Things that go BOOM in the night
You know I was going to call this entry 'Boom!' or 'Ka-Boom!' until I realised that one of those is another comics company and the other used to be (I think it was Jeff Matsuda's or someone like that, right?).
Huh. I guess all the good names are taken.
Anyway, Chris mentioned this on his blog so I thought I'd ride his coattails for a minute. Hey, if you can't tug on Superman's cape, might as well tug on Chris'.
Dynamite.
I don't like to admit it, but they have my attention.
I know that the entire company exists virtually as an arm of Dynamic Forces. If you look at any of their books, they're laded with alternative covers - not just Red Sonja, but even lower sellers like Army of Darkness. They also almost exclusively advertise their own product. That's right; Dynamite must have very little advertisig revenue, simply because they don't have any adverts external to the company itself. Which means that revenues are driven by sales alone. Luckily, because of DF, each issue of most books come not only with four 'regular' variants shipping in equal ratios, but also a range of incentive variants (usually 2-3 per issue), plus 'high-end' foil variants in limited quantities marketed with DF certificates.
Let's face it, they must be raking it in.
It's a lousy business model from a fan's point of view, because the books are at the higher end of the market's price range to start with, so when a completist grabs seven copies of the same book, many at above market value, they're spending a lot of money.
Of course, Dynamite don't see all of that cash; the local comic book guy who sells you a variant for $20 probably got it for less than cover. Then again, he probably had to order a lot of extra stock just to get that variant, so he's left with that.
But I digress. The variant tirade is one that I'm familiar with from both sides. I rail against them with indignant outrage (How dare they?!?) and at the same time buy them (Oooh, pretty!) by the bucket load.
No, what I wanted to say was that - business perspective aside - I'm really enjoying a lot of Dynamite's output. The Red Sonja series - and its offshoots - have all proven very enjoyable to different degrees. I had a feeling that it was just going to be a T&A; book, and granted it has plenty of A and more than a little T, yet despite that it seems to know. It's a pretty self-referential read, and a highly entertaining one. Michael Van Oeming has really cut to the core of the character - she's a warrior born who tends to follow her heart, and despite her aggression she's surprisingly vulnerable when it comes to men. The first arc, co-written with the far-too-busy Mike Carey was nothing short of fantastic, and while the Carey-less 'Arrowsmith' hasn't been as succesful, it's still a damn good read.
Then you have Army of Darkness; I love the first two EVIL DEAD movies but really don't like the third as it pushed the franchise too far into stupidity for my liking (although it did have some great lines). That said, the AoD comic takes that stupidity and farce to the next level with a lot of success. I started picking the series up with the 'vs Re-Animator' issues and it's been a solid, enjoyable ride since, despite the changing artists, and it seems to be taking a welcome turn to horror with the current 'Old School' storyline. The one-shot Tales of the Army of Darkness was pretty damn good too. Another surprise from Dynamite.
I passed on Painkiller Jane though. Never liked the character for some reason.
Dynamite have got a number of fairly high-profile licenses coming through in the next few months; Battlestar Galactica - I love the series and it seems a natural for comics; Highlander - I loved the first film, liked the third and loathed everything else that came out with the 'Highlander' name tagged to it (sorry Scott!), but I'm looking forward to this a lot; and, er, Xena. Okay, I'm stretching 'high profile' a bit here as Xena was never anything but a cult hit, but it's a series tailor made for comics (never picked up the Topps series though). I'm putting my vote in for an Autolycus mini right now.
My point (and I'm sure I've got one somewhere) is that Dynamite are surprising the hell out of me. Every book I've picked up has been good, if not great, and covers aside they are coming out with a lot of good product. They're also launching titles that interest me, which is more than some other bigger publishers are doing at the moment.
They're a company that bear watching. Pick up a book - just choose the one cover you like most and pick it up - and I guarantee you'll enjoy it.
Oh, and I've got a pitch for a Highlander one-shot that I'm dying to put into writing. Highlander: Royal Blood. How can you miss with a title like that?
