So where is the Comic Vine comic?

In the process of me grabbing everything that I could get my hands on at FBCD was a giveaway called Bleeding Cool. I should admit first of all that I am somewhat of an internet snob when it comes to comic books sites. Friends here tell me about Marvel forums or CBD or elsewhere, but I am not really well versed in other comic sites, so before Saturday I did not really associate the name Bleeding Cool with a comic book website (in fact I would be likely to not associate it with a comic book website based on the name.) I think that it is a pretty good idea though, as it succeeds in two ways. By providing a guide for the fans to help to choose comic book material they are more likely to check out those comics and then if they do get hooked then they are likely to go to Bleeding Cool for their ongoing discussion. This is where the internet-comic-book-website-snob part comes in though. This is seemingly a successful venture for them as it is not the first time that they have done it, but I am prone to say that from the surface that Comic Vine is a much better website, and therefore more deserving of being highlighted. I am but a lowly moderator on this site but I think it is something which might be worth considering for the future years - FBCD Comic Vine. Anyone else with me?

I could see it being a cool idea, though I can't imagine the logistics behind it, how expensive it is to produce, etc. It's also worth noting that such an endeavor would likely be seen as a direct attempt to imitate (and challenge) BC. Not sure how the politics of that throwing of the gauntlet would go...but I'd be happy not to be involved with them, haha.

@akbogert: I think CV has a much bigger budget than Bleeding Cool, based on its ownership. Bleeding Cool is not the only one though, there was also an Overstreet issue.

Please don't.

@razzatazz:

As you say, I would have thought that CV has a fair bit more money at their disposal, I can't imagine why they haven't done this already. Seems like a no-brainer, really. Could it be they just didn't think of it yet? O_o

I should probably ask: what exactly was the BC comic? I'm assuming it wasn't actually a story-driven comic book?

@bumpyboo: Maybe they didn't think of it yet, but they should be aware of Bleeding Cool doing it as it is their second year in a row. We even have the Bleeding Cool issues in our own database.

As I wrote above: By providing a guide for the fans to help to choose comic book material they are more likely to check out those comics and then if they do get hooked then they are likely to go to Bleeding Cool for their ongoing discussion.

I think it's just a magazine.

@razzatazz:

You're right, it is definitely something that should be brought to their attention. And especially if we have them in our database, meaning that we are advertising for them while offering no alternative of our own. Kinda looks unprofessional, in a way? Hmm, good point :)

@bumpyboo: True, our reach of including all issues in the wiki is working against us slightly here, though I am not sure how people would search for Bleeding Cool on another website.

(Heads up: posting on an iPad today so no replies from me)

I assumed it was a magazine. I just wanted to be sure that the advising hadn't been shelled in some BC mascot presentation or something,

I'll note, by the way, that considering how often Viners complain about the scores here, the notion of a CV guide on what to buy is slightly amusing. That said, the "why you should read" style features would do quite well, if used to discuss current on goings. I could definitely see that working.

@razzatazz:

Well I suppose if this is the go-to place to read about it, then that is at least a small victory :)

@akbogert: Well it is just an easy way to both promote your own website as well as comics in general. Maybe it is not cost effective ... ?

I guess that is true, I don't think they have a wiki attached to their site, it is all just news.

@razzatazz:

No wiki? Then we shall crush them easily, and without mercy ;P

I guess it really depends on what the cost is, haha. And I guess it also depends on whether the books highlighted in the BC book were paid to be covered there -- if it was purely a staff pick sort of deal, or merely another means of advertising.

Bleeding Cool's pretty much just a news site.

Making a Comic Vine comic would just look like we're copying them. Especially since the idea came from a thread about how BC has a comic and CV doesn't.

@awesam:

To be fair, that is also a good point, it would be a little blatant :)

Marketing doesn't really work like that though, ideas are ripped off all the time. It is not about maintaining some form of artistic integrity, but instead getting the word out.

To be fair, I pointed that out in my first response :p well, the first part anyway :p

As for BC I hesitate to even call them a news site proper because of how many rumors they publish. By journalistic standards they're more like a professional blog.

Not sure about a hand held paper comic but something done online might be nice. If not a full comic a strip would be easy to do.

I actually didn't really look at it, but the topics from the cover are "Collecting Comic Books 101", "Top Starter Graphic Novels", "Tips and Tricks for the the Back Issue Hunt" and "The Summer of Boom." Just generic comic news therefore, and so a perfect thing for CV to take part in.

This is a nice concept!

@razzatazz: Comic Vine's like the most popular comic-related website. A magazine with some articles and comics would be cool.

Well thousands of kids going to FCBD events don't know that, and now they know the name Bleeding Cool better than CV.

I'm confused, weren't you just saying it'd be a blatant rip-off?

@awesam: It is up there, but entities lose market share by not being innovative as well, so if it is happy being at the top and not trying to do more, then others will come along and knock it off.

I was maybe not clear in the OP, the Bleeding Cool comic had no comic panels in it, it was just a written promo for other comics. That is what I think CV should do, not an actual comic.

I am not sure how it would be a ripoff at all. The DC Comics FCBD giveaway was just a list of their graphic novels, and not very engaging at that. Bleeding Cool did a similar thing, so did Overstreet. It would have been nice to just see something with Comic Vine on the cover, even if it was similar. Name recognition is not achieved by no one ever hearing your name ...

Fine, so one up them. You're not going to stay at the top by doing what the competition does.

@awesam: OK, well regardless of the format it would have been nice to see CV with something out there on FCBD.

I guess the question is, what is the priority vision for CV? News is news, but it's a bit hard to promote a wiki, and harder still to promote a forum community -- yet those last two are the real draw of CV. I don't think that I'd start using BC more just because of their book -- I'd visit, but they'd have to do more to keep me. So I don't know how you'd promote CV in a nonchalant way and still hook people.

I say nonchalant because we're assuming the purpose is to familiarize people with the site, but we don't talk about the site, we talk about comics. So short of saying "this is all the stuff you can find and do on CV," I don't know how you'd even show people the other 2/3 of the site from within the book. Include wiki excerpts to highlight certain characters? User blog articles? I honestly don't know.

@akbogert: That's what I was saying. People aren't going to go to BC just because they have a comic. If they prefer Comic Vine, they'll come here. Just put up a big Comic Vine poster.

@akbogert: It has been good enough for Bleeding Cool to do two years in a row, so they must have been done something right. Say if you are interested in comics but have never gotten into them. You decided that FCBD is the prefect day for you to start, you walk into the comic store and you don't know where to start. Then you see a handy comic sized promo magazine telling you what the basics are in terms of collecting. If you get hooked you don't think that you are going to have some brand loyalty to the name of the cover? A lot of marketing has to do with loyalty, not only getting the customers, but getting them to come back. That is what this achieves for Bleeding Cool. It might be that the more discerning fan moves away from Bleeding Cool after a while, but their advertising has gone up in the intervening period.

Maybe, but how is a poster original where a FCBD giveaway is not?

Going back and reading it fully I see it was my fault.

It's not, but it's getting the "word" out. Make a FCBD comic, just make it look better and not some cheap rip off.

@awesam: I was never advocating make it a cheap looking ripoff, instead make it representative of the community.

@razzatazz: I did say a little magazine would be alright.

@awesam: That is what I was advocating all along :)

Bleeding Cool is actually a magazine as stated above and there have been four issues other then the FCBD issue, part of the reason they are able to put the magazine out is that they are partnered with Avatar Press and the magazine is published through them, I haven't gotten around to reading any issues yet but I'm sure Avatar has their hands in what is printed. CV does not have any real partnerships with any publishers to help foot the costs of putting out a magazine or comic, another thing to think about is CV only has three writers really and they are pretty busy, I'm pretty sure Bleeding Cool has more writers.

@pikahyper: Five now with MissJ and k4tz. As for the publishing, I get that but it is something that could b worked on. It is not like CV is without contacts in the publishing industry.

I was counting K4tz, I didn't count Matt cause he isn't a full timer, I dunno who MissJ is.

I don't think they are interested in partnerships with publishers unless they are big cause I tried to hook them up with Bluewater and there were no takers and the bigger publishers have their own stuff going, the hookup with Archie is fairly odd though.

@pikahyper: MissJ is new, check out the front page :) I just think that for all they have in terms of resources now that they could put out a comparable FCBD giveaway.

As long as I get cameo....

@darkknightdetective: Doesn't Batman cameo in everything anyway?

Priceless.

I hope I get a cameo too. That would be pretty beast.

@razzatazz:

That reminds me of the photobombing pictures that G-Man posted. lol

@razzatazz: Indeed they could, they could even pull off a bi-monthly magazine but I don't see the desire or drive to do it being present even after everything has settled down which isn't going to happen this year.

@pikahyper: This was just an observation in light of the Bleeding Cool magazine, I was not super-pro on the idea, it was just an idea. I think CV could make it work though.