Rob—

You wrote:

I'm pretty certain WE, the retailers, were the ones lacking commitment. Retailers (myself included) bitch and moan about the work we put into our stores—ordering, processing back issues, buying and inventorying collections, etc.—and at the same time criticize publishers/artists/writers for being lazy or uncommitted.

I write. And draw (a little).

I'm here to say it takes little effort to support a comic book title or company. You buy a few copies, talk it up, and maybe put a few copies on the point-of-purchase rack. "Ambitious" retailers can write it up in a newsletter or on their websites. But compared to the work (and love and sweat and heartache and energy and brain cells and . . .) a self-published writer and or artist puts in, no contest.

NO CONTEST, Rob.

We let YOU down. PEACE PARTY had as much potential as ANY small-press book out there, and more going for it than most of the "mainstream" comics. What you lacked was corporate support and the trappings associated with being published by one of the "Big Three" (or "Four," if you count Dark Horse). In color, with full-page ads in WIZARD and PREVIEWS, and a marketing machine barreling downhill with no brakes—you'd've done alright.

Oh, and a half-nekkid Indian maiden with big bazooms on the cover would've helped.

But then it wouldn't be PEACE PARTY, would it?

Steve Bates, Manager, Bookery Fantasy
www.bookeryfantasy.com