Pre-Ordering Comics and You: A Guide
WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST FROM SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON TO BRING YOU AN IMPORTANT BULLETIN:
As you’ve all seen and read to the point of exasperation, I’ve been hocking this new Awakening Omnibus pretty intensely for the past few weeks. Some of you may be saying “Boy Nick, it seems like a cool book, and I *did* skip the hardcovers because they were pricey, but I’ll just wait until my comic shop or bookstore gets it in to pre-order it.”
No.
No. No. No.
And here’s why:
Awakening has gotten some great critical praise, and Archaia is just about in the stratosphere in terms of notoriety and popularity right now, but there are still a LOT of stores who are unfamiliar with one or both. As such, many won’t order this wonderful brick of existential horror and zombie noir because they have no way of knowing if it’s a doorstop.
That’s where you come in. Get in there. Talk about it. Ask your local comic shop to get it for you so they know it’s not going to collect dust. The initial order cut-off through Diamond appears to be the first week of August (perhaps the 6th), which means you have exactly two more Wednesday trips to make this happen at your shop. The Diamond order code is JUL11 0825.
If you don’t have a local shop (and check out the Comic Shop Locator to make sure, first) and have to go with a bookstore, go ahead and pre-order from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but please try to shop local first.
Pre-orders mean a hell of a lot in this industry. It can determine how many copies a publisher prints, how many copies a store orders, and even if the book makes it to print at all (in fact, there have, in very recent history, been some cases where there just weren’t enough pre-orders for a book to justify printing it, despite fervent online chatter and ample excitement – some of these have gone on to build their own buzz, get resolicited, and in one notable case, been nominated for very prestigious industry awards. No, I’m not naming names but, suffice it to say, it’s happened).
YOU make books happen. You’re just as much a part of the creation process as you are the consumption portion of our wonderfully co-dependent relationship.
In summation, if you’re reading this and think you know somebody who wants to read the book, point them here. If you want the book yourself, get to your local shop and tell them.
The internet has a tendency to focus on what it hates in a particular moment. TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE AND WHAT YOU WANT, INSTEAD. With friends, with fellow fans, with strangers on the internet. Talk about it.
That’s it. Ain’t no more to it. We now return you to you’re regularly scheduled programming.
And California Wept
After some minor (read: major) travel mishaps on Friday kept us from our targeted arrival, we kicked in the door and forced ourselves upon the once proud (and now former) Kingdom of Schwarzenegger today. Actually here for vacation, but I guess I might make it to that low-budget convention in San Diego next week.
Also, while adjusting to the time difference I found myself creating a Facebook page for Awakening. Go ‘like’ it to get a look at some exclusives, like deleted scenes, character designs, scripts, and anything else I can dig up. The more likes, the more stuff goes up. And when we hit 500, there’s going to be some original art floating out to a lucky someone. Go be there.
If you’re curious about where you can get some stuff signed, I added a listing on the left side of the site which will be updated periodically with such information. Also, below:
SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON
In addition to the regular Archaia Booth (#2635), they also have a satellite ‘signing booth’ at #4401. I’ll be at both on Thursday.
Wednesday, July 20th (Preview Night)
7pm – 9pm (Satellite Booth #4401)
Thursday, July 21st
11am – 12:30pm (Archaia Booth #2635)
2:30pm – 4pm (Satellite Booth #4401)
Come shower me with Kit-Kats and affection.
Life With An Apparition Hunter
My best pal, who my wife and pals crash with in San Diego, is a grand high poobah of the Southern California Ghostbusters. And he’s debuting a bad ass new pack at SDCC.
In-progress:
I have the coolest life.
Awakening Omnibus – Your Brick of Existential Horror
“A dark journey into the end of days. Genuinely unsettling and scary, Awakening delivers all the moods and the chills– a genre-bending graphic novel.”
-Guillermo del Toro, Director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy
“With a title that evokes a happy new beginning, Awakening instead weaves a riveting tale of the End Times. Whereas all others in this genre begin in the middle of the story, Awakening takes its time, starting at the beginning when all is seemingly normal. Page after page it sucks you in and makes you sit up and howl in attention……One of the best comics out there, period full stop….”
-Don Murphy, Producer of Transformers and Real Steel
In this week’s PREVIEWS (Order Code JUL11 0825), due in stores on or around September 28th:
“The once peaceful city of Park Falls has been tainted by a series of missing persons and gruesome murders. Town crazy Cynthia Ford comes forward to speak with retired police detective Derrick Peters one January afternoon with information about the strange happenings, claiming that they”re connected. But does she hold the key to unlocking the mystery, or has she gone completely insane? To Derrick”s disbelief she utters one word: Zombies. The answers await Derrick, federal scientist Dr. Daniel Howe, attack survivor Sandra LaFayette, and the rest of the city, but will they lead to salvation or the end of life as we know it? Investigate the mystery and dive into the horror of the critically acclaimed zombie noir series, Awakening, now collected in one giant volume, including a short story, production extras, guest pin-ups, and more.”
This is how the story was written, and probably the best way to read it – collected in one giant volume of zombie noir and existential horror; a full year in Park Falls with private dick Derrick Peters as things go from bad to worse.
It’s Archaia Entertainment’s first softcover collection, so be sure to show them how much you appreciate that by picking it up. This is for every person Alex and I spoke to at conventions who said “I’ll wait for the softcover,” despite us telling them that, at the time, there were no plans for one. I expect all of you motherfuckers to order the hell out of this book. Please. At $24.99 it’s kind of a steal–that’s about $1.92/issue, including the supplementals.
(And before anybody panics, no, you didn’t get ripped off if you picked up the hardcovers. Though we rearranged some of the extras and re-lettered the first volume to match the second, there is no additional content, unless you count the covers from the hardcovers which, if you own them, you already have. If you have the hardcovers, you’ve got a solid piece of history as they won’t be reprinted – from what I understand, there are only a few hundred copies of Volume 1 left.)
Want a taste? Read the first chapter here.
As always, be sure to get to your local comic or book store before ordering online. There’s a link to the Comic Shop Locator on the right side of this page. Failing having a local shop, you can pre-order the book at Amazon–AWAKENING OMNIBUS ON AMAZON–for what I’m sure will prove to be an embarrassingly low price (at the moment it’s $16.47).
If you’re a retailer, member of the press, or a creative professional interested in supporting the book, I strongly urge you to check out the newly minted “Retailer and Press Lounge” on this site. It will lead you to information about the omnibus, including a free high-quality PDF of the whole 320-page beast, specs, suggested audiences, and more. Access to the book-specific page is password protected to keep it exclusive to retailers and press; email me with the name/website of your shop, or magazine/review site and I’ll give you VIP access to what lies beyond the velvet ropes.
Updates as they happen. I’ve finally got this site synced to an almost frightening degree with my iPhone, so I mean that almost literally.
In Case You Don’t Wake Up Every Morning Already Terrified,
Cracked.com gives you five reasons to start.
One example:
This phenomenon is just what it sounds like: When two galaxies run into each other, one eats the other. Planets go crashing into each other and get sucked into supermassive black holes, and solar systems get “ejected” from each galaxy. The term “clusterfuck” was invented to literally describe what happens in these cases.
So for any of the paranoids out there reading, yes, the universe really is preparing to kill you.
Dream Eater
Taken in Maine last year.
Found on phone today.
Will have the nightmares.
Again.
