From the Riot blog, posted by a retailer (link no longer available): every single Speakeasy title that I ordered over the past two months has been cancelled…. it’s obvious to me that the publisher is going the way of Dreamwave, CrossGen, and all the other “hey, let’s try something NEW and DIFFERENT” dodo publishers. Speakeasy tried to do too much too soon. Instead of building an audience for four or five titles over the course of a year and then […]

The New York Times reports that the new comic strip Retail will launch tomorrow. His aim for the comic strip … is to do for the mall what Dilbert did for the office, revealing the dysfunctional world of bickering employees, spineless managers, and cruel shoppers that lurks behind the cheery sales slogans. It’s a good topic, with lots of possibilities, and one most people can relate to. Everyone’s been shopping, even if they haven’t had the life-changing opportunity of working […]

Chris Butcher has a damning post about a Dark Horse mistake (link no longer available): Frank Miller’s 300 has been unavailable through Diamond at a time that interest is growing, due to the film currently in production. Apparently, 2 or 3 weeks ago, there was a signing with Frank Miller in Montreal (this didn’t get any press as far as I saw?). For 300. At which, there were NO copies of 300 available. Dark Horse didn’t come through (it was […]

Speakeasy has recently come under much criticism for … oh, a whole laundry list of things. Read my original post at the link for details. Now Rich Johnston, Speakeasy creator, has interviewed Adam Fortier, Speakeasy publisher, in an attempt to get answers to some of the concerns raised. The piece (link no longer available) starts with a summary of Fortier’s resume, mostly high points and praise. After that, in response to valid questions, the answers are all maybes and “it’s […]

Alias Comics hasn’t shipped any regular comics since November 9, when they released Killer Stunts Inc #4, Lethal Instinct #4 (both originally due in July), Sixgun Samurai #2, and XIII #3 (both due August). Now they’re sending out some more titles. According to their message boards (link no longer available), shipping next Wednesday, December 21 are: 10th Muse #8 David Shepherds Song Vol 1 TP Hyperactives #0 Legend of Isis #7 Lethal Instinct #5 XIII #5 You may have noticed […]

I used to call Alias the next CrossGen, because their combined late books, overloaded slate, and tendency to flood retailers made them look like they weren’t long for the world. Now, they’ve got a competitor for the title: Speakeasy. The publisher seems to have decided that it doesn’t need to do anything in order to make a profit. It doesn’t need to promote titles (press mailings have declined greatly, based on my own experience). It doesn’t need to risk taking […]