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OUR TOP STORY...
So, the book is out - now what? Now, oh loyal readers, we need to keep
the momentum going. Reviews and interviews are abound but now we need
to show comic shops that there's good reason for them to carry the book
in their stores! Below is an open letter to comic retailers which I
emailed out to all the shop contacts I could gather online. What we
need YOU to do is repost this on blogs and message boards, Twitter a
link, send up a smoke signal - get this info to your local shop to help
them sell the book. That doesn't mean you should go in and ask for ten
copies of the book to be ordered, that's not what this is about. This
is about spreading the word about the book and giving retailers the
ammunition they need to confidently recommend and sell the book to
their customers.
Let's do this thing! Zombie Noir for everybody! Tweet and repost pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase!
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Hello, purveyor of four-color greatness!
My name is Nick Tapalansky and I'm the writer of the recent Archaia release, Awakening (Volume One).
Selling comics is a tough business, and nobody knows that as well as
you guys. That said, you do it day in and day out and, one better, you
do it well. If I can appeal to your generous side for just a minute,
I’m hoping you’ll read on and find your free PDF of the 144-page
volume, a trailer for the book, and more. I’m putting in some legwork,
trying to spread the word about the book’s release (the hardcover was
released in July of this year), and let you know how the team behind
the book, as well as Archaia, is working to promote the book and push
readers into your stores. First though, a little background.
When the first three chapters of Awakening were serialized back
in 2007 the series was nominated for four British Eagle Awards
including Favourite Newcomer Writer and Favourite New Comic Book. We’ve
also received tons of critical praise, including:
- “The coolest and most original zombie piece since The Walking Dead
got under way... This is simply gorgeous art that needs to be lived in.
It, like any great art, speaks to you immediately and with authority.”
- Lee Ferguson, Broken Frontier
- “Derek Peters is where Phillip Marlowe meets George Romero. Awakening
will have readers feeling so lonely that they need someone nearby, but
so paranoid that they’ll double-check who’s in bed next to them.” -
Nick Kelly, Horrorview
- “Awakening may be the indie runaway hit of the year.” – The Geeks of Doom
- "Awakening is the type of storytelling achievement you often
find yourself reading in trade format a year after-the-fact, wondering
why the hell you didn't hear more about it at the time of its
publishing. The type of book that goes on to achieve eventual cult
status and terrible film adaptations that wholly miss the point." — Tom
Mattson, Newseed Comics
After Archaia underwent a publishing hiatus for most of 2008, we
quietly waited with the book until the business end of things was
sorted out. By mid 2009 the machine was moving again and Awakening,
now a two-volume hardcover series (more on the format shift in a
minute), was ready to make its comeback! The book has since been
featured on CBR, in Rue Morgue Magazine, and on various comic news and
review sites.
Below is the solicitation for the volume, followed by a link to the trailer for the book:
"The once peaceful city of Park Falls has been tainted by a series of
gruesome murders and missing persons. Cynthia Ford, well known as the
town crazy, comes forward to speak with retired police detective
Derrick Peters one January afternoon. She claims to have information
about the murders, but does she hold the key to unlocking the mystery
or has she truly gone insane?
To Derrick’s disbelief she utters one word:
Zombies.
Unable to ignore Cynthia’s information, though not sharing her beliefs,
Derrick and others in the city explore the mystery as weeks turn to
months and the death toll rises. Could Cynthia have been right? Follow
the first half of Park Falls’s year-long struggle for answers here."
You can view the trailer for the volume here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qJQB68NkP0
So, where do you come in? Like I said in the beginning of this letter,
I know how hard it is to sell comics these days (or even books in
general). It’s even harder to opt to stock a new title from an unknown
creative team when you’ve got some guaranteed sellers you can put in
its place. That’s actually why we shifted formats from floppy issues
and hardcovers to just hardcovers – how could we ask you to order a
fourth issue from a relatively little known book and put it on a shelf
in place of, say a Marvel or DC book after we had an 18-month
publication hiatus? It wouldn’t make sense. That’s not to say you guys
don’t support the indies, far from it, but something like that just
seemed like a bit of a stretch, even from our end of the table as
creators.
Back to the point though – it’s hard to make that decision without
knowing more about the book. That’s why, below, you’ll find a link to
download a PDF of the entire volume for you to read.
(Email Nick.Tapalansky@gmail.com with your shop's name and location to receive the PDF!)
The book contains the first five chapters of the series, two more than
were serialized, 10-pages of supplemental story material (journal
entries and illustrations between each chapter), and pinups from a
multitude of artists as chapter breaks. It’s also got a sweet dust
jacket and an even sweeter price point: $19.95. If the books had all
been serialized, they would’ve cost $17.50 combined cover price – for
$2.45 more you get it hardbound, with dust jacket, and 15-pages of
supplemental material (the journal entries plus the aforementioned
pinups)!
I firmly believe there’s at least one (if not two or three) customer in
your shop that would love the hell out of this book and that’s my
challenge to you: put this book in that customer’s hand. It’s a sale
for you, and another reader for us – we both win.
Got a zombie nut? Tell them it’s a “zombie noir,” a murder mystery with a zombie twist.
Got somebody who’s zombied out? Tell them it’s more about the mystery
with an entirely different take on the classic zombie (read the book –
it’s true).
Got an indie fan who doesn’t dabble in horror so much? Tell them its
existential horror, more about the plight of the characters in the wake
of this growing mystery (the noir card helps here too).
Got a genre (horror) fan? Tell them its zombies with a Fell feel.
Got all of the above? Go to town! The best part about it is that
everything above about the book is true - you're introducing them to
something new and exciting they otherwise might not have known about!
Right now Alex and I, along with Mel Caylo, Archaia’s Marketing Director, are working hard to plan an October event for Awakening.
[Details of event edited for now - details will be emailed along
with PDF download link, including info on how we'd like to promote YOUR
store! - Nick]
We’ll be supporting the event via online news (Comic Book Resources,
Broken Frontier, Comic Monsters, Fangoria.com, etc.), social networking
(Twitter, MySpace, Facebook), and the like. Our hope is to move more
people into stores rather than ordering online, so if you plan to have
a copy or two of the book in stock please let me know after I send you
official dates for the event so that I can list your stores name and
address in any releases, blogs, etc. relating to the event. We want to
make push as successful as possible for you and us, so any support or
suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We're in this for more than
just the one day, so anything we can do to help you sell the book
beyond the one-day event, please don't hesitate to mention!
In the interim, you can find out more about the book, including
interviews and reviews, and follow us online at the following addresses:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AwakeningComic
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/AwakeningComic
Nick’s Site: http://www.nicktapalansky.com
Alex’s Site: http://www.alexeckmanlawn.com
Thanks for taking the time to read this – I know it was a bit lengthy
but I’m hoping with all of this material and information you’ll be able
to better sell the book in your store. I’ll be sending out more info
about the October event as we’re able to finalize details. Alex and I
are always up for store signings, talking at graphic novel
reading/creating groups, or any other store events, so please feel free
to email if you’d like us to pop in! The east coast, northeast in
particular, is where we’re located but we’d be happy to come by around
conventions to stores that are out of our relative area so don’t
hesitate to ask!
Thanks again!
Best,
Nick Tapalansky
Nick.Tapalansky@gmail.com
5:35 PM
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