Welcome to the second installment of Secret Society Comics’ Spec Deck! My motto here is that in the speculative comic market when you are not a month early, you are already a month late.
Let’s get to business and cover the comics you should you be keeping an eye out for next month! It’s an IDW heavy month, but that’s just because I dig their books.
Wellington #1
I don’t feel like it is too much of a stretch to say that most folks who listen to podcasts have heard of Lore. It is an extremely popular podcast about folk legends and tales of creatures, ghouls, and real life human atrocities. Aaron Mahnke is a master storyteller, which makes me feel as if this comic book has an extremely high level of potential. I don’t think it is unreasonable to compare this to a scriptwriter taking their skills to the comic world.
This book is either going to sell out or the print run will be more than enough to satiate the hardcore fans of the podcast leaving stacks of copies left behind. It is going to be one extreme or the other, all depending on print run. If the fans of the show catch on to this and the first print sells out, then watch for it to spike to $12-15 in no time at all and stay there for a considerable amount of time.
If it ends up sitting on the shelves gathering dust for a few months, I still suggest picking it up. This is one of those books that is going to have a cult following for years to come and there will come a time 10 or 15 years from now that it is not so easy to obtain because most of the original folks who bought it, did so because they want to own it, not because they can’t wait to sell it.
I Can Sell You a Body #1
The cover is incredible, the concept sounds unique, and IDW has been killing it recently with titles like Road of Bones and Canto. In major markets like NYC or Austin, there might be stacks on the shelf, but in smaller markets, this will be gone immediately. Copies on eBay will sell for between $8-12.
Though this isn’t one of those comics I think will become a TV show or movie, it will have real-honest-to-god reader buzz. That will compel folks to want to get in on the story and not just the speculation.
The Kill Lock #1
I want to read this freaking comic right now. I would also love to see this as a movie, and I am certain it would become a cult classic. I feel the same way about this book as I do about I Can Sell You a Body. The two of them will bump up within the first 2-4 weeks and go for slightly over cover price.
I see long term potential here. If this were to be translated to another media, I can see this being something like Men in Black or 30 Days of Night. Those are huge movies that were based on comic books, and while there aren’t a ton of us hunting for the original Men in Black comics any more, I can promise you that you’re not going to find them for cheap if you want them.
20XX #1
Beware of any book that starts with a description like:
“This [insert genre] for [single out a type of reader] imagines a [place any assortment of dystopia futures] of [use some catch phrase the kids dig].”
These books are made by committee, and maybe not literally, but the folks who came up with the pitch might as well have used an ad libs book and just released a dozen other similar stories to see which one takes off.
I think any comic is worth reading and that this certainly might be someones first and/or favorite comic ever and for that I give it praise even before it is released.
But, I just re-read the description again and it sounds like a bad joke. Stay away for speculation but if you pick it up for story let me know what you think — I could be wrong.
Seance Room #1
I really like the feel of this book and the author has another title called Beyond The Demon The Sea that sold out a couple weeks ago.
Source Point Press has been on a pretty solid streak recently with Samurai Grandpa, Love She Offered and Dead End Kids.
This doesn’t quite have that immediate success feel to it though. The question is, does it have long term potential?
I don’t know, the story sounds pretty freaking cool and any comic at any time could be optioned. My best guess is this comic will be available for cover price for a real long time.
However if the day ever arrives where a studio comes knocking, the price will skyrocket. The print run of these super indie labels has to be miniscule.
Secret Society Comics 