Last saturday was free comic book day...

I asked a few friends if they would join me in barnstorming 3 comic stores for signings and sketching...

Mr. JC Vaughn, Vincent Spencer and Yvel Guichet accompanied me to 3 long island stores..They signed their latest books, sketched and talked comics with fans...

a few nights before FCBD I contacted Jason from ATLAS and Dino from VALIANT ( read VALIANT forums for that story)...

I explained what I was doing and if there were any items they could donate to make this a special day for fans...

Jason contacted me and asked if I would meet him at ATLAS Central !!!! WOW!!!

Jason was such a gracious host... He invited me inside into ATLAS Heaven...( I have been around ATLAS comics and the Goodman's since I was a young boy..more on that story some day)

He started off by donating Grim Ghost statues..both regular and retailer versions...yes..there are 2 different versions...posters galore...and books...I had to say "STOP, this is way to generous a donation!" but he threw in more books anyway...

The stores received each version of the statue, posters and books...the store owners were very impressed with the statues!...before we left each store, the posters and most of the books were gone...

at the second store, Comic Book Depot..the owner Allan holds a fundraiser "Kaylee's Heart" for his daughter Kaylee every year ...I gave him an extra statue to use for the fundraiser..

Allan was overwhelmed at just how supportive ATLAS (and VALIANT) were to help out on this day...

the customers were grabbing up the books and posters...


A Big Thanks to Jason and ATLAS...

cant wait till the next issues come out!!

videos will follow soon...

All of you deserve a huge round of applause!! Well done !



--Phil

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And remember: if it's amazing, astonishing, adventurous - it's ATLAS

Bazinga!

That's vintage Jason Goodman, and for all of you critics and naysayers who are members of this board and elsewhere, I can tell you first hand that this man is working his proverbial a** off to give us the best that comics have to offer. The delays are not his fault, but rather those of the creators he chose to work with initially. Atlas Unified and the wrap up of the initial story arcs will no doubt give him a chance to catch his breath, and make more sound and positive judgements going forward. He's new to all of this business of comic books so please give him a well deserved and much needed break. He at least is owed that and he has delivered as far as quality and effort to date in my humble opinion.

George E Warner

Looks like I'll need my hip boots on to wade through that post superggraphics. Maybe we should all get out our American flagg and start singing the Star Spangled Banner or the Ode to Jason Goodman. I don't know what Jason does exactly as I was under the impression that Brendan Deneen ran things for the most part but I don't believe for a second that all the problems are due to the creative teams. I know for a fact that Atlas Unified #2 has been done for at least 3 months and probably much longer but it still hasn't hit the stands. That's not the creative teams fault that's BAD management. As far as working his a** off then why doesn't he update the !@*$ web-site? How busy can the man be that he can't put out a few sentences letting people know the company is still ticking or what the hell is going on? Now, here is what I will give you; First, I don't blame Jason for the delays because I simply don't know for sure what is going on (and that is the heart of the problem). But if it's not Jason then its probably Brendan Deneen who's screwing up. Second, I agree with you that the books that have come out are quality as I've enjoyed both the writing and art (well maybe not on Grim Ghost but the others for sure). If things remain as they are then Atlas is going to die. You simply can not maintain a company and not produce anything. No product equals no revenue. None of the 4 current titles have even made the top 300 in sales with the exception of the #1 issues. There are too many comic companies and too many titles being produced to not be maintaining your fan base. Too many non-Atlas die hards are dropping these books due to lack of interest and fustration. Look, I'm not abandoning Atlas or Jason Goodman as I'm sure his heart is in this as he's trying to recreate his family's comic book legacy and he probably has a lot of love for it. I'm just upset because it looks like his dream is becoming an ash heep.

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Pull List: Transformers & Green Lantern.

Here's a Facebook comment from Brendan Deneen:



So it seems to apply in this case, I just don't know if it does for all four books. The wording makes it seem as though it only applies to AU but either way, they're not in my hands.

Atlas may be a victim of false expectations in a way. Because of their history, their launch got more attention than any other indy company would have but at the end of the day, that's what they are.

That said, they've been around going on two years now, right? While we might expect SOME tardiness (it happens to larger companies) you'd like to see some improvement at some point. It doesn't seem to change.

Once Atlas Unified is complete and new titles are announced (and I'm still not convinced we may see anything after Atlas Unified) I would be shocked if we didn't see multiple issues of a title in the can before anything is announced. I don't think they could survive another round of what just occurred. The books need to be issued on a timely basis (what I'm sure everyone wants) so they can build a solid audience. In my opinion, the books that have been issued to date have been of very high quality. But they have lost reader's along the way.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for Jason and I want this to succeed in the worst way. But major changes are required. The website needs to be looked at. There are a lot of missing and incorrect images. It looks like a site that was abandoned years ago. Yes.... I would be glad to help out.

It would be a big plus for Jason and or Brendan to step up here let us know exactly what is going on. The silence is damning.

All that being said, It doesn't belittle in any way Jason's contributions on FCBD and his overall generosity. I really hope things turn around for the best. He's deserving of it.

--Phil

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And remember: if it's amazing, astonishing, adventurous - it's ATLAS

Bazinga!

No criticism of the release rate should be seen as an attack on Jason's character. I think we're all agreed on that part of it.

Probably a big part of the frustration is caused by the perception that some of these problems could be easily solved.

I follow a company up here that creates movie clips and comics based on super-heroes that they created. Really, their output is not much better; they probably average a book every three months.

But they are active on Twitter, Facebook, conventions and yes, their own website! They don't promise a monthly book, they just put something out when it's ready to go. But because they're active in other ways, no one wonders whether they're still around when the production line goes dry for a while. Deneen at least makes the occasional comment, so that's good, but it's almost always as a result of someone asking for an update.

Spending all day on Twitter won't solve Jason's problems, but a few interactive minutes from time to time could go a long way.

I agree with that completely. Fans can learn to change their expectations if they are informed as to what is going on. Phil has even volunteered to help out with the web-site if Goodman & Deneen are too busy, and Phil has been keeping the Atlas flame alive long before talk of Atlas' rebirth.

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Pull List: Transformers & Green Lantern.

It's hard for me to keep the Google+ page alive when I don't have any information to update it with. As someone who works in digital marketing, I know how critical constant communication is with your customer base. Just letting us know you're still alive is all we ask.

And there's another option I mentioned earlier. Make your books available digitally now. I don't know how a company gets on comixology or graphicly, but it doesn't seem like such an exclusive club.

Do it and announce it. Give people who couldn't get the book in stores and/or are not willing to pay shipping another option by which to sample your product.

DC has their #1 issues of the New 52 going for $1 a piece. Picked up a bunch for $7. May not seem like much but it's $7 they weren't getting otherwise.