I think you are in the same place where we (yeah I was a shareholder back then) were when the first GSL launch date was given, November 2013.
Red Giant to Join in Free Comic Book Day Event With Diamond Comic Distributors
The Giant-Size line, scheduled to launch July 2014 as an on-going weekly event from Red Giant, which will produce 1 million free books every Wednesday, to help build traffic and readership for the industry. Red Giant not only benefits from the advertising revenue this venture generates, but also the awareness it builds for its properties and a stronger, healthier marketplace for the entire comics industry.
The opt-in/opt-out excuse is nonsense. It would have been something Benny would have needed to discuss several times. He would have needed to discuss it when Diamond first agreed to be his distributor and again at the Diamond Summit when he talked to store owners. There was certain lay no mention of a distribution opt-in/out problem when Benny released this PR:
I've always thought that selling 120+ ad-pages a month would be a problem. Now, I think there is the added problem of getting a profitable CPM rate. Benny waiting about a year to admit that the FCBD ads were sold at a "discount" makes me believe that whatever that rate was, it's the best Longo can do. REDG isn't DC or Marvel and they are not going to get a CPM rate anywhere near them. The delays are adding to that problem as it lowers advertisers confidence in Benny and REDG. Along with this is the higher cost of printing in North America. How much higher? I don't know. Campiti said, I think, it was about four times as much for his collected volumes.
I think the longer it takes Benny to ID the partner/s the less likely they are to exist. I don't see advertising partners turning down free advertising. If Benny had them signed up, I doubt they would have a problem with him naming them.
I've never refuted the potential of the GSL, nor will I now. I think it still has potential. I just doubt Benny will be the guy to get it done. As for launch dates, I think shareholder would think any day of the year is a great time to launch the GSL, just as long as it launches.
I doubt there will be any share price rise without added collaborating evidence that the GSL will actually launch in July. There wasn't a share price rise as April approached.
I would have to say the biggest difference I have noticed is increased skepticism of the things that Benny says. It seems to be the majority position on the board now and not just the fringe element.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.