"North Wind" #1 on sale now and available for free at MySpace Comic Books

Yesterday, CBR News reported on publisher BOOM! Studios bold move of offering each issue of the five issue series "North Wind" for purchase in comic shops and for free online via MySpace Comic Books. The marketing experiment angered some retailers, feeling that offering a product for free at the same time as its retail release would necessarily eat into potential sales. It appears their fears may have been for naught.

This morning, CBR News has learned that "North Wind" has completely sold out at Diamond Comics Distributors, with a second printing being considered by BOOM! Studios, even with the first issue still available online for free. It seems the increased awareness brought about by offering the comic online for free has driven greater interest in the title, leading to the sell out at the publisher level. BOOM! notes that copies may still be available at the retail level.

A press release to go out Friday afternoon announcing the sell-out is listed below.

Official Press ReleaseNORTH WIND #1 SELLS OUT IN 10 DAYS

Historic Simultaneous Release Online at Myspace Comic Books and in Retail Stores Leads to Dramatically Increased Sales



Copies Still Available at Comic Shops Nationwide as Boom! Studios Evaluates Second Printing

LOS ANGELES- January 11th, 2008 - BOOM! Studios announced today that NORTH WIND #1 is completely sold out. Having been launched as part of a historic simultaneous release online and in retail stores, NORTH WIND #1 saw dramatically increased sales across the board.

While publisher BOOM! Studios and distributor Diamond Comics are completely sold out, NORTH WIND #1 may still be found at direct market retailers.

"If you want a copy, I would suggest running, not walking, but running to your local comic shop," said Chip Mosher, Director of Marketing and Sales at BOOM! Studios. "This promotion with MySpace Comic Books has helped us sell through all of our copies of NORTH WIND #1 and has brought new customers into comic stores across the nation. I couldn't have been happier when Diamond called to tell us that we sold out."

Retailers across the country have had tremendous success with this promotion. In Los Angeles, venerable direct market retailer Meltdown, received fifteen copies of NORTH WIND #1 on the day of release. Only five copies were left as of this writing.

"I only wish more companies had the inspired media moxy and sales savvy as displayed by BOOM! -- whether it's their online promotions that pull and create new readers or their simple but very effective shelftalkers. In this day of dinosaur brick & mortar stores, BOOM! is always finding new ways to help us sell, sell, sell. Kudos to you BOOM! We at Meltdown, Inc. look forward to working with all your titles to BOOST! our bottom line. Please continue to keep it innovative and keep sending us new and receptive costumers to sell all types of comics to!" Gaston Dominguez-Letelier proprietor of Meltdown, Inc. said.

"This sell out was driven by demand and dramatically increased re-orders through Diamond. We aggressively went after the comic and non-comic reading audience for this book, and they showed up in droves. BOOM! Studios offered retailers a 3% incentive for re-orders, which led to comic shops that hadn't ordered NORTH WIND #1 to take a chance on it the day it was released. Everything just came together to make this promotion a success," said Ross Richie, Publisher and Co-Founder of BOOM! Studios.

BOOM! Studios is working closely with Diamond Comics Distributor and evaluating the demand for a second printing.

"We are looking at the unfilled re-orders carefully at the moment. But a second printing looks like it may just happen," said Mosher.

NORTH WIND,written by David DiGilio, best known for writing the film EIGHT BELOW and creating the ABC TV show TRAVELER, is a five issue mini-series set in a future Los Angeles after a new ice age has covered the earth. NORTH WIND chronicles the rise of a new hero in a dystopian world where people burn books for fuel, and Skinrunners trade valuable pelts for rations and warmth. The first issue features a cover by Andrew Huerta with interior artwork by newcomer and soon to be fan-favorite, Alex Cal.

MySpace, the world's most popular social network, and BOOM! Studios, a leader in comic book and graphic novel publishing, announced a partnership January 3rd to provide the MySpace Comic Book community with free digital downloads of BOOM! Studios' highly anticipated new comic book series, NORTH WIND. Throughout the five-issue mini-series, MySpace users will be able to download all the issue of NORTH WIND for free exclusively on the MySpace Comic Books profile (http://myspace.com/comicbooks) the day each issue hits store shelves.

About BOOM! Studios



Winner of Wizard Magazine's "Best New Publisher," BOOM! Studios (http://www.boom-studios.com) is a unique new publishing house specializing in high-profile projects from some of the industry's biggest talents. Founded by the creator of the TV show EUREKA, Andrew Cosby, and his partner Ross Richie, BOOM! Studios continues to be on the leading edge of comic and graphic novel publishing.

BOOM! Studios co-founder Andrew Cosby's television series, EUREKA, recently finished its second season at the Sci-Fi Channel, having launched to impressive ratings this past summer and consistently winning several key demographics on basic cable. EUREKA is the highest-rated series in the Sci-Fi Channel's history.