Self Promotion

So, one of my anthropology students (yes I teach anthropology at the college level) asked me to be a faculty sponsor for a Comic Book Club.  At first I thought well that’s pretty cool, then the pessimistic side of me said, yeah but that’s been done right? ….and then I really started thinking about the idea of a Comic Book Club not Con.

The idea, my student says (Shout out to Mark the student!), is to get people together once a week to talk about comics, maybe visit a local shop, and hold a Con on campus in the Spring.  Again, I think cool…. but…. don’t we already do that, I mean isn’t that what comic shops are?  And a Con on a campus, would you get enough people, would you get sponsors, would it cost?  And then I had an epiphany.  This is EXACTLY what our industry needs.

We sit around and bitch that comics are going the way of the dodo & that no one reads & that we are going to have to come up with a viable virtual product soon or we’ll be extinct.  Instead, I give you a bigger problem–marketing (or lack thereof.)  What do we do to actually market this little industry called comics?  We go to our local shop (maybe) once a week.  We attend a Con once (maybe twice) a year and that’s it.  Those two things DO NOT count as marketing–that is preachin’ to the choir!  The people you see at the comic shop and at the Con already know about comics and are interested in some aspect.  It’s those other 30 billion people we need to get interested.

Now, I come back to Mark’s idea. A Comic Book Club at a college is a brilliant idea.  People in college are open to new ideas, into popular media, already probably know something about comics by accident (though movies, literature, the newspaper, etc.)  Why not grab a few unsuspecting people and lure them our way.  Let’s face it, it can be intimidating going to a comic shop if you’ve never been before.  Con’s are totally crazy and sometimes expensive so lots of people haven’t been to those.  So a local club to sit back and discuss the genre… again, I say, brilliant!

The idea of having a Campus Con is also great.  The beauty is that it will be one afternoon, not a weekend commitment.  You will have a captive audience ‘cause people gotta go to school anyway and will wander by.  You can have diversity to get people interested–a couple of local shops to sell things, a couple of panels to get people interested and maybe show a movie.  You do a nice wrap up flyer announcing the local Con’s and comic shops and viola instant converts into the comic world. Brian teaches  our book (Hi-Fi Color for Comics incase I haven’t plugged it recently) at the same campus I teach at, another easy tie-in.  A grassroots investment to further our audiences, our talent and our field.

Currently, Mark & I are cutting through the red tape to make this a reality (ok he’s doing most of the work, I’m signing my name where appropriate) and Estrella Mountain Community College will produce a club soon.

Look for a Comic Book Club and Campus Con at a college near you–or better yet start your own!

Kristy Miller

VP, Development

Hi-Fi Design

Author’s Note: I have to end with an apology, I’ve been slacking with the articles.  I’ve been dealing with some serious teeth issues and have been off my game.  Hopefully, I’m back and all is well.