What's an FOC?

An ask, and more about the comics industry than you really want to know.

What is “FOC”?

“FOC” stands for Final Order Cut-off. While it’s not exactly a “term of art” (since it’s mostly used within the comic book industry), it has a very specific meaning for comic book professionals. A book’s FOC date is the deadline by which retailers must submit their orders for that book to the distributor.

Why do I care?

Well, if the "I" in question is me—Kelly Sue—then I care because publishers use FOC numbers to set their print runs. The larger a print run, the cheaper the cost per copy. (That makes sense, right? We’re all familiar with bulk discounts—think Costco.) And the larger the print run, the easier it is for retailers to restock, because there’s more inventory on-hand with the distributor.

But! You don’t want to overprint. Storing unsold comics is expensive, even beyond the printing costs. Unsold comics eventually have to be destroyed (I know—ouch), which is both heartbreaking and costly. Plus, publishers need to recoup production and printing costs before a book is profitable, so the higher the print run, the higher the total print cost—even if the cost per copy is lower—and the higher the threshold for profitability.

Finding the right number for a print run—one that gets you into profit reasonably and ensures enough copies are available to meet demand—is really, really tricky. It’s part art, part craft, part math, and part witchcraft. There are a lot of variables to consider, but the most reliable indicator is the number of copies that have been essentially “pre-sold”—and that number comes from the FOC.

My new book with David López — FML — comes out on November 6th, but FOC is this Monday, September 30th, and for all the reasons laid out above I care a lot about that date.

Why should you care?

Honestly? You don’t have to. This isn’t your problem. But if you’re a comics reader, it’s a handy bit of knowledge, especially for understanding why you often see the biggest marketing push for a book about six weeks before it hits shelves.

If for no other reason, it explains why you’re getting this email today.

tl;dr

• I have a new creator-owned comic called FML coming out on November 6th.

• I really love this book and I want it to succeed. It’s success will in part be determined by the sell-through on the print run.

• The print run for the book will be set based on pre-orders, which are due on Monday.

• If you want to read the book and haven’t done so already, I’m asking you to let your comic book retailer know THIS WEEKEND that you’d like to order the book.

• Thank you.

Wait. What? Start over. What is FML?

Ah, okay. I feel like it’s the only thing I’ve been talking about now for months but if somehow, magically, you have avoided my nonsense up to now, the rest of this email is the catalog listing and a series of links to what is probably WAY more information than you want or need. But you guys, I love this book so much. I really think you’ll dig it.

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FML #1
UPC: 76156801301600111
Price: $4.99
On Sale Date: 11/06/2024
FOC Date: 09/30/2024
5 Variants

Comic Script: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrated: David López
Colorist: Cris Peter
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Riley is a teen that sketches out his heavy metal future with a ballpoint pen between monster movies and band practice. But musical stardom needs to compete with high school, the temper of a former Riot Grrrl mother, the morbid obsessions of a goth sister, and the eccentricities of bandmates that threaten to drive him and everyone around him insane.
 
The balance gets harder after a ritual during a party in Portland's Forest Park causes him to wake up one day to discover that the creatures, witchcraft, and metal world he's obsessed with may be a bit closer to home than he preferred. 

• A brand-new creator owned series from the team that brought you Captain Marvel!

• Features bonus material exclusive to the single issues only, such as essays on music, true crime, interviews, and more!

• Eight issue series.

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LINKS

• Here’s a comic strip that David López and I made about Pre-Ordering Comics.

• If you’re new to comics and want to try FML (or anything else, honestly), here’s a flowchart to help you find your way in.

• Here’s a link to David doing some fan art for our book on YouTube!

• Here’s a SEVEN PAGE PREVIEW so you can sample it.

• Here’s the FML website.

• Here’s our publisher’s page for Issue One.

• Here’s Penguin Random House’s cover reveals.

• Here’s an advance review of the first two issues from our friend Alasdair over at The Full Lid.

• Here’s a terrific write up from Brandon Schatz of Variant Edition Comics in Edmonton. (I was really touched by this one and we think it’s particularly good reading for comics retailers looking for how to pair FML with their clientele.):

  Things we can control (or) Today, I'm still alive.

• Here’s where you can listen to a conversation about FML and David López’s brilliance with David Harper of Off Panel and SKTCHD. (If you follow comics, Off Panel is pretty much required listening. There’s so many episodes that are worth your time, but let me highlight this interview with Caitlin Yarsky, whose book “Living Hell” comes out the same day as FML.)(Hint: that means her FOC is Monday too.)(While we’re here, let’s mention that Jamie McKelvie’s One For Sorrow is out on the same day as well.)

• Here’s when I went on Geek in the City to discuss the creative process behind FML and the challenge in balancing comedy with the difficult themes within modern America.

• Here a sit-down with our friends over at Talking Comics:

• Here’s the brilliantly-named Comics Coffee Metal podcast:

• Here’s something different—I went on The Murder Sheet, one of my favorite True Crime podcasts, to talk about FML.

• And here’s where I was fortunate enough to hang with the gang over at Ideas Don't Bleed to discuss FML, our comics origins, and more.
  Listen to Part One of the Interview
  Listen to Part Two of the Interview

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If you’ve read this newsletter before, you know I like to put a little something special at the bottom to say thank you for reading all the way through. Here’s a little hidden announcement: we’re setting up a Discord. It’s not fancy or anything — the paint’s still wet and the furniture probably needs to be rearranged — but if you’ve preordered FML we’d like to invite you to be the first to join us there. This is an honor system thing, but if you’ve talked to your shop about the book, go ahead and text “I preordered FML” to 503-738-1029 and we’ll send you the invite link. Thank you!!