FCBD 2007 Breakdown: The Rest of the Story

Not exactly on schedule, but now for the rest of our FCBD ordering breakdown (for those who missed it, Part One):

Comics Festival - (3.4% of dollars spent; 2.9% of total copies bought):
As Mr. Butcher was kind enough to point out in the comments section of our last post, this is a very cool book. Essentially an anthology of short pieces from a variety of creators including personal favorites Darwyn Cooke, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, Cameron Stewart, Chip Zdarsky and many, many more. We ordered high on this because it's something that we'll give away all year in an effort to broaden horizons and expose readers to a huge variety of very talented creators.

Transformers: The Movie Prequel - (3.4% of dollars spent; 3.8% of total copies bought):
We do well with Transformers comics in general and specifically with the younger set which is a major target demo in this effort. This book specifically promotes the just concluding miniseries and soon to be trade in time to cash in on some movie hype.

Umbrella Academy, Zero Killer, Pantheon City - (3.4% of dollars spent; 3.8% of total copies bought):
This one is a bit of a shot in the dark since I know very little about any of these, but Dark Horse usually puts out an interesting product. Looking back, this is probably a bit high but I may have been seduced by the Gerard Way/My Chemical Romance connection.

Marvel Adventures Three-in-One - (3.25% of dollars spent; 3.8% of total copies bought):
The Marvel Adventures do well with kids and while it may have been smarter just to reprint the first Avengers, this will do.

Lynda Barry Sampler - (2.9% of dollars spent; 2.6% of total copies bought):
I'm not particularly familiar with Barry's work, but what I have seen looks interesting and I suspect we'll be able to use this in much the same way as we did the Mr. Jean sampler last year.

Amelia Rules Hangin Out - (2.9% of dollars spent; 2.3% of total copies bought):
I'm becoming a bigger and bigger Amelia Rules fan the more I read of it, especially as something that appeals to the girls that come in and complain that everything here is for boys (far from true, but I'm not going to argue that most of the comics industry is geared to boys).

Astounding Wolf-man #1 - (2.75% of dollars spent; 4.1% of total copies bought):
This was one of only two titles that I adjusted down based on price and that's because it was offered at just $.16 per piece and I suspect I'll have quite a few left over. Launching a new title with new characters on FCBD is probably not the greatest idea, but I'm willing to give Kirkman the benefit of the doubt, particularly since this title looks very entertaining (plus the latter half is a Brit story that may entice new readers to pick up a trade). Unfortunately, this is the type of book that likely appeals to those familiar with Kirkman rather than those new to comics.

Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1 - (2.75% of dollars spent; 4.1% of total copies bought):
This was the other title that I adjusted down based on price. We're going to be giving these away long after FCBD and they probably won't do much beyond advertise the cartoon but another all ages book with familiar characters doesn't hurt.

TokyoPop Choose Your Weapon - (2.6% of dollars spent; 2.8% of total copies bought):
I'm not sure about the titles TokyoPop is spotlighting here going all out with the action and the new titles but it's manga and the kids are gonna scoop it up -- and hopefully remember us when they're looking for the next volume of Bleach.

Family Guy/Hack Slash Flip Book - (2.4% of dollars spent; 2.9% of total copies bought):
Now here's a misfire. Like it or not, Family Guy appeals to a wide range of readers including some surprisingly young kids. Coupling a popular title with a less popular one, ala Battlestar Galactica and Lone Ranger seems like a good idea at first (especially when the Family Guy stuff alone can help us sell more Family Guy books) but when the less popular property is even less appropriate (and more importantly less familiar to their parents) it's an opportunity wasted.

Wahoo Morris #1 - (2% of dollars spent; 2.3% of total copies bought):
I've mentioned this one before and this order is partially an effort to support a self publisher willing to take the risk of putting out a FCBD book to promote a title that we already stock.

I've left out a few titles that I didn't have anything to say about and there are another six or seven titles that we placed a token order of 15-20 copies for since I don't expect much demand for them nor to be able to use them to sell other books (i.e. Arcana Studios Presents & Buzzboy).