|
|
Need Driving Directions to the Isotope? Click here!
The Isotope Communique
Daily news and updates by Proprietor James Sime & the Isotope Staff
Subscribe to the site feed.James Sime's Mobile Twitter Feed - click here for more
Sunday, July 17, 2005
...You read the color supplements, the TV Guide...
Obviously, this is Graeme. Who else would quote Blur? Sean and Nora are all about their Obie Trice and KRS-ONEs. Me, I'm the throwback to Britpop. Anyway, am I the only one sad to see that neither Sean nor Nora attempted an entry post-party to tell everyone how it went? Or, at least, mention how tired they were? There's still time for that - and pictures, hopefully - later on today, of course. But for now, it's time to take you, dear reader, behind the music...
"Events" are part of the whole Isotope thing. Who hasn't heard of the Ed Brubaker Armwrestlethon, or the Ex Machina Voter Registration Drive/Election Night Party? Or, for that matter, this week's Jim Lee signing? So, one of the first things that Sean, Nora and I thought about when we were first offered the keys to the store was that we had to have some kind of event. But that presented its own problems: For one thing, the Isotope regulars were fairly likely to be in San Diego at the Comicon. For another, we could hardly hope to outdo what James has made one of his many reputations doing. And, for a third, whatever event we came up with had to bring in people who wouldn't normally come to a comic store.
The Great Experiment, as last night ended up being called, came from the idea that we shouldn't treat the Isotope as a comic store for a night. Instead, we wanted to push up the "lounge" part of "The Comic Book Lounge" name, bringing in a DJ, showcasing all the original artwork on the walls (on both paper and toilet seats) that's already been bringing in random people walking past, and kind of offering up the comics as a sneaky almost-afterthought. The idea was to introduce new people to Isotope as a venue instead of a store, and then - hopefully - be there for them to come back afterwards and wonder what this whole comic thing was all about. We invited some people we thought might be friendly to the whole enterprise but might not know about Isotope, or what comics could offer them: Kevin Gill, the DJ for the whole shebang, works in the gaming industry, and so brought some of his colleagues. Students from the local Academy of Art were flyered and invited. Stores we liked - like Amoeba - were postered.
Did it work? It seemed to, short-term. Longterm, that's something for James to find out; if things go to plan, people who'll have gone to the store for the first time last night should be introducing themselves to him, and the rest of the regular staff, over the next few weeks and months...
Above: The Great Experiment poster in situ. And, look. Is that posters for Wednesday's Jim Lee event beside it? Yes. Yes, it is.
|
|
