1. I do not run a comics news blog.
2. I am not obligated to run any press releases.
3. To be frank, I’m probably not your target audience.

I work in marketing. I get it. You want to reach out to people who you believe are evangelists and trendsetters. Honestly, I’m neither and there are tons of websites that get more traffic than me and have a broader spectrum in their postings that “Whatever shit hoves into Kevin’s view that he likes enough to type the bare minimum number of words about.” Forces Of Geek and Alert Nerd are two more-than-passable places that have a strong personal voice and are always looking for new content they think their readers would like, and those were just off the top of my head. I’m sure their sidebars will reveal many, many better targets for your campaign than my personal website.

(And as a slightly-rancorous aside, don’t call me out when I don’t cover your work, especially when it’s obvious that you’ve not looked at my site in years and seem to have missed out on the fact that I’d much rather tell people about my own comics than talk about someone else’s.)

His response?  To inform me that I’d obviously “had my share of donuts” before, then lifting up his shirt to expose his stomach and chest to me and Ming, whom I was sharing a table with.  I was baffled at his actions and had other people at the table, so I let Larry walk off and continue his deliveries.  After Ming and I had dinner, I came home and made a comment about the incident on twitter.  What follows are my tweets from tonight, along with his comments back, which I’ve put in red for your convenience.

So, @larryscomics insulted me then showed me and @mingdoyle his bare chest and stomach. That was something.
about 8 hours ago from web

(I refused a Drake’s snack cake; he said “C’mon, you’ve had your share of donuts before!” and then said “ME TOO!” and flashed us.)
about 8 hours ago from web

(Yes, @larryscomics, I am fat. You’re a shithead. I win.)
about 8 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin Hey Kevin. Your not much of a “personality” in person BUT your a powerhouse at home on the Internet. Hope you had fun today
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

@BeaucoupKevin typical. At the show Kevin was a gentleman. At home he has nasty musings to share. Wanted that Twinkie didn’t ya big boy??
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

Really, @LarrysComics? You interrupt me and insult me when I’m checking my messages and I’m supposed to be a personality for you?
about 6 hours ago from web

And, @LarrysComics? Maybe I reserve my personality for people who don’t represent every worst aspect of comics-fan-as-retailer.
about 6 hours ago from web

.@LarrysComics Larry, I was polite because there were other people there. Unlike you, I have consideration for third parties.
about 6 hours ago from web

And yeah, @larryscomics, I’m a “big boy.” At least people weren’t asking which table was mine so they could avoid it.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin I think you were pissed because like most shows I attend I was surrounded by family and friends including the promoters
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

@BeaucoupKevin your from new England chump. You know damn well how my shop ranks, and what it stands for. Ask YOUR retailer what they think
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin.

.@LarrysComics Really. You really do have the most remarkable powers of self-delusion. If you were doing so well, why’d you leave at 3:30?
about 6 hours ago from web

.@LarrysComics I’m not going to use other people as a reference point. I simply said what you did and how you acted. You insulted me.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin sold my stock to Patrick Jamal. Then went to Arlington and bought a warehouse. Confirm THAT with any of the 3 promoters
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

@BeaucoupKevin Kevin is pissed because I was handing out snacks to small press like I have done for 20 years!? I AM a douchebag
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics Good for your business. You still insulted me and then flashed me and the woman I shared a table with.
about 6 hours ago from web

I don’t know why @LarrysComics keeps thinking I need to ask my friends how well his business was doing at the show.
about 6 hours ago from web

I don’t know why @LarrysComics thinks I care about how well his business is performing. His business has nothing to do with his actions. about 6 hours ago from web

If .@LarrysComics thinks I’m pissed because he was handing out free food and NOT because of how he acted when I refused, boy, I don’t know.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin Kevin. YOU commented on my early departure. I told you WHY. You know damn well you were not offedded by me offering you food
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics Wait, you just said this: http://is.gd/5loDX and then you said I wasn’t insulted by that? What?
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin your just playing up the fact that you met fucking cretin Larry ,bane of the comic book industry.
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

Seriously, @LarrysComics, best of luck with your business. I’ll just be sure to make sure that people know how you acted.
about 6 hours ago from web

No, @LarrysComics, I didn’t MEET you. You walked up, offered food, I refused, you insulted, flashed your chest and stomach, and left.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin I held a box of drakes cakes. You politely pointed to your fat gut to decline. I lifted my shirt showing my gut. All laughed.
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics You’re not telling the truth, Larry. I did not point at my stomach. I shook my head and went back to my messages.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin best of luck with your artwork. I’ll be shure to let people know how you acted
about 6 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics Be sure to tell people that I refused a snack cake. Go on and do that.
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin whatever Kevin. You are simply making something out if nothing to draw attention to yourself. Everyone had fun today but you
about 5 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

“Whatever?” You know @LarrysComics, I had a great time today except for our interaction, and I didn’t have to insult anyone!
about 6 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin look in the mirror Kevin. Do you think anyone on the planet will think YOU turned down a fucking Twinkie? That’s a stretch
about 5 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics Again with saying that I’m fat. Yes, Larry. We know. I turned down a snack cake from you because I don’t like them or you.
about 5 hours ago from web

@BeaucoupKevin I thought you seemed like a nice guy in person Kevin. Kinda a nasty fellow on the Internet though aintcha??
about 5 hours ago from Echofon in reply to BeaucoupKevin

.@LarrysComics You insult me repeatedly when I say what happened and I’M nasty? OK.
about 5 hours ago from web

Some comments:

• I’m a big guy.  I’m fat.  I know that.  People that have met me know this.  It’s something everyone’s accepted.
• I am a guy who writes things, not an artist.  Some people have paid me to write things.  A significant portion of my day job concerns writing things.
• I was ruder than I should have been with the “shithead” comment.  Poor form, but honestly, the way he acted was beyond rude for someone whom I’d never met before.
• Larry’s Twitter feed shows how he acted to other people when called on his behavior.  Yes, many of them were less-than-polite, following my bad example.

Why make this post?  Well, I think it’s a way to show people who might do business with Larry’s Comics, (whether it be at a comics show or when visiting their business at 66 Lakeview Avenue in Lowell, MA) how he treated someone who refused to eat a fifty-cent snack cake.  You can also do the same with my own behavior and decide you don’t want to read any of the comics I write.

Edited To Add:

Someone sent me screenshots (albeit tiny-ish ones) of Larry’s half of the conversation, just in case it gets deleted.

“Adam Hughes can sure draw a nice pair of chesticles, fun bags, dirty pillows, Power Girl #2 will sellout by the end of the day!”
10:13 AM Jun 17th from web

“I wish I could put a piece of tape on Action Comics Annual #12′s offensive $4.99 cover price. What overpriced trash”
10:14 AM Jun 17th from web

#haveyouever bought a comic with stunning artwork even though you knew the story was ass??
4:50 PM Jun 16th from web

So, I’m reading Robot 6 this morning and the above ad catches my eye. Alongside The Boys and Project Superpowers, Dynamite Entertainment publishes a fair amount of licensed work and material based on established IP, stuff like Battlestar Galactica and the new Sherlock Holmes comic. One of the works it doesn’t have the license to, however, is Star Trek, which is currently being handled by IDW, and as I’ve discussed before, you shouldn’t advertise what’s not yours.

So why does this ad feature Jim Kirk and Spock with a big Dynamite Entertainment logo? Because Dynamic Forces is running a collector’s show featuring Star Trek on QVC a week in the past¹.

The relationship between Dynamite Entertainment (who makes comic books) and its parent company Dynamic Forces (offering collectible comic books and tchochkes) is fairly well known, but this is just plain confusing to the audience. I clicked on the ad because I wondered if Dynamite had gotten a license to NuTrek while IDW kept the older material, similar to way that Malibu and DC each published DS9 and TNG comics in the 90s, not because I was interested in getting a Vulcan Science Academy Spork² set, autographed by Zachary Quinto. This is just an embarrassing, sloppy mistake that shouldn’t have gotten as far as it did. While I’ve got no doubt that the companies share marketing resources, this should have been caught immediately, not by a third party when it was on a major blog a week after the fact.

¹ With time travel being essential to the plot of the new Star Trek movie, I’m going to assume this was intentional.

²The Spork is the most logical of eating utensils and its name honors Surak, so stop making that face.

Do you think that in some meeting at Heroes World, there was a manager that insisted that some kid, somewhere would be all Hank Venture over this ad? “Holy moses, you guys! It’s Logan’s Run numbers 1, 5, and 6? In the same package as Howard The Duck #3 and Red Sonja #5? This is an awesome deal, even without Ms Marvel #1! Let’s go get our nickels together!” ?

(As much as I hate to admit it, this is a pretty clever thing Ian Brill, Chip Mosher and the gang came up with. I’m not the sort of person who goes for ARGs (as I spend most of my gaming time in Liberty City, enjoying the fine murder simulator that is Grand Theft Auto 4, but I know there’s a whole audience that eats this sort of thing up. Hell, if Nine Inch Nails can get a bunch of fans to dedicate themselves to cryptography and geocaching, then comic book readers are an easy-as-hell mark.)