Tuesday, 6 March 2018
WHY Do European Comic Fans Buy ALL Types Of Comics But Not The UK or USA?
As promised, and I continue to keep to that promise every month, here are the Black Tower sales for Feb. - March, 2018.
Putting this into perspective here are today's stats up to 13:00 hrs (UK time).
Putting this into perspective here are today's stats up to 13:00 hrs (UK time).
Page views by Countries |
Now, the up-dated, final views for February are:
Page views by Countries |
Just one post looking at Black Tower Comics and Books in February received 3,234 views -and that is not the highest number of views but the "in the middle" one. And all of this interest results in....
Depressing (for a publisher) ain't it? A £25.00 book will get me £2.64 (depending on the rate of exchange on the day I get paid that...and I'll need to sell enough books to make my revenue up £6.00 before I get that.
Really, after all of these years of pushing and promoting what can I say or write to encourage people to check the online store and buy? I've already deleted books to make the store less 'crowded' (I have my copies so they are now rarities) and I have halted publication of nine books and suspended work on two others because stock-piling books that do not sell seems pointless.
I have talked to Independent comic publishers (Image and Dark Horse are not Independents! They make up the US "Big Four") who have admitted to breaking down and worse because they have worked 20 hours a day and 7 days a week and they do have very good quality publications but no one will buy. But time and again they -and I- hear the same thing: "We support Independent Comics and buy Image and Dark Horse!"
Look at the money involved with Dark Horse and Image -it does not make them "Independents".
Look around at US conventions -conventions in Europe- and you will see those Indie publishers. Can't you really give them a chance and try one of their books? Comic fans used to buy Small Press, Independents and mainstream up until the 1990s and then the new generation of Blinkered 'comic fans' emerged who could really not understand a comic if it did not come from what they were media brain washed into believing were hip and cool comics like DC, Marvel, Image and Dark Horse. And if it was not in full colour......
This seems to be a UK and US problem because fans in Europe seem to buy an eclectic mix. Why? Because they understand and love comics of all types? Because it was the French who labelled comics "the 9th Art"?
If you are a serious comic fan you know buying those "hot" comics are not going to make you rich. You buy and read comics because of the art form. Look around and support real Independent publishers and show you are not just one amongst a flock of sheep.
Monday, 5 March 2018
Welcome Back USA!
Not sure what happened but there are some Avengers, JLA, Sub-Mariner, Samson and other mega posts awaiting.
Enjoy!
Sunday, 4 March 2018
...here is your princess and here is the horizon....
The total views stats for February are 66, 230 which is not bad for a month with fewer days in it. And for the last week the UK has been the top viewing country -for the first time ever and pushing France into 2nd place.
France -what did I do wrong??? :-)
Also for the first time ever, Turkey is the third highest CBO viewing country and has pushed Russia, the United States and Ukraine back down the list.
I no longer try to work out why people visit CBO or what attracts them here -they are here and that is what counts.
Interestingly, the review of Tommy Ross's Better Than Nothing has been at the no. 1 and no. 2 most viewed post since it was published. Let's hope he gets some sales from this.
http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/presenting-mr-tommy-rosss-better-than.html
I was also asked about Paul Grist's Mud Man and Jack Staff. Your guess is as good as mine. In 2014 Grist announced on his Face Book page that there would be more Mud Man. Nothing after that so in 2015 I asked him about Mud Man and Jack Staff. No response (his FB page has not been up-dated since 2014).
So if you see him at an event -corner him and don't leave until you have a straight answer!
My bet is we could still be waiting in another 6 years!
You want British super heroes there's this thing called Black Tower Comics...?
Remember?
No. No one ever does. I approach kids in supermarkets and ask if they want to see some comics and all you get is shouts of "Stranger danger!" and "Mum! Dad! Quick -ugly pervert!!" Honestly.
Next time I'll wear clothes.
Rumour mill has it (that's Face Book by-the-way) that Paul Ashley Brown is working on the final ever Browner Knowle. Pharmaceutical companies are already panicking over the prospective loss of anti-depressant sales.
On the other hand...here is your princess and here is the horizon....
France -what did I do wrong??? :-)
Also for the first time ever, Turkey is the third highest CBO viewing country and has pushed Russia, the United States and Ukraine back down the list.
I no longer try to work out why people visit CBO or what attracts them here -they are here and that is what counts.
Interestingly, the review of Tommy Ross's Better Than Nothing has been at the no. 1 and no. 2 most viewed post since it was published. Let's hope he gets some sales from this.
http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/presenting-mr-tommy-rosss-better-than.html
I was also asked about Paul Grist's Mud Man and Jack Staff. Your guess is as good as mine. In 2014 Grist announced on his Face Book page that there would be more Mud Man. Nothing after that so in 2015 I asked him about Mud Man and Jack Staff. No response (his FB page has not been up-dated since 2014).
So if you see him at an event -corner him and don't leave until you have a straight answer!
My bet is we could still be waiting in another 6 years!
You want British super heroes there's this thing called Black Tower Comics...?
No. No one ever does. I approach kids in supermarkets and ask if they want to see some comics and all you get is shouts of "Stranger danger!" and "Mum! Dad! Quick -ugly pervert!!" Honestly.
Next time I'll wear clothes.
Rumour mill has it (that's Face Book by-the-way) that Paul Ashley Brown is working on the final ever Browner Knowle. Pharmaceutical companies are already panicking over the prospective loss of anti-depressant sales.
On the other hand...here is your princess and here is the horizon....
Saturday, 3 March 2018
Saturday Night Comics
having just read the entire Dancing Elephant and Image Comics run of Paul Grist's Jack Staff and then some Dr Strange followed by the Avengers trade I reviewed and some comics I want to get around to doing (hey, when you are not well and cannot do much even reading comics is a chore) i decided my next read will be the full six issue run of Grist's Mud Man!
British super heroics...why not.
But I have America covered when it comes to reading...
Steve Ditko's Blue Beetle #3 and 4...Charlton Comics, of course! In this photo it doesn't look like I'll finish reading one comic!
Hope you are having a good comic weekend? Anyone read DCs The Terrifics -any good, let me know!
British super heroics...why not.
But I have America covered when it comes to reading...
Steve Ditko's Blue Beetle #3 and 4...Charlton Comics, of course! In this photo it doesn't look like I'll finish reading one comic!
Hope you are having a good comic weekend? Anyone read DCs The Terrifics -any good, let me know!
But...This Was One Of My Pension Comics!!!
This is what I've been reading. Near as new as when I bought it!
Back in 1985, Condor Verlag's Die Neue Gruppe X nr. 22 cost me DM 2,80 and the story was Das Schicksal Des Phoenix or The Destiny of the Phoenix or if you read X-Men #137 - The Fate of the Phoenix...
Now, well over 35 years later and in the condition it is in and the story-line I'm thinking that I may well be handling comic book gold.
An hour of checking around every and any German comic site I could find and I found the true and highest value for my pension book on Booklooker https://www.booklooker.de/B%C3%BCcher/Die-neue-Gruppe-X-Marvel-Comic-Sonderheft-22-Condor/id/A01SQBx301ZZv:
4,00 €
Uh....what?!! Hang on.let me check that again. No, it isn't 400 € it is definitely 4 euro. So, basically, a little bit over what I paid for it back in 1985. What the Hell is going on -I invested in that and I was told to invest in comics and "in 25-30 years time you'll be laughing". I'm laughing alright.
I think we all know that I've never fallen for the "investment" comics crap. I notice one pundit had to disable comments after people who purchased books he said would be "sky-rocketing in price" by 2018 (he said this in 2016) found their prized books were selling for less than half of what they paid.
A fool and his money.
It was fun to read the German version of this book and notice just how spelling and the German language in particular has changed in over 30 years!
Nice back cover advert too.
A Body Floats Down The River Avon...
You know, every time I write or say I ought to publish my expose of those who worked in British comics -the 'hero' editors and 'comic nice guys' I get at least one "You mention me and I'll sue!" and the attempts to discredit me online pick up.
1. Yeah, sue. I have hefty paper trail files
2. Why are you people so panicky?
I did find the threat once that I'd be found face down in the Thames odd. The Thames is a long way from me. If it helps the Feeder Canal or River Frome are the nearest to me?
1. Yeah, sue. I have hefty paper trail files
2. Why are you people so panicky?
I did find the threat once that I'd be found face down in the Thames odd. The Thames is a long way from me. If it helps the Feeder Canal or River Frome are the nearest to me?
Friday, 2 March 2018
"I Created comics between performing heart surgery"
Wow. There were never any comics worth anything before some of these "god fathers" arrived -and they do seem keen on using almost xenophobic terminology when mentioning American comics.
This is the problem with these people -they can claim what they want and it's a case of either prove it (which they really can't because of how corrupt British comics were) or shrug like everyone else and say "You haven't worked in comics for almost 40 years, mate -no one cares what you think".
I am waiting for one to claim that he performed the first heart transplant while creating innovative comics in his head.
In one of these "god fathers'" histories I note he don't mention trying to pick-up comic creators wives or how he left an event very quickly when one husband was after him.
I have a very hefty book full of these stories and one day it might be fun to publish and reveal behind the scenes truth.
And at my age I don't give a crap any more. Yes, I did hold a Marvel UK editor out of a window in the 1980s.
Thursday, 1 March 2018
Positivism....I Have No Idea What That Means.....
Apparently I have come in a bit late on the whole cosplay "private photo shoot" subject. I am just walking away from the matter because if these comic personalities and fans have known about these goings on at conventions "for a few good years" had no objections then looking to me to expose and champion the "ban it" cause...no.
sigh
Anyway, as I'm in pain and can't do much else (apart from constantly correcting typoes because my hands have decided they don't need to work properly) I thought I'd go over stats. Despite the figures, which I'm told are impressive, they don't mean that much to me because of the dyscaculie. However, show me those numbers in real people.....
So how many views from 1st February to 1st March?
It seems that February, 2018 is the time that comic fans in the UK discovered CBO. About 20 years late but it is good to see the UK actually out of 10th or 11th place for once! It is also the first time I have seen Turkey in the top ten for a month or even week and Brazil is joining in. But it's a trio of new top ten newcomers because we have Italy, too.
France in the Number One position is new as that was always the place of the United States or China. I do wonder whether the number of views from the US was down to the Comic Geek Chic phase -comics were "hot" for a while so more visited comic sites like CBO? Buggers certainly weren't interested in buying comics!
Top countries You might expect to actually hear from -readers asking about things or passing on links to comic publishers in their countries. Nope. This is something that used to drive me nuts because you assume thousands of people visiting a day are comic fans and there is going to be two-way chat going on, as there used to be in the age of the printed fanzine when everyone wrote letters of comment (LOCs). Now you do not have to have pen, paper, envelopes and certainly do not have to go and buy a stamp and pop your letter in a post-box. You can do it all from where you sit. I think that the internet, for comics and more, has been a great Negative.
You Tubers and bloggers adopt a "shock-Jock" approach (I actually listened to one of these on the radio recently. He's been going for years and the shock-jock talk had me laugh in boredom). "SJWs!!!" "Racist, woman hating comic fans!!!" they'll try anything to get views and they are obsessed by wanting more subscribers and "Likes". One on You Tube recently used "SJWs attack fans!" and the entire video was about a recent comic he had purchased. As one of the big "Anti-SJWs" explained -just using the term gets views. Shallow. I have to say "Fan hating SJW Marvel--" in the title should have been changed to "I'm A double dumb-ass and want attention!" You see, he tore into the writer of a title and criticised everything while also noting he hadn't read the book properly yet or seen the previous issue (which might have helped as it was part 2 of a story). These people seem to snort and giggle a lot and are not very cogent in their criticism. They demand better stories and yet pick up a book clearly marked "Part 2" and screech that it makes no sense.
I do wonder whether comic fans -I mean real comic fans- are worried that if they comment on a CBO item they have a different opinion on they will be ridiculed and attacked as being "morons"?
Years ago -with the old Yahoo 360 CBO, the Free Servers CBO and WordPress CBO people did express their opinions. The trolls and flamers were quickly weeded out. Any CBO reader is entitled to hold the complete and opposite opinion to mine and express it -politely. I have had -rarely- something I stated be corrected and I corrected the item and thanked the person who pointed the problem out to me.
The thing is that is we all liked and hated the same thing when it comes to comics it would be very boring. Every genre has people who do not like one thing but do like something another person dislikes. That's normal. A couple people disagreed with my opinion of Del Mundo's art in my Avengers review -they saw no saving grace in it. I did and I think his art has improved. No arguments. You see, they made their points politely no "You ***** jerk. That is ***** **** and you got no ***** idea!!!" I've had a few of those and I just laugh and delete them. I found quite early on that the people making the comments either had blogs or similar with extremely low viewing figures and a flame-war (creating internet arguing and name-calling) and trolling they could report on seemed, to them, the way of getting higher views. You ignore them they go away.
I recall (though I cannot remember the blog name) how when I made the rule that only real, solid comics would be reviewed and explained all the reasons why, a blogger came onto CBO and ranted at me. He also posted an item along the lines of "No Name Comic Site DEMANDS Review Comics" so I commented politely on his page and out came the abuse from him. Also he deleted my comment and edited it for his blog to show how nasty I was (that is common practice). So I simply blocked him on CBO and let him carry on. All these years later...I am still here but he appears to have vanished along with his blog (I just checked and found the page name).
The same rule applies on CBO as on my Yahoo and Face Book pages: you are polite and if your opinion differs state it but politely. You attack any member personally or use abusive language -you get banned for a month or for life.
Then again, maybe people visiting CBO just want something non-antagonistic to read? You want to sit back and just read about Frankenstein, Samson or Jekyll & Hyde in comics or even read an Avengers, Sub-Mariner or JLA mega post? That's okay.
You don't want to buy my books -that's okay (can you hear my teeth grinding??)
I think that, after (I know it's well over 20 years now) a couple decades and being on Blogger since 2011 CBO (that's me in reality) must have gotten the content mix right -3 million+ views ain't bad (and the same number of views via Google+).
So where ever you are from keep enjoying comics and keep visiting CBO.
See, nice positive ending to a post!
sigh
Anyway, as I'm in pain and can't do much else (apart from constantly correcting typoes because my hands have decided they don't need to work properly) I thought I'd go over stats. Despite the figures, which I'm told are impressive, they don't mean that much to me because of the dyscaculie. However, show me those numbers in real people.....
So how many views from 1st February to 1st March?
It seems that February, 2018 is the time that comic fans in the UK discovered CBO. About 20 years late but it is good to see the UK actually out of 10th or 11th place for once! It is also the first time I have seen Turkey in the top ten for a month or even week and Brazil is joining in. But it's a trio of new top ten newcomers because we have Italy, too.
France in the Number One position is new as that was always the place of the United States or China. I do wonder whether the number of views from the US was down to the Comic Geek Chic phase -comics were "hot" for a while so more visited comic sites like CBO? Buggers certainly weren't interested in buying comics!
Top countries You might expect to actually hear from -readers asking about things or passing on links to comic publishers in their countries. Nope. This is something that used to drive me nuts because you assume thousands of people visiting a day are comic fans and there is going to be two-way chat going on, as there used to be in the age of the printed fanzine when everyone wrote letters of comment (LOCs). Now you do not have to have pen, paper, envelopes and certainly do not have to go and buy a stamp and pop your letter in a post-box. You can do it all from where you sit. I think that the internet, for comics and more, has been a great Negative.
You Tubers and bloggers adopt a "shock-Jock" approach (I actually listened to one of these on the radio recently. He's been going for years and the shock-jock talk had me laugh in boredom). "SJWs!!!" "Racist, woman hating comic fans!!!" they'll try anything to get views and they are obsessed by wanting more subscribers and "Likes". One on You Tube recently used "SJWs attack fans!" and the entire video was about a recent comic he had purchased. As one of the big "Anti-SJWs" explained -just using the term gets views. Shallow. I have to say "Fan hating SJW Marvel--" in the title should have been changed to "I'm A double dumb-ass and want attention!" You see, he tore into the writer of a title and criticised everything while also noting he hadn't read the book properly yet or seen the previous issue (which might have helped as it was part 2 of a story). These people seem to snort and giggle a lot and are not very cogent in their criticism. They demand better stories and yet pick up a book clearly marked "Part 2" and screech that it makes no sense.
I do wonder whether comic fans -I mean real comic fans- are worried that if they comment on a CBO item they have a different opinion on they will be ridiculed and attacked as being "morons"?
Years ago -with the old Yahoo 360 CBO, the Free Servers CBO and WordPress CBO people did express their opinions. The trolls and flamers were quickly weeded out. Any CBO reader is entitled to hold the complete and opposite opinion to mine and express it -politely. I have had -rarely- something I stated be corrected and I corrected the item and thanked the person who pointed the problem out to me.
The thing is that is we all liked and hated the same thing when it comes to comics it would be very boring. Every genre has people who do not like one thing but do like something another person dislikes. That's normal. A couple people disagreed with my opinion of Del Mundo's art in my Avengers review -they saw no saving grace in it. I did and I think his art has improved. No arguments. You see, they made their points politely no "You ***** jerk. That is ***** **** and you got no ***** idea!!!" I've had a few of those and I just laugh and delete them. I found quite early on that the people making the comments either had blogs or similar with extremely low viewing figures and a flame-war (creating internet arguing and name-calling) and trolling they could report on seemed, to them, the way of getting higher views. You ignore them they go away.
I recall (though I cannot remember the blog name) how when I made the rule that only real, solid comics would be reviewed and explained all the reasons why, a blogger came onto CBO and ranted at me. He also posted an item along the lines of "No Name Comic Site DEMANDS Review Comics" so I commented politely on his page and out came the abuse from him. Also he deleted my comment and edited it for his blog to show how nasty I was (that is common practice). So I simply blocked him on CBO and let him carry on. All these years later...I am still here but he appears to have vanished along with his blog (I just checked and found the page name).
The same rule applies on CBO as on my Yahoo and Face Book pages: you are polite and if your opinion differs state it but politely. You attack any member personally or use abusive language -you get banned for a month or for life.
Then again, maybe people visiting CBO just want something non-antagonistic to read? You want to sit back and just read about Frankenstein, Samson or Jekyll & Hyde in comics or even read an Avengers, Sub-Mariner or JLA mega post? That's okay.
You don't want to buy my books -that's okay (can you hear my teeth grinding??)
I think that, after (I know it's well over 20 years now) a couple decades and being on Blogger since 2011 CBO (that's me in reality) must have gotten the content mix right -3 million+ views ain't bad (and the same number of views via Google+).
So where ever you are from keep enjoying comics and keep visiting CBO.
See, nice positive ending to a post!
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