FLINT COMIX STATUS: JUNE 1, 2009

Here it is the first of June 2009, and again all I have to report is positive when it comes to Flint Comix. I apologize up front for this being so long of a post, I’ll try to make reports more often and they should be shorter in the future. Here goes:

The last few weeks has seen the release of our second issue, which like #1 had a print run of 10,000 but unlike issue #1 we were losing what I thought were some of our main outlets of distribution. Still, as I type this we are literally looking at a 99.9% distribution with Ted and I in possession of one still bound bundle of 50 each. Add to that the fact that we’ll be doing a couple of display appearances before the next issue premieres, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be looking at a 100% distribution.

Admittedly I was worried about our distribution of #2 because we had a shift in out distribution outlets. We ran an article for the Flint Institute of Arts comic art display and they distributed over 300 copies of the paper on site. Add to that we had lost the major outlets of Kroger and Kmart, as the folks that apparently “owned” the racks wanted 15 bucks a display space to put the papers there and we refused. I was a little worried that printing 10,000 of issue 2 might have been a mistake. Luckily I added another 50 distribution outlets and, with the addition of a few new advertisers we more than blew through our stock down to what we have now.

In distributing #2 we also picked up all the left over #1’s. That gave is a back stock of around 500-600 copies, so that meant we had an initial “sell-through” of around 95% of the #1’s. We are still debating how to distribute those, though I was able to give away well over 100 copies of #1 at The Motor City Comic Con (as well as over 100 copies of #2). I am all for taking bundles of 100 to each of our three big hospitals around here to hand out to patients (in my mind a perfect, almost captive, audience), and keep the remaining copies “in house” to sell as back issues. I have already ran the idea past a few folks about selling back issues for 5 bucks each postage paid -as I am not THAT much of a greedy bastard. It’s my aim to slowly take a page of each issue and turn it into our “huckster page” filled with back issues, subscriptions, and whatever else we can sell of Flint Comix to turn profit.

Speaking of subscriptions, we offer a subscription as of #3, mainly because it looks like we’re going to be around for awhile and we had a few folks say they’d rather pay to have it mailed to them then have to hunt down copies. In fact the subscription ad I worked up said as much:



To date, we haven’t received any subscriptions, but I’m sure we will eventually. We’ll just keep offering, then when we start charging for back issues it should inspire some folks to take advantage of it. I did have quite a few folks from out of town say they were going to subscribe at the Motor City Con, but again, nothing so far.

Last week we put another advertising salesman in the field. We ARE getting new ads, but they are all from businesses calling us. Usually folks who saw the publication and “had” to be a part of it, now hopefully we’ll have someone out there making cold calls to gather more. I’ll let you know how that goes. The primary worry I had (and still have) with this publication is that the advertisers are our cash flow. We’ve been cutting deals for multiple appearances, (around 25% for our regular, regulars) and that has kept us in the plus column, once we start getting out there a bit more I’m sure it’ll open it up more to advertisers. At present we still have only one restaurant advertising and they are proving to be some of our best distribution outlets.

We are keeping track of our distribution, adding and subtracting issues and drop off points as we go along. I actually had three places refuse to distribute #2 that weren’t Kroger’s and Kmart’s, 2 convenience stores and a used bookstore. The bookstore would not give me a reason, just refused to take more, and the stores said that if it wasn’t making THEM money they didn’t want to carry it. In all cases I gave them a big smile, told them we would take them off our list, and made sure I started 2 new distribution points as close to their business as I could find. One store had what I thought was a bar across the street, but it turned out to be a sweet looking restaurant with a bar attached to it. They’ll move twice as many as the store would.

Like I said above, out best distribution points seem to be family restaurants. Most all of our “returns” of #1 were from convenience stores, with the vast majority of places running totally out and the places where there were leftovers were places that mostly buried the paper underneath the other freebie publications that had come out after us.

I want to take a bit to mention the happy parts I’ve found with doing this paper. MOST of the folks where we distributed #1 were extremely happy to see us deliver #2. I had two restaurants take the papers right out of my hand and tell me they keep them behind to counter and hand them out to folks they think would really appreciate them, and MOST folks are giving the paper surprisingly prime display spots. The warm reception I’ve received from the last two issues has been unbelievable. Frankly, it makes the days (and we distributed about 85 % of the paper in the area in three days btw) of running in and out of businesses VERY rewarding. To me, personally, this is a total change from self-publishing in the comic market where most of the retailers who do not know you personally (as well as the primary distributor) look at you with sheer disdain (like you shoved a turd under their nose), IF they carry you at all. I’m becoming “known” more locally, especially with the business heads, than I ever was working in regular comics.

I kept notes of the places I thought we were moving the fastest in and checked back with them whenever I could. Most of those places I had to restock. Plus we distributed to every laundry matt we could find this time, which also helped to take up the slack of the places we lost. I added another 30 outlets as well, taking our total distribution points to 300 I’m pretty sure. Anyway 300’s my goal for a 10,000 print run.

With #3 we are going monthly, at least through the summer, just to see if we can do it, if the market will bear it, and if we can keep a good profit margin going. With #4 we are looking at adding at least four more pages (making our page count at least 28 if not 32) and upping the print run to probably 12,500. I won’t go past a page count of 32, since if we do we should probably think about going bi-weekly, which I have had 3 or 4 folks ask if we were going there and at present I think it would drive us all insane to do. There is an entertainment paper in Saginaw that is bi-weekly, has a print run of 30,000, boasts a 95% sell-through, and has been printing for 30 years- I look at that as a GOAL and am amazed at just how much they offer in services to generate revenue.

At Motor City I had bites for at least 4 satellite papers to start, of which only one has contacted me further and seems serious about doing it as of this writing. Ted and I are writing up a business model for the paper to see if we can’t franchise it out. It would be easy to do, especially with us having stories prepped, pasted up and ready to go. We are now starting to get our thoughts on paper, which again seems like a good reason for me to keep you updated here.

Issue 3 is due to press by the fifteenth, our deadline for stuff was today, but nobody seems to pay much attention to the asked for deadline, which makes pasting up the paper especially hectic and deadline heavy (not good for my health). At present I have a quarter of issue 3 pasted up and know how the cover will look. #4 is August where here in Flint we have 3 major events happening, a Festival of Races, a Major Pro Golf tournament, and a huge car cruise that last year brought 25,000 people (I think that was the figure) to the downtown area- which was why we’re looking at upping the print run and page count.

We have more local talent in this issue than last, and even more scheduled for #4. At present we have one new comic feature (The Pope Of Carriage Town by Mike Mahoney)and one new column (by locally based national comedian Bryan McCree), as well as two local articles planned. Our October issue (#6 is all goes according to plan) will be Halloween oriented, and we’re already planning our first anniversary issue (okay, I’m keeping it in the back of my mind at least- that should be issue #11) where we’re thinking of dropping the national columns and strips for an issue and going all local- we’ll see.

We are becoming members of the Flint Visitors and Convention people for issue #3. that will place us inside our local international airport (the #2 fastest growing airport in the country), as well as place us in their "Welcome to Flint" packets for newcomers and potential investors in the Flint community. One of the intentions of doing the paper is to "dig in" into the local community, stay as local as possible and focus on as much local talent as we can.


One thing I can note here is the idea that the paper's contents need to stay a little liquid. I was too late (too busy, too lazy perhaps) to get a Miss Chevious story completed in time for issue 2, so that story's planned for #3, let's see if it makes it- I'm about halfway through it now. I have another story or three that I can use as a back-up IF I have to. my goal is to be at least an issue ahead on content asap- again, let's see if I make it.

I still have a worry that someone will rip-off this idea before I have a chance to make a solid go at it, thus the franchise outlook. It has kept me from going “national” with the idea just yet, as I’ve already turned down a podcast interview and am trying to remain as local as possible with just what we are doing. The first 2 issues have been invaluable, unbelievably rewarding in nearly every sense of the word, and so far still hold up to being exactly what I want to be doing for many decades to come. There are MANY small things we’ve learned already and many trapdoors I can see other folks easily going through that could potentially muck this up for everyone. Again, we’ll see, and I’ll keep you posted.

Wake Up!