Always Early – Comic Book Blockbusters

Published: July 19th, 2010
Posted in: Comics
Tags:  ,  ,  ,  

By Richard Early

Grant Morrison believes that the DC Universe is a living organism. His theory is that if you define a life-form as a complex series of parts that inter-connect and grow then you have to classify the DCU as one. I love Grant Morrison so I believe him. I also know that this is evidence of massive drug use and a healthy dose of insanity. I think I could apply this idea to Paradox after 17 years. Paradox is not as big as the DCU but it’s grown tremendously over the years and has lots of moving parts. It’s time for another evolution.

I have a lot of ground to cover in this article so I’m going to break it down into topics. These topics are all major announcements regarding comics and our operations. I hope you enjoy.

COMIXOLOGY.COM

I’m sure some of you have read or heard about this site. I first saw it a year or so back but it wasn’t until recently that I did a little research. Comixology.com is a platform that does all kinds of things for comic fans and retailers alike. It’s partnered with Marvel, DC, Diamond Comics Distributors, and a growing list of publishers. It’s now the home for DC Comics iPhone and iPad applications. It is also a site that allows you to manage and update your pull list or Previews on-line. This is the silver bullet I’ve been looking for. Customers have asked for this for years and I’ve struggled to figure out how to provide it. In Comixology, I’ve found what I hope is the answer.

In conjunction with this article, we’ve made a big change to this week’s comic list. Check out the new releases list for this Wednesday and you’ll see a full cover gallery of all this week’s books. Each title features a hyper-link that takes you to Comixology for a full picture and complete solicitation. The page includes options to ‘Pull’ or ‘Subscribe’ to the book. Pull reserves that one individual issue and gives you a host of related items like TPBs and upcoming issues. Subscribe allows you to permanently add the book to your list as well as indicate whether you want annuals, specials, minis or trades. You’ll need to create an account on Comixology and select Paradox as your retailer. There’s a place to enter yor zip code and then select us. You’ll notice that we are listed as a partner with Comixology. Only partners can use this feature. Your list is entirely manageable here and we get reports with your lists, changes, drops, and additions. You receive an email Wednesday morning with what books are coming in for you and you can even calculate your price and print out the list. Comixology offers the ability to rate books so you can get a sense of what’s good or bad with their Bag It or Burn It rating. You can see what books are popular and what books are under the radar. There is no cost to you.

I am certain there will be issues during this start up time. I can’t foresee specific problems that might come up except to say that change always comes with growing pains. We will provide you printed out copies of your list at Paradox along with instructions for Comixology. Feel free to go there immediately and check it out. No customer is required t use this service. Our current pull lists and Previews will remain unaffected. Comixology is a tool to deliver your list to us and manage it yourself. I’m sure that’s one aspect of this tat will cause a few problems early on as it is a more direct system than our current one. I think that’s good. This system is transparent and easy for you. We’ll see how this works out together. It’s possible it won’t work at all and some day we’ll discontinue this. It’s possible it’ll be the best thing we’ve ever done. Only time will tell. Please give us feedback as you investigate the site and you can use the service right now.

NEW COMIC WEDNESDAYS

I launched this brand name with Free Comic Book Day this year and it’s been a big success. Two of May’s Wednesdays were record breaking release days. I actually heard an employee of another comic shop use the term and thought it was awesome. I extended the promotion of 25% off all new releases past it’s original May expiration. I stated that this aspect of the event was not guaranteed to continue permanently and we’ve reached the end – for now. The last Wednesday in July will be the final discount day at least for a while. I love the discount and I know you do, too.  I will use it occasionally throughout the year. You can expect it to pop up at least one or two months. You’re going to ask why and I’m an honest guy. The most truthful reason is that the discount is hard to sustain on our end. The weekly nature of the discount decreases it’s value. The price becomes expected rather than special. I have nowhere to go with other promotions. This change goes into effect the first week in August. The variant giveaways and cookies stay. August will also see the return of the monthly coupon. New Comic Wednesdays are going to get more aggressive weekly specials on Facebook and our website. And we’re going to wrap this part of it up with a bang…

SUPER NEW COMIC WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, July 28 is going to be a store-wide super sale. All non-new release comics are 50% off. All graphic novels are 20% off. All hardcovers are 33% off. New comics are 25% off. I’m not including back issues in this sale because they are a work in progress and most back issues are already priced at a good  value. This is our biggest sale between now and – oops, almost spoiled the teaser. Make sure you get to Paradox for this summer spectacular.

BACK ISSUES

I started buying and stocking back issue comics in early June and it’s been a great success. We went from 0 to ten long boxes of organized and priced books in two months. We’ve added at least five boxes of new $.25 books. Sales exceeded all expectations. You guys clearly enjoy the low prices and seeing new stuff. I’m going to keep things moving. New additions are on the way. I’ve got at least one major collection lined up now and expect more to come. I’m finding that the key here is change. Boxes have to be filled with new and exciting choices or they get boring. Prices have to stay low. We’ve picked up a lot of Green Lantern, X-Men, Ultimates, and crossover books from Marvel and DC. We’re looking for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Avengers comics. Contact me at the store if you have collections to sell.

T-SHIRTS

You may have noticed the t-shirt promotion going on. We’re about to order a big batch of shirts and want you to get in on it. We’ve got baseball tees you can get personalized, as well as both the ‘classic’ Paradox shirt and a new design available. The deadline is a little vague, but it will probably be August 1st. Click on the image below for a larger view of all the shirts.

THE TEASER

This doesn’t need much introduction. As they say in the funny books, this is not a dream or hoax. It’s exactly what the ad says. Starting August 1st, details will emerge…