Episode 36: Stuart Schreck - "Communication Isn't Criticism"

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Dear listeners, for another episode of Comics
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For You, it's the podcast all about the making,
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marketing, and selling of comic books. I am,
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as always, your host, Matthew Klein. My day job
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is selling comic books to comic book shops from
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Penguin Random House. But hey, I'm also a writer.
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My graphic novel, Crashing, from IDW Publishing,
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is available wherever comics and books are sold.
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And I think The Pit meets The X -Men, a super
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-powered medical drama with art by Morgan Beam.
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We've got coloring by Triona Farrell, lettered
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by Eisner Award -winner Hassan Atmani El -Hal,
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edited by friend of the show Heather Antos. I
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also have multiple webcomics about a Philly PI
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named Mason Rime that you may read for free over
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on a site called Tapas. It's written by me, drawn
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by Rich Wazicki, and lettered by Nick Philpott.
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Links for all of these and more are in the show
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notes and on socials. But today we have a really
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special guest. It is Stuart Schreck, the director
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of sales at Dark Horse Comics. Stuart's been
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in the comics in history for over. 30 years,
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managing a comic shop in Staten Island during
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the late 90s, working at DC Comics for 21 years,
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then over at Diamond Comics now at Dark Horse.
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He has worked with comic shops for nearly his
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entire career and he gives fantastic insight
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into the selling of comics to the shops themselves.
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We get into some of his favorite sales campaigns
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he's ever been a part of, what he sees as the
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biggest trends for comic shops today, the importance
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of building trust with the retailers, and about
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some of the new exciting initiatives Dark Horse
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is going to be putting out this summer. Thanks
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for making time to be with us. Hey, if you wouldn't
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mind, please take a second to like, subscribe,
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rate the show 5 stars, write a 10 word review
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even. It all goes a super long way to getting
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the algorithm to like us. If you're here for
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Stuart and you dig the interview, listen. Check
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the back catalog. Over 35 episodes. We have chats
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with folks like Matthew Rosenberg, Chris Condon,
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Stephanie Phillips, Jorge Corona. We've launched
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our bonus segment called Fate Five, where folks
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share their top fives for favorite comic runs,
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writers, artists, superpowers they wish they
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had. So stay tuned in two weeks, though, because
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we're going to have the writer of Amazing Spider
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-Man, Joe Kelly himself. He is considered Mr.
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Deadpool. I will make an argument. You should
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also think of him as Mr. Spider -Man. Some of
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it will work with both characters in the 90s,
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the 2000s, the 10s, the 20s. It's an incredible
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conversation. It's actually going to be part
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one of our first ever two -part. It was such
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a big episode. And we're going and growing here
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at Comics4U, and you can help us expand over
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on Patreon at patreon .com slash comics4u for
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as just a little as $1. a month. The normal disclaimer
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still applies, all opinions expressed on here
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are strictly my own and do not reflect my employer
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Penguin or AniMouse. So let's hop into it with
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Stuart Shrek and discover why comics are for
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you. Stuart Shrek, Mr. Shrektober, a man who,
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before we came on, and I've told you this before,
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but when I was a Wii sales associate at Valiant
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Entertainment, I looked around the comics industry
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because it was my first time behind the scenes
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at a publisher and I saw what you were doing
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at DC and I heard nothing but amazing things
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about you like every retailer I spoke with had
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positive things to say about you even when they
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didn't have always positive things to say about
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DC they always had great things to say about
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you and so Stuart Shrek welcome to comics for
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you truly one of the guys from this side of the
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comics industry that I looked up to and always
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was like, if I could be a little bit more like
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Stuart, I know I'm going in the right direction
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as far as a rep. So welcome, my friend. Oh, thank
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you. I appreciate that. You know, I don't I don't
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really know how to respond to that. It just makes
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me ask the question back to you. Like, what what
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was it like? What what gave you that little inspiration
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off of me? Because I just hustled. I was hustling.
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But go ahead, please. A, it's the hustling, because
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you're always great at hustling. But B, it was
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because we are in a fascinating position in sales.
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In general, the good news and the bad news gets
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communicated from us in a lot of ways. And we
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talked a little bit about this off air before
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we started recording. when you thought we were
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recording and I was a horrible podcast host and
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didn't explain that, oh, I thought we were just
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catching up as friends real quick. We are really
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in a lot of ways sometimes the first line of
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communication, the first point of contact. publishers
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and or distributors and I don't know that that
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like the casual listener understands that so
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I certainly have as a rep of PRH who I'm not
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speaking on behalf of today I say it in the intro
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all opinions are my own but even when I was at
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Valiant like when they can't get a hold of the
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publisher or they can't get a hold of and I mean
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publisher publisher not the business but like
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We are the person that when there's something
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wrong, we're the first ones to hear about it.
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When they are panicked and afraid of something,
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of not getting their books on time, of a printer
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defect, of a billing issue, we really become,
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I always describe it as almost like we're therapists,
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we're bartender, we're retail rep, so we really
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get a lot of... that initial frustration and
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fear and quandaries. And one of the things that
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I always loved about you and that made me aspire
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a little bit to use you as a little bit of an
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example was despite being in that role and despite
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hearing when there were things at DC at the time
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that people would be frustrated or concerned
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or nervous about. It was never personalized towards
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you. You were such a good rep. And I would always
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hear that like, I can go to Stuart and tell Stuart
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anything. And to have that rapport and that trust
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from the retailer is a sacred thing. And it's
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a very difficult and very fragile, you know,
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aspect of a relationship to have. And that's
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what always made me go, man, Stuart's the guy
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I got to learn from here. I need to learn a little
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bit more about how Stuart's handling his accounts
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and adopt that. Oh, gee. Well, thank you. There's
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a lot to unpack there. Please. We got time. No.
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I used to tell new reps who was on the phones
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with retailers that the first time you do a cold
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call, you speak to someone, they're going to
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yell at you. And it's not yelling at you, but
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they're... They're going to unload everything
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that they feel about DC or the comic book industry
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on you. But you're going to call them back the
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next week. You can call them back the week after
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that. And it's not the short game. It's the long
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game. And you're going to build a relationship.
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And you know, it is finding the things that they
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like and what you like and what you guys can
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talk about and building it during the good times
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so that when the bad times come, you have a rapport.
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But while that's happening, you're also building
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their trust because they're asking you a question
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and you're getting the answer for them. They're
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giving you an order and they're getting it. You're
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giving them suggestions and you're not hard selling
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them, but you're giving them the suggestion.
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You're giving them the things they need to know
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and they will eventually believe you because
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you've proven it. And I like to say personally,
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like when I'd rather have a retailer talk to
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me than yell at a coworker. Because if they're
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meeting someone for the first time at a, at a
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convention or an event or something, or picking
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up the phone, they're more likely to yell at
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them. They're not going to yell at me. And if
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they do, I know the real like, okay, where, where
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are we in this relationship? Um, you know, is
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it a new, a new retailer or is it someone I've
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known for? a year, four years, 10 years less.
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So yeah, it's just building that relationship.
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It's definitely good temperament, you know, understanding
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what is going on and what the retailers are going
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through. And also, you know, you learn very quickly
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that it's not black and white. It's not two sides
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of a... of the same coin, it's multiple shades
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of gray. Like there are things that retailers
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have said to me about a situation they not have
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thought of and learn over time. Like, oh, OK,
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how do we navigate this? How are they navigating
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it? How are we figuring this out? And then how
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do we figure this out, getting it done? So we
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have a concrete mini series that just came out.
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We didn't have back lists. So we, uh, put the
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first volume of the concrete back and it was,
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you know, it wasn't solicited. We just kind of
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went and put, you know, back in print. So it
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comes out and, uh, I was looking and I pulled
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it off in the library here at Dark Horse and
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it's the size of the Marvel compact edition,
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whatever they call their compact. And I'm like,
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cool. Well, that's a, that's a kind of a precursor.
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So, you know, cause this thing was PUP. printed
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20 years ago. So, you know, I posted on the Facebook
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page and it's like, hey, back in print, it's
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the same size as the Marvel compact. So you guys
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have a compact section, which is great. And like
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you put it there and it's your favorite artist,
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favorite artist, then it supports the new series.
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Of course, there was some like, you know, hey,
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I got a question about the data. from PRH. I'm
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like, Oh, when I, you know, I had to send an
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email out because I'm, I'm like, I don't, Oh,
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I don't know the answer to that. You know, it's
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like, Hey, is it available in the UK? I'm like,
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it should be. I reached out to the UK diamond
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UK rep that I know just to make sure that he's
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aware. So it is like, it's definitely follow
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through. It's like someone asks a question. It's
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like, you know, just like think about it for
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a second, figure it out and send that email.
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You know, I'm not afraid to ask. the obvious
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question or the or the stupid question or just
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the question just so that there's a conversation
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about it so it's just yeah i don't know it's
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always one of those things where i'm i don't
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think i'm the smartest person in the room so
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i'm just trying constantly to figure out what
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the right answer is and and how to approach it
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so for for the listeners please state your current
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title in the marketplace, just so they've got
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it. My name is Stuart Shrek. I am the director
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of sales for the direct market at Dark Horse
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Comics. I was at Diamond as a purchasing manager
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for originally hired for Marvel and then quickly
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became all of PRH's purchasing. persons, you
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know, and then former to that, I was at DC Comics
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in the sales department where I was the sales
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manager for 21 years. Quick, quick 21 years.
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I mean, the older I get, the shorter the years
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seem when I look back on them for sure. Prior
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to that, I was behind a counter at a store, a
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comic book store in Staten Island. Comic Attitudes,
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originally in the Staten Island mall, and then
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it was it was moved. down what was that Richmond
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Avenue to where the Social Security building
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was. So I always like to say I managed two different
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types of mall store and a destination location.
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So what years were that that you were working
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in Staten Island? So Staten Island was 95 to
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99 and then August of 99 I started at DC. 2015
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in New York, in Manhattan. 2015, we moved out
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to California. In 2020, and beginning of 2021,
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when the pandemic was in full -blown, you know,
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that was when there was all the layoffs as Warner
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Brothers moved. bought by what AT &T and that's
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off to discovery. And then 20, September 21 diamond
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for three really great years, one really bad
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year with the, with the bankruptcy. And then.
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Dark Horse now for like nine months in September
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of 2025. The beginning of your next 21 -year
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run at Dark Horse. Sure, let's go. Let's do it.
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Let's go. So, I mean, you, I want to, and we'll
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get back to sort of the retailer stuff there.
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I'm really curious though, just having worked,
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you know, publishers, distributors through the
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pandemic, we're working in a shop then during
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some of the lowest points in the comics industry
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when the bottom fell out of the secondary market.
00:12:58.909 --> 00:13:01.230
Talk to me a little bit, like what has been some
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of the the biggest evolutions that you've seen
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in the industry? Someone once someone I'm going
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to be positive and call it an evolution, Stuart.
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Well, people said to me, yeah, I was like, hey,
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you remember in comics was like the good old
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days of comics. And I'm like, I don't know what
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that means, because it's always been like roller
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coaster. It's always been a hectic evolution
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of things. You know, I remember Marvel going
00:13:28.730 --> 00:13:32.570
and leaving Diamond and coming back and the consolidation
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of everything at Diamond was probably a good
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step. It was a good step at the time. I feel
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that the The opportunity to make certain changes
00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:48.320
to their systems or the opportunity to make changes
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:52.220
at Diamond, they made changes that may have been
00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.500
the wrong changes. Like there were some back
00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:57.419
end systems that they should have improved at
00:13:57.419 --> 00:14:00.919
any opportunity they had and they really didn't.
00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:05.679
But... That was, I mean, everybody under diamond
00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:09.779
under one distributor was an evolution and it
00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:12.240
was, you know, it was definitely solidified the
00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:15.240
industry and started making it stronger. Um,
00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:17.080
you know, and then there was just like, you know,
00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.000
it's always creative. I think there was so much
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.970
good. creative books coming out from everyone.
00:14:24.730 --> 00:14:27.769
Um, between, you know, DC getting very strong
00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:30.330
in the early two thousands and Marvel getting
00:14:30.330 --> 00:14:33.870
stronger and in at the same time and the ultimate
00:14:33.870 --> 00:14:39.399
line and, and just Jim Lee. DC and, you know,
00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:42.259
the return of Frank Miller on a few projects
00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:46.360
and Jeff Johns showing up and doing amazing things.
00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:49.340
You know, the Green Lantern run and the Blackest
00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:52.179
Night run and all the, you know, you know, you
00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:54.700
can argue the before Watchmen stuff, but it brought
00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:57.879
a lot of excitement. There was a lot of excitement
00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:01.039
throughout Jeff Loeb's run on Superman Batman.
00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.539
Batman, Superman, or whatever, whichever order
00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.039
it was at the time. And, you know, they just
00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.659
like a lot of great creators, you know, and the
00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:13.919
thing that at DC I thought that kept us going
00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.860
early on was the backlist and the collected editions
00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:21.779
that were constantly in stock made my job easier,
00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:24.360
you know, between, you know, we were able to
00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:27.360
sell Watchmen all day long and Dark Knight Return
00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.039
all day long and Crisis on Infinite Earths all
00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:32.940
day long. everything from Vertigo, Sandman and
00:15:32.940 --> 00:15:35.320
Preacher to, you know, eventually Transmet and
00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.659
Fables. You know, there was just so much good
00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:42.539
stuff to get out there. You know, so evolution.
00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:46.259
I mean, there's probably missing so many obvious
00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:49.940
ones. It's been a long, long road. You know,
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.039
and even even COVID definitely evolved the industry.
00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:59.340
You know, it really made people hustle. There's
00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:03.100
always those funny stories about when retailers
00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:06.500
went from the cigar box to a register, and then
00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:10.320
from a register to a POS system, and to multi
00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:14.899
-store systems, and better distribution, and
00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:21.919
even the move from receiving the day of. to receive
00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:25.600
it the day early. Is that me or you, Fire? The
00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.899
sirens? Oh, I'm sure that's me. It's New York.
00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:31.059
There's always sirens here. Fair enough. I like
00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.000
to keep it exciting on the audio track, and that
00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:37.080
way they know if I've edited anything because
00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:39.639
the sirens will click on and off. That's funny.
00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:43.740
I remember the argument, why are we getting the
00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:47.049
books the same day? that they go on sale. And
00:16:47.049 --> 00:16:51.649
the argument was from some people is we can't
00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:54.090
trust the retailers not to sell them early. And
00:16:54.090 --> 00:16:57.629
it's like, well, is this a business or are we
00:16:57.629 --> 00:17:00.629
being treated like children? And it was really
00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:05.730
the evolution is really seeing the industry evolve
00:17:05.730 --> 00:17:10.869
into a collection of very professional retailers
00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:15.539
that are trying to run a business. and push the
00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:17.859
industry. So that's, you know, those are definitely
00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:20.180
some positives. I agree wholeheartedly. And I
00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:23.240
think what's really heartening to me is even
00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:25.819
since COVID, we talked a little bit about this
00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:29.339
off air, the new shops that are coming into the
00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:34.640
scenes, they are treating it like a business.
00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.900
This was not something that they're doing by
00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:40.660
default or just because it's their hobby, but
00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:42.619
they've gone to business schools, they've done
00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:45.559
classes, they've seen other shops that they want
00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:49.180
to emulate that are run like a business. and
00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:53.339
they've got ideas. They're really motivated and
00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:56.119
they're really excited for it and they're excited
00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.000
to learn. I notice a lot of younger shops especially
00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.440
are saying, I don't just want to be a store,
00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:03.900
I want to be a community space. I want to be
00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.220
that third space to bring people in. It's not
00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:09.720
like going into somebody's long box collection
00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:12.849
and you're picking through... the boxes and like,
00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:15.230
oh, this is something they bought 30 years ago,
00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:18.250
like not the the Simpsons comic book guy kind
00:18:18.250 --> 00:18:21.670
of vibe anymore. I agree. I feel like it's definitely
00:18:21.670 --> 00:18:24.650
evolved even in the oh, God, the 15 years I've
00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:26.690
been around. I didn't realize it was that long
00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:28.509
until I just said it out loud. Can you talk a
00:18:28.509 --> 00:18:31.470
little bit about, especially from a sales perspective,
00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:34.569
there's this narrative out there that comics
00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.809
and books in general. are some of the most enduring
00:18:38.809 --> 00:18:42.109
markets when it comes to surviving the economic
00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:44.869
downturn times. Do you agree with that? It's
00:18:44.869 --> 00:18:47.609
kind of always been the case. You know, comics
00:18:47.609 --> 00:18:51.180
were always a little bit cheaper and a little
00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:55.200
bit more affordable in down times. I mean, comics
00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:59.240
price cover prices are what they are now. You
00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:01.660
know, we we definitely saw it during the pandemic.
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:04.599
You know, people were locked in their homes and,
00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.400
you know, with streaming and computers at their
00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.599
fingertips, you know, those were very boom years
00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:14.119
for comics and collections and and puzzles, of
00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:17.579
course. And, you know, so. people still have
00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:21.359
that tactile desire. It's kind of a proven thing.
00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.640
I mean, so hopefully it continues. I mean, I
00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:26.819
mean, you've been in comics for 15. I'm sure
00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:30.140
you've read comics a lot longer than that. I've
00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:32.740
been in comics as I'm doing the math, like over
00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:37.559
30 years, reading comics well before that as
00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.339
well in the 80s. But I remember as a kid being
00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:44.380
told that comics weren't going to be around for
00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.220
for much longer. And that's when they were 60
00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:51.240
cents, you know. I'm not ignoring, you know,
00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:54.920
the world changing, but it is still nice to see
00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:58.579
comics as if in a physical form thriving. And,
00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.140
you know, look at this past year with different
00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:05.000
ideas and books, you know, different, different,
00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.799
you know, people doing different things. DC having
00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:10.599
a boom year, Marvel having a different year,
00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:12.990
but... you know, that ebbs and flows, of course.
00:20:13.609 --> 00:20:16.930
The desire for physical medium is still there.
00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:19.990
I mean, Dark Horse puts out some really great
00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:23.130
hardcovers and art books and movie books, or
00:20:23.130 --> 00:20:27.029
game books, I'm sorry. And our content for stories
00:20:27.029 --> 00:20:30.670
is really great as well. And people still want
00:20:30.670 --> 00:20:33.789
that physical medium. And the third space thing
00:20:33.789 --> 00:20:36.789
is wonderful. And that's been an idea that's
00:20:36.789 --> 00:20:39.950
floated around for... decades as well. It's like
00:20:39.950 --> 00:20:43.690
what stops someone from buying a comic online
00:20:43.690 --> 00:20:47.390
or reading it online versus going into a comic
00:20:47.390 --> 00:20:50.410
store? And that's because they want to go into
00:20:50.410 --> 00:20:53.130
a store where they know your name, interact with
00:20:53.130 --> 00:20:57.289
people who like comics as well, have those experiences,
00:20:57.990 --> 00:21:01.009
and, you know, build a relationship with a community.
00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.420
I've had stories of people who were like, look,
00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:07.039
I don't drink, I don't gamble, I don't do this,
00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.480
I don't do that. But I spend my money on comics,
00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:13.599
but I like going into the comic store and I see
00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.240
my friend or I see the person behind the counter
00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.039
and I chat. and we have a good time, which is
00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:22.960
a lot different. When I was behind the counter,
00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:25.160
I had guys who did that, absolutely. But I also
00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.839
had people who came in and would want to talk
00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.400
to me. But then they would say, yeah, I keep
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.799
my comics in a cabinet in the basement with a
00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:37.240
lock on it. So nobody sees it. Nobody sees it,
00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:39.799
except they like it, but they don't want any
00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:42.299
of their friends to know, this is the 90s. So
00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:45.819
it was still not as cool. But they'd walked into
00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:49.160
the store and they were Staten Island cool and
00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:51.880
not to throw too much shade but they were you
00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:54.299
know and it was it was just fascinating you know
00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:57.319
because then the talking with that Staten Island
00:21:57.319 --> 00:22:01.119
accent and they're just but they love comics,
00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:04.039
so their whole thing changes, their whole expression.
00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:08.339
Anyway, so the hope is that it continues, and
00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.019
I think everyone's gonna wish to continue making
00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:14.799
good product in the comic form in different versions
00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.430
and formats to make it happen. And look. The
00:22:18.430 --> 00:22:20.950
compact edition is a different format, which
00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:24.390
you have some older folks saying, but it's too
00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:27.690
small and the art doesn't translate and the lettering
00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:30.329
is too small. But it's like, not for you, dude.
00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.160
It's not for you. It's for the people who want
00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:35.559
it and there's plenty. Comics is a medium. It's
00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:38.539
not just superheroes. It's everything. It's,
00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:43.579
you know, it's any subject, any genre, anything
00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:45.799
can be put into comics. And that's what's great
00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:48.019
about it. You don't like capes? We got plenty
00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:50.819
of other things. Oh, yeah. And Dark Horse especially
00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:55.450
has just a ton of phenomenal genre. franchises
00:22:55.450 --> 00:22:58.430
and on top of the art books and I love the the
00:22:58.430 --> 00:23:00.690
marble bullpen stuff that Dark Horse has been
00:23:00.690 --> 00:23:02.849
doing it's absolutely gorgeous. You talked about
00:23:02.849 --> 00:23:06.210
the the the video game books like that new Chronicles
00:23:06.210 --> 00:23:09.210
of Tomb Raider looks absolutely phenomenal. You
00:23:09.210 --> 00:23:11.329
talked about the technology from a shop level.
00:23:11.430 --> 00:23:15.079
We remember DC going day and date in 2011 with
00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:18.160
new 52 and everyone went no physical comics will
00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:20.519
be dead in a year They're gonna kill the industry
00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:24.079
and we saw sales increase thanks to digital.
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.500
Have you ever heard the the analogy, I think
00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:30.640
Jim Lee did it a bunch, but so he would, he would
00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:33.859
hold up a sheet of paper and, you know, and being,
00:23:33.859 --> 00:23:36.799
you know, envision like a bar graph. So a sheet
00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:40.779
of paper was representative of physical comic
00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:44.279
sale. And then, right, you got, so that's what
00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:46.660
it was. So then he would hold up a piece of dental
00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:50.420
floss and go, this represents digital sales.
00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:52.880
It's a big difference. And so a year later, I
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.559
think the joke is that The digital sales now
00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:01.359
is represented by a, a piece of, um, dental floss.
00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:05.119
That's like the glide flat glide type. That's
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.660
a little bit thicker, but I was at, I was at
00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:10.140
when that was being announced, we had these road
00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:12.640
shows that we did these retailer events where
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:14.500
we went to a bunch of different city invited
00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:18.440
retailers and we got. a crowd of retailers into
00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:22.299
a room, Dan DiDio would do a presentation. And
00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.819
there were people very concerned about it, very
00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:27.480
concerned about Digital Day, like tears in their
00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:30.559
eyes concerned about it. And I understand that
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:34.000
concern because that's, but I think people still
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.839
want the physical. They do want the physical.
00:24:37.120 --> 00:24:39.579
One trend that I've been hearing about, I know
00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:41.259
you've been hearing about too, because we go
00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:44.680
to those ICB2 presentations and we talk to retailers
00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:47.859
so often, is it feels like right now there's
00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:51.519
a trend of younger readers, that 18 to 25 year
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.140
old new reader that's coming into shops and buying
00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:58.099
their first books. And they're buying the new
00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:00.279
stuff, but I also see them in my local shop.
00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:02.119
They're looking through the back issues. They're
00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.259
buying the stuff from the early 2000s they've
00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:07.680
heard about. or scene, what are you feeling like
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.440
are some of the trends right now in the market?
00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:14.240
To that, to your point, though, so Portland State
00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.839
has a comic book track that, you know, famous
00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:23.160
creators work on and have classes. So they had
00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:27.700
this little comic book symposium a few weeks
00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:30.000
ago and Dark Horse participates and we just set
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:33.059
up and give out things. So, but, you know. The
00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:35.619
folks coming up to you are all students either
00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:38.000
from there or just coming off the streets, but
00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.539
they're mostly it's. I don't know, am I allowed
00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:44.279
to say young ones, younglings, kids? You know,
00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:46.359
it's all students, right? It's all students in
00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:49.220
their 20s. And you're like, are you in the program?
00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:51.779
And yes or no or whatever. And it's like, what
00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:55.480
got you into comics or you get their story? And
00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:57.240
they're in, like you said, they're in comics
00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:00.440
for two years. They've read, they've only been
00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:04.500
reading comics for two years, a year, you know,
00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:06.619
and you're like a few months. And you're like,
00:26:06.779 --> 00:26:09.579
what are you reading? And you get... everything
00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:12.759
you hear everything like someone says dark victory
00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:15.559
you know the batman title and you're like holy
00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:18.559
cow like i think that book is older than you
00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:22.460
but came out when you know we were alive um you
00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:26.140
know so it is you know and it's it's really it's
00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.220
it you know what are the trends the trends are
00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:32.440
you know people love spider -man still but people
00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:35.460
people love that the absolute batman the absolute
00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:38.640
batman people love the compacted editions that's
00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.519
who they're selling it to is the younger you're
00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:43.759
the younger kids they're very they're very new
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:46.519
reader friendly dc has them at ten dollars marvel
00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:50.960
has them at 15 You know, they're super accessible.
00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:54.920
They're super affordable. They're super disposable.
00:26:55.619 --> 00:26:59.539
Look, manga still is thriving. You know, you
00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:03.720
can't deny that. D &D is as popular now as it
00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:06.259
ever was. And it's like D &D is - Maybe most
00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:10.680
popular now than it ever was. Fair enough. Like
00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:14.890
D &D is hugely popular. Right. Like, so how crazy
00:27:14.890 --> 00:27:18.569
is that? You know, blind bags obviously are hugely
00:27:18.569 --> 00:27:21.549
popular off of the blind box phenomenon that
00:27:21.549 --> 00:27:24.650
still exists. And it's still thriving. Right.
00:27:24.990 --> 00:27:28.369
You have all these things that, you know, publishers
00:27:28.369 --> 00:27:31.450
are looking at, you know, it's fascinating, you
00:27:31.450 --> 00:27:34.690
know, so those are the top things, right? Manga,
00:27:34.930 --> 00:27:39.049
blind bags, absolute batman, compact edition.
00:27:39.309 --> 00:27:42.250
Well, it's fascinating because I, when you talk
00:27:42.250 --> 00:27:44.829
about all those different facets, you're talking
00:27:44.829 --> 00:27:50.450
about 10 to $15 travel sized books that are very
00:27:50.450 --> 00:27:54.049
new reader friendly, very value. buys right you've
00:27:54.049 --> 00:27:57.250
got these blind bags that are the collectability
00:27:57.250 --> 00:28:00.470
the trading card model which is maybe hotter
00:28:00.470 --> 00:28:03.170
than it's ever been with pokemon and magic the
00:28:03.170 --> 00:28:06.150
gathering then you look at like super accessible
00:28:06.150 --> 00:28:10.380
new storytelling like reimagining old Properties
00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:13.259
like Batman and what the ultimate line for a
00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:16.319
couple years there also? So like big creative
00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:19.000
swings and you wonder like how far is the ceiling
00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:21.519
going on that that I've certainly seen and heard
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:26.400
is like those $60 1300 page compendiums for like
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:29.839
invincible are selling like crazy. And you see
00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:32.259
a lot more publishers getting into again, like
00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:35.599
having a complete story for a reasonable price,
00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.400
right? But it's the other end of the DC compact
00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:40.680
kind of thing. So there are a lot of different
00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:43.579
fandom and different types of fans. There's a
00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:46.619
lot of different types of fans that are in our
00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:51.240
in the comic space, right? So when someone says,
00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:55.819
Oh, I love variant cover and ratio. And that
00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:58.480
as a fan that chases that cool. And then there's
00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:01.059
the fan that like, I just want to, I just been
00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:04.400
devouring trade paperback because I love Batman.
00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:08.319
I love Hellboy. And I just read and I have a
00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:10.960
lot of collection. That's the type of custom
00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:14.859
like, you know, I like the blind bags. I like
00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:18.740
blank covers. I like manga. I like compact editions.
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.059
I like this. I'm new. I'm old. It's like I like
00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:24.700
all the fans because it means they're participating
00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:29.000
in this fandom that we all have. They're participating
00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:32.079
in comic. And that's great. So I think, you know,
00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:34.799
just to throw it back to like my role at Dark
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:39.140
Horse is not to ignore any of those fans. So,
00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:42.440
you know, so if anybody gets gruff or goes, I
00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:45.519
don't like slabbing books. And I'm like, OK,
00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:49.279
that doesn't that's not going to stop. Or I don't
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:51.950
like ratio there. And it's like, look, that's
00:29:51.950 --> 00:29:54.250
not going to stop us from doing that because
00:29:54.250 --> 00:29:56.589
you don't like it, or we're not going to put
00:29:56.589 --> 00:29:58.690
our head in the sand and say it doesn't exist
00:29:58.690 --> 00:30:01.630
because it does exist. Now, you know, it is an
00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:05.450
option. It is a tool. It's not a tool for every
00:30:05.450 --> 00:30:09.190
job, but we have to know what our tools are as
00:30:09.190 --> 00:30:12.390
well. And if there are, you know, look, we have,
00:30:12.410 --> 00:30:15.569
we have gaming Hellboy, we have D &D and Watsy
00:30:15.569 --> 00:30:19.109
fans, your Magic the Gathering. We have you know,
00:30:19.109 --> 00:30:21.349
we still have a little bit of Star Wars left.
00:30:21.369 --> 00:30:25.170
We have Tomb Raider. We have the next Tom King
00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:28.470
book, which is phenomenal. The Six of Us. Six
00:30:28.470 --> 00:30:31.150
of Us. It's very good. But, you know, but in
00:30:31.150 --> 00:30:33.410
the same breath, it's like there are so many
00:30:33.410 --> 00:30:35.490
different types of fans. And, you know, when
00:30:35.490 --> 00:30:39.130
you see a store that's diversified and, you know,
00:30:39.329 --> 00:30:42.750
Dark Horse is very diversified. And we have that
00:30:42.750 --> 00:30:45.990
D &D, those D &D comics, Magic the Gathering
00:30:45.990 --> 00:30:50.220
comic. And it is hard to get that fan, that magic
00:30:50.220 --> 00:30:53.720
fan, that D &D fan to cross the aisle and check
00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:56.539
out comics but there are things that you can
00:30:56.539 --> 00:31:00.200
do to kind of entice them and maybe they will
00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:02.940
be finding, you know. The diversification is
00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:05.119
so key. You know, it's interesting, like if we
00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:08.180
worked in a clothing brand, we would have one
00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:10.740
specific customer that we were going to. We would
00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:12.640
identify who that customer is and we would cater
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:15.380
to that customer and we would try to anticipate
00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:18.200
trends for that customer. But to your point,
00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.220
we have 20 different types of customers that
00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:24.500
we all have to balance. having enough product
00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:26.359
for, and we only have so much money to work with.
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.140
Like there's only so many hours in the day. There's
00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:30.140
only so much money in the budget. There's only
00:31:30.140 --> 00:31:32.359
so much staff. There's only so much room at the
00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:34.859
printer. There's like, you have to sort of weigh
00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:38.779
those priorities in there. So I'm really curious
00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:42.079
from your role as director of sales, how does
00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:45.119
sales work with the publisher, with the marketing
00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:47.900
team, with the editorial team in terms of sort
00:31:47.900 --> 00:31:50.680
of communicating the customers that projects
00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:54.240
are necessarily for and coming up with the incentives
00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:57.019
for how to communicate it to consumers versus
00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:00.200
to the retailers. Can you talk a little bit about
00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:03.480
sort of that beautiful alchemy? Yeah, the magic
00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:06.490
of it all. You know, I think... A lot of it starts
00:32:06.490 --> 00:32:09.849
on that creative level of what, what is this
00:32:09.849 --> 00:32:13.309
book? And it goes to the business end of it.
00:32:13.450 --> 00:32:15.930
It's like, Hey, does this book make sense? And
00:32:15.930 --> 00:32:18.690
what is our expectations on this book? You know,
00:32:18.769 --> 00:32:21.609
the, the, the comps of it all are, you know,
00:32:21.630 --> 00:32:24.509
I'm sure you had to deal with comps at Valiant
00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:27.829
and also at PRH, but you know, it's like, what
00:32:27.829 --> 00:32:31.759
is this book? Who is this for? What, what have
00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:35.680
we sold comparable to this that we can expect
00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:40.059
to do again? Um, you know, and you make those,
00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:43.559
you make those claims and you defend, you defend
00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:47.359
your numbers and then it's, and then it is up
00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:51.359
to editorial to put out a good product. And Dark
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:53.859
Horse makes good products, and then it's up to
00:32:53.859 --> 00:32:57.720
marketing to get that word out there, as well
00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.740
as sales, because sales and marketing have always
00:32:59.740 --> 00:33:02.019
been hand in hand, especially in the comm industry,
00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:05.740
from my experience anyway. I don't know, it was
00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:10.119
always me overstepping my role in sales, but
00:33:10.119 --> 00:33:13.680
I was very much like, this is out, this is coming
00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:17.380
out, let's go. But it's also in the process,
00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:20.259
especially when projects are coming out. A year
00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:23.000
from now, six months from now, a few months from
00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:26.799
now, next month. It's how we positioning that
00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:30.119
title. Like, do we have a backlist for it? That's
00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:32.579
one. Like, do we have a backlist for it? How,
00:33:32.940 --> 00:33:35.559
what are we doing to support this title? Do we
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:39.779
have comparable books to it or other type? You
00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:42.119
know, is this a creator, completely new creator
00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:44.740
own? Okay. That's one thing, but is it a, is
00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:47.170
it. Are we taking another bite of this character?
00:33:47.509 --> 00:33:50.950
Are we taking another bite of the apple for this
00:33:50.950 --> 00:33:53.309
character? Are we doing this character or series
00:33:53.309 --> 00:33:56.130
again in part two or what have you? But then
00:33:56.130 --> 00:33:59.230
it's also like a dark horse. The editor's really,
00:33:59.230 --> 00:34:01.250
you know, the captain of the ship and leading
00:34:01.250 --> 00:34:04.750
the way. But it's my job and I think it's my
00:34:04.750 --> 00:34:07.450
job to say, what are we doing? Like, what are
00:34:07.450 --> 00:34:11.280
the covers look like? What are we? What's the
00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:15.099
game plan for the covers? Does this need a variant?
00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:18.599
What kind of variant? Does this need a ratio?
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:23.840
What kind of ratio? What ideas do we have? Do
00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:27.019
we have a gimmick? I only use gimmick because
00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:31.039
I'm a wrestling fan and that's in my lexicon
00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:34.739
of terminologies. So I don't mean it in a...
00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:37.659
derogatory turn away. But you know, is there
00:34:37.659 --> 00:34:40.500
a fun thing that we can do that's going to make
00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:43.639
this a cover interesting that folks are going
00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:46.440
to like, like turn an eye to and go, Oh, well,
00:34:46.539 --> 00:34:49.000
that's cool. And because that's what we need,
00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:52.000
right? Every cover media, like, hey, this is
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.920
cool. You know, the the D &D book is, you know,
00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:01.280
we're doing Total Party Killers, which is a title
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:04.500
that, you know, it's a mini series and it's essentially
00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:09.260
just a bad guy party. So it's the evil alignment.
00:35:09.559 --> 00:35:11.300
You know, they wind up together and then they
00:35:11.300 --> 00:35:14.039
wind up, they realize it's a bad situation and
00:35:14.039 --> 00:35:16.320
they're trying to get out of the situation. But
00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.360
while they're designing that and when I showed
00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:25.079
up, I'm like, why can't we do a blank players
00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:28.679
cover? and which is what it matured into, but
00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:31.039
it was, you know, like I actually have a copy.
00:35:31.179 --> 00:35:33.519
So, you know, it's like here's the player sheet
00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:35.920
where it's a wraparound cover and it's on the
00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:40.039
blank cover paper stock. So you can draw on it
00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:41.980
and you can write on it and you can roll your
00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:46.059
character to it. And it was just a fun idea to
00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:49.300
just bring some attention to it. You know, as
00:35:49.300 --> 00:35:51.420
you know, like blank covers have a longer shelf
00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:55.940
life. It appeals to a different customer. You
00:35:55.940 --> 00:35:59.039
know, in a D &D world, if you just do a blank
00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:03.679
cover. and it's just white. Who's drawing on
00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:05.599
that? What are they drawing on it? What do they
00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:07.840
need that? You know, it's not like a Batman or
00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:09.900
Spider -Man blank cover where it's like, oh,
00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:12.639
I'm going to get an artist to draw us Batman
00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:14.860
or Spider -Man. It doesn't matter what the interiors
00:36:14.860 --> 00:36:17.539
are. That's just what the mindset of the fan
00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:20.940
is. It's like, oh, it's a blank cover for this
00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:24.739
character. Cool. For D &D, it's a little less
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:28.780
draw, but D and D players need a character sheet.
00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:32.320
That's they know what that is. They see it. They
00:36:32.320 --> 00:36:35.360
immediately know what it is. So, you know, it's
00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:39.000
on F O C on Monday. So if you hear, if you hear
00:36:39.150 --> 00:36:41.989
applause or cheers or on Tuesday morning, you
00:36:41.989 --> 00:36:43.590
know, that's when we see the numbers. Well, but
00:36:43.590 --> 00:36:46.110
again, you know my history with gimmicks at at
00:36:46.110 --> 00:36:50.369
Valiant. We did so many gimmicks from glass covers
00:36:50.369 --> 00:36:53.690
to Kevlar covers to glow in the dark stuff to
00:36:53.690 --> 00:36:57.510
like the POP program, which was my baby for years.
00:36:57.929 --> 00:36:59.969
You know, we were all about gimmicks because
00:36:59.969 --> 00:37:02.630
you identify who that customer is. You identify
00:37:02.630 --> 00:37:05.550
who is selling to that customer. You've got to
00:37:05.550 --> 00:37:09.190
give the seller tools to sell the book for you,
00:37:09.210 --> 00:37:12.929
especially to your end. Like if it's a sole proprietor
00:37:12.929 --> 00:37:16.070
and they are looking at 500 SKUs every week,
00:37:16.170 --> 00:37:18.030
they only got so much attention span. They only
00:37:18.030 --> 00:37:20.590
have so much energy. So when you're coming up
00:37:20.590 --> 00:37:23.070
with the sales incentive, like what are some
00:37:23.070 --> 00:37:25.389
of the things that you have found most effective?
00:37:25.789 --> 00:37:28.849
to communicating to the consumer. And what are
00:37:28.849 --> 00:37:30.949
some of the things you found most effective to
00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:35.030
communicating to the buyers? So I met Dark Horse
00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:38.329
for nine months. So there's a lot of ideas that
00:37:38.329 --> 00:37:41.670
have been are being implemented, but not have
00:37:41.670 --> 00:37:46.429
have not been fully executed. So step one, when
00:37:46.429 --> 00:37:48.670
we walked in, when I walked in the door and I
00:37:48.670 --> 00:37:51.090
pushed on it and things were happening. But I
00:37:51.090 --> 00:37:53.719
like to say that I just helped. push things in
00:37:53.719 --> 00:37:57.159
the right direction. But, you know, additional
00:37:57.159 --> 00:38:01.239
communication and retailers through PRH emails.
00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:04.719
Dark Horse has their own, you know, direct to
00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:08.039
retailer email for specifically for FOC. But
00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:10.320
we're pushing we're working on that catalog.
00:38:10.750 --> 00:38:13.949
You know, I thought a catalog was going to help
00:38:13.949 --> 00:38:16.190
because, you know, when I was interviewing for
00:38:16.190 --> 00:38:18.949
the job reads and talking to retailers, they
00:38:18.949 --> 00:38:21.230
didn't know what was coming out from, from, from
00:38:21.230 --> 00:38:23.369
dark. It's like, you know, and it's unfortunate
00:38:23.369 --> 00:38:26.389
because there was a major launch that was in
00:38:26.389 --> 00:38:28.409
a digit, you know, only in the digital catalog.
00:38:28.710 --> 00:38:31.989
So the last thing you want is a retailer to see
00:38:31.989 --> 00:38:35.570
solicitation for the first time at FOC because
00:38:35.570 --> 00:38:38.030
a couple of reasons. That means that they've
00:38:38.030 --> 00:38:40.889
acquired no pre -orders, which as we know, a
00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:43.869
lot of retail, a lot of retailers, not all retailers,
00:38:44.030 --> 00:38:47.889
a lot of retailers base their entire order off
00:38:47.889 --> 00:38:50.610
of pre -order. But then also, you know, Dark
00:38:50.610 --> 00:38:52.730
Horse had the benefit of being Dark Horse so
00:38:52.730 --> 00:38:55.710
that, you know, some retailers had their Dark
00:38:55.710 --> 00:38:58.469
Horse number for a series. You know, a Hellboy
00:38:58.469 --> 00:39:01.329
series would certainly be higher than a creator
00:39:01.329 --> 00:39:04.550
-owned series from Dark Horse. And I think over
00:39:04.550 --> 00:39:08.550
time, those numbers erode. And, you know, so
00:39:08.550 --> 00:39:11.449
when you, when you show up and you're like, nobody
00:39:11.449 --> 00:39:14.269
knows what's coming out, like, how do we, you
00:39:14.269 --> 00:39:17.730
know, how do we do that? It's not me calling
00:39:17.730 --> 00:39:21.989
2 ,500 stores, you know, luckily our distributor
00:39:21.989 --> 00:39:25.210
has a sales team that are talking to a lot more
00:39:25.210 --> 00:39:28.329
stores than I can be talking to. And, you know,
00:39:28.510 --> 00:39:32.429
and it's, but it is Continuing to have communication
00:39:32.429 --> 00:39:36.269
with retailers is there's retailer pages on Facebook.
00:39:36.949 --> 00:39:40.050
Most people have my phone number. You know, my
00:39:40.050 --> 00:39:43.630
personal cell is on my card and has been for
00:39:43.630 --> 00:39:46.849
years. So it's not like, you know, but it's it's
00:39:46.849 --> 00:39:49.250
it's that trust that you build over the years.
00:39:49.309 --> 00:39:52.610
You know, I kind of when I interviewed for the
00:39:52.610 --> 00:39:54.750
job, I'm looking at the job description going,
00:39:54.849 --> 00:39:58.110
this is my job. This is this is everything I've
00:39:58.110 --> 00:40:01.849
done. And I You know, I don't, you know, I'm
00:40:01.849 --> 00:40:03.949
pretty modest, but I'm like in an interview going,
00:40:04.030 --> 00:40:07.269
this is my job. Like I would be a big help to
00:40:07.269 --> 00:40:09.929
the company because retailers know me and they
00:40:09.929 --> 00:40:13.449
trust and they trust. Yeah. And, um, you know,
00:40:13.550 --> 00:40:16.989
so it is just, it is building it and can continue
00:40:16.989 --> 00:40:19.949
building it. You know, I have friends that are
00:40:19.949 --> 00:40:23.469
looking towards retirement in like 10 years,
00:40:23.530 --> 00:40:26.050
if not sooner. And I'm like, I just started a
00:40:26.050 --> 00:40:29.480
job. I'm like hustling here. Am I, am I. You
00:40:29.480 --> 00:40:33.820
know, my goal is to do what I can for Dark Horse
00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:37.900
and make it, you know, increase sales and by
00:40:37.900 --> 00:40:40.239
increasing sales in my mind is always means.
00:40:40.590 --> 00:40:42.909
getting our stuff out there because we make good
00:40:42.909 --> 00:40:45.190
stuff. So we have to get it out there so people
00:40:45.190 --> 00:40:47.989
can have it and see it. So it is, you know, there
00:40:47.989 --> 00:40:50.849
is that, you know, front of house movement, like
00:40:50.849 --> 00:40:53.789
getting that stuff out there, going to conventions,
00:40:54.090 --> 00:40:57.050
talking to retailers, talking to folks, being
00:40:57.050 --> 00:41:01.510
on Facebook, being accessible, presenting at,
00:41:01.510 --> 00:41:04.489
you know, the PRH sales meetings and hopefully,
00:41:04.489 --> 00:41:07.590
you know, having a better presentation every
00:41:07.590 --> 00:41:11.340
month. promoting the new stuff coming out and
00:41:11.340 --> 00:41:15.260
And I will I will say you Presentation since
00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:17.500
you came on board. I feel like the dark horse
00:41:17.500 --> 00:41:20.389
presentations have just gotten better and better
00:41:20.389 --> 00:41:23.650
and better and really look forward to the dark
00:41:23.650 --> 00:41:25.809
horse presentations. Thank you. I appreciate
00:41:25.809 --> 00:41:28.530
that. I look at it as you give me 30 minutes
00:41:28.530 --> 00:41:31.250
and I'm trying not to waste that 30 minutes,
00:41:31.250 --> 00:41:35.090
you know, as as they are said, you know, make
00:41:35.090 --> 00:41:37.989
your make the most of your minutes, you know,
00:41:38.190 --> 00:41:40.530
you have three minutes making the best damn three
00:41:40.530 --> 00:41:42.949
minutes ever. If you give me 30, I want to use
00:41:42.949 --> 00:41:46.369
all 30, which is another for those. It's another
00:41:46.369 --> 00:41:49.460
professional wrestling reference. So There might
00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:52.719
be one or two already on here. Well, I know we're
00:41:52.719 --> 00:41:55.119
already coming up on time, which is insane, because
00:41:55.119 --> 00:41:58.179
we just keep going for more hours. It's your
00:41:58.179 --> 00:42:00.679
call when you want to pull trigger. But I do
00:42:00.679 --> 00:42:03.500
want to make one other point. You know, that's
00:42:03.500 --> 00:42:05.000
the front of the house. But then there's also
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:07.380
the back of the house things where, you know,
00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:10.059
I heard about for five years, the allocations
00:42:10.059 --> 00:42:12.599
that Dark Horse was doing. And I knew what was
00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:16.619
going on was in my mind, very problematic. And
00:42:16.619 --> 00:42:20.539
I walked, I came in and I, again, I know that
00:42:20.539 --> 00:42:23.599
the conversation was ongoing. I just helped push
00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:27.780
it over. So, you know, our FOC and printing to
00:42:27.780 --> 00:42:32.090
FOCs has been addressed and is... we'll be on
00:42:32.090 --> 00:42:35.230
the appropriate schedule come August because
00:42:35.230 --> 00:42:37.949
obviously everything takes time schedule wise
00:42:37.949 --> 00:42:42.090
and you know but come August we are going to
00:42:42.090 --> 00:42:44.829
be tighter you know bet on a much better schedule
00:42:44.829 --> 00:42:48.190
also in my time and it's like hey can can we
00:42:48.190 --> 00:42:50.329
print a little more hey can we print a little
00:42:50.329 --> 00:42:53.670
more it's not just percentage it's quantity as
00:42:53.670 --> 00:42:57.469
well so if you tell me that it's x quantity x
00:42:57.469 --> 00:43:00.179
percentage and it's only a handful of books,
00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:03.739
that's not quite how it works. So there is a
00:43:03.739 --> 00:43:06.679
lot of front of house and back of the house pushing
00:43:06.679 --> 00:43:10.400
that I've been doing, so that hopefully we're
00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:15.800
seeing some improvements in everything, in availability
00:43:15.800 --> 00:43:20.659
of comics, so retailers can reorder with a little
00:43:20.659 --> 00:43:23.860
bit more confidence that it will be there. Retailers
00:43:23.860 --> 00:43:26.780
will see that there's less allocation, so like
00:43:26.780 --> 00:43:29.409
you can... you know, hopefully again the trust
00:43:29.409 --> 00:43:34.429
of dark horses will increase. Um, and just more
00:43:34.429 --> 00:43:37.789
comics on the shelves. So, so more folks are
00:43:37.789 --> 00:43:40.650
reading it and seeing how cool our stuff is.
00:43:40.969 --> 00:43:44.170
I, I'm very excited for Dark Versus Future. Absolutely.
00:43:44.510 --> 00:43:46.409
Cause you also talked early about like developing
00:43:46.409 --> 00:43:49.130
those comp titles. It's about developing like
00:43:49.130 --> 00:43:51.449
the, the short hands that they'll, they'll know.
00:43:51.949 --> 00:43:53.789
And developing the trust that they're going to
00:43:53.789 --> 00:43:55.289
get the books on time. They're going to get what
00:43:55.289 --> 00:43:57.949
they ordered at FOC that they're going to get
00:43:57.949 --> 00:44:01.500
a good quality product in there. And, you know,
00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:04.659
and it all takes time. Like that is the big thing.
00:44:04.780 --> 00:44:07.280
I think it's underestimated. I've always, you
00:44:07.280 --> 00:44:09.119
know, I've worked in a couple of different places
00:44:09.119 --> 00:44:12.440
and, you know, I'm never the fan of the person
00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:14.920
who comes in and tries to throw the baby out
00:44:14.920 --> 00:44:17.480
with the bathwater. I'm not a fan of that phrase.
00:44:17.699 --> 00:44:21.039
I'm not afraid of that what it means. And, you
00:44:21.039 --> 00:44:22.960
know, and it's like, it's building trust with
00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:26.619
people here at Dark Horse and hopefully everyone's
00:44:26.619 --> 00:44:30.280
seeing, and they are, and we are seeing some,
00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:33.000
some definitely in changes and improvements.
00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:35.639
We're very good, but it's moving in the right
00:44:35.639 --> 00:44:38.260
direction. Preferred saying there it's, it's
00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:41.559
trust. It's like the editors are doing the lion's
00:44:41.559 --> 00:44:45.019
share of it all. Like I'll have an idea or we
00:44:45.019 --> 00:44:48.360
have some ideas and you know, I'll have ideas
00:44:48.360 --> 00:44:51.869
and it's also. getting the editors and having
00:44:51.869 --> 00:44:55.869
the editors and they have ideas as well and then
00:44:55.869 --> 00:44:58.989
hammer out those ideas and like, hey, that's
00:44:58.989 --> 00:45:02.139
great. But this is how we would do it, and this
00:45:02.139 --> 00:45:07.280
is why. Or, you know, and together making that
00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:09.719
idea better. It's all about communication. The
00:45:09.719 --> 00:45:12.360
theme of our chat really seems to be about communication.
00:45:12.599 --> 00:45:14.780
Communication between departments, communication
00:45:14.780 --> 00:45:18.420
about expectations, communications to hear what
00:45:18.420 --> 00:45:20.539
people are upset about in their grievances and
00:45:20.539 --> 00:45:23.260
how to address those grievances. A retailer will
00:45:23.260 --> 00:45:26.719
say to me, hey, why don't you have this book
00:45:26.719 --> 00:45:29.159
back in print? Or why isn't the book in print?
00:45:29.130 --> 00:45:31.889
and i'm like oh i don't know i can guess why
00:45:31.889 --> 00:45:34.449
but i don't know but you know shoot me an email
00:45:34.449 --> 00:45:37.309
give me the list of books you want it'll go to
00:45:37.309 --> 00:45:40.409
the top of the list because we we check those
00:45:40.409 --> 00:45:42.510
you know that's being checked constantly but
00:45:42.510 --> 00:45:44.690
if there's a lot of books if we miss something
00:45:44.690 --> 00:45:47.090
we'll put it right up on we'll put it right on
00:45:47.090 --> 00:45:49.309
top of the list and then i'll have an answer
00:45:49.309 --> 00:45:52.289
for you or or we'll go back and we'll do it or
00:45:52.289 --> 00:45:54.849
you know so i've been saying a lot of like if
00:45:54.849 --> 00:45:59.440
now if not not now when to for reprint because,
00:45:59.739 --> 00:46:01.619
you know, again, as I mentioned earlier, you
00:46:01.619 --> 00:46:04.420
want to make sure that certain books, new series
00:46:04.420 --> 00:46:07.940
have the support of backlist. So if it's at a
00:46:07.940 --> 00:46:10.780
print and we're doing a new title, like, yeah,
00:46:10.840 --> 00:46:13.719
this is the time to put in, you know, um, yes,
00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:17.239
it is again, and again, right off of communications,
00:46:17.480 --> 00:46:21.369
like just, yes. Nobody should say, oh, I didn't
00:46:21.369 --> 00:46:23.489
want to bother you. It's like, you're not bothering
00:46:23.489 --> 00:46:25.710
me. Shoot me an email. You know, you probably
00:46:25.710 --> 00:46:28.730
have my number. Shoot me a text. I won't. I won't
00:46:28.730 --> 00:46:31.239
put your personal cell phone number. in show
00:46:31.239 --> 00:46:36.159
notes, that I promise. I guess my last couple
00:46:36.159 --> 00:46:37.599
of questions, you've been so generous with the
00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:40.400
time today, Stuart. I really appreciate it. I've
00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:43.760
got to have you back on at some point. I have
00:46:43.760 --> 00:46:45.880
two questions. Well, I have three questions,
00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:49.539
so I lied. My first question is, in your time
00:46:49.539 --> 00:46:52.760
as retailer working at DC, working at Diamond,
00:46:52.920 --> 00:46:55.340
working at Dark Horse, do you remember a sales
00:46:55.340 --> 00:46:58.659
campaign? that you were particularly jazzed about?
00:46:59.000 --> 00:47:01.940
There's a few. There was the Before Watchmen
00:47:01.940 --> 00:47:05.179
with the lenticular cover. Actually, all of the
00:47:05.179 --> 00:47:09.559
villains' lenticular covers was chaos. And there
00:47:09.559 --> 00:47:12.880
was definitely some sales preventive programs
00:47:12.880 --> 00:47:17.699
that we were a part of that some coworkers lost
00:47:17.699 --> 00:47:21.079
their mind over. in terms of how poorly it was
00:47:21.079 --> 00:47:24.820
executed because we weren't included. The before
00:47:24.820 --> 00:47:27.320
Watchmen lenticular cover, I was the one who
00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:30.199
was holding it or it was videotaping it and I
00:47:30.199 --> 00:47:32.880
put it out there and it got like a bajillion
00:47:32.880 --> 00:47:35.579
shares and likes and stuff so that was kind of
00:47:35.579 --> 00:47:38.000
cool like to see that go around the world. The
00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:40.579
Blackest Night. campaign was a lot of fun with
00:47:40.579 --> 00:47:43.460
the ring. I still have one of every color in
00:47:43.460 --> 00:47:46.699
my drawer over there. So at one point I had sets
00:47:46.699 --> 00:47:49.019
of them and I would have them they would be in
00:47:49.019 --> 00:47:52.099
like little bags or little whatever and I would
00:47:52.099 --> 00:47:54.880
put them places and people would either find
00:47:54.880 --> 00:47:58.380
them like the whole set or they would be in my
00:47:58.380 --> 00:48:02.320
apartment or my house or wherever I was and when
00:48:02.320 --> 00:48:05.039
I moved to come up to Portland I found some.
00:48:05.139 --> 00:48:09.940
I'm like oh look another set. But do you remember
00:48:09.940 --> 00:48:12.699
this? So Three Jokers kind of was at the end
00:48:12.699 --> 00:48:18.190
of my tenure at DC. We, so we had been doing,
00:48:18.389 --> 00:48:22.570
we'd been cooking on the retailer. So at that
00:48:22.570 --> 00:48:25.210
point I was kind of wrapping my head around it.
00:48:25.449 --> 00:48:27.610
I'm like, how do we do a shared variant? How
00:48:27.610 --> 00:48:30.309
do we do this differently? I definitely was a
00:48:30.309 --> 00:48:32.750
part of that. And we wound up calling it something
00:48:32.750 --> 00:48:35.650
because the original name we were going to call
00:48:35.650 --> 00:48:38.869
it was very inappropriate or manipulated into
00:48:38.869 --> 00:48:42.130
the wrong, a wrong idea. I won't say what it
00:48:42.130 --> 00:48:43.869
is. If someone sees me at a convention, they
00:48:43.869 --> 00:48:46.949
can ask me. the original name for the I don't
00:48:46.949 --> 00:48:49.329
even know what we finalized on it because it
00:48:49.329 --> 00:48:53.150
was it was very just mediocre, but the idea was
00:48:53.150 --> 00:48:56.929
like many, many retailers were able to share
00:48:56.929 --> 00:48:59.829
a variant. So it became like a shared variant
00:48:59.829 --> 00:49:03.869
just for X amount or we had a set quantity and
00:49:03.869 --> 00:49:06.389
that people can buy into the set quantity and
00:49:06.389 --> 00:49:09.070
then we'd allocate, but it became a, a rarity
00:49:09.070 --> 00:49:11.489
on top of all the other variants that we had
00:49:11.489 --> 00:49:15.190
done. And then I think, I think we, we also did
00:49:15.190 --> 00:49:18.610
the, if you matched the orders all the way through.
00:49:18.889 --> 00:49:23.670
They sent you a variant with the film with all
00:49:23.670 --> 00:49:27.250
the images of the cover. So I was gone by then
00:49:27.250 --> 00:49:29.230
and I was very disappointed because I never got
00:49:29.230 --> 00:49:33.530
one. But we also went we had this big plan for
00:49:33.530 --> 00:49:36.590
all the issues, what three issues, nine covers
00:49:36.590 --> 00:49:40.809
each or whatever it was. And we changed distributors
00:49:40.809 --> 00:49:43.809
right in the middle of it. So it was it was as
00:49:43.809 --> 00:49:46.940
big of a mess as it could possibly be. It was,
00:49:46.980 --> 00:49:51.039
but yeah, um, beyond the idea, there's a lot.
00:49:51.219 --> 00:49:53.219
Yeah, there's a lot. There was always a lot of
00:49:53.219 --> 00:49:56.000
fun. You know, it was consistent. Like, you know,
00:49:56.199 --> 00:49:58.400
every year there was a fun thing that we were
00:49:58.400 --> 00:50:00.860
doing. All right. That was question one. Question
00:50:00.860 --> 00:50:04.090
two, best advice you've ever received. Uh, I
00:50:04.090 --> 00:50:08.210
don't know. That's, uh, probably keep, you know,
00:50:08.329 --> 00:50:10.269
keep your mouth shut and keep your ears open
00:50:10.269 --> 00:50:13.690
is always, was always one I heard. Best advice?
00:50:13.929 --> 00:50:17.170
You know, it's weird because I had some like
00:50:17.170 --> 00:50:19.989
really interesting people that I worked for that
00:50:19.989 --> 00:50:23.210
were very good and very gruff and very good.
00:50:23.369 --> 00:50:29.260
And, and they led by example. um so i don't know
00:50:29.260 --> 00:50:32.219
i don't know i i really that's a that's that's
00:50:32.219 --> 00:50:35.079
that's kind of like a vein of of thought that
00:50:35.079 --> 00:50:38.619
i i don't have an answer for best advice i ever
00:50:38.619 --> 00:50:41.860
got like breathe like i used to give like you
00:50:41.860 --> 00:50:44.599
know oh oh i used to give like i don't know if
00:50:44.599 --> 00:50:47.119
i came up with them myself or or because i would
00:50:47.119 --> 00:50:49.539
say them to people i would like conversation
00:50:49.539 --> 00:50:53.579
communication is not criticism i like a lot blah
00:50:53.579 --> 00:50:56.019
blah blah where I'm from background blah blah
00:50:56.019 --> 00:50:59.119
blah it's always like you know if if you know
00:50:59.119 --> 00:51:01.179
if someone says something it doesn't mean that
00:51:01.179 --> 00:51:03.820
they're criticizing you it's just they're trying
00:51:03.820 --> 00:51:06.500
to have a conversation about it so I like I like
00:51:06.500 --> 00:51:10.599
that one a lot um be on time and keep you know
00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:13.909
listen and keep a cool head and think about what
00:51:13.909 --> 00:51:15.949
you're saying and, you know, think about where
00:51:15.949 --> 00:51:18.269
people are, you know, especially in sales. It's
00:51:18.269 --> 00:51:20.010
like, think about what they're going through.
00:51:20.269 --> 00:51:22.710
It's not, you know, empathy. You got to have
00:51:22.710 --> 00:51:25.170
empathy. And throw back to the beginning of the
00:51:25.170 --> 00:51:27.789
episode. It's like, you know, just, you know,
00:51:27.989 --> 00:51:31.730
they don't know you. They upset. So just know
00:51:31.730 --> 00:51:34.150
it's not about you and just try to, you know,
00:51:34.269 --> 00:51:37.030
build that relationship. and communicate and
00:51:37.030 --> 00:51:39.389
get there. My last thing, you know, I want to
00:51:39.389 --> 00:51:41.789
give you I want to give you the floor. So talk
00:51:41.789 --> 00:51:43.849
about what Dark Horse has coming out that you're
00:51:43.849 --> 00:51:47.150
really excited about as a as a fan and as part
00:51:47.150 --> 00:51:50.750
of the company. We have, you know, the Hickman
00:51:50.750 --> 00:51:53.670
three worlds, three moons, Hickman and team three
00:51:53.670 --> 00:51:57.329
worlds, three moon series coming out. Those are
00:51:57.329 --> 00:52:01.050
really exciting. Definitely that that high heart.
00:52:01.260 --> 00:52:04.539
hard science fiction, family -oriented science
00:52:04.539 --> 00:52:06.659
fiction like Fantastic Four, which you've heard
00:52:06.659 --> 00:52:11.920
me say before. We have some really cool projects
00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:15.119
coming down the road with, you know, the properties
00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:17.000
that we already, you know, that everyone knows
00:52:17.000 --> 00:52:20.039
we have. Like, we have some really cool He -Man
00:52:20.039 --> 00:52:22.300
things planned. We have some really cool Tomb
00:52:22.300 --> 00:52:25.099
Raiders. We have some really cool, really cool
00:52:25.099 --> 00:52:28.340
D &D things. As we mentioned earlier, you know,
00:52:28.480 --> 00:52:32.059
cover treatments. And my mind is like, what covers,
00:52:32.199 --> 00:52:36.820
work for which property. So we have lots of ideas
00:52:36.820 --> 00:52:41.219
there. Um, and we certainly have some great backlists
00:52:41.219 --> 00:52:44.000
to support those, those titles. D &D we're building,
00:52:44.559 --> 00:52:47.460
but the D &D, you know, theories down the road
00:52:47.460 --> 00:52:50.360
are looking really good. Just like playing in
00:52:50.360 --> 00:52:53.230
different different categories like, you know,
00:52:53.289 --> 00:52:56.590
we have a facsimile of, of senior destruction
00:52:56.590 --> 00:52:59.570
coming out from Hellboy. We have, you know, we're
00:52:59.570 --> 00:53:01.530
looking at other titles like that. We're looking
00:53:01.530 --> 00:53:06.650
at some legacy Dark Horse series. You know, it's
00:53:06.650 --> 00:53:09.809
definitely a new day at Dark Horse and not just
00:53:09.809 --> 00:53:12.809
because of me, but, you know, but just kind of
00:53:12.809 --> 00:53:15.590
all that communication. So there's, we're starting
00:53:15.590 --> 00:53:18.119
to see some really good. fun things. And there's
00:53:18.119 --> 00:53:21.820
some fun things in 2027 that I can't even speak
00:53:21.820 --> 00:53:25.480
to. But I guess by the time we get to San Diego
00:53:25.480 --> 00:53:27.360
Comic Con, there'll be some nice announcements.
00:53:27.460 --> 00:53:29.440
When we hit New York Comic Con, there'll be some
00:53:29.440 --> 00:53:32.460
really, really interesting announcements. You
00:53:32.460 --> 00:53:34.840
know, and it has just been exciting, just kind
00:53:34.840 --> 00:53:38.840
of diving deep into dark wars between the creator
00:53:38.840 --> 00:53:42.800
owned and the licensed books like Dark Horse
00:53:42.800 --> 00:53:44.860
does some good stuff and we just want people
00:53:44.860 --> 00:53:48.079
to know about it. Also Dark Horse certainly hasn't
00:53:48.079 --> 00:53:52.599
stopped making merch so it's really important
00:53:52.599 --> 00:53:56.179
and I've been expressing that to retailers like
00:53:56.179 --> 00:53:58.940
you know Dark Horse retailers can set up you
00:53:58.940 --> 00:54:01.119
know retailers can set up an account with Dark
00:54:01.119 --> 00:54:03.519
Horse directly for the merchandise for the Dark
00:54:03.519 --> 00:54:07.980
Horse direct product so there's so much more
00:54:08.119 --> 00:54:10.960
growth and so many cool things that we're doing
00:54:10.960 --> 00:54:14.639
that, you know, I'm just excited for folks to
00:54:14.639 --> 00:54:17.239
see it. Well, and where can folks keep up with
00:54:17.239 --> 00:54:20.179
you personally online if they want to keep going
00:54:20.179 --> 00:54:22.840
with your latest Shrektober coming out this year,
00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:25.500
all your incredible photos from all the pro wrestling
00:54:25.500 --> 00:54:28.159
shows that you go to and then where can they
00:54:28.159 --> 00:54:31.079
keep up with Dark Horse as well? Well, you know,
00:54:31.239 --> 00:54:36.900
Dark Horse is easy to find on online darkhorse
00:54:36.900 --> 00:54:42.900
.com and all the socials are there. I'm easy
00:54:42.900 --> 00:54:47.179
to find on Facebook and Instagram. I think those
00:54:47.179 --> 00:54:50.139
are the two I use mostly. I'll be at San Diego.
00:54:50.320 --> 00:54:53.059
I'll be at Rose City on Friday. I'll be at New
00:54:53.059 --> 00:54:55.119
York Comic Con. I'll be at Baltimore Comic Con,
00:54:55.320 --> 00:54:57.420
of course. And I'll be at New York Comic Con.
00:54:57.519 --> 00:55:01.659
I'll be at Summer Slam, if this is coming out
00:55:01.659 --> 00:55:06.519
before Summer Slam. I'll be at the Jericho Cruise
00:55:06.519 --> 00:55:11.079
this year. I think I'm gonna be at the BRCW show
00:55:11.079 --> 00:55:15.239
in August down in Florida, which is my friend's
00:55:15.239 --> 00:55:18.360
promotion, which I'm a vice president of. Yeah,
00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:22.440
and then we'll see everybody at Comics Pro. And
00:55:22.440 --> 00:55:24.980
they're doing retailer events in San Diego and
00:55:24.980 --> 00:55:28.420
at Rose City and in New York, so I'll be in all
00:55:28.420 --> 00:55:31.159
of that. I really desperately wanted to table
00:55:31.159 --> 00:55:33.900
at Rose City this year, but it's so expensive.
00:55:35.099 --> 00:55:38.480
Oh yeah, to get an Art Alley table, I was a little
00:55:38.480 --> 00:55:40.559
taken aback by how much money it was, so I just
00:55:40.559 --> 00:55:42.659
couldn't make it work this year. But hopefully
00:55:42.659 --> 00:55:46.960
next year I'll get there. Baltimore? I don't
00:55:46.960 --> 00:55:50.000
know that I'm welcome at Baltimore, for a story
00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:52.679
I won't share on air. It's a shame because I
00:55:52.679 --> 00:55:55.320
love that show. I love that show so much. I would
00:55:55.320 --> 00:55:57.659
love to go back someday. Thank you again so much
00:55:57.659 --> 00:55:59.559
for your time here. You got to come back on at
00:55:59.559 --> 00:56:01.820
some point. We've got so much more to talk about
00:56:01.820 --> 00:56:04.199
with the pro wrestling stuff. I want to talk
00:56:04.199 --> 00:56:06.940
to you about about Shrektober at some point.
00:56:08.599 --> 00:56:11.000
Just invite me and I'll be here. It's easy enough.
00:56:11.159 --> 00:56:12.360
I appreciate it because I need to go through
00:56:12.360 --> 00:56:15.269
many of these. So I really appreciate you. This
00:56:15.269 --> 00:56:18.409
is a real privilege. Listeners, thank you. I
00:56:18.409 --> 00:56:20.250
hope you have enjoyed this chat as much as I
00:56:20.250 --> 00:56:23.150
have. You can follow me at MacTheKnife1116 on
00:56:23.150 --> 00:56:26.150
Instagram, MatthewKline316 over at TikTok and
00:56:26.150 --> 00:56:28.989
BlueSky. You can support the show, continue to
00:56:28.989 --> 00:56:31.789
go and grow over at Patreon at patreon .com slash
00:56:31.789 --> 00:56:34.670
comics4u. For as little as just $1 a month, and
00:56:34.670 --> 00:56:36.849
don't forget, at the $10 a month mark, I will
00:56:36.849 --> 00:56:39.409
be your personal comics concierge. I will be
00:56:39.409 --> 00:56:41.289
recommending books to you on the monthly based
00:56:41.289 --> 00:56:43.750
on your likes, dislikes, your budget, what's
00:56:43.750 --> 00:56:46.010
hot, what's... Not including you'll definitely
00:56:46.010 --> 00:56:49.050
hear about three or three moons from me if you're
00:56:49.050 --> 00:56:51.150
on there I hope you've learned a little bit more
00:56:51.150 --> 00:56:55.130
about why comics are for you