|
|
|
|
|
|
Comic Book Club
2008-04-30 08:31:51
|  |
Picture a late-night TV talk show—only instead of Jay or Conan, the hosts are three comic geeks. Instead of celebrities, the guests are… other comic geeks. Instead of a glitzy TV studio, the show takes place in a tiny black-box theater. And in spite of the modest circumstances, the concept takes off and sustains a loyal weekly audience. This is Comic Book Club.
It was probably about a year ago that I found myself in the CBC audience for the first time, with my previously-mentioned coworker/pal Jen. Since Jen is friends with everybody and had already been a guest on the show, she introduced me to the three hosts and suggested that I go on the show as well. Time passed. I attended another CBC, this one at Comic-Con International in San Diego, where the crowd was standing room only. More time passed, and at some point, host Alex Zalben invited me to be on the show. In the interim, CBC hosted more impressive guests, like Saturday Night Live cast members. I was like, “are you sure you still want someone like me on your show?” Somehow they did, and so a couple of months ago, I wound up on their stage alongside writer Fabian Nicieza and penciler Reilly Brown, to commemorate the end of the series we’d worked on together, CABLE & DEADPOOL.
Being on the show was a lot of fun, and I find it impressive that hosts Justin Tyler, Pete LePage and Alex Zalben have managed to combine comics, theater and comedy in a way that appeals to a wide range of audience tastes and backgrounds. And that makes them good subjects for a Q& A session with Comics for All. I shot some questions to Alex Zalben, and here’s what he had to say.
Nicole: Give us a bit of a rundown on Comic Book Club and how it got started.
Alex Zalben: Well, I knew Justin and Pete through the comedy world; We had all done sketch or improv together at various points… But I didn't know they were comic book fans until I saw Pete walk in with a bag from the local comic shop, then same thing with Justin the next day. I pitched them on the vague idea, "Comic Book Talk Show," which I had been thinking about for a while, they loved it and we figured out how the whole thing would work. About three weeks after I first talked to them about the idea, we were performing the first show, and haven't stopped for the past year and a quarter.
Nicole: Who is the audience for CBC?
Alex Zalben: Anybody who has ever felt young at heart, or known the spark of true love will enjoy this show. Kidding (actually, hope I'm not totally kidding). We're trying to hit the complex Venn Diagram between comedy fans and comic book fans. You know, geeks? That being said, we get all sorts of people, from very varying age groups and backgrounds every week, which is pretty cool.
Nicole: What kind of feedback has your show received from people who consider themselves comic fans, vs. non-comic fans?
Alex Zalben: Great, actually, across the board. I'm always really happy to hear from non-comic book fans, "Wow, I didn't know what you were talking about, but it was really funny!" I actually like hearing even more, "I've never read or bought a comic book before I saw your show, and now I'm completely hooked." We've actually gotten a couple of those, and I always feel like a successful coke dealer. From the comic fans, they love it, too. There's not a lot of outlets for fans to gather in an intimate setting, and positively discuss comic books. You have message boards, which are, you know… Kind of negative sometimes? And comic book shops, which, beyond the local, don't quite encourage hanging out the way they used to. Hopefully, we're providing that gathering place for 'em.
Nicole: Have you noticed any changes in your audience since the show began? E.g., the size, the composition, the way they respond to the show or anything else?
Alex Zalben: Well, definitely the size of the audience. I like to say that our audience members start treating it like a comic book… They have to collect all of 'em. So we definitely see the same faces coming back week after week. Also, the longer we've done the show, the more people we get who say they just found out about the show, and can't believe that we've been doing it for so long. Our brilliant viral marketing scheme of "not telling anyone" is finally paying off!
Nicole: How do you select your guests?
Alex Zalben: There's two big ways we get guests. First is, if I like a writer or artist (or editor), I'll just track down their info, tell them I'm a fan, and invite them on the show. The second is, we've had enough guests on the show who had a good time that they tell OTHER potential guests about the show, and then they get in contact with me. I like that, because it's slightly less work. As for the comedy guests, it's a lot of the people the three of us meet through doing comedy, end up professing their secret love of comics and we offer to make it public and shameful.
Nicole: I saw Comic Book Club at last year's San Diego Comic-Con International, and the size of the audience was astounding (in comparison to the weekly New York audience, which is enthusiastic but fairly small). How did that experience affect your perspective of the show's reach?
Alex Zalben: Justin bought a mansion, then realized he didn't have any money. Pete went insane. I just assumed they were there to see us and not the Buffy The Vampire Slayer Sing-A-Long happening right after our panel.
That out of the way, it was such a great experience, it definitely jazzed us up for doing more Cons. We certainly realize we can't pack 700 people into a 50 seat theater every week, but we'll definitely do it a few times a year. Maybe even a few times somewhere, sometime soon?
Nicole: How do you think Comic Book Club influences what its audience reads or purchases?
Alex Zalben: We definitely try to concentrate more on books we really like, rather than books we hate. There's nothing really to be gained by keeping someone away from a bad book (other than it's usually pretty funny to talk about bad comics). If we really like a book, in particular something that's under the radar, we'll push it as much as we can.
Conversely, when there is a book that is super-hyped and poorly done we love to, um... gently... inform the audience that it isn't all it has been made out to be. I've definitely talked to people who have bought books we've recommended on the show. So probably not across the board, but every sale counts, especially for the smaller books.
Nicole: Your show is sponsored by Midtown Comics (an NYC retailer). What do you think are some of their strengths as a retailer?
Alex Zalben: The money back is great. For those who don't use Midtown, you get $20 back from every $100 you spend, which is what drew me in. They also are very clean, well lit, well organized and well stocked. You know exactly where the new releases are, last week's releases, the back issues, the trades, everything. The flow of the store is extremely well laid out, so that the first time I went in, I knew where to find everything, without ever having to ask. And when I have had to ask, the employees actually help you out! Can you tell I've had some bad store experiences?
Nicole: Your show has a segment called "The Stack" in which you discuss some of the comics being published that week. How do you make your selections for The Stack? How do you select what to read for your own enjoyment?
Alex Zalben: For The Stack, we decide either: what is something we have the strongest opinions about (either positive or negative); or what is going to be the funniest to talk about. When there's a book that's just solid, maybe the middle of an arc, we may all like it, but there's not a lot to actually say other than "that was good." If something resonated very strongly with one or more of us, then that's a book we need to talk about. In particular, if there's a book that one of us hated, and the other two loved, that's going to make for a really good discussion. Then there's the funniest thing… If a book is just totally ridiculous, or had something we can make a bit out of on the show, then, although we may not actually review the book, it still plays well in front of an audience. As for my own enjoyment? I don't actually like comics. They're for nerds. Joking (OR AM I?)… I actually just like a title that gives me something I haven't seen before, or does it in a true, heartfelt way. If I love a writer or artist from their previous work, I'll give it a try. Or, if I'd heard that other people like a title from message boards or blogs, I'll definitely look at it as well. Some of the best stuff I've found are things that other people like. I guess it's not ALL negative on the Internet?
Nicole: What do you think the comics industry should do so that more readers are aware of comics that might interest them?
Alex Zalben: Make the stories really, really, REALLY good. You can market as much as you want, spend millions on TV commercials and at the end of the day, your best advertisement is one guy who loves a comic book. I know it's so basic, but you really need people to love these stories.
People who like a story will, most likely, not talk about it or casually mention it. People who love a story will talk about it. All the time. To everybody. And I'm not talking about the next shocking death, or the BIG EVENT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING, I'm talking about good stories that make people fall in love with the characters.
Stories that are based on emotion, based on things real people do and feel. And it's not just one title that should be good… Make as much of the line good as possible. Make comics that are close to the author's hearts, and not just selling toys or video games. If a random reader wanders into a random comic book shop and picks up a random comic and it's good? They'll pick up another one. If that one is good too? Well, then maybe they're hooked. So keep the quality up, not just the bottom line, and readers will flock to comics. Oh, and make sure they go to Comic Book Club every week. That'll help, too.
Comic Book Club takes place on Tuesday nights at The People’s Improv Theater in New York City. Their website is http://www.popcultureshock.com/cbclub.
|
Enter a response to this blog post:
|
About this blog:
A guide to Marvel’s comic offerings for librarians, parents and teachers.
 | About the author:
Nicole Boose is an Associate Editor at Marvel Comics, working on various titles including the Marvel Illustrated classics. She oversees the comics in Marvel’s custom publishing program.
|
Comics
Marvel.com
Movies
Others
Video Games
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
save this link
