Millarworld - Apparently not the place to go and hype product if you’re not working for Marvel. It all started when a fan called Brian Kippenberg posted the following for his friend:
Thought I’d pass this along as a sign of support…
HELP SELL-OUT SUPERMAN # 676
Vito Delsante needs your help! On May 14, SUPERMAN #676 is released and it’s Vito’s first and (for now) only Superman comic. But you can change that! Pick up SUPERMAN #676 at your local comic shop on WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 and help to make a difference. If you’re a comic creator, post about it on your blogs! If you’re a comic book retailer, help a fellow retailer out and DON’T RETURN THE BOOK! If you’re a comic fan, make a statement with your wallets! YOU can make a difference in the burgeoning career of an up-and-coming writer!
Somewhat surprisingly, the reception was… well, slightly less than warm:
“[I]f I were an Editor at DC I would see an artificially generated sell-out as a reason not to give the person organising it more work.”
“[N]ot to sound callous but with all the struggling, up-and-coming writers why should we care about this guy?”
“Yeah, sorry, but just like if someone tells me to vote for something ‘because it’s a mate’, I’m not going to follow a random request to buy something by someone I’ve never heard of, especially if the aim is to make something that might, frankly, be crap look successful.”
“I don’t know, it was sold to us not as ‘buy this book because it’s good’ but rather ‘buy this book so this guy you don’t know and who might be terrible can get jobs writing more books’. I don’t think it’s out of line to say ’so what?’ I mean, dozens of books by struggling and up-and-coming writers come out every week and very few even have the benefit of an Alex Ross cover. Do we need to buy all of them for the sake of karma, now?”
“I think it’s a weird ‘movement’ to creat in a way, it’s not like it’s this small indie title and we have to support a good bloke who needs it. I mean if a Superman title with a freakin Alex Ross cover doesn’t sell it never will.”
Sorry, Vito. At least he tried…
May 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Wow…and Mark Millar pot-banging for his own projects is different….how?
Can’t believe I wasted so much time up there at one time.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
If only Vito pitched a fill-in for a Marvel comic, those guys would be all over it.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Hey, at least when I posted about this on the Bendis Board, I just said people should buy this not only because Vito’s a friend of mine, but because it was a good comic.
The problem, is all in the delivery.
-Steve!
May 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
funny enough, the Bendis board was very welcome!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
>Wow…and Mark Millar pot-banging for his own >projects is different….how?
Because Mark Millar has a proven track record and a message board with his name on it with thousands of members?
May 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Mark Engblom said it perfectly.
Congrats on the issue, Vito! I dug it.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I dunno how newsworthy (or gossip worthy) it is to point out the snark on Millar World.
Now if there was someone being humble over there… THAT would be cause for concern.
I bought it. Gonna read it this weekend.
Good luck, Vito.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
It’s a heck of a good story. And it’s all-ages. I’ll probably buy another copy for my nephews the next time I see Vito in the store (so he can sign it for them).
I can’t always get regular DCU books for them (they’re often too continuity-dependent, too “adult”, or both), but I try to pick a mainstream DCU book up for them when i find one I like.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
“Wow…and Mark Millar pot-banging for his own projects is different….how?”
a.) It’s his board.
b.) People who visit his board probably like his writing and go to his board to find out about HIS projects.
c.) He usually tells people the basics of the story rather than, “Yo, I’m writing this book.”
The fact that Vito has managed to get his work printed in frickin’ SUPERMAN is already great exposure and an amazing accomplishment.
It’s cool that his friend wants to get support for the book, but he probably should have focused more on the quality of the writing than “hey I know this guy who has a comic.”
May 16th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
@ Lawrence:
Agreed. Especially since it’s a really good done in one.
It’s a flashback about the first time Superman met the Golden Age Green Lantern.
I don’t think I’m giving anything away, you should all check it out.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:55 am
i’d buy a superman book written by don vitto
May 17th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
they could put a english script in the back like with the spanish bluebeetle issue
May 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
English-to-rapist?
May 17th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Holy Attack-of-the-Overreactoid, Batman. If you’re not interested, ignore it. If something like this really pisses you off, you have problems.
Also, the whole trend to expand the definition of the word “Spam” to include things that aren’t strictly e-mail is retarded.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
No great interest in the story, but any headline that quotes SFA gets my immediate viewage.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
So why no mention that the positive comments on that thread outnumber the negative comments by at least two to one? Is it the same reason why you edited the positive aspects out of several of the comments you posted here?
May 17th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I’d buy a comic book written by Don Corleone. We all would. Or die.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
there were plenty of positive comments, and I appreciate both the good and the bad. If I don’t have thick skin, how far do I really expect to get in this industry?
May 18th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
second base?
May 18th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
No, What’s on Second.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I really enjoyed the book, good luck Vito.