JeffHaas
Monday, April 20, 2009, 05:12 AM
Radical Publishing
When I began conceiving this article about Radical Publishing, the primary subject matter was going to be their mission statement to create movie ready comics. When conducting research about this new company, there seemed to be a lot of internet chatter relating to this, and its pros and cons. Immediately, I began to speculate about how such a marketing strategy would affect the creative aspects of their projects. I decided to go straight to the source and I was fortunate to score an interview with Barry Levine who is the President and Publisher of Radical Publishing. After an extensive talk with Mr. Levine, I began to realize that the subject matter of my article was off, and a change would have to be made. Instead this will be an article about process, both creative and in marketing strategy, and how Radical Publishing managed to grab Diamond Distributor's 2008 New Publisher of the Year Award.
While Radical Publishing does not produce projects solely as vehicles for movies, its President, Mr. Levine, does envision his company as a "Multi-media company, with the goal to be the best in the business." To accentuate his company's philosophy Mr. Levine went on to describe his company as "...Not a comic book company. We are publishing company." What does this mean? To explore this question, one must first realize that Radical Publishing is not one company but several. These include Radical Kidz (which produces kid's books), Radical Comics, Radical Pictures (film production), Radical Manga and Radical Books (graphic novels and books). Each of these imprints perform a specific role in their parent company, that affords their properties greater fan awareness, and also allows for multiple avenues in which Radical Publishing can market their projects and maintain financial solvency. In speaking with Mr. Levine, he made it clear that awareness is the key to a company's success. "...Video games, T.V., whatever venue, if it helps raise the consciousness of an idea. Nothing else matters." An advantage of a multi-media company is that each arm helps to benefit the success of its other parts and vice-versa. In an era where comic book sales seem to be dwindling, having other avenues in which to utilize a specific property also allows that property to remain profitable. We all have had a favorite series become canceled due to poor sales, now imagine if that series proved popular in other areas such as in video games or merchandise, there would be incentive for the company who publishes that series to continue with it. The series then becomes salvageable. Radical Publishing allows for its series’ success to be gauged from a big picture perspective.
The process in which Radical Publishing grows a project occurs in several different ways. Some concepts start directly with Mr. Levine himself, such as with Hercules and Aladdin (which was described to me as their Lord of the Rings). Other projects have been brought to them by outside sources like directors, producers and at times from a video game company. Mr. Levine shared with me one such story of when a video game company, named Zombie Studios, pitched him the idea of series that would come to be known as Shrapnel. As it was described to me, when Zombie Studios approached Radical Publishing they had already completed 50% of the artwork for Shrapnel's first six issues. Zombie Studio's pitch called for the production of a far longer series then Radical Publishing normally felt comfortable investing in, but Mr. Levine was so impressed with the concept and completed pages that a deal was made to make Shrapnel an eighteen issue series. Shrapnel is now being sought by an A-list director and producer whose name will be announced at an upcoming comic-con. Radical Publishing also seeks out talent who they wish to work with such as in the case with Steve Niles, who is best known for his work on "30 Days of Night". Mr. Levine described to me how a back and forth session with the esteemed writer, eventually led to their collaboration on the series, City of Dust. In the end Mr. Levine's decision process boils down to a "gut reaction" where he can tell in a "two second pitch" whether the title will grab his attention. He said that he believes a good project consists of being “50% high concept" and 50% is viewed from a "visual perspective". I was also told that Radical Publishing focuses on "giving our artists and writers more freedom than any other company" and that the "story comes first". What was also made very clear to me was that Radical Publishing has made a "conscious decision" to produce "no licensing whatsoever", even though several have already been pitched to them. It was also made clear that superheroes comics were not part of their future. Not because Mr. Levine feels negatively towards the genre but because he feels there is no sense in duplicating what Marvel and DC do so well, and instead he prefers to focus his company on stories that are "mythology grounded".
So far the strategy seems to have worked, and already several comic book series are already in various stages of transferring to other media. I was informed in the interview that Bryan Singer, of The Usual Suspects fame, is eyeing Radical's Freedom Formula and director Peter Berg is interested in Hercules. Joseph Kosinski, who is currently slated to direct the sequel to Tron, has also approached Radical Publishing with an original concept and idea. Mr. Levine informed me that between six and seven directors in total are in various stages of deals with the company. All part of what he calls, "building a foundation". One reason for their success in bringing their projects to Hollywood is that Radical Publishing has its own discrepancy fund that allows a project to become 60-75% ahead in development before they go to the studio. By being this deep into the development stage, a studio has a clearer picture of the project, its proposed audience, and its visual style and story, which builds confidence in the project. With every successful deal, the entire process becomes even easier as a reputation is built in the industry.
Why all the attention? Much of the reason is the projects themselves. The vast majority of their series have painted interiors with artists like Stjepan Sejic, who has become well known for his work on Witchblade. In the Industry as a whole, very few series are painted, which is because of their greater expense and also because it takes much longer to complete. On the other hand, it does create an exciting visual style that is unique and helps to set their projects apart from that of other companies. This visual style is in no doubt emblematic of Barry Levine himself. Long before he was the President of Radical Publishing and his days at Dark Horse comics, he was a well respected rock photographer who photographed well known bands like Motley Crue, Queen and Kiss. Even now his voice lights up when discussing his days as a photographer. What is important is that to be a great photographer one must possess a strong visual sense. In photography, aspects like lighting, and color, as they relate to form and composition, are important skills and these skills are translatable to the world of comic books.
Radical Publishing is also looking to prove innovative in the way they market their series. Currently, Radical Publishing has made a point to maintain their cover prices at the $2.99 mark. These days the average comic book is around $3.50 in cover price, with independent comics closer to $3.99. What Radical Publishing will be doing in the future is condensing the number of issues that each series has. For example, if a series would normally be made of six twenty page issues, it will now be made into two or three issues that are forty-eight pages long. These much longer issues will carry with them a $4.99 price tag, which still places the overall cost of the series, well below the industry average. Aladdin will be the sole title not to see any change in how issues are published. So why the change? "$3.99 for twenty-two pages is good for Marvel and DC, but not enough pages for fans to buy into it." In other words, to grab a reader's attention, a small market comic book requires more pages to hook a reader with and convince them to purchase another issue of the series. Ideally, the $4.99 investment to receive more pages for their dollar, at an overall less expensive price, also convinces readers to take a chance on an unknown property. This plan will be discussed in greater detail at the next comic-con.
Marketing, content, and process have been the keys to all the buzz surrounding Radical Publishing and it is what earned them recognition from Diamond. The question remains if Radical can succeed where so many others have failed. Barry Levine assured me that they are built to compete and are very well funded by their partners in Singapore. This partnership allows Radical to gradually build their reputation and company, with little pressure to immediately become solvent. Hopefully, they succeed. The industry can always use another company of good ideas. I also want to thank Mr. Levine for taking the time to speak with me. It was a pleasure.
In two weeks: I discuss the impact of Diamond's new threshold.
When I began conceiving this article about Radical Publishing, the primary subject matter was going to be their mission statement to create movie ready comics. When conducting research about this new company, there seemed to be a lot of internet chatter relating to this, and its pros and cons. Immediately, I began to speculate about how such a marketing strategy would affect the creative aspects of their projects. I decided to go straight to the source and I was fortunate to score an interview with Barry Levine who is the President and Publisher of Radical Publishing. After an extensive talk with Mr. Levine, I began to realize that the subject matter of my article was off, and a change would have to be made. Instead this will be an article about process, both creative and in marketing strategy, and how Radical Publishing managed to grab Diamond Distributor's 2008 New Publisher of the Year Award.
While Radical Publishing does not produce projects solely as vehicles for movies, its President, Mr. Levine, does envision his company as a "Multi-media company, with the goal to be the best in the business." To accentuate his company's philosophy Mr. Levine went on to describe his company as "...Not a comic book company. We are publishing company." What does this mean? To explore this question, one must first realize that Radical Publishing is not one company but several. These include Radical Kidz (which produces kid's books), Radical Comics, Radical Pictures (film production), Radical Manga and Radical Books (graphic novels and books). Each of these imprints perform a specific role in their parent company, that affords their properties greater fan awareness, and also allows for multiple avenues in which Radical Publishing can market their projects and maintain financial solvency. In speaking with Mr. Levine, he made it clear that awareness is the key to a company's success. "...Video games, T.V., whatever venue, if it helps raise the consciousness of an idea. Nothing else matters." An advantage of a multi-media company is that each arm helps to benefit the success of its other parts and vice-versa. In an era where comic book sales seem to be dwindling, having other avenues in which to utilize a specific property also allows that property to remain profitable. We all have had a favorite series become canceled due to poor sales, now imagine if that series proved popular in other areas such as in video games or merchandise, there would be incentive for the company who publishes that series to continue with it. The series then becomes salvageable. Radical Publishing allows for its series’ success to be gauged from a big picture perspective.
The process in which Radical Publishing grows a project occurs in several different ways. Some concepts start directly with Mr. Levine himself, such as with Hercules and Aladdin (which was described to me as their Lord of the Rings). Other projects have been brought to them by outside sources like directors, producers and at times from a video game company. Mr. Levine shared with me one such story of when a video game company, named Zombie Studios, pitched him the idea of series that would come to be known as Shrapnel. As it was described to me, when Zombie Studios approached Radical Publishing they had already completed 50% of the artwork for Shrapnel's first six issues. Zombie Studio's pitch called for the production of a far longer series then Radical Publishing normally felt comfortable investing in, but Mr. Levine was so impressed with the concept and completed pages that a deal was made to make Shrapnel an eighteen issue series. Shrapnel is now being sought by an A-list director and producer whose name will be announced at an upcoming comic-con. Radical Publishing also seeks out talent who they wish to work with such as in the case with Steve Niles, who is best known for his work on "30 Days of Night". Mr. Levine described to me how a back and forth session with the esteemed writer, eventually led to their collaboration on the series, City of Dust. In the end Mr. Levine's decision process boils down to a "gut reaction" where he can tell in a "two second pitch" whether the title will grab his attention. He said that he believes a good project consists of being “50% high concept" and 50% is viewed from a "visual perspective". I was also told that Radical Publishing focuses on "giving our artists and writers more freedom than any other company" and that the "story comes first". What was also made very clear to me was that Radical Publishing has made a "conscious decision" to produce "no licensing whatsoever", even though several have already been pitched to them. It was also made clear that superheroes comics were not part of their future. Not because Mr. Levine feels negatively towards the genre but because he feels there is no sense in duplicating what Marvel and DC do so well, and instead he prefers to focus his company on stories that are "mythology grounded".
So far the strategy seems to have worked, and already several comic book series are already in various stages of transferring to other media. I was informed in the interview that Bryan Singer, of The Usual Suspects fame, is eyeing Radical's Freedom Formula and director Peter Berg is interested in Hercules. Joseph Kosinski, who is currently slated to direct the sequel to Tron, has also approached Radical Publishing with an original concept and idea. Mr. Levine informed me that between six and seven directors in total are in various stages of deals with the company. All part of what he calls, "building a foundation". One reason for their success in bringing their projects to Hollywood is that Radical Publishing has its own discrepancy fund that allows a project to become 60-75% ahead in development before they go to the studio. By being this deep into the development stage, a studio has a clearer picture of the project, its proposed audience, and its visual style and story, which builds confidence in the project. With every successful deal, the entire process becomes even easier as a reputation is built in the industry.
Why all the attention? Much of the reason is the projects themselves. The vast majority of their series have painted interiors with artists like Stjepan Sejic, who has become well known for his work on Witchblade. In the Industry as a whole, very few series are painted, which is because of their greater expense and also because it takes much longer to complete. On the other hand, it does create an exciting visual style that is unique and helps to set their projects apart from that of other companies. This visual style is in no doubt emblematic of Barry Levine himself. Long before he was the President of Radical Publishing and his days at Dark Horse comics, he was a well respected rock photographer who photographed well known bands like Motley Crue, Queen and Kiss. Even now his voice lights up when discussing his days as a photographer. What is important is that to be a great photographer one must possess a strong visual sense. In photography, aspects like lighting, and color, as they relate to form and composition, are important skills and these skills are translatable to the world of comic books.
Radical Publishing is also looking to prove innovative in the way they market their series. Currently, Radical Publishing has made a point to maintain their cover prices at the $2.99 mark. These days the average comic book is around $3.50 in cover price, with independent comics closer to $3.99. What Radical Publishing will be doing in the future is condensing the number of issues that each series has. For example, if a series would normally be made of six twenty page issues, it will now be made into two or three issues that are forty-eight pages long. These much longer issues will carry with them a $4.99 price tag, which still places the overall cost of the series, well below the industry average. Aladdin will be the sole title not to see any change in how issues are published. So why the change? "$3.99 for twenty-two pages is good for Marvel and DC, but not enough pages for fans to buy into it." In other words, to grab a reader's attention, a small market comic book requires more pages to hook a reader with and convince them to purchase another issue of the series. Ideally, the $4.99 investment to receive more pages for their dollar, at an overall less expensive price, also convinces readers to take a chance on an unknown property. This plan will be discussed in greater detail at the next comic-con.
Marketing, content, and process have been the keys to all the buzz surrounding Radical Publishing and it is what earned them recognition from Diamond. The question remains if Radical can succeed where so many others have failed. Barry Levine assured me that they are built to compete and are very well funded by their partners in Singapore. This partnership allows Radical to gradually build their reputation and company, with little pressure to immediately become solvent. Hopefully, they succeed. The industry can always use another company of good ideas. I also want to thank Mr. Levine for taking the time to speak with me. It was a pleasure.
In two weeks: I discuss the impact of Diamond's new threshold.