Things we can control (or) Today, I'm still alive.

Bringing that FML energy to life and to selling comics.

High school was just fine for me.

During my free lunch periods, I would sit in my locker and write. Twice a week, lunch would take place in the band room with the rest of the band kids. I got along fine with nearly everyone I went to school with, but most of my interactions featured people talking to me instead of really with me.

My life existed elsewhere - specifically Wednesday nights (and some weekends) playing the trombone in a marching band. It was there where I built my closest friendships and had the best time. It was where I had a slight bit of confidence and felt a slight bit of purpose. The music, the people, the drills, the steps, the fun, the singing, just… all of it.

It was also the space where I developed the skills that would lead me to a life selling comics.

Feature art is by David Lopez and Cris Peter from the cover to FML #1.

In the summer, every weekend had at least one parade, and that parade was often an hour or two away from where most of us lived. Somewhere between 6 and 8 am, we would all get on two to three different busses (depending on how many members we had at the time) and would spend time attempting to occupy ourselves for long stretches of time. Sometimes that meant movies brought to the buses - still a mix of VHS and DVD, depending on the set up. Other times it meant reading or talking or whatever else large busses full of teens got up to.

I always had my backpack with me, filled with different books, comics and graphic novels. At a certain point in time, I became a known person to ask for reading material. Eventually, I started bringing books with specific people in mind, hoping to get them connect with some of the same things I loved. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

Flash forward to today, and that little backpack has become an entire store - one that has won a national award for being the best in Canada.

To this day, very little has changed about the way I try to connect people with comics. I always like to start from a place of knowledge, asking them about some of their likes and dislikes outside of the world of comics, and what flavours they’re leaning towards in terms of tone and flavour. If the person starts coming in regularly, I can usually get to a place where recommendations just appear in their file, and they’ll take the suggestion without question.

This is not a privilege I take lightly.

Having someone trust your opinion with that much faith is a very special thing, and it doesn’t happen if you’re just giving them good books. No. When I put a book into someone’s file without their request, I do so with the knowledge that this book isn’t just good, it is for them. I will have read it and felt an intangible thing - formed as a bit of slack that’s attached to a very specific person, or very specific people. Most books have a few of these attachments. Some books have many.

And then, there are books like FML.

This f***ing book.

Give me a second. Let’s drop the needle, and listen to the gentle hiss of the lead-in groove before the music hits.

one TWO THREE FOUR

FML #1 variant edition cover by Pepe Larraz

The What

We’ll start at the base of it all - the ever important initial pitch, a book’s first (and sometimes only) chance to sell you on the concept.

From the solicitation information for FML #1:

From the Eisner award-winning creators who brought you Captain Marvel, Bitch Planet, and Wonder Woman: Historia comes this genre-busting, apocalyptic odyssey about a group of metal kids who face a medley of bizarre foes and encounters in Portland, Oregon during a worldwide pandemic.

Riley is a teen that sketches out his heavy metal future with a ballpoint pen between monster movies and band practice. But musical stardom needs to compete with high school, the temper of a former Riot Grrrl mother, the morbid obsessions of a goth sister, and the eccentricities of bandmates that threaten to drive him and everyone around him insane.

The balance gets harder after a ritual during a party in Portland's Forest Park causes him to wake up one day to discover that the creatures, witchcraft, and metal world he's obsessed with may be a bit closer to home than he preferred.

• A brand-new creator owned series from the team that brought you Captain Marvel!

• Features bonus material exclusive to the single issues only, such as essays on music, true crime, interviews, and more!

• Eight issue series.

This, is a pretty decent solicitation. It lays down the basic groundwork for the series without taking away the reader’s ability to discover. So many solicitations either run so bland that you can’t taste the spice, or run so hot that the discovery points are blown before the reader gets a chance to be surprised by them. A good solicit is an extremely rare thing, and this one walks the line beautifully.

That said, long gone are the days where the what of a book will build into a hit. The world is filled with so much noise that even a solid pitch will get washed away without a little something extra to hold the interest.

In conversations about the book, writer and co-creator Kelly Sue DeConnick has spoken about the book’s unfortunate placement of being released the day after the American election. She is right to worry about this. I remember the day after the election in 2016, and it was a day spent adrift with the folks who walked through our doors, wondering just what fresh hell this reality had become. 2024 seems to have a very similar flavour to it, and while I’m more optimistic about the outcome this time around, no matter what the results, the night and days after are going to be an absolute shitshow. For any book that launches during this time frame, it is going to be a struggle. This will be especially true for shops that only passively engage with the books that they sell.

That said, I feel like any retailer who has taken the time to read the first two issues of FML that were provided to them by Dark Horse and the distributor¹ will be able to see a strange opportunity in pairing the book with what is sure to be a time of relative chaos. I know that sounds a little f***ed up, but please walk with me here.

FML is a book where modern anxiety is part of the world. It takes place in a version of now where a global pandemic continues to rage on and our temperate summer days are the result of smoke from raging fires blotting out the sun. Described by DeConnick’s daughter as “a funny book about sad things”², FML doesn’t shy away from living in the absolute thick of our own slow apocalypse. It uses bursts of brilliant magical realism as a way to laugh and to cope, shown best where a character differentiates between the things that she can control, and the things that she can’t. The backdrop of that particular moment is intensely human while simultaneously showcasing life’s endless twirl towards madness in a very humourous way.

At its core, FML feels like a book that has been hit by the world, and still smiles. The smile isn’t without pain, exactly, but it is filled with empathy and courage and character. It rolls with the punches, and truly, I think it might be the perfect book to pair with whatever is coming our way.

That said, this book has quite a bit more going for it than what it is about.

The Why

While a solid grasp of what a comic is about will help you connect it with the people who are going to enjoy it, digging out the why of a comic is the one thing that will resonate like nothing else. Again, this comes back to the fact that there is so much noise in the world today. If it isn’t the current events, it is the fact that the internet and streaming have given us unfettered access to most (if not all) of our favourite things, at all times. If something new wants to grab our attention, it has to give us a good reason.

When creators and publishers are promoting their books, they will always always tell us what the book is about. Not everyone tells us why the book exists - but they should.

A what can easily be ignored. A what is just information or a feeling at the end of the day, and those things can be washed away. The why is where connections are built - where a book becomes more than plot and pictures, and becomes something that fits the people it was meant for.

Why does this book exist? Why am I putting it in your hands?

Both Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez (artist and co-creator) have been doing a remarkable job communicating the why of this book in many different ways. Some of it is very tangible. DeConnick has been making the podcast rounds at places like Off Panel, but she’s also gone onto podcasts like The Murder Sheet, which has more of a focus on murder/crime - aiming at an entirely different, yet very applicable audience given the “true crime” element that is also in the book.

At these outlets, she articulates the why of this book through conversation, always tailored to the questions, and the venue. Her why, as with a lot of art, has many aspects to it, and while I won’t be able to speak to all of it (because I’m not her, or Lopez), I can tell you what I heard and felt.

The why of this book starts where I’d assume all creator driven comics do: at the want to tell a story with a treasured collaborator. I find this to be the foundation of a lot of the best stories in this medium - just a back and forth between co-conspirators turning conversation and collaboration into absolute art.

Outside of that, the why of this book seems to focus on recognizing the world as an unruly and chaotic place, but realizing we all still need to live. With the kids, it is showing the passion and friendships that take us through to tomorrow in a world where tomorrow is probably going to suck in ways you never caused. With the adults, it is showing how a life filled to the brim with responsibility can still be lived with empathy and compassion, allowing a bit of kindness for one’s self.

The why is about friends, it’s about family, it’s about feeling like a monster, feeling overwhelmed, feeling so much and continuing to walk and survive.

For his significant part, David Lopez is bringing such wonderful life to this book. His work has been so brilliant on so many things in the past, but what he presents in this series is something else entirely.

Through out the two issues provided to retailers, Lopez showcases three distinct style that he melds perfectly to produce seamless storytelling. There is a very DIY punk aesthetic to the book that radiates from the characters, and manifests itself in very ‘zine-like sequences. The more “typical” happenings feature like your more typical comic book art - but as characters express more personal, internal thoughts, those ideas manifest themselves both as “teen doodling rad images in a notebook” and “femme-presenting underground ‘zine” styles. This is mirrored by colouring from Cris Peter and lettering work by Clayton Cowles, both of whom adapt styles to suit these different looks. All of these flavours show great purpose and personality. The why here becomes a book that shows a pure, visceral depiction of a teen trying to reconcile existence with reality, and a mom trying to ease that reality to her kids while juggling all the responsibilities the adult world heaps upon us.

All of these whys build your network for connections. This book has an incredibly broad set. Having rolled everything over in my head for a while, I came up with a bunch of different folks to aim this comic at. The first: anyone who digs the YA section of their local book store, regardless of age. There’s a lot in here for teens. There’s a lot in here for adults. There is a lot in here. The second - and more specific for this market: goth Tillie Walden fans, current and former spooky-teens, and folks with That Anxiety, but still got those soft hearts. So many more are going to enjoy this book, but these are your sure-fires.

What else, what else…

Outside of the craft of this book, DeConnick and Lopez have been making sure people know how to order this book and this series. I doubt they’ll mind me sharing these graphics, as I believe they were designed to be shared and disseminate information, so here’s the business:

Two absolutely stunning resources to help folks both completely experienced with ordering comics, and those who might be tripping into this world from other areas. This is above and beyond. This is in addition to the creation, and in addition to providing some whys. All of this? Is how you sell comics today. In a world brimming with content and noise, you have creators out there hustling to make the job of selling comics easier, not just with some remarkable content, but with actionable resources (which you can find more of at the book’s website where there’s more cool things to dig through!)

This is absolutely what it takes today. And I know that sounds exhausting - that’s because it is. But any retailer worth their salt is absolutely doing this work day in and day out on books that they believe in. Here, we have creators meeting us on the floor, in their own way. They’re reaching out, and they are reaching outward, not just to the community we already serve, but to people who don’t even know they love comics. Isn’t that awesome? Isn’t that what this should be? Isn’t that what all of us should be doing, from top to bottom in this industry?

Folks? After reading these two issues, I am energized. I want to light this world on fire. If anything I talked about today regarding FML charged you up? Follow the instructions. Let your local comic shop, or mail service know (or wait for the on sale date info for the collected edition, but be vigilant!). Help a great book, with creators who are working for this medium thrive and survive.

That is what I have for you fine folks today. I don’t even want to tell you what time it is for me as I finish writing this. Life, as mentioned above, is a whirlwind, but like hell if I’m gonna’ let it get me down.

Thugs and kisses to all my rizzlers out there.

No, I won’t apologize for that. You came here to me. You get what you deserve.

Talk to you soon.

-B.

Edited to add: Two very important things: if you’re reading this before Monday, Sept 30th, call your local comic shop and pre-order the book! Monday is the absolute last day retailers have to place guaranteed orders! And retailers - order this book with confidence! Dark Horse has offered returnability on this first issue (which they will be extending to the second issue as well!) making it fairly low risk to stock on your shelves! Do these things!

1. Check your e-mails from Penguin Random House, you nerds!

2. As relayed by DeConnick in various podcasts and other outlets.