How to Sell OXYMORON: THE LOVELIEST NIGHTMARE to Your Customers

Hello Retail Partners!

I’m Tyler James, publisher of ComixTribe, and I’m here to give you a few pointers on how to pitch our latest series, Oxymoron: The Loveliest Nightmare to your customers in a way that sells.

We honed this pitch at the ComixTribe booth at last year’s New York Comic Con by hand-selling hundreds of copies of an advanced, black and white preview edition of The Loveliest Nightmare #1. The book flew off the table for us, and if given a chance, I think it’ll do the same for you.

Now, the one sentence hook that stops readers in their tracks is to ask them to “Imagine if The Joker Came to a Gotham without Batman?”

That simple hook reels them in.

We’ll then draw them in further, explaining it’s “a cerebral police procedural thriller in the vein of Se7en or Hannibal, where an afflicted detective hunts a masterful serial killer obsessed with contradiction.  His victims include public servants who serve themselves, crooked cops, kind-hearted gangster, media figures who deceive rather than inform…" you get the picture.

When people ask about the Oxymoron character, we’ll ask them to imagine "The Joker mixed with Deadpool...but with a real mean-streak.”

We’ve also had success pitching this series as a “Perfect jumping on point for new readers. Think a Year One-style story… but for The Joker.  And one that DC-editorial would never have the balls to publish.” 

And while the darker, serial killer angle has a certain visceral appeal to a younger male demographic, the protagonist for this series is a complex, layered, vulnerable but strong as hell African-American female detective named Mary Clark, which broadens the appeal to this series to a wider demographic.

OXYMORON will put the butts in the seats, but Mary Clark will keep them there by making readers care about what happens in this series.

These pitches have worked tremendously for us… and I’m confident you’ll have similar success in your shop.

Addressing Your Concerns About Stocking Carrying This Title

I know it must feel like stocking small-press titles can be a bit of a gamble. Let me address a few concerns about carrying this series…

#1) Is OXYMORON just another Joker knock-off?

While we’re certainly trading on the killer-clown motief which has been around for centuries, and visual cues similar to The Joker to get readers’ attention, the core concept of a contradiction-obsessed killer is original and let’s us explore unique territory. 

Likewise, keeping the visual elements but stripping away the super-hero trappings for this story will likely broaden its appeal to non-cape horror and crime thriller fans.


#2) Independent books release on erratic schedules.  Will this series actually come out?

I get the frustration. Your business thrives on the monthly release schedule, and many small-press books struggle in that regards. 

Last year, we released AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE on a monthly schedule, and not surprisingly, it turned into ComixTribe's most successful series yet. That’s why we’ve been banking issues and are far ahead of schedule.  

You can read full PDFs of OXYMORON: The Loveliest Nightmare #1 and #2, and the series will be complete prior to issue #1 hitting the shelves in August.  This book will come out on a monthly schedule.

#3) Why should I invest in a small, self-contained title like this?

Besides the fact that it’s a great read, OXYMORON: The Loveliest Nightmare is a brilliant entry point for new readers into the ComixTribe backlist.  

Fans of this series may be interested in checking out the Oxymoron’s first appearance in the pages of THE RED TEN(MAR151158), the first volume of which is available in soft or hardcover through Diamond.  

There is also a hardcover collection of OXYMORON short stories, OXYMORON Volume 1 (JUN151200), which you can order from Diamond. 

This is also a good opportunity to put series co-writer John Lees’ book AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE (NOV141187) also available in trade, into fans hands.

Have a question about the series?

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about the series. 

Email: Tyler.James@comixTribe.com

Thanks for your time and I appreciate all you do to help grow the comics industry.

Best,

Tyler James

ComixTribe Publisher