I say that I have given this comic business everything -and I have tried everything to promote Black Tower. There is, of course, the online store and all the prose books, comic albums and graphic novels.
Since 2010 I have offered the books at 50% cover price off to promote them (losing me money)....not a single sale.
I then reduced prices on the larger books like Return of the Gods....not a single sale.
I offered the books for sale (again reduced cover prices) direct from CBO (5 times)...not a single sale.
Twitter, Google+, Face Book and so many otheranti social media networks....not a single sale.
I've gone into this before but until I moved a rather large package this afternoon I had forgotten the number of special offers made.
How about the £1.20 Black Tower comic? Offered on CBO and via all the usual places. £1.20...not a single sale.
remember Come On! Action Comic at £2.00? The Bristol Comic Book at £1.00? Black Tower Block Buster -Roar!....not ring any bells?
There are others put together with Ben Dilworth. We tried everything. Even...get this...even as give aways at a Small Press event Black Tower Block Buster could not get rid of any copies. No one even looked at them when offered.
I have three big cardboard boxes full of stock and I've had those full boxes since 2013.
I had two phone calls last Saturday (long phone calls, to!) each from a publisher now giving up. They asked why comics as an industry and fandom in particular had "become so toxic"? Why is no one buying comics now even after special offers? I could not answer those questions though we know comics in the UK died after the fan boys got into running them. Same thing in the United States but they JUST managed to survive.
As for the toxicity of comics and fandom...the internet and millennials. It is as simple as that. Before the internet we had fanzines and the odd spat (via letters of comment) snuck in but that was it. Now all the lazy little bastards don't even have to write on paper and post their turds. Rather than read and enjoy comics you have every little shit head wanting to attack some aspect of it.
It is NOT the fault of the internet. It is the people using it.
There are real comic fans out there but their lack of support means the internet asses win the day.
Those two publishers who spoke to me were breaking down -you could hear that. The truth is that in the UK there are no comic fans nor is there an industry of any kind (apart from the one that has people blatantly ripping of project submissions I made in the 1990s).
I am shocked that American comic buyers and those in Europe appear to0 have no interest. I guess the same applies there. Further afield, in other parts of the world it might be that there is no local printer working with the Print On Demand company I use. I just do not know because absolutely no one out of the 3+ millions who have visited CBO even leaves a comment.
I need to plan for 2019 and that will not include the UK.
For now, for my own enjoyment, I am putting together a big 50th Anniversary D-Gruppe book. guess what? The first D-Gruppe book (in new format) was published in 2010. German super heroes and the posts on them get very high views (especially from Germany) and I have sold....not one single copy.
I feel very sorry for all the small publishers who went out of business in 2017/2018.
They never even tried half the things I did.
Since 2010 I have offered the books at 50% cover price off to promote them (losing me money)....not a single sale.
I then reduced prices on the larger books like Return of the Gods....not a single sale.
I offered the books for sale (again reduced cover prices) direct from CBO (5 times)...not a single sale.
Twitter, Google+, Face Book and so many other
I've gone into this before but until I moved a rather large package this afternoon I had forgotten the number of special offers made.
Break Out! and Black Tower Block Buster -two comics offered at £1 each...promoted as much as possible. Not a single sale and you are not going to find cheaper comics.
How about the £1.20 Black Tower comic? Offered on CBO and via all the usual places. £1.20...not a single sale.
remember Come On! Action Comic at £2.00? The Bristol Comic Book at £1.00? Black Tower Block Buster -Roar!....not ring any bells?
There are others put together with Ben Dilworth. We tried everything. Even...get this...even as give aways at a Small Press event Black Tower Block Buster could not get rid of any copies. No one even looked at them when offered.
I have three big cardboard boxes full of stock and I've had those full boxes since 2013.
I had two phone calls last Saturday (long phone calls, to!) each from a publisher now giving up. They asked why comics as an industry and fandom in particular had "become so toxic"? Why is no one buying comics now even after special offers? I could not answer those questions though we know comics in the UK died after the fan boys got into running them. Same thing in the United States but they JUST managed to survive.
As for the toxicity of comics and fandom...the internet and millennials. It is as simple as that. Before the internet we had fanzines and the odd spat (via letters of comment) snuck in but that was it. Now all the lazy little bastards don't even have to write on paper and post their turds. Rather than read and enjoy comics you have every little shit head wanting to attack some aspect of it.
It is NOT the fault of the internet. It is the people using it.
There are real comic fans out there but their lack of support means the internet asses win the day.
Those two publishers who spoke to me were breaking down -you could hear that. The truth is that in the UK there are no comic fans nor is there an industry of any kind (apart from the one that has people blatantly ripping of project submissions I made in the 1990s).
I am shocked that American comic buyers and those in Europe appear to0 have no interest. I guess the same applies there. Further afield, in other parts of the world it might be that there is no local printer working with the Print On Demand company I use. I just do not know because absolutely no one out of the 3+ millions who have visited CBO even leaves a comment.
I need to plan for 2019 and that will not include the UK.
For now, for my own enjoyment, I am putting together a big 50th Anniversary D-Gruppe book. guess what? The first D-Gruppe book (in new format) was published in 2010. German super heroes and the posts on them get very high views (especially from Germany) and I have sold....not one single copy.
I feel very sorry for all the small publishers who went out of business in 2017/2018.
They never even tried half the things I did.
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