Welcome to New York Comic Con Day 0! NYCC starts on Thursday, but on Wednesday was the comics retailer summit. It’s open only to comics retailers and working press and is a way for retailers to meet up, trade sales ideas, and get swag pushed on them by publishers.
It’s a big change to New York Comic Con this year compared to previous years, when the retailer summit was traditionally held early Thursday morning. The change makes sense. A lot of the retailers in attendance at the summit are also tabling at the show. They have booths to set up, vans to unload.
And the swag, oh the swag. On their way in, retailers were given retailer NYCC exclusive variants of Scarlet Witch #1, The Department of Truth #25, and the choice of either Last Ronin II #1 or Infinite Frontier #1. Infinite Frontier is an interesting choice from DC. “Would you like this variant of this three-year-old comic that had a fun but not memorable story?” Why not yet All In, DC? And while Last Ronin II #1 and Scarlett Witch #1 are not as new as Department of Truth #25, at least they were published this year.
Swag, glorious, swag…There was a nice mix of smaller publishers at the event. Bad Idea was on site, collecting retailer info in exchange for a tote bag and a comic ahead of a big distribution push they were hinting at for next year. McFarlane Toys was there as well, showing off toys and statues coming soon to comic shops. DSTLRY had ashcans on hand for retailers to check out (and flip on eBay). Good Trouble Comics was showing off their new, acclaimed book, Register! Other companies on hand included Mad Cave, Rekcah, and Sandstorm.
Besides small publishers, there were companies on hand advertising retail management tools and ways for retailers to manage their healthcare costs.
One panel was full of tips on how to boost holiday sales. There were a lot of tips so good that they’d be obvious – make a holiday gift guide, sell gift-wrapped mystery trades divided up by genre and maturity level, and maintain an up-to-date email list.
A big announcement to come out of the retail summit was about a partnership between Prana Direct Market Solutions and Manage Comics. The goal is to create usable comics sales data at the retail level. One of the metrics they will be tracking is something they have named the Fan Confidence Rating (FCR). It uses subscriptions and pre-orders as a measurement of fan excitement.
According to their data, single issue sales are up. They presented a chart showing the last two years of monthly sales. There was a big peak the month Ultimate Spider-Man #1 came out, and if the data was current through this month, there would have been a big peak for Absolute Batman #1 as well.
Andrew Aydin, who co-wrote the March series with John Lewis and very recently survived the terrible hurricane that swept through North Carolina, spoke to the assembled retailers about his new comic, Register!, and anecdotes about working with Lewis. He hinted at other new books he has on the way coming from Penguin Random House and DC.
Penguin Random House presented next, showing retailers how they and their customers could use their pull list feature to easily order books they want. They also showed off a display shelf they’re really pushing on retailers. When retailers order a set of shelves and a fill, they’ll receive a $50-$150 credit depending on which bundle they order for their store.
DSTLRY, The Beat’s 2023 Publisher of the Year, presented next. They bragged about their Eisner nominations and win. Did you know their win was the first time a publisher won in their first year of publishing books? They showed off upcoming hardcover graphic novels, including White Boat by Scott Snyder and Francisco Francavilla. DSTLRY gave away ashcans, but don’t worry, they’ll have plenty more of the same two ashcans at their booth all NYCC!
James Tynion IV did a retailers-only signing for those who stuck around. So expect those The Department of Truth #25 NYCC retailer variants you see on eBay soon to be signed.
Todd McFarlane mistakenly showed up an hour before he was set to speak, and was immediately swarmed for selfie and autograph requests before being whisked away by his handler.
Mike Negin, all-star Reed Pop staff member, spoke about ComicBooks For Kids!, the charity that he serves on the board for. The charity collects comics and graphic novels for kids in hospitals.
Square Enix presented while turning the volume up to 11, literally. Oh, my ears! Why is the sound system set at grandma watching her programs levels for them?
Kickstarter was next to speak, which seemed odd, since their crowdfunding business model works around retailers, not with them.
I dipped out during Kickstarter to use the men’s room, and ho boy, I walked in to find half of the men’s room already out of order at 3:42 PM on Wednesday, Day 0 of NYCC. It’s going to be long (bathroom line) weekend. Also, maybe these retailers need more fiber.
After Kickstarter finished, a staffer announced to the assembled crowd it was time for the designated bathroom break before McFarlane speaks. Oh no, no one told her…
McFarlane returned, offering retailers to stop him on the show floor throughout NYCC to talk to him or ask him questions. He was there representing both Todd McFarlane Productions and Image Comics, where he serves as president. He spoke with the confidence and fire of a motivational speaker: “You guys are not dramatically different from what I do every day, and when it works, it’s brilliant.” McFarlane kept the bathroom theme going, recounting a story from before he broke into the business. Jim Shooter was reviewing portfolios at SDCC, but Todd arrived too late. Todd laid it wait though, knowing Shooter would need a bathroom break at some point. “Always bet on the bladder,” Todd joked. When Shooter made a men’s room break, Todd did the same, pretending to pee in the urinal next to Jim. “I even gave it a tug.” He washed his hands while Shooter washed his, and before Shooter could exit, Todd asked him for a portfolio review there in the bathroom.
After that story, Todd took the audience, bribing potential questioners with the NYCC exclusive Peach Momoko variant cover issue of Spawn that will be on sale at NYCC on Saturday. Ask a question, get a comic!
Once Todd finished, retailers in attendance received an ultra limited to 300 copies variant of Spawn # 357 signed by McFarlane.
I come to these NYCC retailer summits in case anything controversial breaks out. No one was screaming at publishers about LGBTQ+ characters this year, so progress! Everyone seemed to be in a generally good mood, and the afternoon passed nicely. It was great seeing retailer friends looking genuinely excited to reconnect with each other. But it didn’t make for an exciting time.
I wasn’t allowed on the NYCC show floor, not that I tried or even wanted to. Everyone is very much still setting up their booths, banners are just being hung. It’s a mad scramble to get everything set up in time for tomorrow’s 10 AM unleashing of the hordes of fans on the Javits Center.
NYCC was still very much a work in progress late in the afternoon on WednesdayUnlike past retailer summits at NYCC, there was no free food or coffee, which I heard more than a few retailers grumbling about. Retailers want their coffee (as do we all)!!! But hey, those DSTLRY ashcans should definitely pay for a decent lunch or five.
English (US) · 