Chapter 45: Fresh and New
As Alexander sought to busy himself by concentrating on the work. It helped downplay his doubts by redirecting them towards the issues he is making.
The more he is fearful of the consequences of failure, the more he tried his best with comic making.
His bringing back of Bristol paper helped his cause as the successive inking completions he has is a step forward and not being hung up with worries.
Currently, he is juggling through Dragonball, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and ThunderCats with the same manner of efficiency he always has.
Essentially, through the days leading up to the big release, school work and working at school kept his mind off the troubles.
Eventually, the scheduled day arrived and Alexander could only await the market's final verdict.
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Creed Comics has finally released its first publication. It spanned to all niche comic book stores making it grand but its lack of sufficient hyping platforms also made it a silent debut.
In this balance of grandness in scale and silentness in methods, Dragonball No. 1: Son Goku was displayed on shelves that Sullivan's contacts have specialized on.
Just like there would be a DC or Marvel aisle, Creed Comics would have its special section like all the indie publishers that couldn't move the Big Two.
In Creed Toys, the hype was much more focused than the rest of the comic book stores as they are essentially a branch of the same family company.
As for the rule-breaking that pertains to publishers owning a single direct market, that could be addressed when the time comes.
Creed Toys was riddled with Goku posters that Sullivan ordered for the occasion. The occasional San Fernando Valley nerds were practically stuffed with advertisements that egg them to buy an issue.
To the surprise of comic book nerds, the cover art and cover layout were unlike anything they have ever seen before.
The superior aesthetics that Alexander proposed and Sullivan worked hard to make happen have made a great impact.
Its smoothness has made it stand out against all the other issues on display.
The nerds with collector and displayer tendencies already couldn't wait to get their hands on it.
When the hesitant buyers and peekers flipped the contents of the issue, they can't help but exclaim at the greater quality of color printing and Alexander's advanced art style from blending Toriyama with the 2020s.
It came as no doubt that Baxter printing would become a company staple that other companies would try to follow.
Essentially, the contents of the page brought a visual freshness that the comic nerds never expected when reading a 'new' comic book.
When they followed the story, its interesting premise, humourous actions, flowing background designs, and peculiarly tailed protagonist already had them on the hook.
They then realized that aside from fresh aesthetics and the quality of the printed paper, the fresh story is also something that elevated the value of the comic book.
For these people who are already fed up with so many superhero stories, the lore of adventure that the entire first issue promised was more than enough to gain their attention.
The counterboy of Creed Toys then got busy as he recorded the sales count of Dragonball as his elderly boss told him to.
Dragonball didn't fly off the shelves with amazing sales but it did get bought by the 30 nerd regulars that frequent the store.
In the counterboy's experience, these kinds of numbers have already won out against all the other new issues that came out on the day.
The San Fernando Valley comic community is somewhat tight-knit and when those regulars would share their discoveries with their friends then Creed Toys and Creed Comics would have more traction and have more lucrative gains.
Even the adults who were trying to go unrecognizable from their shameful purchase joined in on the nerd excitement and bought a copy as well.
They could gift the new story to their young ones at home to keep them busy while they get busy with creaking the bed.
Unlike the teen nerds that saved up their allowance, they were more economically well-off to spare a dollar or so to support Creed Toys' new venture.
Of course, they also didn't forget to whisper to the counterboy about suggesting to boss Creed about considering an adult-themed comic book for them.
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The weird adult toy dynamic of Creed Toys aside, the rest of the comic book direct market followed the Dragonball comic buying trend.
The perfect mix of non-CCA approved, new comic title, new story, new comic company, new cover conventionality, new paper type, new color quality, new art design, new adventure comic, and new creator was drawing attention in the niche comic book community.
For the stale and repetitive superhero-dominated content output, Son Goku was a breath of relief that they didn't know they needed.
Of course, there are superhero purists but they also commended the refreshing pioneer in their beloved industry.
The poster advertising and targeted advertising in a comic magazine were just supplementary to the trend.
When the advertisement page said that it would be restricted to 150,000 copies only, a 'rare' commodity was on their mind and they rushed to procure it.
When the comic buyers lined up to their cashiers, Dragonball was the commonality and it compelled those who had no idea about the fuss to join in and also be hooked.
'To be continued...' seems to have put them in a cliffhanger that should be enough to compel them to buy the follow-up issues.
Unbeknownst to them, they had already been lulled into a trap of expectation and being compelled to complete the story.
They were probably expecting the fresh story to end within 4 issues or so like how the Big Two always has.
What they didn't know is that it is a mega-issue continuity that they won't be able to escape.
By the time they realize, it would be too late as they are comic nerds that had already been turned into diehard fans of the Dragonball franchise.
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Sullivan was busy with actor selection for Back to the Future but he was stuck with a smile throughout when his comic store owner friends called to tell him the good news.
His office telephone rang nonstop but he didn't get annoyed as it was all about their undisguised envy and forced congratulations.
The old man had no specific accounting of the sales yet but his business senses already told him of the great success of the venture.
"If they are already refreshingly surprised with that, then they may have to brace for impact at the next releases that my grandson is going to make." Sullivan's words were vocal to nobody but it also meant to reach out to everybody.
He could only chuckle when he thought about some teenage mutated turtles and some disgraced prince of an anthropomorphic feline kingdom.
Sullivan also can't help himself but feel funny at his grandson's hidden but obvious distress these past few days.
"I wonder how the boy would react if I told him that Dragonball didn't make any sales." Despite the dotingness that Sullivan has, he also had a nasty sense of humor that any other grandkid can't handle.