While Magna remains the fastest-growing category among graphic novels, a few publishers and chains are trying innovative ways to promote worthy titles from further off the beaten path.
One such book is Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh, published by Oni Press of Portland, Ore. A kind of goth Harry Potter, Courtney is a darkly ironic little girl (much like the Winona Ryder character in Beetlejuice) who must overcome the challenges of fitting into a new school, an uncle who happens to be a warlock and all sorts of supernatural menaces.
Waldenbooks' graphic novel buyer Kurt Hassler took a liking to the book, which already had a dedicated cult following. (It's also sold in Hot Topic stores.) Together with Oni publisher Joe Nozemack and consultant Dallas Middaugh (now running Del Rey Manga), Hassler came up with a unique program to promote the book over the summer months, taking advantage of the Harry Potter juggernaut.
"Kurt thought the book had good potential and wanted to see it repackaged into a digest size with a simpler cover," explains Nozemack. The book was placed in Walden and Borders in a three-month exclusive. It was also racked at Walden checkouts for two weeks at the end of June. In addition to the checkout display, Middaugh and Hassler also gave the book a special display in the general graphic novel section after the checkout program was over, and Borders placed it in the New Books section in August.
As a result, the title outsold all of Oni's other books (about 9,000 copies). Middaugh had expected sales to start big and level off, but instead the opposite happened: "We've seen a gradual increase over time."
A sequel, Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics, has just been released. Nozemack is maintaining the digest size for the series and expects sales for the second book to pick up where the first one left off, thanks to the appealing character and strong story line.
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