EVERYTHING BUT IMAGINARY #329: AT A PREMIUM

[Blake Petit]

As I type this, I’ve got a blue ring on my finger and five more sitting next to my computer, each one ready to be switched out depending on the mood of the character I’m currently writing in my National Novel Writing Month project for 2009. Okay, I’m not quite that big a dork. But I have been collecting all of the various-colored rings that are being attached to the Blackest Night crossovers this month. It’s a cool promotion. DC has given out Green Lantern rings at conventions and in comic shops for years, and with this storyline proving to be such a big hit, it was inevitable that the readers would want to get their hands on the other seven colors (thus far) that have been revealed.

Premiums aren’t anything new, and the idea of ring giveaways has been floating around for the better part of a century. From the old-school secret decoder rings you could get by sending away a certain number of Ovaltine lids, courtesy of Little Orphan Annie, and through the days of cereal box inserts, up until the reintroduction of the ring as a kitsch element by the awesome podcast the Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. Various action figures – Green Lanterns, Flashes, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes – have come with rings over the years as well. And with the t-shirts popping up at conventions and comic shops, c’mon, who wouldn’t want the proper accessory for their Agent Orange attire?

There have been giveaway with comics before as well, of course. In the 90s, at the height of the speculator boom, just about every issue was packaged with a trading card or a poster. As Erin reminded me, all of the Milestone launch books included those, and the first issue of X-Force made you buy it five times if you wanted all of the cards. And how many times have comics themselves been the giveaway item? A bonus in a box of cereal, or with an action figure, or just sitting by the cash register in Radio Shack or a Shoney’s restaurant?

Of course, with something like this, where you need to buy the comic to get the ring that’s metaphorically attached to it, the idea is intended as a sales incentive. And to judge by the reaction of fans and comic shop owners, it seems to be working fairly well. Of course, such a thing can only be a short-term sales boost – next month the books won’t have rings included. Whether the bump results in more ongoing sales for any of the titles remains to be seen. Although I do know emergency back-up geek Kenny Fanguy really seemed to dig R.E.B.E.L.S. #10.

The thing that I think really makes a promotion like this one successful is that it does, in fact, tap into the collector mentality that a great number of comic book readers have. Some will only get the books they get normally, and that’s fine. Some will only get the books with the rings of their favorite Corps, and that’s fine too. But for people (like me) who are getting most of the books anyway, it’s not that big a stretch to add one or two more if that’s what it takes to complete the set. And it works the other way, too – people who were planning to bet most of the rings anyway will be compelled to fill up the fingers. (I’m trademarking that phrase, it’s brilliant.) Even if a person would have no real interest in a Star Sapphire ring by itself, if he’s already got the other seven colors he’s going to think, “Well, what’s one more?”

So this gets me thinking – nothing successful seems to make it without imitatiors popping up. With the rings turning out to be a hit, what else might make its way to the comic shop as a giveaway item? Let’s say Marvel wanted to do a similar promotion – how about giving away one of the gems from the Infinity Gauntlet with each book? Oh sure, they’d probably have to sell a glove that you could snap the gems into, but I’m sure a lot of people would snap that up. Plus, those fanboys that insist on turning every little thing into a stupid Marvel vs. DC fight would have plenty of ammunition to argue over whose promotion was more powerful. The arena alone could last for months on this.

Disney has recently had a hit with their line of Vinylmation toys sold at their parks and Disney stores. How cool would it be if they miniaturized the Mickey Mouse-shaped toys and included one with the various Disney, Pixar and Muppet comics featuring a character from that title? And what about all of Stephen King’s assorted comics? Since he decided to throw the medium a bone a couple of years ago, he’s wound up with works at three different companies (The Stand and The Dark Tower at Marvel, The Talisman at Del Rey, and the upcoming vampire comic from Vertigo). But if it were possible, what if he (or some other popular writer) wrote a new story which was serialized as “chapbooks,” not unlike he did with the original release of The Green Mile? Then again, I am a little wary of making people buy books they don’t want to get a complete story. Maybe it would be better, instead, if it were a series of short stories. But you get the point.

I’m just throwing ideas out here, folks, things that I think may be fun. No idea how feasible any of it would be – especially on the retailer level, as they do have to pay for the rings they’re handing out – but if it could be made to work, I think it could be a bit of fun.

Favorite of the Week: November 11, 2009

I was pretty skeptical about the Doc Savage/Batman Special. While I love the idea of creating a universe with a group of non-powered heroes, I think it’s ripe with potential, I’ve never been a fan of Brian Azzrello’s superhero work. His Superman run was terrible, and I didn’t care for his run on Batman or his strip in Wednesday Comics. But the special was a real surprise, and a real treat. Kicking off the First Wave universe, this book introduced us to the smartest, most famous hero in the universe: Clark Savage, the Man of Bronze. The Doc runs into the mysterious new avenger of Gotham City, and this is a very different Batman from the one we know. Azzarello says in his notes (included in this issue) that this is a Batman that’s still brand new to the costume, one who hasn’t really become the hero we all know… yet. And I can see that. I’m a little wary about Batman using guns, but with the constraints of this universe, I’m willing to accept that for now. At any rate, I liked this far more than any of Azzarello’s other worth with established characters, and I’m more interested in the upcoming titles than I was before.

Blake M. Petit is the author of the superhero comedy novel, Other People's Heroes, the suspense novel The Beginner and the novel-in-progress Lost in Silver at Evertime Realms. He’s also the co-host, with whoever the hell is available that week, of the 2 in 1 Showcase Podcasts. E-mail him at Blake@comixtreme.com and visit him on the web at Evertime Realms. Read past columns at the Everything But Imaginary Archive Page.

[tiggerbone]

I liked the one shot, but felt that it did not truly service either of its characters well. Where was Monk, for example? I would have loved to see the rest of Doc Savage's retinue. And while the story did a good job of showing the "green-ness" of The Batman and the competence of Doc Savage, I did not get a good sense of why Doc would actually trust Batman.

About the Batman/guns thing. Yes, I understand that The Batman used guns back in the day. But I think that if Doc Savage is going to meet a dark vigilante with guns, he should have been with The Shadow.

[Dirge]

I geeked out like a little kid on Christmas when I got my black lantern ring. It was a brilliant marketing move to get me to buy a bunch of books I would not normally buy (and largely do not understand because I am a novice to the DC universe) because I love those cheap plastic rings that make me feel like a real lantern.

[bluemonkey]

What other colored rings came out? I only have black, orange, and blue.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by bluemonkey

What other colored rings came out? I only have black, orange, and blue.

Yellow, Indigo, and Violet are all also out. Red and Green are next week. Just in time for Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Or something.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by tiggerbone

I liked the one shot, but felt that it did not truly service either of its characters well. Where was Monk, for example? I would have loved to see the rest of Doc Savage's retinue. And while the story did a good job of showing the "green-ness" of The Batman and the competence of Doc Savage, I did not get a good sense of why Doc would actually trust Batman.

About the Batman/guns thing. Yes, I understand that The Batman used guns back in the day. But I think that if Doc Savage is going to meet a dark vigilante with guns, he should have been with The Shadow.

Not a bad idea, except I don't think DC has the rights to the Shadow. They can only play with the toys they own and/or have licensed.

[RadioCleve]

Originally Posted by Blake Petit

Yellow, Indigo, and Violet are all also out. Red and Green are next week. Just in time for Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Or something.

My store keeps telling me "Christmas Colors." Because, you know, Christmas is all about rage.

Actually, I used to work in retail on Black Friday. There is a lot of rage. They aren't far off.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by RadioCleve

My store keeps telling me "Christmas Colors." Because, you know, Christmas is all about rage.

Actually, I used to work in retail on Black Friday. There is a lot of rage. They aren't far off.

Of this, I have no doubt. I'm really glad I never worked retail.

[B. Schatz]

Batman is this universe's "Shadow". Dude with the cape, and guns and whatnot...