So after a long weekend of little sleep and a lot of activity, Faction has some new reviews, some results, etc... If you look at the results below, they may look a bit confusing, but the bottom line is that Faction, overall, has sold fewer copies than the #2 book, but more people have purchased them. Make sense? I have 23 people who purchased copies, but 34 copies sold; some bought a couple of copies and some probably purchased a printed and PDF copy... A couple of the competitors, on the other hand, had a few people who purchased higher quantities (10 or more). Makes the average on the right hand side go down.
It's still a close race and there are still 21 days to go, so don't get lulled into a false sense of security, Faction might now win without help... Help in the form of purchases. See below for how to purchase and the reviews I promised.
1.) Copies: 25 ( +9) - [Mail: 6] DLs: 9 (+1) Stores: 0 (NC) People: 23 (+5) AVG: 14.25 - Faction
2.) Copies: 28 ( +2) - [Mail:10] DLs: 8 (+1) Stores: 0 (NC) People: 18 (+4) AVG: 13.50 - White Rose
3.) Copies: 15 (+14) - [Mail: 2] DLs: 2 (NC) Stores: 0 (NC) People: 7 (+4) AVG: 6.00 - The Underground
4.) Copies: 3 ( NC) - [Mail: 0] DLs: 7 (+1) Stores: 0 (NC) People: 7 (+1) AVG: 4.25 - Varsity Squad
Quick and easy... go to one of the links below, put a copy in your cart, check out, and select PayPal as the payment method. It will take you to a PayPal logon screen, but you don't have to use it; you can just enter your credit card info on the left and run through that way. If you decide to log in, you can use your PayPal account if you have one, of course.
a. PRINT COPY $3.50 - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD $2.00 - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html
NOW FOR THE REVIEWS!
I was very excited to hear that ComicRelated.com was going to do a Faction Issue 0 review. Something to keep in mind... when you have a review, it doesn't mean it's going to be a good one! They either pick up the book or you send one to them, have them review and pray that it comes out well. In a lot of cases, people are afraid to put their books under the microscope for that very reason. In the movie industry, for example, a lot of times studios decide not to let the press get into advance screenings because they know the critics won't like the movie. They hope to build a little momentum based on marketing or the fans who do like the movie when it comes out. In the end, though, the critics will get their say one way or another!
So, back to Comic Related's review, which can be see in full here... http://comicrelated.com/news/2676/faction-0 It was awesome! The reviewer, Laim, comments that Faction:
"[strips] away everything that is unnecessary in comics and stuck purely to a good story and content. That, to me, is what makes a comic truly enjoyable. When the comic is realistic and not decorated with an abundance of zany colloquialisms, 'special' effects and forced dialogue that... no one would ever use... it is always nice to have that break and get back to reality a bit. "
"What Erik Hendrix has done with this comic may not be intentional, but it damn well worked out in his favour either way. His writing is shrewdly presented with realistic vocabulary and tones. He hasn't tried to dress this comic up with any fancy or wordy dialogue. This appealed to me a great deal because I'm a big nitpicker of dialogue, especially when it comes to the big two... the narration and dialogue in this comic is straight to the point and realistic. I think that's what allowed me to relate to the characters the most. They actually sounded like regular human beings, which is nice..."
I wouldn't say I'm a minimalist writer, per se, but the way I see it is if I create a character a certain way, particularly a military guy like Acker Kinney, would it make sense for him to speak as if he has a PHD or could walk on stage and recite prose? Of course not! If it's not natural for them to say it, they won't. If they are characters who let actions speak for them, why would I add dialog, too? That's one thing I'm glad the critics really liked about the book, because it's how I am as well... I talk a lot, I write a lot, and I have a lot to say with only so much time to say it. If I can get a point across in 5 words, why would I take 50?
"Arnie Gordon's pencils in this are gritty, raw and even careless at times. But I Iove it! It gave the book a raw and edgy style which truly takes you back to the core of what an indie comic actually is! Again it might just be a happy accident, but it worked out awesomely. The pencils are only complimented by Michael Nelsen's grey tones. I'm not a big fan of comic books with no color, but this really did work..."
I have to admit the kind of "rough around the edges" style Arnie used for these pages did work well in the end. Michael's colors on the cover and tones inside really took the book to spectacular levels, though... I'm still smiling when I look at the pages and looking forward to when my printed copy gets shipped to me.
"For such a short read it's had quite a heavy impact. It's bittersweet when you come across something so great, but only a small amount of people know about it. On one hand you've got access to this awesome thing that not everyone knows about yet. On the other you've got something that deserves to be known. For Erik and the gang's sake I hope people do pick this up and realise how much of a gem it really is."
You can only hope when you create a book like Faction that the right place will feature a review, that the right person will sink their teeth into it, that stores will say, "oh that looks like a keeper" and order copies, etc... In the end, it's up to the fans to purchase the book one way or the other. My hope is that reviews such as this one from Comic Related, really ease people's fears about purchasing an unknown book like Faction from an unknown creative team... I told Ian the other day, I'm a pro, the world just doesn't realize it yet... I still believe that. This is a mainstream book in a small press body, and my hope is that people see it, buy it, love it, and allow us to continue this amazing journey both from a creation and story standpoint.
COMBINED REVIEWS SO FAR:
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