Frank J. Barbiere

More Lost Coastlines goodness-- Here's a map designed by our collaborator S.M. Viduarri (who had done our second printing covers) that we're working into design/other fun stuff.

Sorry for the slow reply, but yes--we'll be doing an exclusive variant for Third Eye Comics to celebrate the release of issue #6 and the Diamond Halloween Event. Here is the info: http://www.thirdeyecomics.com/store-updates/sat-102613-halloween-comicfest-2013/ And here's the cover! Not sure how you can go about getting them other than coming out to the event, but I'll keep you guys posted. We also have a very special Phantom Variant for #6 that I can't wait to show you guys soon...

I'll keep you guys sated with cool stuff in the meantime ; ). Hope everyone pre-ordered a trade!

In case anyone still didn't know... https://www.imagecomics.com/content/view/fabian-gray-has-us-possessed-five-ghosts-to-become-ongoing-series

Yeah, it's more about reducing downtime between arcs. This way we're much more visible in stores with a more consistent schedule. Chris and I wanted to keep going, so we figured it'd be better to just have the book on shelves ASAP rather than having big downtime between stories. Always happy to answer questions!

manetteska-- This is exactly how I would have ended the mini to setup for more minis down the line. It was never the plan to have a done-in-one story. This arc was really about Fabian getting control over his powers, finding out what his "Haunting" was and setting up the main conflict of him trying to find his sister's soul...which is the crux of the entire series. Image does not ask for any story details--we have no editors and no one checking/asking about content. Once your book is approved, you can do what you want--if we wanted to stop doing the book after issue 2, we could've. There is really no approval process to move to ongoing--we just said we want to keep doing our book.

The one thing of note re: sales is that most (if not 90%) of retailers were under the impression that Five Ghosts was a mini series whilst ordering issues 4 & 5. Yes, that doesn't necessarily account for all of the slide, but I think it was definitely part of it. Many people still aren't aware of the ongoing status. We're hoping to remedy that with a press release soon.

You've made all great, valid points Aaron--I hope you didn't think I was refuting you with my comments. I was just giving an update on how I was looking at things on my end--but I also appreciate hearing your analysis as clearly you (and many other members) know the ebb and flow of the markets!

Oh, and it looks like November solicits just went live. Check out the cover to FIVE GHOSTS #7--LOST COASTLINES, PART ONE!

Digital is reported quarterly, so I'm not even sure how we've been doing on that front. I think it's been going pretty well, but we'll see.

Haha, no worries--it's all good data. Just wanted to give my opinion on it! Seeing any kind of drop is always a bummer, but I'm optimistic about getting more people on board.

...and here's another awesome page from issue 6 for you guys, to make up for my giant wall of text

Surprising no one, I am a huge nerd for "data" regarding comics sales, etc. First, I'd just like to note that ICV2 are just *estimates* based on Diamond rankings, etc. The numbers also don't include Diamond sales in England--while they are pretty close, they are normally skewed by at least 800-1000 copies...so we're actually doing a little better than represented there (as is everyone else on the list for the most part). We had a significant amount of orders for our second printing of number one. Though I won't get into the print run itself (let's just say second printings of number one are still available from Diamond), we sold 3,500 of 'em out of the gate. That brings our actual sales on issue one more towards the ballpark of 18,000--which is amazing, by my own standard. Issue two also saw a significant reprint--while we didn't sell as many as #1 reprint, it was still a nice shot in the arm. Three continued to hold (and actually sold a little better than #2 before reprint which was interesting), and four is where we first saw the dropoff--which frankly, was expected, but I'm just very glad it took three issues in. Five did hit the lowest we've seen, but still well above 10,000--that's been my goal since we saw the book had a little bit of heat on it and I'm very thankful to everyone who has stuck on board, retailers and fans alike. I think the first two issues were definitely over ordered due to speculation--yes, the book is "pre-ordered" by fans, but I think the honest number of our readership is floating more around the 10K mark--which is phenomenal! The whole team is incredibly thankful for anyone interested, in to be able to build a readership that large from nothing is a milestone. I'm hoping with the trade coming (and at a $9.99 price point) we can pick up plenty of new readers in time for issue 6. Issue 6 also being a stand alone story that doesn't draw too deeply on the first arc is also intended to bring in new readers--so we'll see what happens. We want to do this book for a long time, so certainly tell your friends and anyone you think would be interested about it! It's the best thing anyone can do at this point, and very appreciated by the whole team. Well, now I've rambled on, but that's my current status on where we're at ; ). We've got some fun stuff lined up #6, including a very special Phantom Variant that we'll hopefully be unveiling soon. Also, definitely going to try to have a sketch variant for issue 7! Best, Frank

What I'm reading: Quite honestly, I read A LOT of comics. I try to keep my eyes on everything as a fan and creator. But here is stuff I've really been liking (and it's probably not different from many of you guys): Saga -- top of the pile. Unmitigated goodness. Locke & Key -- again, equally amazing. Hawkeye -- yup. East of West -- wasn't really onboard at first, but now one of my favorites. Fatale -- I will read anything Brubaker writes. Hickman Avengers -- love Hickman, but this is starting to lose my interest Ten Grand -- huge fan of Ben's work and this has really been a surprise...didn't expect to like it as much as I do. Trillium -- amazing first issue. ...and lots more. I really loved Grant Morrison's run on Batman, for the record. Also, my favorite book of all time is Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan.

Nothing actually changed--this was the -script that would have run for #5 even if we ended there. Except I suppose people would have been pretty annoyed, haha.

More great art from Garry Brown for issue 6...

Was going to post the BC article, but glad someone got to it! I'll definitely try to have something cool for Though Bubble, too...lots of fun stuff this year!

On that note, here's Garry Brown's amazing splash page to FIVE GHOSTS #6--it'll be in stores October 30th!

Thanks so much, Authority. We're hoping to get a lot of new readers on board with the next arc and having the collection out in September. Clearly everyone here is amazing and a great supporter--but certainly make sure to pre-order your issues and the trade from your LCS! It helps us immensely! Also, I'll be sharing fun stuff as it rolls in--if you're digging the book now I can't wait for you all to see issue 6 with Garry and the next arc with Chris--LOST COASTLINES! Also, to anyone I have to ship stuff to--all packages will be out this week! Thanks again for everything! -Frank

Unfortunately I won't be selling/providing envelopes. I know that might seem like a bummer, but I assure you--they are simply just plain paper envelopes with an image printed on the front (the vitruvian man/Fabian mash-up). You could probably even make your own . The comics didn't fit inside them so they seemed kind of pointless...just threw them in with the sets on day two because I had 'em. Sorry!

I just looked at the original order I placed for NYCC, and we actually only had SIXTY (60) of the NYCC self-published version. So that's the official word on that--there are 60 of those out there. Also, I will NEVER be printing the SDCC set again. Maybe we'll use the images again for prints, but never do the set again. The fun of doing these exclusives is to keep them exclusive! But we'll definitely have something fun and rare for NYCC--I'll let you guys know when we get to it.

I assure you the book will be out in a timely manner. We'll be back in October and hopefully run straight through 13 before we break for trade, and even still will only break for a month. As long as all of our readers don't abandon us . Really looking forward to our October issue! I'll share some preview stuff as the weeks go by, but I think it's a great jumping on point as well as a treat for those who've been with us all along.

Hey guys, Just an update about the envelopes-- They were actually way too small, so instead of cramming the books into them and possibly dinging up the books I pretty much abandoned that idea. During the first signing I didn't give the envelopes out, but I slipped them into the sets I sold on Sunday. Hopefully that doesn't annoy anyone, but it was literally just a piece of white paper with the logo printed on them, so I hope no one feels left out! Also, yes--I will be at Zapp Comics in Wayne, NJ to celebrate the release of issue 5! I'll have Phantom Variants and be signing whatever you bring! Looking forward to it. Best, Frank

I will most certainly be looking to do cool exclusives for the shows I do in the near future. I apologize that the set was hard to get, but I will definitely try to make a print set of the images for the future, as well as something equally rare and fun for NYCC. Hope those who got it enjoy, I think they printed really well and the cover stock was great! -Frank

Last minute correction! I'll be at the Dark Horse booth at 10 AM tomorrow, not 12.