Caption Boxes 7/13/21 -- Conventions Return & Second Printings...
We took an extra week between newsletters because I was traveling for signing events to celebrate the release of Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness. A ton has happened since the last newsletter, though, and I’m excited to talk about a few things.
Let’s dig in!
UNBORN #1 is Up for Preorder
As of 7/1, you can now head into your local comic shop and order UNBORN #1! Here’s all the pertinent info for the three covers for the first issue:
If you’re reading this on your phone, you can screenshot the cover you like most (or all three) and simply show it to your Retailer and that’ll be enough info for them to order it for you.
The Final Order Cutoff (FOC) for UNBORN #1 will be 9/6/21 — so you still have a lot of time to get your preorders in. BUT…
…here’s something important that doesn’t get talked about enough in comics: Comic book preorders are a bit of a Chicken-Or-Egg scenario.
Ideally, Retailers are in-the-know about what books are coming down the pike and will suggest new series to their customers. That creates awareness with Readers and can lead to preorders at that LCS.
But the truth is that hundreds of new comics come out every month and even the best Retailers struggle to stay on top of everything. So sometimes, even the best series might not make it onto a Retailer’s radar.
On the other end of the spectrum, Readers (again, ideally) are in-the-know about what series are coming soon and they’ll put their preorders in at their comic shop.
And to a Retailer, a Reader’s preorder is a vote. One preorder might get a book on your Retailer’s radar. Two might tell them that a book is one to watch. Three preorders, and they’ll probably increase their order and get some shelf copies.
But Readers face the same issue as Retailers in that there’s just so much volume of product to keep up with and things, inevitably, slip through the cracks.
So the Chicken-Or-Egg of it is which end of the spectrum will start the ball rolling. Will the Retailer tell their Readers about a series and that will drive the preorders? Or will the Readers preorder the book and that’ll let the Retailer know to order more copies?
Honestly, there’s not a right answer here — it’s a matter of which shoe drops first.
As Readers, though, I encourage you to take the active role and get your preorders in early, while this is all still fresh in your mind.
Like I said, think of every preorder as a vote and every vote gives your Retailer another reason to remember a series, to let other Readers know about it, and to increase their orders for the store.
The truth is, comics is a grassroots industry in a lot of ways and y’all are the best lobbyists any creator can have. Preorders (and early preorders) are a small thing you can do as Readers that can have a HUGE impact on the success of a book.
Edge of Darkness 2nd Printing
Thanks to incredible support from Readers like y’all, Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness sold out on release day and was rushed to a second printing! Here’s the killer new cover, featuring Simone Ragazzoni’s awesome designs for the Phantom Ranger:
Because the book was rushed back to print, the order window was just 4 days long and closed back on 7/5. But if you missed out the first time around or you want to collect all of the covers for this book, I don’t think they’ll be too hard to come by, especially if your LCS sold out of the first print.
To each and everyone one of you who preordered or picked up a copy of Edge of Darkness, thank you so much for making this book such a wild success for me. It’s opening doors and big things are coming.
Conventions Return
Speaking of things that are coming, whether we’re ready or not, conventions are back and I’ll be making my return to them starting with Megacon from August 10-12.
I’m still waiting on confirmation of the booth details, but you’ll be able to find me at the Source Point Press booth on the show floor.
So, if you’re planning to attend Megacon, please swing by and say hello!
After Megacon, I’ll be attending:
Rose City Comic Con
New York Comic Con
Baltimore Comic Con
Emerald City Comic Con
C2E2
I’ve missed you all and I’m excited to get back out there!
Edge of Darkness CGC Signature Series
Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness is sold out and has gone to a second printing, but for those of you who are still looking for a copy of any of the covers and who like signed and graded comics, Trinity Comics still has copies available for CGC grading on their site.
You can order signed, graded copies using the button below:
For those of you who are interested in non-graded signed copies, I’ve listed a limited number of signed, ungraded copies of Cover A on my website.
Limited Edition Phantom Ranger Prints
Carlos Zarur is an artist who I’ve had my eye on for a while. He’s incredibly talented and does these amazing Power Rangers helmet prints in the style of / after Goni Montes. He’s got an especially nice Phantom Ranger one that lives in my office.
And because of Edge of Darkness, I’ve not only been able to connect with Carlos, but I’m now teaming with him to offer a special double-signed run of these prints.
While this is super exciting for a lot of reasons, I’m most excited to help shine a light on Carlo’s incredible work. If you want to get your hands on one of these cool, limited prints, head over to Carlos’ Etsy shop at 2 pm EST / 11 am PST:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CZDrawings
UNBORN Announcement Variant
The UNBORN announcement variant went up for preorder the day of the last newsletter and sold out pretty much instantly. Since then, I’ve received the books and I have to tell you, they came out beautifully! Take a look:
All of the books have been inspected for damages and packed as of this writing (Sunday morning)! By the time you’re reading this, your copy should be on its way to you, if you ordered one.
I’ve done one of these exclusive Announcement covers for every book I’ve written and this was easily the most successful / quickest launch for a series yet. Thank you all so much for helping UNBORN start off on such strong legs! We’re just getting started!
Since I was traveling for a good chunk of the last couple of weeks, my output has been a bit less…just kidding. I wrote a whole script and started the next for a book I haven’t talked about yet since the last newsletter.
UNBORN
Since the last newsletter, UNBORN #1 has begun preorders (details above) and, on the tails of DEK2 and Edge of Darkness being well-received this year, retailer and fan interest in the series feels really strong!
We’re nearing the midway mark of production on issue #3 and EV is turning in some of his best pages yet. I REALLY wish I could share them here, but there would be massive spoilers, so you’re just going to have to trust me for now.
No Heroine 2
Small update here: Criss and Shawna are jamming away on pages and the first issue is coming right along. More on this in the coming weeks, but it will be worth the wait.
Home Sick Pilots by Dan Watters & Caspar Wijngaard
Every now and then, I pick up a book and get pissed off. Not because it’s bad or because I don’t like it. Because I didn’t write it.
Home Sick Pilots is one of those books.
Well-written, beautifully drawn, and wonderfully punk rock. If you liked No Heroine, go check out this book — it’s the better version in so many ways.
That’s gonna do it for this week. Don’t forget to get your Unborn preorders in at your LSC stat! Talk soon!
To be continued…
Preorders & Releases
Unborn #1 (Covers A, B, and 1:20) preorders begin - 7/1
Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness (2nd Printing) - 7/28
Unborn #1 Final Order Cutoff - 9/6
Conventions
MegaCon | Orlando, FL - 8/12-15
Rose City Comic Con | Portland, OR - 9/10-12
New York Comic Con | New York, NY - 10/7-10
Baltimore Comic Con | Baltimore, MD - 10/22-24
Emerald City Comic Con | Seattle, WA - 12/2-5
C2E2 | Chicago, IL - 12/10-12
I’m Frank Gogol and I write comics. I’m the writer of the Ringo Award-nominated collection GRIEF and the indie hit series DEAD END KIDS, DEAD END KIDS: THE SUBURBAN JOB, NO HEROINE, and POWER RANGERS.
For more regular doses of Frank Gogol comic book goodness, you can check me out on Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook.
After putting it off for WAY too long, I cleaned up my office. What a difference a clean and organized space can make for productivity. If you’ve been putting off straightening-up and need a little reset, definitely give doing one some thought.