My Gemstone Thoughts: Gemstone's Direction

Travis Seitler travis.joel.seitler at gmail.com
Wed Nov 21 17:02:10 CET 2007


 <travis.joel.seitler at gmail.com>On Nov 20, 2007 4:54 PM, <JTorci3511 at aol.com>
wrote:

>  Another downside to the trade paperback is that, unlike the periodical
> that is published in series, an isolated TPB is easier to ignore.  By
> this, I mean that, if you're going to buy UNCLE SCROOGE # 380 and # 382, you
> are not likely to skip # 381 regardless of its contents.  The periodical
> fosters a "gotta get 'em all" mindset in its loyalists that the TPB does
> not. [...] Offering this material as a non-series, non-periodical trade
> paperback makes it all the easier for even a Gemstone die-hard like me to
> ignore it.
>

Joe,

You made an excellent point here, and I'd like to turn it on its head a
bit...

You see, the potential reader (*lector tiro*) and the established fan (*lector
fanaticus*) are entirely different species. As with much of nature, those
characteristics which are considered attractive by one species may be
incredibly repulsive to another.

At Gemstone, we want to serve both species, but we have an ulterior
motive—to transmogrify the *tiro* into a *fanaticus*!
*(Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!!)*This, however, is a time- and labor-intensive
process: given that Disney
comics are not the *lector tiro*'s natural diet, it must be approached
cautiously and with small doses of this "new" food. Over time, the
*tiro*develops a stronger taste for our fare, and eventually grows to
crave
it—thus completing the transformation!

Removing my tongue from the rut it has formed from having been so firmly
planted in my cheek... ;) ...unnumbered books don't carry the "baggage" of
300-700 previous issues, so they provide a better entry point for new
readers. Potential readers can be intimidated by the perceived commitment
involved in picking up a long-established series, so making "isolated TPBs"
available provides them with a low-risk taste of Disney comics.

Add that to Gary's comment regarding the shelf life of stand-alone books
versus that of periodicals, and hopefully you can see why we make 'em: we
wanna lasso us some newbies! ;)

// Travis Seitler :: travis.joel.seitler at gmail.com
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