Stop the Presses! (For really real, this time.)
Posted by: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez on May 19, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Tom Spurgeon has a very good interview with Tim Leong — Newsmaker: Tim Leong — getting a bit more background on Comic Foundry’s status, confirming my suspicions that Leong is a well-intentioned neophyte pitching a project that’s simply not ready for prime time. Here’s one of the more revealing comments:
SPURGEON: Even though you have a general audience in mind, you’re using the old DM system to get your magazine out there. What was your expectation for how you would find your audience? Because there seems to me a slight disconnect there. What were your expectations for building a subscription base and advertising?LEONG: We’re virgin publishers here, and we might be making tons of mistakes, mistakes we might not even realize until months later. If we decide not to go with a publisher, and publish on our own, we would definitely go to conventions, and sell on-line. Subscriptions might be harder, because we don’t have a structural database set up to do print labels. It might be more low-tech at first, but I’m open to subscriptions. Advertising is tricky for a magazine that hasn’t come out yet. There are people interested in advertising, which is fantastic. We’ll have advertising in the first issue. Hopefully we’ll have more in the second. I’m considering bringing in different ad teams. I’m working some of the connections I have in my actual-actual job.
Call me cynical, but this does not sound like someone who’s ready to put out a monthly publication of any type, with or without color, never mind one targeting such a vaguely defined audience. Spurgeon does an excellent job asking some pointed questions, and Leong is refreshingly candid, though I’m not sure it’s such a smart tactic at this point, all things considered. If I were an investor or advertiser, I’d be feeling a little uncomfortable about CF’s prospects moving forward.
There’s a sample page included that looks like it might have come right out of TimeOUT NY or some other low-calorie general interest magazine, and I can’t help but think of the recently launched, broader-focused Geek Monthly. The one issue I’ve read, with Kristen Bell on the cover, showed some potential, but lacked a compelling hook beyond its vague “geek” identity. It read like a generic Men’s magazine with the usual departments, alongside features that lacked a bite, and I suspect it won’t last more than a year in its present state.
As for Comic Foundry’s rejection, I still haven’t heard back from Diamond for comment or clarification, but I’m guessing that, unless Leong lands an established direct market publisher, he won’t be making it into Previews any time soon. Especially not if they read that interview.
2 Responses to "Stop the Presses! (For really real, this time.)"
1 | Jon Haehnle
Despite all this, it seems Tim has since talked to a few different publishers about carrying the magazine, which would be a good thing if it happened as it would take some of the burden on that end off Tim and give him more time to concentrate on creating the actual product.
On the one hand I envy Tim as, over the years, there’s always been the idea of doing a PCS print mag, so it’s cool to see someone trying to fill that hole in between Wizard and TCJ (RIP lo-fi?) — but on the other hand, publishing is no easy feat, so I don’t envy him the uphill nature of the struggle.
Nevertheless I do root for CF just like I root for UVC to succeed.
Based on the interview, Leong isn’t really filling the niche between Wizard and TCJ, like LoFi attempted to do (and UVC, to a more focused degree, though much closer to Wizard than TCJ), but is actually trying to create a new one that takes the general interest template of an Esquire or Wired and applying it to the comics scene. It’s an interesting concept, but not one I think can work in print, or at least not on the small scale he seems to be aiming for.
From an advertising perspective, I don’t see Marvel or DC being interested in any significant way unless his circulation is more than 50,000; most indie publishers don’t have the marketing budgets to do any serious advertising outside of Previews (which is a whole ‘nother discussion); and the mainstream publishers with graphic novel imprints don’t do much advertising for their titles. There may be a few general interest brand marketers out there who’ll throw a little money CF’s way, but again, unless his circulation is over 50,000 or he gets hooked into an ad network, there’s not much potential there, either.
Oh, and before charges of “sippin’ the haterade” get thrown in my direction again, I should point out that I’ve worked in magazine publishing for nearly 15 years and CF’s situation is purely an intellectual exercise for me, an offshot of the Marketing Monday series of columns I did earlier this year. I don’t know Leong or his contributors and bear them no ill will.
In theory, I support the sentiment behind Comic Foundry; in practice, as I’ve said several times already, I simply don’t think it’s ready for prime time. It’s an opinion, mine, but last I checked, it’s still legal to have and express an opinion, popular or not.
