what Geppi will say — especially the ‘future’ bit.
Chris Ryall, the former editor-in-chief and chief creative officer of IDW, has joined Skybound Entertainment, the entertainment and media company founded by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. The move signals Skybound's aim to strengthen and expand its publishing line. Ryall will work alongside senior vp and editor-in-chief Sean Mackiewicz. His title is still in the works."Chris' impeccable track record as an editor reflects the quality of stories that we aim for with all Skybound projects," said Mackiewicz in a statement. "He is an ideal addition to our team as our comic book slate continues to grow." "You'd have a hard time finding someone more well-liked in comics than Chris," stated Kirkman. "His mark on the comics industry is undeniable. I've admired his work from afar for many years and am thrilled for him to be part of the Skybound team."Ryall surprised the comics publishing industry in March when he stepped down from his post at IDW after having spent 14 years at the company. Under his helm, IDW became the fifth-largest publisher in the North American comic book market, with a number of imprints, including Top Shelf Productions, an independent publisher IDW acquired in 2015. Ryall also worked on the creative side of the business, writing on comics such as Transformers, Shaun of the Dead, Kiss and Rom."As a fan of genre material and comic books all around, working with Skybound Entertainment is a natural fit for me," said Ryall. "I'm excited to work with the team in place at Skybound and expand an already phenomenal library of content."Skybound publishes comics such as Walking Dead, Oblivion Song and Outcast and recently launched the Skybound Books imprint, in partnership with Simon & Schuster's Atria Books. The company is also behind the Walking Dead television franchise and has several movie projects set up at Universal. The company has a first-look television deal with Amazon Studios, maintains a gaming division with Skybound Interactive and is working in the VR space with a trio of series.
The other shoe has dropped at Lion Forge, where company president Geoff Gerber departed earlier this fall (see "Geoff Gerber Out as Lion Forge President"), with a restructuring that eliminated 12 positions across departments, a company spokesperson told ICv2. That amounted to "less than 20% of staff," according to the spokesperson.The company released a statement:"We are restructuring from the top down, and across departments to ensure that our organization’s size and structure remains in line with our sales, as well as providing support for future increase in title output."Lion Forge has experienced a tremendous amount of growth over the last three years. While the company remains healthy, we have taken a hard look at how best to focus our efforts for continued success. As part of this process, we have made some difficult decisions, and none more difficult than in the case of personnel. We are thankful for the contributions made by everyone within the organization as we have grown from spirited start up to one of the most talked about publishers in graphic literature. As we move forward, we are working to continue to best position the company for both critical and sales success in a changing market."Lion Forge had staffed up aggressively over the past few years, adding editorial, sales, and marketing staff from across the industry. CEO and Co-Founder David Steward II indicated that the company’s early years had been "a very educational experience" in his interview with ICv2 in August (see "ICv2 Interview: Lion Forge CEO David Steward II, Part 2"), with their share of challenges. "Print publishing’s rough," he said.But Steward also told ICv2 that as the founder and supporter of Lion Forge, he had patience, and lofty goals. "We're definitely in for the long haul," he said. "Some things, you have to go into it understanding that it is a long bet... From a direct market standpoint, we want to be either the third or fourth largest publisher in the next five years. I would like us, definitely, to be in the top five on the bookstore side of the market, as well. I'd like us to be a thought leader in terms of bringing new readers into the marketplace."No word on the names of the people who were laid off, who we wish good luck with their job hunts.
Independent comic book publisher Oni Press is starting 2019 with a big move, naming Sarah Gaydos as its new editor-in-chief, effective immediately.Gaydos joined Oni in April last year as editorial director of licensed publishing, following a multi-year stint at IDW Publishing, where she was Group Editor of titles including Star Trek and Jem and the Holograms. At Oni, she was responsible for existing titles such as Rick and Morty, as well as acquiring and developing new projects based on existing intellectual property. Prior to IDW, Gaydos worked at DC Entertainment as an editor in Jim Lee's WildStorm imprint. “In less than a year, Sarah has had a profound effect on Oni Press,” publisher James Lucas Jones said in a statement. “Her taste is impeccable and broad. Her network of colleagues both love and respect her. Her dedication to comics and the people who create them is virtually unmatched. There is no other person better suited to lead our editorial team and oversee the creation of amazing new comics for all types of readers.”In her new role at the Portland, Ore.-based publisher, Gaydos will be responsible for the overall editorial development of the company, in addition to developing future licensing partnerships and new creator-owned material.“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead the stellar Oni Press editorial department into 2019 and beyond,” Gaydos added. “Since starting at Oni last year, I’ve been consistently impressed with the company’s deep love of the comic medium, and its dedication to reaching new fans. I can’t wait to lead the department to even greater heights!”
NEW EP! Editor-extraordinaires @chris_ryall & @sarahgaydos join us LIVE from @NC_Comicon to give advice on how to pitch original comic books! A must-listen for anyone #makingcomics. Available now!
Graphic novelist Nate Powell posted this sobering breakdown about the finances of being published. As I just commented to a friend, these aren't entry-level numbers; these are "Nate Powell who is in the top 5% of successful working graphic novelists" numbers. Beginners wouldn't have it even this good.A quick primer: an "advance" is money a publisher pays an author up-front, meant to cover some expenses while the book is being written. It is an "advance against royalties," which means you don't start receiving royalties (a percentage of sales) until your advance has been earned back--e.g., in Nate's $30,000 example, the author wouldn't get paid again until the royalties they were due hit $30,001. Some books never earn back their advances, so that's all the money their authors ever receive.In my understanding, a $30K advance is very generous in the graphic novel world. Much more common is no advance at all.Without getting too specific, Nate's analysis looks right to me. My numbers would be different, and I don't have an agent, but the bottom line is that creating a graphic novel is a long, difficult thing to do, and on a dollar-per-hour basis 97% of graphic novelists earn waaaay less than minimum wage.I don't think you do it for the money (unless you're naive or stupid). You do it because you have a story to tell that nobody else in the world can. You do it because it's fun and fulfilling. You do it because you have to. You hope your story connects with enough readers that maybe you earn a few bucks and get a chance to tell more stories. Hoping that your story will find enough readers to make you rich (or even middle-classish) is just a lottery player's fantasy. It also happens from time to time.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
I’ve been talking to a number of comic creators in recent weeks over issues that some have with payment from comic book publishers. Not so much the big guys but the smaller folk.....