What is Top Cow's Let Us Win YOU Over?

LOS ANGELES, Calif., December 29, 2008 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today it will launch the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative in February 2009 that will see the publisher distribute thousands of free comics a month to new readers through participating retailers across the United States and Canada.

Over the course of the yearlong promotion, Top Cow will send 200 free comics each to 25 comic book stores per month (a total of 5,000 free comics per month). Each month, a different set of stores, each month a different free comic. The stores will be spread out geographically and demographically.

Combined with the books it plans to give away during Free Comic Book Day on May 2, 2009 and the many books Top Cow gives away at various conventions across the country, the publisher stands to give away up to 200,000 free comics during the year.

Top Cow’s goal with the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative is threefold: to invite new readers to give Top Cow comics a try and win them over to their line of titles; to generate buzz and excitement for fans and the retailers they support; and to pump some much-needed energy into an industry not immune to the current economic crisis.

“We feel strongly that Top Cow titles are the best they’ve ever been and it’s important for to invite readers and retailers to discover why,” explained Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “While our competitors are straining the wallet of the average fan, Top Cow is making it easy to try new comics.”

So as to not slight existing readers who are already buying Top Cow titles, the publisher will also ship each participating store exclusive Customer Appreciation covers for each subscriber of that month’s free comic. It will be limited exclusively to the subscriber fans at the participating stores for that month.

Top Cow initially opened the Let Us Win YOU Over program to members of the comics retailer group, ComicsPRO, because of the organization’s commitment to banding together to ensure a strong and healthy retailer community.

“ComicsPRO retailers are eager to support this innovative promotion, with the hope of proving that new ideas can lead to new readers for quality titles,” said ComicsPRO President Joe Field. “Our mutual goals with this program are to expose thousands of new eyes to Top Cow's singular brand of comics and to lead more readers to enjoying Top Cow comics and buying them from ComicsPRO member stores.”

“Our stores always looks for great ways to promote comics and connect readers to new stories they might not have given a second thought to before in the past,” said Michael Malve, owner of Arizona-based chain Atomic Comics and a member of ComicsPRO. “So when we heard of this very progressive marketing idea that Top Cow was coming up with, well, let’s just say we were one of the first to dive in.”

“We at Atomic Comics have worked hand in hand with many publishers over our 22 years in the business,” Malve added. “And in that time, Top Cow has been one of the easiest to work with. They have always made themselves available to retailers and listened to our concerns, as most recently noted in their $2.99 in 2009 announcement. I really look forward to this promotion and I hope other retailers embrace and take full advantage of a great opportunity that Top Cow is offering us with their Let us Win YOU Over campaign.”

Retailers who are not members of ComicsPRO and are interested in participating will be able to sign up through their Diamond Comics Distributors customer service representative in the next several weeks.

Retailer Resources-Banner Ads

Banner Ads are provided to promote each month's featured Top Cow issue, as well as the Let Us Win YOU Over program. Retailers are encouraged to advertise with these official banner ads on their own websites.

Select from the links below. When directed to the file location, right-click and save the image. Each banner ad is built to a 468 pixel x 60 pixel format.

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

Retailer Resources-Handbills

Handbills are provided to promote each month's featured Top Cow issue and are supplied in two different formats. The first format allows for the handbill to be printed out as a single sheet, with crop marks to indicate trim and folding instructions. The second format provides the front and back art as separate files, each built at standard postcard size, 3.5" x 5".

Select from the links below. When directed to the file location, right-click and save the image. The second format requires that both front and back art files are downloaded.

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

Retailer Resources-Shelftalkers

Shelftalkers are provided to promote each month's featured Top Cow issue and includes two distinct pieces of art for retailers to display.

Select from the links below. When directed to the file location, right-click and save the image. Files are built to print at 28" x 38". Each individual shelftalker measures 27" x 18", with the customer facing side measuring 27" x 9".

From Retailer Resources

Retailer Resources-Signage

Signage is provided to promote each month's featured Top Cow issue and includes two formats for retailers to display in either a horizontal or vertical space. Each set of signage features two distinct pieces of art to promote each month's featured book.

Select from the links below. When directed to the file location, right-click and save the image. Files are built to print at standard litho format, 11" x 17".

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

Retailer Resources-Retailer Posters

Retailer Posters are provided to promote each month's featured Top Cow issue and include three various formats for retailers to supply custom information ranging from the retailer's name, location, release date of the month's featured issue, as well as any other relevant information retailers deem necessary.

Select from the links below. When directed to the file location, right-click and save the image. Files are built to print at standard litho format, 11" x 17".

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

From Retailer Resources

February Retailers

The Comic Book Store
9307 Treasure Hill
Little Rock, AR 72227
501-227-9777
www.thewildstars.com

Atomic Comics
1120 S. Country Club Dr #105
Mesa, AZ 85210
480-649-0807
www.atomiccomics.com

4 Color Fantasies
7172 Archibald Ave
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
909-563-8751
www.4colorfantasies.com

Earth-2 Comics
15017 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818-386-9590
www.earth2comics.com

Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff
2980 Treat Blvd
Concord, CA 94518
925-825-5410
www.flyingcolorscomics.com

Happy Harbor Comics
10112-124 St
Edmonton, AB Canada T5N 1P6
780-452-8211
www.happyharborcomics.com

Time Warp
3105 28th St
Boulder, CO 80301
303-443-4500
www.time-warp.com

Tate's Comics
4566 North University Dr
Lauderhill, FL 33351
954-748-0181
www.tatescomics.com

Dr. No's Comics & Games
3428 Canton Rd
Marietta, GA 30066
770-422-4642
www.drnos.com

Clem's Collectibles
4201 Coldwater Rd
Ft. Wayne, IN 46805
260-480-7087
www.clemscollectibles.com

Comicopia
464 Commonwealth Ave #13
Boston, MA 02215
617-266-4266
www.comicopia.com

Alternate Worlds
72 Cranbrook Road
Cockeysville, MD 21784
410-795-5510

Muse Comics
2100 Stephens #107
Missoula, MT 59801
406-543-9944
www.musecomics.com

The Hobby Shop
1501 Ward Blvd Ste #245
Wilson, NC 27893
252-291-3384
www.thehobbyshopofwilson.com

Krypton Comics
2819 S. 125th Ave Ste #261
Omaha, NE 68144
402-391-4131
www.kryptoncomicsomaha.com

Jetpack Comics
112 Portland St
Rochester, NH 03867
603-330-9636
www.jetpackcomics.com

Comic Oasis
3121 N. Rainbow Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89108
702-212-8885
www.comicoasis.com

Jim Hanley's Universe
4 West 33rd St
New York, NY 10001
212-268-7088
www.jhuniverse.com

Laughing Ogre Comics
4258 N. High St
Columbus, OH 43214
703-435-6682
www.laughingogrecomics.com

Brave New Worlds
45 N. 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-925-6525
www.bravenewworldcomics.com

Comics & Paperbacks Plus
201 E. Main St
Palmyra, PA 17078
717-838-4854
www.comicsandpaperbacksplus.com

New Dimension Comics
3075 Clairton Rd #940
West Mifflin, PA 15213
412-655-8661
www.ndcomics.com

Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
6111 Burnet Rd
Austin, TX 78757
512-454-2399
www.dlair.net

Titan Comics
3701 W. Northwest Hwy #125
Dallas, TX 75220
214-350-4420
www.titancomics.com

Zanadu Comics
1923 3rd Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
206-443-1316
www.zanaducomics.com

Top Cow Partners With ComicsPRO

ComicsPRO (www.comicspro.org) is the only trade organization for direct-market comic book retailers. ComicsPRO's goals are not that different from trade organizations in other industries: to promote advocacy, education, and opportunity for their members. As a small business, you face many challenges without a lot of support. Joining ComicsPRO makes you part of a group facing – and overcoming – many of the same challenges. ComicsPRO allows you, as a small business, to receive benefits that are often only available to much larger groups, including discounted credit card rates and deals on health insurance. But the most important goal of ComicsPRO is to provide a voice for the often-overlooked concerns of direct-market retailers.

Who is Top Cow?

Top Cow Productions, Inc. (www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry's Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades. Its flagship franchise, WITCHBLADE, was TNT's #1 original film of 2000 and the subsequent TV series was released on DVD on July 29, 2008. A feature film, co-produced by Platinum Studios, Inc. and Arclight Films, is slated to begin production in Australia with director Michael Rymer. WITCHBLADE is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga by Studio GONZO in 2006. Top Cow's other flagship property, THE DARKNESS, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. WANTED, an Eisner-nominated miniseries published by Top Cow from 2003-2005, is now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman. Virtually all of Top Cow's other properties are in development as feature films, live-action television, animation or video games. Top Cow has also successfully licensed and merchandised its franchises into toys, statues, clothing, lithographs, puppets, posters, magnets, shot glasses, lighters, lunch pails, wall scrolls, mouse pads, die-cast cars, calendars, Christmas ornaments, Halloween masks, trading cards, standees, video games and roleplaying games.