CHRIS STAROS ON LOST GIRLS' MARKET PERFORMANCE

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/TopShelf/LostGirls/Jackets_Cloth_t.jpg" align="right">It was one of the most anticipated arrivals in the comic book industry in years, and with it hitting stores last week…well, <b>Lost Girls</b> (http://www.newsarama.com/TopShelf/LostGirls/Staros_LostGirls.html) has been kind of quiet. Sure, there was a flurry of major media attention just prior to the release, but the prophesied uproar, bans, and cats sleeping with dogs that the work of pornography by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie was supposed to bring down didn’t come.

Unless someone forgot to tell us about a book burning somewhere. Although, it all could be caused by a lack of copies.

By and large, the $75 <b>Lost Girls</b> has been released to a virtual immediate sellout across the direct and bookstore market. We spoke with Top Shelf Publisher Chris Staros for an update on what’s going on with the book.

<b>Newsarama</b>: Just so we’re all on the same page, as of this week, where are we with <b>Lost Girls</b>? It’s just started hitting the American stores, correct? Are both the DM stores and bookstores getting it at the same time?

<b>Lost Girls</b> hit the stores on Wed Aug 31st, and the entire 10,000 copy print run sold out on that day. They just vanished. -- It even hit #19 on Amazon.com around that day. -- By Friday the 1st, the back orders in the Diamond system have already exceeded the 2nd printing of 10,000, which is scheduled to hit stores in early October. So, we've gone ahead and ordered another 20,000 copies for the 3rd printing, to arrive around the Christmas timeframe, to try and keep up with demand. We'll hold off on a 4th printing, until we see the back orders for the 3rd printing.

<b>NRAMA</b>: And you sold out completely at SDCC, right? How long did that take, and
how many copies did you have there?

We FedExed (!) two pallets, which was around 500 copies of <b>Lost Girls</b> from Hong Kong to San Diego -- at great expense -- as we knew it was critical to have the book debut at the Con. They completely sold out at the show, and <b>Lost Girls</b> was dubbed "the buzz book of the show," which is what we had hoped for. Good press at San Diego ripples throughout the community, and we're glad the debut had that effect. This buzz obviously helped retailers nationwide sell out the book on the first day of sale.

<b>NRAMA</b>: What’s your response to the attention the book is getting so far in the media?

<b>CS</b>: Well, we're elated by the response from the media so far. Press is always a good thing, and we definitely wanted a lot of it to hit before the book actually came out, so that people would not only know it was coming, but also so that this controversial book could be pre-legitimized as a work of art before it hit stores. With all the great press, we think that has happened. [see below for a bunch of pull quotes from manstream media]

<b>NRAMA</b>: To date, has there been any…even minor – uproar/problems with the book in regards to content?

<b>CS</b>: Not as far as I know, but we're prepared for it. With a book like this, it is very possible that it could be attacked. We already have first rate copyright and obscenity attorneys on retainer with Top Shelf, fully prepared to defend this books right to exist, if need be. And, I also happen to know the toll free phone number of the CBLDF, in case I need to call it, and ask for their help as well.

<b>NRAMA</b>: That said, Salon.com has said that “Like any number of boundary-pushing, button-pushing works before it, it may well require some kind of scandal, or at least a high-placed moralist's denunciation, to find the audience it deserves.” Your thoughts on that? Does it need a degree of negative press to push it up and over the next level?

<b>CS</b>: Much of the press on <b>Lost Girls</b> already, is from journalists who understood how controversial this book could be, and took it head on to explain how ground breaking and important a work like this is. So, in once sense, the controversy has help get the book press. Though we're very glad that no great scandal has occurred, as that is not what we want.

<b>NRAMA</b>: There was word that the hospital in London which owns the rights to Peter Pan was making, or preparing to make waves. Has anything come of that?

<b>CS</b>: Yes, we have received correspondence from the Great Ormonds Street Hospital - the owners of Peter Pan in the UK, and as a result, UK/EU distribution of the book has been delayed until the matter is resolved. It has been a very cordial exchange, and one we are glad to participate in. As soon as the matter is resolved, we'll make a formal announcement about it.

<b>NRAMA</b>: Obviously, with Melinda as your guest in San Diego, you’re in contact with both her and Alan – what’s their response to the books’ success been like?

<b>CS</b>: They are elated, both in the way the book turned out (production wise) and in how it's been globally accepted by audiences in all markets. Truth is, none of us knew how people would react to <b>Lost Girls</b>, and if it would end up being distributed in all channels. So, it's a great relief to see the book launch so well.

<b>NRAMA</b>: Back to the prints and the number of copies that keep selling out, is <b>Lost Girls</b> something that you’re looking to keep in print forever? Are you, additionally, looking to go into a softcover edition with the book?

<b>CS</b>: Right now there are no plans for a softcover edition, as it's important that it stay in the format that really identifies it as a work of art. But yes, we plan on keeping <b>Lost Girls</b> in print, even if there will be some small gaps between printings, due to cash flow issues and the delays inherent in printing overseas.

[cncoyle]

So this is really a non-controversial book despite premature predictions saying otherwise? Is that the story in a nutshell?

[Superfrick]

My favorite bit about the press coverage of Lost Girls was the publisher constantly identifying it as Art, meanwhile at every single turn Alan Moore is like "No it isn't! It's Dirty Dirty Porn! Porn, I say!"

[Cyberbabbl]

Well, wasn't Moore's point in doing that more along the lines of saying that pornography IS art, when done well, just as detective fiction is art when done well? Rather than drawing a line between the two, he wanted to blur the line - whereas Staros, as the publisher rather than the artist, at the end of the day has to sell the book, which will probably find a better market as "Art" than as "Dirty Dirty Porn."

[EmeraldGuy32]

It's great to hear that LG is doing so well across the board. Any idea when the signed/numbered editions will ship?

[cncoyle]

Well, wasn't Moore's point in doing that more along the lines of saying that pornography IS art, when done well, just as detective fiction is art when done well?Then can detective fiction be porn, too?

[Cyberbabbl]

I don't see why not. I've certainly seen plenty of soft-core porn with detectives as the protagonists.

Hm, perhaps a public forum was not the best place to admit that . . .

[Angelophile]

Well... looks like Don Murphy was right.

No one cares.

[Bobo Da Hobo]

Yup, six months down the line, I think I'll look for a second hand copy of Amazon Marketplace

[smitch]

It's as it should be. It's a niche piece in the extreme. $75.00 for cartoon porn, and only 100,000 people max will buy this thing. That's less than 1% of the US population. My fellow conservatives would do well not to waste their time trying to sue or make a big deal out of it.

[EmeraldGuy32]

Well... looks like Don Murphy was right.

No one cares.
That's not what the article said at all. No one is getting all pissy about it, but obviously people care (in a good way) or it wouldn't have sold out...TWICE already.

[Jeremy Holstein]

It's great to hear that LG is doing so well across the board. Any idea when the signed/numbered editions will ship?

Mine arrived last night, numbered somewhere in the 440's (out of 500). The tipped in plate is quite nice.

The book is every bit as gorgeous as you'd expect. The productions values on this are fantastic; the binding, the quality of paper, etc. It's the sort of book you'd ordinarily want to be displayed on your book-shelf for all to see.

Until you open up the first volume and find Peter screwing Wendy. Or Alice seducing Dorothy. Or Dorothy playing with herself during a tornado. And on and on and on.

I'm only in the first volume, but so far it's as well written as anything Alan Moore's done to date. And Gebbie's art really benefits from the nice paper. The color pops off the page.

[RichJohnston]

Well... looks like Don Murphy was right.

No one cares.

Really?

http://www.metroactive.com/metro/08.23.06/melinda-gebbie-0634.html
http://www.villagevoice.com/books/0634,singer,74261,10.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-08-29-moore_x.htm
http://www.quickdfw.com/columnists/dkoller/stories/0082906fanboyquick.4dd940cc.html
http://dogmatika.com/dm/more.php?id=2058_0_1_0_C
http://www.pennlive.com/living/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/living/1156368331230860.xml&coll=1
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2003081905_lostgirls24.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/23/entertainment/e095943D96.DTL
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13503930
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/06/23/wendy-graphic-novel.html?email
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19572471-23109,00.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1037512
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060603.BKBART03/TPStory/Entertainment
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/ENT05/606250302/1037/ENT05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeX kxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NTIzMTEmeX Jpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3
http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/bni/147735671
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301108.html?referrer=emailartic le

For starters...

[RichJohnston]

That's not what the article said at all. No one is getting all pissy about it, but obviously people care (in a good way) or it wouldn't have sold out...TWICE already.

And it's not often a $75 pornographic comic book ends up at #19 in the Amazon charts.

[RichJohnston]

Yup, six months down the line, I think I'll look for a second hand copy of Amazon Marketplace

What, and pay over $100? 8-)

[CrankyViking]

What, and pay over $100? 8-)

I know. Personally, I'm looking forward to finding this under the Yule tree this December.

[Garden Gnome]

That's not what the article said at all. No one is getting all pissy about it, but obviously people care (in a good way) or it wouldn't have sold out...TWICE already.

Yeah, "no one noticing" and "immediate sell out" seem to be two entirely different things. I'm happy for the sell through, it's nice for Top Shelf to have a hit on their hands and it's also really cool that Moore can do something so outside the mainstream and have it be successful.

I got mine last week and it is really good so far. The art is fantastic and the writing top class, it is very smart and, yes, it is also very good porn. Far better in that respect than anything else I've seen on the market.

[jaredgood1]

I just picked up my copy from Barnes & Noble Online for $42 (%10 member discount, %15 off coupon and free shipping). So don't let that $75 price tag scare you away. There are deals to be found...

[Angelophile]

Really?

For starters...

A few newspaper articles?

Not exactly the rioting in the street, Daily Mail campaigns, questions in the House, cats lying with dogs, rivers of blood that was predicted though, is it?

The usual thing, Moore's fans wanting it to be taken seriously as a piece of "art" in public whilst really hoping it was going to achieve some kind of world wide noteriety and become the new Lady Chatterly.

Whereas in actual fact it's been bought by a lot of people, no one else much cares and the people who have read it are presumably accepting it as the work of art Moore's supporters wanted.

Yet at the same time, feeling cheated that there hasn't been a huge public outcry, despite their best efforts to bang on about it enough that there would be.

[Lonewolf]

I don't care about how controversial or not it is, all I care about is, is it any good?

It's a pricy book, I'll read it if the reviews are good enough because I have loved a lot of Alan Moores work and I love the medium, and I care deeply about books that push the boundaries between the medium and literature (as Watchmen and others have done before). However, if it's just a book courting controversy for the sake of it, I really dont want to drop that much and be disappointed.

I'm also not a huge fan of pornography these days and unless I get some reassurance that the sexuality portrayed in the book is integral to the story then I dont know whether I should read it. Don't mean to sound a prude, I'm actually just interested.

Can't someone talk about the story? Is it any good?

[GregMcQ]

It's great to hear that LG is doing so well across the board. Any idea when the signed/numbered editions will ship?

I received mine yesterday... haven't started reading it yet, but a quick glance and it looks to be a beautiful book. Have of course promised my fiance that I'll keep it well out of reach of her 5-yo... :)

[barnmate]

Really?

http://www.metroactive.com/metro/08.23.06/melinda-gebbie-0634.html
http://www.villagevoice.com/books/0634,singer,74261,10.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-08-29-moore_x.htm
http://www.quickdfw.com/columnists/dkoller/stories/0082906fanboyquick.4dd940cc.html
http://dogmatika.com/dm/more.php?id=2058_0_1_0_C
http://www.pennlive.com/living/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/living/1156368331230860.xml&coll=1
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2003081905_lostgirls24.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/23/entertainment/e095943D96.DTL
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13503930
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/06/23/wendy-graphic-novel.html?email
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19572471-23109,00.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1037512
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060603.BKBART03/TPStory/Entertainment
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/ENT05/606250302/1037/ENT05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeX kxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NTIzMTEmeX Jpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3
http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/bni/147735671
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301108.html?referrer=emailartic le

For starters...

The majority of those articles are about the Great Ormond Hospital and thier rights to Peter Pan, the rest are reviews from literary critics or the "Comix Beat Writers" for various publications. I think what Angelophile was talking about was the huge uproar from the neoconservatives some were predicting.

[barnmate]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2459

"The world is going to have a problem with Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's "Lost Girls."

That's what I reckon anyway. No matter how much equivocation is expressed to critics along the lines of "but they are just drawings," "it's a valid artistic statement and experiment" or "you're just falling into the traps that the book is intent on exposing," there is little that will get in the way that this is a comic book, being sold in comic shops, bookshops and through online services, that features young children having graphic sex with each other and with adults. Not only that, but many of the characters are drawn from classic children's literature, in a way that the original creators would be appalled at.

Thanks to "V For Vendetta," Alan Moore's name is never better known in the media's eye than right now.

Throw in the fact that Great Ormond Street Hospital receives money from any exploitation of the Peter Pan copyright, and that's a brick of gelignite with the Daily Mail and Fox News on hand to give it a good shake.

Expect massive media coverage and predictable outrage from all sides. People's belief in free speech and artistic expression will be challenged. Questions asked in Congress, in Parliament. Comic shops exposed, as well as the people who work there. Customs and Vice Squads put to use. The CBLDF on overtime. Boycotts of Moore's work, of Top Shelf's work, pickets at shops that sell the book. You might even see a mob descending upon Moore's Northampton home.

None of this is in any way fantastical. All is perfectly possible. "

[Angelophile]

The majority of those articles are about the Great Ormond Hospital and thier rights to Peter Pan, the rest are reviews from literary critics or the "Comix Beat Writers" for various publications. I think what Angelophile was talking about was the huge uproar from the neoconservatives some were predicting.

Bang on the money.

[majorjoe23]

I got my signed copy yesterday. #456 of 500.

[Bugaboo-X]

I don't care about how controversial or not it is, all I care about is, is it any good?

Eh. (shrug) It was OK. Beautifully crafted, in both word and image. Standard for the quality we've come to expect from Moore.

My wife and I both enjoyed a thorough first reading, with some follow-up, casual perusal. We've discussed his portrayal of sexuality, social implications, historical perspectives, literary references, etc. -- so I s'pose it was a thought-provoking work. But it didn't keep pulling us back in.

(As for the price: We got it at a 25 percent retail discount from our local comic book shop owner [I worked there as a college kid]. If you time it right, you can also get a decent coupon discount from Border's. So the book's $75 sticker price isn't set in concrete.)

[EmeraldGuy32]

geez, did everybody get theirs yesterday but me?

[RichJohnston]

Eh. (shrug) It was OK. Beautifully crafted, in both word and image. Standard for the quality we've come to expect from Moore.

My wife and I both enjoyed a thorough first reading, with some follow-up, casual perusal. We've discussed his portrayal of sexuality, social implications, historical perspectives, literary references, etc. -- so I s'pose it was a thought-provoking work. But it didn't keep pulling us back in.

(As for the price: We got it at a 25 percent retail discount from our local comic book shop owner [I worked there as a college kid]. If you time it right, you can also get a decent coupon discount from Border's. So the book's $75 sticker price isn't set in concrete.)

Yeah but what did you think about the bit with the crocodile?

[DrX]

I'm also not a huge fan of pornography these days and unless I get some reassurance that the sexuality portrayed in the book is integral to the story then I dont know whether I should read it. Don't mean to sound a prude, I'm actually just interested.

Can't someone talk about the story? Is it any good?

To be bluntly honest, it is pornography. The sex is not just integral to the story - it's the point of the story. I hate to draw comparisons to Watchmen, but Lost Girls is about sex (and more specifically its portrayal) in the way that Watchmen is about superheroes. Moore gave a commentary on superhero comics by writing Watchmen as a super hero comic book. Many of the themes and statements Moore and Gebbie are trying to say could be said without graphic depictions of sex, but that would sort of defeat the purpose, because the book is about how people portray and think about sex. As a story, it's interesting, but the story isn't quite the purpose, just like it's not the purpose in any conventional porno. It's the context and the content that makes it interesting, not the plot.

If you're not really interested in reading about that, it's somewhat understandable, but it's a great book regardless.

[cncoyle]

geez, did everybody get theirs yesterday but me?Are you talking about the book?

(Hey, it *is* a thread about pornography, isn't it?)


Oh, and this topic is so controversial that it's already bumped to fifth spot on the front page, BELOW the banner. (That's cold, Matt.)

[buji]

geez, did everybody get theirs yesterday but me?

i haven't yet... :(

[Bugaboo-X]

geez, did everybody get theirs yesterday but me?

No. ... I got it a week ago.

[zhstar]

I haven't received my signed copy either. Is their someone at Top Shelf who we can contact.

[khuxford]

I just bought a copy on Amazon for $45...and they say it ships within 3 days...so I don't know if the sellouts mentioned are completely based on sales guaranteed through these businesses.

Edit: honestly, I just intend on looking at this book as a slightly risky investment...won't be reading it...

[RichJohnston]

A few newspaper articles?

Not exactly the rioting in the street, Daily Mail campaigns, questions in the House, cats lying with dogs, rivers of blood that was predicted though, is it?

No. Thank goodness no one predicted that.

Quite a few newspaper articles. Certainly hundreds. And here are a few more fun links.

The usual thing, Moore's fans wanting it to be taken seriously as a piece of "art" in public whilst really hoping it was going to achieve some kind of world wide noteriety and become the new Lady Chatterly.

No secret hopes that I'm aware of.

Whereas in actual fact it's been bought by a lot of people, no one else much cares and the people who have read it are presumably accepting it as the work of art Moore's supporters wanted.

Well, clearly GOSH care. Also the instant sellout to those inclined to look favourably may well has blunted any sting. Which is good news for all sorts of people. The real test will be when this is more easily available. And, as a CBLDF fellow pointed out, three years down the line when someone gets it out of a library.

Yet at the same time, feeling cheated that there hasn't been a huge public outcry, despite their best efforts to bang on about it enough that there would be.
I don't think anyone feels cheated out of anything.

[RichJohnston]

The majority of those articles are about the Great Ormond Hospital and thier rights to Peter Pan, the rest are reviews from literary critics or the "Comix Beat Writers" for various publications. I think what Angelophile was talking about was the huge uproar from the neoconservatives some were predicting.

I think it's the older conservatives you might want to worry about.

The Lost Girls stories appeared in mainstream newspaper press in their news sections, after the BBC feature. A few, like The Times developed it further. And others, like Village Voice and US Today created full features. And the aspects mentioned were aspects the pieces addressed.

[kitty_tc]

It's as it should be. It's a niche piece in the extreme. $75.00 for cartoon porn, and only 100,000 people max will buy this thing. That's less than 1% of the US population. My fellow conservatives would do well not to waste their time trying to sue or make a big deal out of it.

Wait wait wait...

Are you saying that if there were more people buying and reading this, a more significant percentage of the population, that then you would feel you should try to stop them? What is the critical mass required before you mobilize to deprive people of their right to buy the entertainment of their choosing?

What is it with conservatives and trying to make other people's choices for them?

PS: Don't play the "school prayer" card, please. People like me don't want any religious content forced onto captive audiences, like those required to be in school or those needing to use public facilities. You'd most likely feel the same if the religious content in question was of a religion not your own. No one I know of is looking to limit religious content in bookstores or movie theatres or anywhere else the public has a choice of whether or not to partake.

[Timothycat]

Kitty, Your putting words in his mouth and jumping to conclusions that are not supported by the text. Nothing discredits us liberals faster than this kind of over reaction. Please troll elsewhere.

Best,
TimK

Wait wait wait...

Are you saying that if there were more people buying and reading this, a more significant percentage of the population, that then you would feel you should try to stop them? What is the critical mass required before you mobilize to deprive people of their right to buy the entertainment of their choosing?

What is it with conservatives and trying to make other people's choices for them?

PS: Don't play the "school prayer" card, please. People like me don't want any religious content forced onto captive audiences, like those required to be in school or those needing to use public facilities. You'd most likely feel the same if the religious content in question was of a religion not your own. No one I know of is looking to limit religious content in bookstores or movie theatres or anywhere else the public has a choice of whether or not to partake.

[DocSpin]

Hey all,
Just this minute got an email from Chris Staros saying the signed/numbered editions all shipped out on the 1st. Depending on your location they should all be arriving shortly. Hope this helps:p

[pop monkey]

I don't care about how controversial or not it is, all I care about is, is it any good?

Can't someone talk about the story? Is it any good?

I must say that I was greatly disappointed in the book. Sure, the packaging is nice, but the art is horrible, and as for the story.... well, in the end, I'd rather not have these characters and stories twisted and perverted into a highly sexual "narrative". I'm all for titillation and whatnot, but I'd rather not have these images popping into my head as I'm reading these stories to my daughter, or have Peter Pan and Alice turned into deviant sexual predators. It'll be a long time before I can explain to my daughter why I cringe every time I read the alligator bits of Peter Pan. It was not for me at all -- maybe with a different artist and some characters of Moore's own creation if would have worked for me.

[Leighroy]

I would like to be able to comment on what the book is like, but even though I pre-ordered a copy months ago via my local comic shop, no copies have made it to Australia yet.

[EmeraldGuy32]

whew, I just got mine today. I forget the number but it's around 350.

[Angelophile]

A few newspaper articles?

Not exactly the rioting in the street, Daily Mail campaigns, questions in the House, cats lying with dogs, rivers of blood that was predicted though, is it?

No. Thank goodness no one predicted that.


Apart from you, here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2418) here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2475) ("Am I the only one who can see "PEDO PAN" as a front-page headline of the News Of The World?"), here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2459) ("Expect massive media coverage and predictable outrage from all sides. People's belief in free speech and artistic expression will be challenged. Questions asked in Congress, in Parliament. Comic shops exposed, as well as the people who work there. Customs and Vice Squads put to use. The CBLDF on overtime. Boycotts of Moore's work, of Top Shelf's work, pickets at shops that sell the book. You might even see a mob descending upon Moore's Northampton home. None of this is in any way fantastical. All is perfectly possible.") or here? (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2451) ("Which means Daily Mail/Fox News style stories about paedophilia, the corruption of our youth may abound and the work of the CBLDF may be needed more than ever.")

Apart from that, for starters, you mean?

Whether the overexageration was meant or not, you were predicting SOME kind of reaction.

[stoned_camel]

I would like to be able to comment on what the book is like, but even though I pre-ordered a copy months ago via my local comic shop, no copies have made it to Australia yet. Yes. Ugh. I suppose there aren't too many of us, but still, we're being starved of artistic pornography here ;).

[MichaelWD]

Lost Girls hit the stores on Wed Aug 31st, and the entire 10,000 copy print run sold out on that day. They just vanished. -- It even hit #19 on Amazon.com around that day. -- By Friday the 1st, the back orders in the Diamond system have already exceeded the 2nd printing of 10,000, which is scheduled to hit stores in early October. So, we've gone ahead and ordered another 20,000 copies for the 3rd printing, to arrive around the Christmas timeframe, to try and keep up with demand. We'll hold off on a 4th printing, until we see the back orders for the 3rd printing.

How do these print run numbers compare to long-term top selling hardcover graphic novels? The same-priced Absolute Kingdom Come has an Amazon sales rank around #2700, but Amazon sales stats are based on very short-term market spikes.

[zhstar]

Got my signed copy today 225/500
:)

[buji]

argh! do any of you who recieved your signed copy live on the west coast?

*trying hard to be patient*

[DanDeRuff]

Eh, I guess when you factor in the price and the back order it may seem impressive, but selling out on only 10,000 copies doesn't seem like that a big deal.

And while I can't speak on everyone who bought the book, kitty_tc seems to be looking for some controversy.

[Jeremy Holstein]

Eh, I guess when you factor in the price and the back order it may seem impressive, but selling out on only 10,000 copies doesn't seem like that a big deal.
And while I can't speak on everyone who bought the book, kitty_tc seems to be looking for some controversy.

Perhaps the thread should be re-titled "Lost Girls Sells Out : Internet Does Not Tear In Half".

And if I understand the lingo correctly Lost Girls has already sold over 20,000 copies through two printings (with the second printing already spoken for) with a third printing on the way. For a small publisher like Top Shelf that's huge! Sure, it's not Stephen King numbers, but I can't imagine "Good Bye Chunky Rice" did these sorts of numbers this quickly (if at all).

[Leighroy]

Yes. Ugh. I suppose there aren't too many of us, but still, we're being starved of artistic pornography here ;).

What do you mean, the comics in People and Picture are very artistic :p . I just want some I can sit on my bookshelf next to Maus and Understanding Comics as a sort of cosmic balance thing.;)

[RichJohnston]

Apart from you, here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2418) here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2475) ("Am I the only one who can see "PEDO PAN" as a front-page headline of the News Of The World?"), here, (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2459) ("Expect massive media coverage and predictable outrage from all sides. People's belief in free speech and artistic expression will be challenged. Questions asked in Congress, in Parliament. Comic shops exposed, as well as the people who work there. Customs and Vice Squads put to use. The CBLDF on overtime. Boycotts of Moore's work, of Top Shelf's work, pickets at shops that sell the book. You might even see a mob descending upon Moore's Northampton home. None of this is in any way fantastical. All is perfectly possible.") or here? (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2451) ("Which means Daily Mail/Fox News style stories about paedophilia, the corruption of our youth may abound and the work of the CBLDF may be needed more than ever.")

Apart from that, for starters, you mean?

Whether the overexageration was meant or not, you were predicting SOME kind of reaction.

There was massive media coverage.

The rest was perfectly possible. Still is, actually. The fact that no Lost Girls have been shipped to the UK and that there hasn't been a slow news week of late what with Blair/Brown may be a factor.

But I did not predict what you seem to be saying I predicted.

[Mooncat]

Mine arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday. Just left there on front porch. sigh... Luckily it was not raining or anything. Anyways, it's BEAUTIFUL. The whole presentation, it's whole look from the slip case to the binding and the rich paper and everying, utterly gorgeous. It's art in it's every aspect. The art style is not typical superhero comic books style, but very much "storybook" style, and richly done with all sorts of details that are themselves a story. You can look at the pictures, read the text, and find separate tales being told, as well as the main story that combines them both.

I've so far read through the first two books and am working my way through the third, and I'm several kinds of impressed. The language is beautiful, earthy, ornate, winding round and about while delivering strange and curious fare for the readers perusal. It's a period piece, with the counterpoint of Austria just prior to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The world without, and the world within the lush and licentious setting of the Himmelgarten, the luxury hotel where our main characters convene, and by chance meet.

For those with an affection for sapphic delight, the rich notes of lesbian intertwining of the leading ladies may be a particular joy. I'm a girl who likes girls, and I found it pretty breathtaking myself. So far it seems set to explore every type of sexuality and fantasy, but the most recurring theme seems to be the bonding between the female leads, Alice, Wendy, and Dorothy.

So far I'm enchanted. It's a very well spun story that puts new spin upon the classics that the lead characters sprang from. There is a dreamy, intoxicated feeling to it's delivery.

I think those who have a fondness for storybooks and erotica will find this combination a real treasure.

mcx

[Angelophile]

There was massive media coverage.

The rest was perfectly possible. Still is, actually. The fact that no Lost Girls have been shipped to the UK and that there hasn't been a slow news week of late what with Blair/Brown may be a factor.

But I did not predict what you seem to be saying I predicted.

Uhuh. So you're saying you didn't predict a public outcry with one hand while saying there's still a chance of a public outcry with the other.

Massive public outcry WAS predicted. But I'm glad it didn't materialise.

[DanDeRuff]

Uhuh. So you're saying you didn't predict a public outcry with one hand while saying there's still a chance of a public outcry with the other.

Massive public outcry WAS predicted. But I'm glad it didn't materialise.

Maybe he's making a joke by denying he predicted that right after saying it's still possible that he'll be right? Anyway, give him a break, he just got murdered.

[RichJohnston]

Uhuh. So you're saying you didn't predict a public outcry with one hand while saying there's still a chance of a public outcry with the other.

Massive public outcry WAS predicted. But I'm glad it didn't materialise.

I didn't predict a public outcry. Saying there is a chance of one is not the same as a prediction. There was a chance of one. Still is. Maybe only in 2008 now...