Nerdcenaries: Hey Jeremy Whitley. I’m a big fan of Princeless but I wish there were a way I could get friends into the comic. Is there some way you could help out?
Jeremy: Absolutely! Right now we are getting ready to rerelease the original first issue of Princeless to comic stores. Better yet, we’re going to do it for $1. So, as long as your comic shop orders it, they can get a chance to try Princeless for only $1 and if they don’t have a comic shop, it’s exactly the same price on Comixology!
Nerdcenaries: Very nice!
Nerdcenaries: And for my friends who already read Princeless, is there anything new coming out soon?
Jeremy: Well, first they’ll be getting a nicely priced full size version of the first trade, which everyone has been asking for, but the relaunch is all leading up to the launch of the brand new third volume of Princeless, stating up in March!
Nerdcenaries: Hot dang! There have been a few anthology type spinoffs of Princeless like Tales of the Family Ashe, are those going to be collected?
Jeremy: Funny you should ask! The first collection of the first four issues of anthology stories will be in Previews next month!
Nerdcenaries: Oooh. Will the publishing order be the same as the comics or will the continuing stories that were split in issues be put in chronological order?
Jeremy: I think we’re just going to stick with when they were published. So, you’ll get to come back to stories intermittently during the collection.
Nerdcenaries: Cool. Is there anything you can tell us about volume 3 of Princeless?
Jeremy: Yes! Despite all the lovely foreshadowing we threw in at the end of volume 2, volume 3 is going to take us on a nice little diversion. It’s going to have quite a bit to do with our Free Comic Book Day book from this last year
Nerdcenaries: Oh?
Jeremy: Yep, I can’t say too much yet but we’re going to have some announcements to make in the next couple of months. I can tell you it’s going to be a lot of fun though. And our regularly scheduled rescuing will be picking up again in volume 4 right after volume 3 finishes up!
Nerdcenaries: Now you made Princeless with the intent to reach readers who might not normally read comics. Are there any current titles that do a similar job?
Jeremy: I think Captain Marvel is a book that does an excellent job in the mainstream. Locke and Key reaches a whole different audience from normal comics or Princeless. Saga, Stuff of Legend, Cleopatra in Spaaace, and there are a lot of great books that aren’t jumping immediately to mind.
Jeremy: I have to say, I also think Marvel Now has overall done a great job of reaching out to a variety of audiences and giving people a strong variety of books.
Nerdcenaries: Definitely. I’m looking forward to Mighty Avengers, despite Greg Land.
Jeremy: Me too! I’m really excited to see what happens with that book
Nerdcenaries: And they’d done a good job making female positive female focused titles.
Jeremy: yeah, they really have. Even if all of them haven’t been able to hang in there, I feel like Marvel really put their money where their mouth is this year.
Nerdcenaries: It is making moves that are still behind what there should have been but it is good that the comics are catching up. How important do you think social media is to this movement?
Jeremy: It’s pretty important. It really shows the numbers of people who are just unsatisfied with what they are getting and, when things are good, I think it’s great that people let creators know
Nerdcenaries: What do you think comic companies and stores can do now to build on this momentum and increase readers?
Jeremy: I think that something comic shops need to do that a lot are still missing is community outreach. They need book clubs and library partnerships and store events where people can find their comic shops and find the books that ARE there. That and retailers need to invest in supporting books that can help them build their audience and not just do everything to milk the limited audience they have
Nerdcenaries: Do you think that might be something that non-Big Two comics might need to do before the Big Two considers it as far as the community outreach?
Jeremy: well, the big two are much more concerned with the places where the big money is, like movies, animated series, and toys, sometimes it is up to the little guys to make that effort to connect with the libraries and communities
Nerdcenaries: Definitely. Well thanks for taking the time to do the interview Jeremy. Anything else you’d want to advertise?
Jeremy: well, folks can follow me on twitter @jrome58 on tumblr at princelesscomic.tumblr.com and I will be at SPX this weekend (last weekend), Asheville Comic Con next weekend, and Baltimore Book Festival the weekend after that!
