Free Comics Boost the Luck of O'Reilly
By Shawn Conner
Big-booted and bare-chested, Kade made his first
appearance in San Diego last year and reappears at Free
Comic Book Day.
Last summer, Sean O'Reilly took what he calls "the
biggest gamble of my life". The Coquitlam schoolteacher had
just paid to print up 1,000 copies of Kade, his first
comic book, and had driven to San Diego for what has become
one of the largest comics conventions in the world. He had
rented a booth for the gathering's five-day duration at a
cost of US$2,000. There was just one problem: he had nothing
to sell.
"So there I was, at this convention to sell comic books,
at this empty booth, with nothing but a banner saying Kade,"
recalls O'Reilly over a juice at a Commercial Drive
establishment. "I was terrified and feeling like an idiot,
wondering 'What did I just do?' "
Fortunately, an hour before the end of the con's kickoff
event, the boxes of Kade #1 arrived. And a year
later, O'Reilly is an industry success story. His company,
Arcana Studio (www.arcanastudio.com/), currently
publishes three bimonthly titles, with each averaging print
runs of five to six thousand copies. (In comparison, a
popular title from second-tier publisher Image might sell
about 9,000.) More importantly, Arcana has been asked to
participate in the third annual Free Comic Book Day this
Saturday (July 3).
Timed this year to tie in with the theatrical release of
Spider-Man 2, the promotional event involves
publishers and comic-book stores giving away specially
produced titles from over two dozen publishers. (For a list
of participating publishers and stores, visit
www.freecomicbookday.com/.) The big two, DC and Marvel,
provide the bait with hot properties such as Teen Titans
and Spider-Man, respectively. Medium-sized
companies such as Archie, Image (Spawn), and Dark
Horse (Hellboy) benefit by increasing awareness of
their product. But the event is truly a boon for
less-established houses like Avatar, Jetpack, ONI, Slave
Labor, and, of course, Arcana.
"This is the best ad I'll ever buy," says O'Reilly.
"You're putting the books in people's hands. And honestly,
we've worked harder on this than anything else."
For Free Comic Book Day, O'Reilly has printed up a
special anthology that showcases Arcana's three main
characters. Kade is a milk-white warrior with long black
hair who roams a medieval world hacking up demons, monsters,
and evil sorcerers in a search for answers to his past.
Ezra, a spinoff character from the first issue of Kade,
is basically a female version of Kade, but with more
mercenary leanings and the fashion sense of an aerobics
instructor. Ant, the only story not written by
O'Reilly, is about a little girl who imagines she's the
insectoid superheroine of the title.
These three characters, all of whom have their own
titles, are just the beginning, says O'Reilly. In August,
Arcana will begin publishing two new books, 100 Girls
and Starkweather. O'Reilly sees trade-paperback
collections in the company's future, and hopes to license
characters to video-game companies and film producers.
Any such deals would provide a financial buffer, since
comics-publishing remains an uncertain business: on the day
of our interview, CrossGen Entertainment, one of the top 10
best-selling comics publishers, filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection. So O'Reilly keeps his eye on the
bottom line while writing the adventures of his heroes and
maintaining his day job teaching Grade 8 math, science, and
French. And he's married, with a child due soon. "I'm
telling my wife, 'Just wait 'til after Free Comic Book Day,'
" says the 29-year-old, who's scheduled to sign copies of
Kade and Ezra at three stores--including
Elfsar Collection (1007 Hamilton Street)--on Saturday.
But even if his comics dream "blows up in my face", as he
puts it, O'Reilly will always have a moment from last year's
San Diego Comic-Con International. The books had finally
arrived and he was talking to other fans when his booth was
paid a visit by no less a legend than Stan Lee, creator of
Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and numerous
others. "He was very funny, very easygoing," O'Reilly says.
"He grabbed one of our books and asked if he could sign it."
Of course O'Reilly said yes, and the signed cover--which
reads "This looks great, Stan Lee"--hangs in the Arcana
studio, proof that his publishing dream has been worth the
risk.
Free Comic Book Day happens around the Lower Mainland
on Saturday (May 7th).
Book Choice of the Week
Publish Date: April 28, 2005
Next Saturday (May 7) is Free
Comic Book Day, and not a moment too
soon. God knows we need help to get
us over the excrescence that is
Sin City and to whet our
appetites for Fantastic Four
and Batman Begins, both
on-screen this summer. Anyway, back
to comics. Twelve full-colour books
will be let loose across North
America, to the tune of more than
two million free copies, for one day
only. As well as Batman, Spider-Man,
the Simpsons, and Star Wars, keep
your eyes peeled for Coquitlam's
Arcana Studio Presents #2 (featuring
recurring characters Kade,
Starkweather, 100 Girls, and Ezra).
Arcana's Sean O'Reilly and Todd
Demong will be giving away free
comics and stickers and doing free
sketches at Virgin Megastore (788
Burrard Street) from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. and at Elfsar Collection (1007
Hamilton Street) from 3 p.m. to 4:30
p.m. For more details, visit
www.freecomicbookday.com/.
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