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It’s the Turkey Sandwich Panel aka the Diamond  Retailer Appreciation event. Here’s all the excitement LIVE

  • Halloween Comic Fest has a t-shirt by Eric Powell. It’s on display at the Diamond booth.
  • Shipping quality is UP!  a new picking system is coming soon
  • The diamond website has a wider suite of retailer tools from publishers. As well as a weekly video that goes over the top 15 comics. It comes out every Monday.
  • Pullbox, Diamond’s automated order system, is being beta tested. They will have many tool available including confirmed orders,  you can import the orders from customers to Diamond ordering system, and make new Pullbox order a reorder. Customers can track new books, add to digital lists, all kinds of tools.
  • Scheduled for Fall release, free until May 2019. “It’s moved along quickly and we’re pretty satisfuied with where we’re at with it.”
  • Digital edition of Previews World. YOU can sell codes to customers who don’t want physical copy.
  • Keep sending in suggestions!
  • The first Daves Hawksworth Award winner was announced, honoring the memory of the late Diamond employee. There were 75 entrants and 15 semi finalists. The winner Dragon Vine Comics in Springfield OR an up and coming shop, Darlene and Shannon said they would redesign their break room to increase space bu 15% and carry more manga and board games.

DC COMICS

Jim “Ski” Sokolowski is back! He opens talking about Batman #50. “I heard some did well some has issues. We are offering returnability on these covers. CALLED IT.

  • Heroes in Crisis it’s “intense” being compared to Identity Crisis with printing akin to Doomsday Clock. There will be open to buy Crisis covers from concepts by JIm Lee, final artist not announced. “A new look at something you’ve seen before. You’re going to love this, or hate.”
  • Diamond is doing three black comics for 24 hour Comics Day. I’ll be darned! DC goes with indie style comics “holiday”
  • October: DC Icons month, enhanced foil process on 29 books.
  • Green Lantern by Morrison and Sharp in NOvember. “You’ll need footnotes, this alien lantern who appeared in 1952.” Like Batman he dredged into the past and found good stories.
  • DC Ink and DC Zoom – we will an incentive in Previews, co-ops slicks and a display. This was long awaited by some retailers. If you’re unsure talk to people who are big into the YA world. A way to reach out to a lot of new people.
  • Mark Doyle comes up to talk about Black Label etc. The first book Batman Damned is spectacular. Its unlike anything he’s worked on before.
  • Superman Year One is very special two titans doing “The best work of their career. “Everyone saw Black Label as a opportunity to do things they had never been able to do before.” The art pages are huge.
  • Wonder Woman: Historia by DeConnick and Jimenez, more new fresh stuff.
  • When Doyle was asked to come back to Vertigo he said “Hell yes.” He’s very excited to be back.
  • First up is the Sandman Universe one shot and spinoffs. It’s like a weekly Sandman comic.
  • Going over the new Vertigo books including Border Town, etc the whole idea is to reach out to new voices and people who have never done comics before and give them fresh stories with fresh characters. “If a person likes one Vertigo book, you’ll probably love the rest of the line.”
  • There’s a Bendis Superman trailer available to shops and a lot of cool giveaways.

TITAN COMICS

  • It’s Titan’s 50th anniversary this year!
  • ANd there’s the 13th Doctor and though Titan has been pulling back from variants. for this they had to do 13 variants. Cover A Babs Tarr, cover b photo, cover c ?? cover d Rachel Stott.  
  • The Many Lives of Doctor Who shows all the doctors.
  • Nov. 24th is Doctor Who Comics Day – it will be a family oriented day that brings in new customers.
  • Tank Girl is also 30! A new #1 is coming and for the first time an ONGOING Tank Girl series. Tank Girl day is Saturday October 20. A good jumping on point.
  • Rivers of London is also an ongoing now. It’s a response to positive reaction from retailers.
  • Robotech #13 in October, covers by Ryan Brown. They’re doing everything they can to keep it fresh.
  • Bloodbourne by Ales Kot and Piotr Kowalski. Cover A by Tradd Moore.
  • Life is Strange based on the video game, team announced:  Emma Vieceli and Claudia Leonardi.  Coming in November.
  • Mike Hammer by Max Allan Collins based on a Mickey Spillane screenplay.
  • Robert McGinnis has done the SDCC exclusive cover for a virgin variant.
  • Minky Woodcock by Cynthia van Buhler was a surprise success
  • Breakneck another Hardcase mystery title, a new thriller set in Phillie.
  • The Millennium trilogy is continuing with a new original story the The Girl Who Danced with Death
  • Tyler Cross by Fabien Nury  a European hit.
  • The Prague Cowboy by Fromental and Miles Hyman based on Graham Greene’s writing of the script for the Third Man – obscure historical tie in! WANT
  • Under: Scourge of the Sewers is going to be a movie as announced yesterday in Variety
  • The Druillet Library continues with Yragael and Urm the Mad and Salammbo
  • The Wrath of Fantomas is in the style of Dr. Robot.
  • McCay and invented biography of Little Nemo creator
  • Emma G Wildford, one woman’s journey of finding herself while she’s looking for someone else.
  • Oscar Marton’s Solo is coming in single issues, as is Elric: the White Wolf.
  • V.E Schwab is huge in the YA market and she’s writing comics for the frist time. for Shades of Magic. People have bought 15 copies at a time.
  • Yellow Submarine adaptation by Bill Morrison has sold out at the booth in a day and a half at the show. Up your orders!
  • Yellow Submarine Special edition has a ton of extras
  • And The Prisoner continues with Shattered Visage by Dean Motter and Mark Akswith is being reprinted in a new edition.
  • New Blade Runner comics series is going to be money for everyone and also creatively rewarding.

Dark Horse

  • Big news is Stranger Things coming by Jody Houser and Stefano Martino. Returnable!
  • Mystery Science Theater 300 comic by Joel Hodgson and the MSK 3 production team. Also returnable!
  • Way and Ba back for the third installment of the Umbrella Academy. This will be seven issue series and also fully returnable. Hopefully launching into the live action Netflix series coming in 2019. Both Umbrella Academy trades are available
  • Offering ashcans for all three titles.
  • Hellboy Omnibii available now, part of a new program replacing trade paperbacks. showing Hellboy in chronological order for the first time.
  • Hungry Ghosts collection is coming in October with five new recipes from the late creator Anthony Bourdain.
  • Aliens and Predator are coming in essential collections and AVP is coming early in 2019.
  • The Venture Brothers Art book finally came out this week, but Season 7 is coming on Adult Swim on August 5th. If you may have ordered and didn’t have confidence the book is out, there’s some buzz now, so order.
  • DH continues video game art books with Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia. There will also be a blind box version.
  • Legend of Zelda continues with Breath of the Wild, focusing on art and lore.

 

VALIANT

  • Faith Dreamside tests the character and Maria Melnik of American Gods is writing the screenplay for the Faith movie.
  • Bloodshot Rising Spirit with art by Ken Lashley – cheers from the crowd ! He came up for the panel. He says it is the best work of his career!
  • Blloodshot will have a tempered glass cover – if you have no idea how it is going to work, it will. Art by Doug Braithwaite
  • Vita Ayala talks about Livewire, they’re going to try to bring something to her powers we haven’t seen before. Response has been overwhelming, it’s said.
  • Livewire is now going to be an ongoing series!
  •  Another way to get people excited about Valiant is retailers want more advance info. After the luncheon they are offering Bloodshot Rising Spirit scriptbook with a few words redacted.
  • ONE LAST THING Vin Diesel is instagramming that he’s gonna be Bloodshot. Movie set for 2/21/20.

IDW

  • IDW is celebrating 20th anniversary next year.
  • 75th issue of My Little Pony, new TMNT, 35th anniversary of Ghostbusters and TMNT, and 10th anniversary of Parker books by Darwyn Cook – a lot coming.
  • Long agonizing moments as a video isn’t working but then it is and everyone breaths again.
  • Greg Goldstein on Marvel kids books: in November Spider-Man #1 in December Avengers #1 and in January Black Panther #1. The creative team for Spidey will be announced tomorrow at the panel. “We think this is a great opportunity for you.”
  • Vader’s Castle a five issue mini coming being announced now.
  • Where is Shredder? New mini.
  • Go-Bots is going to be great! By Tom Scioli! Whatever you order will not be enough, it will blow your minds. It’ll be out there before the big Transformers reboot in 2019. Big things coming in Transformer universe.
  • Going back to print on Bernie Wrightson artist edition.
  • Puzzles are a very good category now; they’re doing a Tales from the Crypt puzzle and a TMNT puzzle. A nice inexpensive novelty. And Batman: TAS tabletop game.
  • And 2nd issue of Full Bleed is out this week. Numbers went up on issue #2 via Diamond. Unheard of!

 

MARVEL

CB Cebulski and David Gabriel are up for Marvel. CB hopes everyone goes easier than earlier.

Gabriel: “We’re just going to talk about  ways to make you money We’ve had a remarkable last 3 or 4 months. I think all the new launches since May have been doing very well, perhaps a surprise. And we’ve hit a 400,0000 units plus on FF #1.

• Still seeing sell outs on new Cap, ASM and Avenegrs. We’re seeing better numbers than we have in the past couple of years.

  • CB: I’m a editor also a fan and a former retailer. Captain America: Coates and Yu has been well received. ASM #1 did phenomenally well. People are excited to see Mary Jane back. Avengers – David Marquez coming in for underwater look. and a new Namor!
  • Hulk Thor and new Iron Man. Books are doing well.
  • Donny Cates is special guest, some applause. Death of Inhumans is shown.”I’m killing a lot of people. No dog is safe. (boos) Well look, I used to run comics shops and it means a lot to let me talk to you guys.”
  • Cates is getting to do cool stuf including bringing back Marvel Knights, the edgy imprint from the 90s! Tini Howard, Matt Rosenberg and Vita Ayala are doing Marvel Knights with Cates. Record scratch!
  • Cates has a huge run on Venom planned., Ryan Stegman will be on the book as much as possible.  Big arcs will have Ryan,  then do two issue breaks with b plot and long terms plots with artist Iban Coello.
  • Venom Annual will include David Michelinie
  • Thanos Legacy #1 is at the end of Thanos Wins he goes back in time and he erases his own future as you guys know there’s a big infinity event I’m doing now. Mandatory reading to push Infinity Wars Prime.
  • Spider Gwen Ghost Spider #1 launches in October with Seasnan McGuire and Rosi Kampe. And Spider Gwen makes debut in animated Spidey show.
  • Miracleman from Gaiman and Buckingham are being worked on. Coming in 2019 they think. OK “It’s finally happening”
  • Marvel Conan Omnibus with cover by John Cassaday and version with OG BWS cover.
  •  Marvel 80 Years coming with a different decade each month bringing back old creators and classic characters. And new creators having fun.

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