FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SEPTEMBER 20, 1998

JAY AND SILENT BOB #2, scheduled to ship back in August, has been fraught with problems leading to it being delayed. Oni Press regrets the situation and wishes to extend an apology to its fans and supporters, along with an assurance that they are doing everything possible to get the issue out and the rest of the series back on track.

Initial problems began when writer Kevin Smith’s latest film production, DOGMA, not only took longer to shoot than planned, but also required a large amount of post-production work due to its elaborate story and special effects. As a result, the script was late going to the artist.

Due to this delay, a scheduling conflict forced artist Duncan Fegredo to finish a previously begun story for another publisher. When he was finally ready to start the issue, he contracted a virus that slowed him down even more.

“This may all sound like excuse making,” commented Oni publisher and editor-in-chief Bob Schreck, “but that is not our intention. This is really one of those situations where circumstances got beyond our control. Oni has always been committed to delivering its product in a timely fashion, and up until now, we have done well. Our biggest concern at this point is getting the book into the hands of the retailers and fans without the quality of the material suffering. Once we are over this hump, the last two issuesshould follow every six weeks.”

“This is unfortunate for everybody,” added publisher Joe Nozemack. “We are working double-time to get this issue together. If all goes as planned, JAY & SILENT BOB #2 will finally hit the racks in mid-October.”

JAY & SILENT BOB #2 is the second installment of a four-issue miniseries. Each issue contains 32 pages of black-and-white story and art intended for a mature audience. The cover for #2 is illustrated by Mike Allred (MADMAN, RED ROCKET 7) and colored by Laura Allred (MONKEYMAN & O’BRIEN).

MARVEL KNIGHTS, a group of MARVEL Comics put together by EVENT’s Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, launches this week with the phenomenal relaunch of DAREDEVIL. Written by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), and featuring art by Quesada and Palmiotti, it has horn-head Matt Murdock at rock bottom, finding himself left in charge of an immaculate infant, and includes a mention of GOOD WILL HUNTING, sure to excite mega DAREDEVIL fan Matt Damon. David Mack (Kabuki) picks up where Smith leaves off with issue #7 of DAREDEVIL, with a story involving the Kingpin.

Clerks: The Comic Book Sells 40,000 Copies; Goes into 3rd Printing

Having sold through a 30,000 copy first printing and a 10,000 copy second printing, totaling 40,000 copies sold out, Clerks: The Comic Book is now going into a 10,000 copy third printing. “The second printing of Clerks: The Comic Book is now sold out from us,” stated Joe Nozemack, Oni Press publisher. “In order to prevent a lag time in availability to the retailer, and thus the public, we are going into a third printing now,” Nozemack added.

Bob Schreck, Oni Press publisher commented, “We want this story, in fact, all our stories, available. We continue to show our commitment to doing so, with the second printing of Oni Double Feature #1, and the second, and now third, printings of Clerks: The Comic Book.”

Marketing director, Shannon T. Stewart stressed, “Clerks is available right now from your distributor. It is sold out from us, and in order to meet upcoming demand, we have committed to another printing now. What this means to the distributors, retailers, and ultimately, consumers, is that in a few weeks, when the second printings have sold through, third printings will already be available. This way, no one will have to back order our comics. They are, and, for the foreseeable future, will always be readily available, in one printing, or another.”

In response to the third printing and Oni’s commitment to keeping their books in print, Marty Hyder, comics department manager for Criminal Records in Atlanta, Georgia, had this to say, “Great! We sold through our 100 copy initial order in only a few weeks and Clerks continues to sell on a daily basis. As long as you keep it in print, and I keep it in stock, I don’t have to worry about lost sales. The phenomenal thing about this book is that new customers, people from outside the [traditional] comics buying public, are picking it up. I have high hopes for Jay & Silent Bob [the upcoming limited series].”

Like all books that Oni Press goes back to print on, the Clerks: The Comic Book third printing will feature a color change to the cover art. “Oni’s practice of altering the covers with each printing of a comic is great. It helps collectors differentiate between printings at a glance, and doesn’t discourage casual readers in the least,” said Debbie Fagnant, manager of Excaliber Books and Comics in Portland, Oregon “Its a nice little perk,” she added. In addition to the cover color changes, all printings of Oni comics contain printing information in the indicias inside the comic.

Clerks: The Comic Book is available to retail accounts through Diamond Comic Distributors, FM International Distribution and Cold Cut in the U.S. and Red Route in the U.K., and to the public in finer comic shops across the globe.

GREEN ARROW FUTURE PLANS – The current GREEN ARROW title winds down this summer. In the final One Million issue, scheduled for September, Chuck Dixon and Frank Teran present a story of a future society and Green Arrow. The next to last issue, #137, features art by the three primary pencillers of Connor Hawke: Dougie Braithwraite (Robin Riggs, inks), Rodolfo Damaggio (Robert Campanella, inks), and Will Rosado (Klaus Jansen, inks). This issue will wrap up the ongoing plotlines (although Connor also appears in the One Million issue) and provide teasers for the upcoming new series and a cool last-page revelation you won’t want to miss. Connor fans, have no fear: this definitely isn’t the last time we’ll see the character. Editor Darren Vincenzo assures us, “As long as I’m editing Green Arrow, Connor Hawke will be a part of the legacy.” After a brief hiatus, GREEN ARROW will return with a new #1 written by film director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy).

“But What I Really Want To Do Is…”
By Kevin Smith
This is a story about how I single-handedly saved the comics medium.
I’m kidding. I just want to use this space to gush about how slobberingly grateful I am to finally be an active part of this medium (which I’ve always considered myself — though now said active participation constitutes more than just buying comics.)
But before I do that, let me provide the legions of you who don’t know who the hell I am with an inkling of why the good folks at Previews have asked me to write the Parting Shot this month.
I made a down-and-dirty little flick called Clerks that was financed on credit cards, won some awards at credible film festivals, got picked up by Miramax, and went on to make some cash in theaters. I followed it up with a flick called Mallrats — a red-headed-stepchild of a film that critics didn’t like and audiences didn’t turn out to see (until it went to video). After that, I made a flick called Chasing Amy which had a lot of critics saying nice things about me again, and did some great business for a film of its size (if you haven’t seen it yet, it hits video stores Nov. 25).
But what I’m largely known for around these parts is my passion and “defender-of-the-faith” mentality for comic books, which has shown up in most of my stuff.
‘Rats’ was a flick that featured both a guy putting his comics into bags and boards, and dialogue that obessed over superhero anatomy. I even threw in Stan Lee for good measure.
‘Amy’ was steeped in the world of comics, the main characters were pencilers/inkers, the film’s opening and closing scenes were set at ComicCons, and Mike Allred, Joe Quesoda, and Jimmy Palmotti got screen time.
I did a highly-publicized tour-of-duty on Warner Bros. newest franchise hopeful, Superman Lives.
And is that’s not enough, for the last year, I’ve been the proud owner and operator of my own comic book store in Red Bank, New Jersey — Jay And Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
But you wanna know something? It’s a little hard to boast when all anyone does is MOAN AND GROAN ABOUT THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY!
I’m serious, man. For the last five years, everytime you go to a Con, read the Journal (Comics, not Wall Street … although sometimes even the Wall Street) or open the Comic’s Buyer’s Guide (or rather — being that every third article is about Scrooge McDuck — The Carl Banks Guide), all people whine about is how there’s nothing new or fresh happening in the medium. And the retailers, in turn, give it back to the publishers, with their never-ending montra “GIVE US SOMETHING TO SELL!”
Well folks — it’s out there. This medium’s more vital than ever, in terms of creative quality. Granted, maybe you’re not seeing the sales figures we all saw back inthe late ’80’s and early ’90’s, but let’s be honest — the USA Today-educated spectaculars weren’t going to last forever (and frankly, I’d rather deal with folks who are enjoying their comics — not simply trading in ‘mutant’ futures).
There’s plenty of great stuff out there — stuff that can and does attract new audiences, as well as the old war-horses. Look at the creative golden-age we’re in the midst of now : Wagner doing more Mage; Morrison and Porter single-handedly reviving the tights-opera with their powerhouse JLA; Pete Boggs keeps showing us love by giving us Hate; Miller’s giving us primo gritty in every Sin City; Busiek has birthed his own instantly-reconizable-yet-distinctively-original universe in Astro City; Larsen keeps it real (real good) every month in Savage Dragon; Garth’s got a three-way going with Dillon and McCrea, from which both the brilliant Preacher and Hitman spring monthly…
All that talent and more, and still some folks find somethig to complain about.
My advice? If you don’t like the menu — or think you could do with more chicken — get in the kitchen and cook it yourself (and here comes ‘da plug!)…
Like Oni Press is doing.
I’s estatic — ESTATIC — to be doing comics with these cats — industry gurus who opted to not complain about the ‘lack of…’ and instead decided to provide it. Armed with eons of experience in the trenches of the comic book biz and many, many big fans in the way of some of the most respected talents in the medium, Bob Shreck and his partner Joe Nozemack created Oni Press — a company dedicated to shutting everyone up at once by giving the fans something to gets their heads around, and the retailers something to sell.
From the initial Oni offering of Miller and Bisley’s Bad Boy, to the Oni Double Feature, to the Clerks, these guys are putting some new stuff onto shelves, that nicely compliment the plethora of quality books that are out there already. Oni didn’t just throw its hat into the ring — it threw out its shirt, pants, and underwear too (don’t worry, they still kept their socks on).
And since it’s my column this month, I’ll use it to give further shouts to my peeps at Oni for making me just about wet my pants when they called me and asked “How’d you like to do some comics?” That’s what you call vision (in a world where most fumble around Magoo-style) — because other cats turned me down when I went to them.
Buy Clerks and all the other Oni stuff in bulk, folks — because I come armed with a crew of fans who are all looking to read about what Jay and Silent Bob and Dante and Randal do between flicks. But order them not only because they’ll sell like the White Album; but mainly because it’s the quality stuff you’ve been demanding for the last few years. And that’s coming from a guy who’s not only a creator — but also a fan and a retailer.
Which means if my stuff doesn’t perform, I’ll be chiding myself for the crappy quality of the books I write.

Sources tell ZEN that EVENT Comics’ Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti are in final talks to package several books for MARVEL, a la HEROES REBORN, except these titles will take place in MARVEL continuity, and have the blessings of the MARVEL editors. As part of the arrangement, filmmaker/comic-fan Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy) is rumored to take over as writer of DAREDEVIL.