In which LKH baits the line a little more

[pith]

I know publishing is full of buy-more ploys, and that it's not just LKH. It just sickens me how she's using comics as her new little toy, because comics get very little respect as is; they don't need those craptastic "posters" dragging them down further into the mud.



1) For the hardcover trade which collects GP 1-6, there's an exclusive story. Or, as Marvel crows, "As a special treat, Anita Blake fans will also discover an original side story featuring Anita and Dolph written especially for the hardcover edition by Laurell K. Hamilton."

Oh, goodie! It's not just a treat; it's a special treat. And we get to discover it! Is this like looking for easter eggs? Or is it going to be yet another round of Find the Plot, which we always seem to lose, since it's a rigged contest and there's no plot to find.

But then there's the whole "if you want the WHOLE Anita story, you have to buy this and this and this…." angle. Like I said, I know it's not exclusive to LKH, but it's still a pain in the ass—especially when you know it'll just be published in another LKH anthology in 2 years or so.

2) For the Strange Candy trade paperback, "This collection also includes a new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story.

I don't own the HC of Strange Candy, so I don't know if it has this "new story", but if it doesn't, that's pretty low. Hardcovers are damned expensive these days, and if any readers deserve perks, it's the readers that are willing to shell out the money for a brand-new hardcover.

And then there was an ad for The Harlequin (which they initially typoed as The Harlequinn) amusingly categorized under "Horror". Riiiiight. The only scary thing about LKH's books these days (aside from the fact that they're still getting published) is the quality of the writing.

And completely unrelated, but I felt the need to share. Many of us have commented on how LKH seems to talk about her child as a burden. Compare to Neil Gaiman, who would quite possibly be the coolest dad ever (except I have a litcrush on him, and crushing on your dad is just… not good):

"You know dad," said Holly, who has turned up for the day to make sure I'm alive and get hugged. "Your hair is doing some really interesting things today." By which she means it looks like it's getting ready to escape from my head and go hunting for weasels.

Comments

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

Dear gods...I know that hardback collection is gonna cost at least 40-50 bucks, I rarely shell out for them main reasons for me is either good bonuses (extra pages/material/interviews) or large formats. But GAH I'm waiting for that comic to be sold by the hour on the corner.

[freyalorelei.livejournal.com]

Where'd you find this information?

See, this makes me glad that, even though I still buy LKH (my latest post can attest to my ongoing weakness), I only buy in paperback. It's less money for her and I get Extra Stuff thrown in, be they previews or new stories (which I totally wasn't expecting).

At least the Strange Candy stories, or what I read of them while standing around the bookstore, were pretty decent, and I won't feel quite so bad about buying the paperback. It's like supporting LKH from before she sold her soul.

And, yes. Everyone should have a litcrush on Neil Gaiman. It should be a mandatory requirement for being human.

[pith]

It was all in the April edition of Previews.

He was doing a signing in London and I was sad because I'm going to London in May. Why couldn't he have waited a month or two?

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

Oh, Previews. I think the people at my local comic shop (where poor_toms_acold works are slowly getting accustomed to me standing there screeching every time I see an ad for ABVH.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

OH GOD I forgot to close my brackets. *headdesk*

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

You poorly-grammatical bitch.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

I know where your bird lives, woman. Don't mess with me or he may suddenly go all emo. And by emo I mean "fall in a bowl of soy sauce".

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

As for the comics, my guess is the Diamond 'Previews' catalog, has listing for all the major publishers from which they place their orders for comics.

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

LKH's GP Comic is getting put in HC instead of being a TPB? Oh fucks sake, they're working her like a whore! They're just going to work her until no one wants her and she's like that song about the old french whore who's mouth is too tired to even suck a cigarette.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

I know it disgusts me too, I know many comics and storylines more worthy of the HC treatment than this one. *drools over her collection of Usagi Yojimbo HC's* My wonderment is "It's selling well enough to warrent the cost of MAKING a HC version?!"

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

a "Kowaru died for your sins" bumper sticker

NO WAI.

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

YAHWEH

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

*snorts* You are MAD, woman.

[longtail.livejournal.com]

Where?!

>.>

<.<

Everybody look busy!

BTW, for a moment I thought your icon said "I'm fucking a pirate." It added a WHOLE new connotation to the meaning. O.o

Gotta love dyslexia sometimes.

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

BTW, for a moment I thought your icon said "I'm fucking a pirate." It added a WHOLE new connotation to the meaning. O.o

I'm sure I don't know what you mean!

[longtail.livejournal.com]

Gas - butts - swishy pirates

I prolly shouldn't try to explain beyond that. :/

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

And I should have added "nudge nudge wink wink" after mine!

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

One of our regulars came in to work today (I work in a comic shop, as Cicipsychobunny said) and asked if I'd reccommend Anita Blake. I couldn't believe the golden opportunity! I told her the comics were shit but the novel was ok, so to go for that. And I feel no guilt :-D

[pith]

I know. That's why I'm highly suspicious of this whole "The first edition sold out, so we'll print a second one with an alternate cover" scheme, because honestly, at the stores I go to, there are still tons of comics left, so unless Jon is enlisting all his RPG buddies to go out and buy them in target markets, their numbers are skewed.

And honestly, ever since LKH got moved from fantasy to fiction, there hasn't been half as much media attention that I've noticed. Which makes me wonder if that's not why she's doing the comics and working on a movie, because goddess-forbid the spotlight's not on her for more than 2 seconds.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

You gotta remember what the definition of 'Sold out' is in the comics world. It doesn't mean "Every Comic Retailer doesn't have any more" it means "The main distributer warehouse is out".

When Retailers sell out of stock they can place another order with Diamond and they ship out whatever stock they have on hand, once they are out they put out a notice that they are "Sold Out". The comics have had a very low initial print run, the warehouse had very few copies left over after shipping the initial orders.

So all that needed to happen was the comic to sell really well in a few markets and BAM! Sold out. Usually you need a HELL of alot of requests post the initial sell out to warrent a reprint, but since Dabel Bros. is calling the shots their standard is much lower than Marvel's or DC's.

Note that there hasn't been a re-print since Issue 3, so they either upped the Print run or the sales are dropping.

[windiain.livejournal.com]

Neil Gaiman is a Writer. Even when he's not writing for publication, he still Writes, because that's what he does. It comes naturally, and to stop doing that would be like ceasing to breathe. His blog is fascinating, and even shopping list would likely be entertaining to read.

LKH is a 'writer'. It doesn't come naturally, she has to 'work' at it, and she doesn't bother with it when she's not writing for publication. This is why the quality of the books has declined. She used to work at the early ones to make up for what didn't flow naturally. Now, she's cocky. She's had bestsellers, has fans who will hand over cash on demand, so she doesn't need to work at it anymore. Thus, she produces drivel.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

GRAH, now I'm going to have to look for the paperback of SC to take a gander of what's new in it.

And the whole notion of sticking something "new" in the paperback just reeks of trying to pick up sales numbers -- like the people who bought the hardcover will now buy the paperback to get the new story? Sure, there will be people who do this, but...given the price of hardcovers versus paperbacks, and that the people who really, really want this stuff are probably going to buy the hardcover to get their fix rather than wait...

...isn't this just like shooting yourself in the foot?

But woo, way to pimp LKH. *golf clap*

I still maintain that she's selling her laurels, as it were.

[ravenhaley.livejournal.com]

"As a special treat, Anita Blake fans will also discover an original side story featuring Anita and Dolph written especially for the hardcover edition by Laurell K. Hamilton."

Is this story before or after Anita bit Dolph's head off in the series?

None of the "stories" LKH comes out with now will be anything near what 1-9 ever were. This means any story that involves anything before and in between books 1-9.

So does this mean Anita has sex with Dolph for twenty pages or more and than a fade to black with the bad guy. *eye roll*

"For the Strange Candy trade paperback, "This collection also includes a new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story."

A. I could get the HB at half-price books
B. I could wait to get the PB at half-price books
C. I could rent the book at the library
D. I could read it at the store
E. Screw that --- I ain't reading anymore of her young girl fantasy and ask for a refund for the last 10 years.

I would like to go with E.

LKH is just a cash cow. Looking to make an extra buck.