The second printing of Identity Crisis #1 has sold out before it even hit the stores. Despite it being DC’s tentpole summer moneymaker, writer Brad Meltzer still seems to think of it as the little book that could:
“And thanks to the incredible support of retailers and readers who bought the first printing and were there from the start. They’re the only reason we’re here and the only reason people started talking about it!”
So the scorched-earth promotional campaign had nothing to do with it? The mystifying attention from The New York Times? The Associated Press piece that got picked up everywhere and subsequently treated like it was some outpouring of media attention instead of geek copy editors looking for mildly diverting page fill? The all-IC-all-the-time flurry of follow-up releases that DC keeps dumping on comic news outlets who will publish almost anything? Those had nothing to do with the book’s sales? It was all just plucky, visionary fans sitting around the comic shop, making sure it didn’t get lost in the shuffle?
No. It’s not Arrested Development. It’s not Street Angel. It’s not Saved. It’s not some quirky, indie hit that held on thanks to a discerning, activist audience. It’s The Day After Tomorrow. It’s American Idol. It’s The Da Vinci Code. It’s the big, dumb blockbuster.
Accept it. Embrace it. Because to do otherwise makes you look rather foolish.