See you in San Diego?

 With Comic-Con International's San Diego convention coming up in less than two weeks, I wanted to invite anyone who might be interested to attend the following event I will be hosting. The room is always full, so get there early and hear some of the ComicsPRO retailers' experiences. 

Even if you are not interested in opening your own comic book store, this event will give fans a look "behind the curtain" at comic book specialty retailing.

FRIDAY JULY 22 
4:00–5:30 Room 32AB
So You Want To Be a Comic Book Retailer? – Presented by ComicsPRO’s Retailer Mentoring Forum. This Comic-Con tradition is always a lively and fun discussion, where your dreams of owning your own comic book specialty store take flight! Your career in comics’ retail starts here! You have questions? Our panel of experienced retailers has answers! Hosted by Joe Field (ComicsPRO President, Flying Colors Comics, Concord CA) with Portyln Polston (Brave New World, Newhall CA), Jennifer Haines (The Dragon, Guelph ON), Chris Brady (4 Color Fantasies, Rancho Cucamonga CA) and Diamond Comic Distributors Outside Sales manager Dave Hawksworth.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Great FlyCo Faithful email!

We just received this great email from a long-time, but only semi-occasional visitor to Flying Colors. It made out day, so we decided to share it with you.

I just wanted to let you know I came in Friday and was looking around, and Marty came up and said "I think Joe would recommend this to you", and handed me a copy of 'Who Are The Mystery Men'- well the recommendation was on the nose!  Great book!

I think it is so cool that I can go a couple of months without buying comics (caught up in life's currents), and come into Flying Colors, be remembered, and get a recommendation that is spot on.  Awesome!

I also had an opportunity to talk comics with Marty and Susie, and it was great to have that personal 'old fashioned' experience.  That's definitely why I like Flying Colors so much.

It really makes me feel like 'home', like a small town experience, and I really appreciate that type of effort by you and your staff.

So, thanks for having such a great shop!

We love to get emails, letters and pertinent posts to our Facebook Fan Page.
If you have any comments, concerns or questions, please email them to coolstuff@flyingcolorscomics.com or mail them to:
Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff
2980 Treat Blvd
Concord CA 94518

NEW THIS WEEK... hit the link!

RIP, Gene Colan! A fine gentleman and a terrific artist whose work will live on forever!

New & Cool

Check out a full ist of everything coming in this week at our  Flying Colors Facebook Fan Page...

... including Ultimate Spider-Man #160--- The Death of Spider-Man!

Here's hoping your week is going better than Spidey's! 

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

New & Cool This Week at Flying Colors!

 

With Fathers' Day coming up Sunday June 19. we hope you'll remember to come by Flying Colors for a cool assortment of fun stuff Dad.

Every week, Flying Colors receives close to 100 new comic titles, plus graphic novels, fan magazines, t-shirts, action figures and other cool stuff. You can find a list of new items posted every week at Flying Colors Facebook Fan Page (no need to be a Facebook subscriber to check out our fan page.)

Meanwhile, included here are some pix of some of the new & cool items we have in stock! 
Peace!


FlyCoJoe

GREEN LANTERN the movie opens Friday June 17, so Father's Day will be a perfect time to get Dad in the cosmic swing of thing with this Funko Pop! Vinyl Bobblehead.

The cover to FLASHPOINT: Wonder Woman & The Furies #1, new this week from DC Comics!

Saturday June 4-- be here for LEVEL UP!

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LEVEL UP Creators Yang and Pham Debut New Graphic Novel at Flying Colors

June 4^th event at Concord CA store will feature Live Art demo, exclusive bookplate

When award-winning artist/writer Gene Luen Yang and up-and-coming artist Thien Pham debut their graphic novel LEVEL UP at Flying Colors Comics in Concord CA this weekend, they’ll be hoping to accomplish something that touches on the theme of their new book.

LEVEL UP centers on the conflicted character Dennis Ouyang who lives in the shadow of his parents’ high expectations. They want him to become a doctor---  he just wants to play video games.  To find out more, Yang, Pham and Flying Colors owner Joe Field are asking all video gamers, along with comics fans, of course, to turn off their video games, get off their couches and visit Flying Colors Comics on June 4^th from 1:30PM-4PM to check out LEVEL UP and witness a demonstration of Live Art in the making, as Yang and Pham go at it in an EPIC DRAW-OFF!

Now just what is an EPIC DRAW-OFF? Here’s the way Gene Yang describes it: “While I talk a bit about how I got started in comics, Thien will illustrate my story as I speak.  Then, he will talk about how he got started, and I'll illustrate Thien’s story.  After, it’ll be a competition using suggestions from the audience.”

In addition to the Live Art demonstration, Flying Colors will have an exclusive bookplate for the artists to sign in the brand new LEVEL UP graphic novel.

“I have been a fan of Gene’s work since he did DUNCAN’S KINGDOM for Image Comics in 1999,” said Flying Colors owner Joe Field. “ Looking at his body of work in the 12 years since, including the award-winning AMERICAN BORN CHINESE and ETERNAL SMILE, I am thrilled to finally have Gene visit Flying Colors. Seeing Thien Pham’s work on LEVEL UP also leads me to believe that his star is rising among cartoonists.”

Schedule for June 4^th event:

1:30 Introduction of Gene Yang and Thien Pham, book signing

2PM EPIC DRAW-OFF Live Art demonstration

3PM Q&A, book signing.

3:30PM Pizza and refreshments will be served.

For additional information, please visit FlyingColorsComics.com or call Flying Colors Comics in Concord CA at 925-825-5410. 

FCBD 2011 wrap-up!

Photo by Ben Margot, Associated Press

OK, we've just about recovered from the insanity that is Free Comic Book Day.

A few numbers for all you keeping score:

It's estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 people visited FCBD particpating retailers in 40 countries on May 7!

FCBD 2011 generated an estimated $1.5 million in publicity for comics and comic shops!

At Flying Colors, we had almost 1100 people visit the store on FCBD.  The store remained shoppable and comfortable all day long. 

For more than 250 people, it was their very first visit to Flying Colors! Welcome, one and all!

We gave away more than 6000 total comics at Flying Colors! 

Libby made more than 200 of her "HULK SMASH" (creme de menthe) brownies!

And she and Jenny dished out roughly 200 pieces of cake!

We had 11 people working the event (current and former staff and friends), plus guest visits from Captain Jack Sparrow and Wonder Woman!

Free Comic Book Day 2011 also got tremendous coverage in the media. Here are some links to stories featuring FlyCoJoe:

Associated Press, pre-event coverage

Associated Press, Day-of-Event Coverage

CNN

Los Angeles Times, Hero Complex

National Public Radio (NPR)

Scoop (Diamond Galleries): Pre-Event Interview with Joe Field

Scoop Post-FCBD Report

Comics Bulletin: Joe Field Interview with Karyn Pinter
The Comic Chronicles by John Jackson Miller   

The Examiner.com by Oscar Benjamin

Northwestern University

The Oklahoman--- Nerdage by Matt Price 

Ohio State Lantern

San Diego Union-Tribune (AP pick-up)

Brownsville Herald

...and here's one from out of left field,
an interview on Quality Logo Products.com

...and that's just a few! Check Google for another 1600+ articles about FCBD! 

For more pix from our event, go to the Flying Colors Facebook Fan Brigade page!

I'd like to thank everyone who visited Flying Colors on FCBD. If you were one of the 250+ first-time visitors, we'd love to get your thoughts about the event and our store--- and we invite you back to see us when we're not quite so crazy. 

For everyone who makes Flying Colors your comic shop every week, please accept the thanks of everyone on staff here. It's a challenge to keep a small business going strong these days, so each and every sale and every relationship with those who shop here are important to us. 

We are always looking for ways to improve our service to you, including our current project of installing Point-of-Sale equipment that will hopefully increase our efficiency. 

Free Comic Book Day may have been my idea ten years ago,  but seeing the remarkable things this event has done for the entire comics world is really encouraging. Many of my comics retailer colleagues in the U.S., Canada and 40 other countries bring energy, creativity and enthusiasm to FCBD, making it a very special community event that is now the world's largest annual comics' event. All of this shows just how current the comics' medium is--- and how vital comic book specialty stores are to our local communities.

As I mentioned to a number of reporters I talked with leading up to FCBD, if you want to find the Next Big Thing, frequently visit your well-stocked local comic shop. If you want to read and absorb the ideas that will be developed in other, more passive mass media later, read comics today. Comics ARE the cool and creative nerve-center of visual entertainment--- the sugary core of pop culture. 

Stay tuned for more! The best is yet to come! 

Peace! 

FlyCoJoe

Saturday May 7 is the 10th Annual FREE Comic Book Day!

FCBD is a party of EPIC proportions!
Please invite everyone you know to get in on the fun of reading comics by starting with FREE comics on Free Comic Book Day, Saturday May 7 at Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff (and nearly 2000 other comic shops in 35 countries around the world!)

Special Guests at Flying Colors! 

Cartoonist JEFF BONIVERT (Captain Four-Color, TMNT)!
Artist/Inker MICK GRAY (Batman and Robin, Promethea)!
Artist/Writer STEVE MONCUSE (The Fish Police)! 

Flying Colors features the following EXCLUSIVE items available on Free Comic Book Day:

• A signed, numbered limited edition full-color print by artist JEFF BONIVERT and inker MICK GRAY featuring Flying Colors' own CAPTAIN FOUR-COLOR! Proceeds of the sale of this limited edition print will be donated to The HERO INITIATIVE

• A signed, numbered limited edition exclusive bookplate edition of FISH POLICE Volume 1 from IDW with original art from creator STEVE MONCUSE!

MORE! There will be refreshments, cool deals and maybe even a costumed character or two! Be prepared to have fun! 

Stay in touch with what's going on at Flying Colors by "liking" our FACEBOOK Fan Page (no need to be signed up for Facebook to follow our fan page).

Countodown: Free Comic Book Day is One Week from Today!

Here's the new song from Cyrus & Isaiah---  "The First Saturday in May at Flying Colors". 

Free Comic Book Day Commemorative T-Shirt Available NOW!

Superstar comics artist DARWYN COOKE (DC New Frontier, Richard Stark's PARKER: THE HUNTER and THE OUTFIT) has designed a very cool t-shirt to commemorate the 10th Annual Free Comic Book Day.

The Flying Colors Retailing Brigade will be wearing these shirts on FCBD... and you can, too! Now in stock at Flying Colors, we have these shirts available in adults sizes S-M-L-XL and XXL. The shirts are also available in three colors--- Stone Blue, Burnt Orange and Black. $14.99 each (XXL $17.99).

Come and get 'em!

And BE HERE Saturday May 7th for
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!