Off Panel #195: Once and Future with Filip Sablik

By David Harper

March 11, 2019

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, BOOM! Studios’ President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik joins the show to discuss the world of BOOM! and his recent speech at ComicsPRO’s annual meeting. Sablik discusses his time at Diamond Comic Distributors, his role at BOOM!, the value of licensed books, what’s dictating their move towards younger readers and women, where they are seeing growth, their bold plan for Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora’s Once and Future, why they did it, what makes it stand out, staying in favor with multiple markets, servicing different audiences, marketing comics, the greatness of Giant Days, and more, before we close with another pick for Big Clutch’s Beast of the Week.

You can find Sablik on Twitter.

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Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Impact Theory Comics. Impact Theory Comics is a new, independent publisher, and they’re releasing their first comic…Neon Future. Neon Future is a collaboration with world famous DJ/Producer Steve Aoki, and it’s written by the Eisner award winning writer of Justice, Jim Krueger, with artists Neil Edwards of Fantastic Four fame and Jheremy Raapack delivering the visuals and building the world. Want a first look at the book and Neil and Jheremy’s art? Give Impact Theory a follow on Instagram at @ITcomics.

Thanks to my patrons, including – but not limited to – Wesley Gift, Shawn Kirkham, Harry Small, Alister Ross, Julio Anta, Greg Peterson, Gus, Andrew Scott, Brett A. Schmidt, Jason Goodmanson, Johan Barrander, Paul Reinwand, Connor Farner, Vita Ayala, Jay D’Ici and Matt G. Gagnon, Aditya Bidikar, Tara Ferguson, Dave Slusher, Ciaran Marcantonio, WMQ Comics, Akylle, Greg Lockard, Kokaachi, Phil White, Ben Becker, Shaun Pinello, Kent Heidelman, Phillip Sevy, Al Ewing, Ryan Alcock, Nick Michelin, David Kelley, Robert Wilson IV, Nick Poleto, Eoin McCready, Brenden Fletcher, Gary Moloney, Matthew Groom, Jason Nassi, Adam Bogert, Xavier Files, Maria Schweitzer, Matthew Taylor, Tyler Turner, Nick Pitarra, Jacob Sareli, Ford Gilmore, David Baroldy, Evan Blasor, Brian McCray, Ira James Udaskin, Modern Magic Stories, Nick Hall, Bruno Batista, Bobby Angus, Bjorn Basen, John Hendrick, Steve Anderson, Phil Knall, Ian Maxfield, Cliff Chiang, Benjamin Schipper, Colin McMahon, Chris Palmer, Maxwell Schmidt, Scott McGovern, Nathan Fairbairn, Cat McKenzie, Lou Iovino, Nicholas Keslake, Greg Rucka, Adam Highfill, Nicholas Gardner, Andrew Corrigan, Fiona Staples, Chris Morris, Chris O’Hollaran, Mark Abnett, Mike Murphy, Michael Shirley, Tom Barnett, Jim Demonakos, Norbert, Nick Lowe, James Kaplan, and Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco. You’re all the best.

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Header image is from the cover of Once and Future #1, art by Dan Mora. Intro music is Vulfpeck’s Outro from their album Vollmilch. Thanks to the band for letting me use the track.

Notable Replies

actualtotoro says:

March 12, 2019

I’m a huge fan of what they’re doing with Once and Future, though as Filip points out, it’s a book that would likely have been successful regardless.

That for me raises a question/concern: Top 25 seems to me to be a pretty high bar. This book may clear it, but it doesn’t seem to me that it’d be very hard for the next book, or the one after, to be good but not immense enough a hit to meet the criterion.

At which point, is this really a proof-of-concept for the industry? Or just one for big hits from massively popular creative teams? If this program “fails” two or three books in, does this initiative become a mere footnote in the history books?
SKTCHD says:

March 12, 2019

You know, the one question I didn’t ask was this: what if it lands at #26? Is it so iron clad that it wouldn’t extend if it doesn’t surpass expectations?

And honestly, while I can’t speak for Filip, my take isn’t that they look at this as a forever cascading idea, with it instead being something that if it works, maybe it starts becoming more of an every day thing rather than a conditional thing. But it’s entirely possible it will fizzle out. Industries the world over are filled to the brim with bold failures that do become footnotes, as you put it. That said, those moves that could easily become bold failures are sometimes the types of things that become huge moments in the history of comics - the creation of the direct market, the founding of Image, Scholastic opening Graphix, Image publishing Chew (my real patient zero for the creator-owned boom over the past ten years), etc. - so maybe it doesn’t work, but maybe it does!

It’s a big swing that might not work for everyone (maybe a more apt comparison is the Panel Syndicate method), but if it does work, it could be a driver for actual, sustainable good publisher behavior, you know? I respect big swings, especially one like this where a publisher is taking on substantial risk for once. I’m with you on being a fan. But it’s a big move that will really show if it has an impact one, two or five years from now.

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