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I hope for his sake he wasn't making a joke.

I may actually buy it, at that.
If he's so convinced that it's good...

Andreyko made a similar offer regarding Manhunter. And AFAIA he NEVER had to refund a single purchase price during his entire series. When is Manhunter returning?

I don't think he was expecting this to end up so prominently. Heh heh.

I don’t think he was expecting this to end up so prominently. Heh heh.

Oh, I didn't get that impression. If so, oops, sorry, Keith!

It struck me as though he is just really proud of the project, and was wishing to show HOW behind it he is.

Andreyko made a similar offer regarding Manhunter. And AFAIA he NEVER had to refund a single purchase price during his entire series. When is Manhunter returning?

I think Geoff Johns takes the cake with offering a buy back deal on Sleeper #1, a book he had nothing to do with.

So if I buy 500 copies and dislike all of them, he will double my money?

Somehow, I doubt it.

So if I buy 500 copies and dislike all of them, he will double my money?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Yeah, what an asshole Keith Champagne is.

I met Keithe at a convention a few weeks ago. He's pretty damn confident about Arena and from what I've seen and talked to him about, he has every right to be. I'll be purchasing a copy. ^^

Gah, I'm typoing all over the internet today. I meant Keith.

Hey, I'm going to buy it, and I'm pretty darned sure that I'll enjoy it. His three-parter in Green Lantern Corps was fantastic.

And...he's just so darned cute.

When you say, "please take him up on it," you're just encouraging people to buy the book, right? Or are we conspiring to bankrupt Keith Champagne via the power of the blogosphere?

An interesting idea but there are probably some dickish/clever people out there who will buy it, like it, but send it back to him and then buy it again. That way they make a profit of $3 (or whatever the price is).

Scott McDaniel's drawing it... I love it already. I'd love 'The Phone Book' as written by Bruce Jones & Chuck Austen if he drew it....

Is it fair if I buy it, expecting not to like it? I promise to be honest about my opinion of it, and I will totally admit it if I like it.

I guess that's kinda the whole point of the offer, Dan. There wouldn't be much point trying to convince people who already thought they were going to like it to buy it.

When you say, “please take him up on it,” you’re just encouraging people to buy the book, right? Or are we conspiring to bankrupt Keith Champagne via the power of the blogosphere?

Oh yeah, I totally admire the move by Champagne, so I wanted more folks to hear about it.

Although, he's clearly an asshole, because he probably wouldn't pay me double if I purchased 500 copies and returned them to him.

Unfortunately, I am way too much of an asshole to buy back 500 copies from one wiseacre--based on the principle that he's more clever than me for thinking of that. But I stand behind my offer so long as it's not deliberately abused.

Keep an open mind, don't judge something before you read it. I don't think Arena is going to reinvent the entire form of comics but it's so much more than fan wankery. I liked the challenge of finding ways to incorporate the fan vote and I feel it's the best writing work I've done in comics to date.

Of course, I also think that if you read World War III when the trade comes out next week (shameless plug), separated from the hype surrounding the initial release, more people might find something of merit in there.

So what do I know?

Keith, should I buy everything that's printed? How far must we extend open-mindedness... If we can't use discretion and make educated guesses about what we may enjoy should we just turn over our bank accounts to Marvel and DC and let them send us whatever they want?

I respect that you stand by your work, but I grow tired of people telling me not to judge a work until I've experienced it...

With all the entertainment out there, I don't have time to try something just on a promise it is "good" or "You'll like it". I have to do my research and make an educated guess on whether its worth risking my time and money to enjoy a specific work.

In fact, there is so much good stuff I like, I actually have to prioritize and make sure I'm enjoying the best possible stuff I can.

I guess that’s kinda the whole point of the offer, Dan. There wouldn’t be much point trying to convince people who already thought they were going to like it to buy it.

I just want to make sure I don't get one of those "well, you wouldn't have liked it anyway" responses if I want to return it.

Of course, I also think that if you read World War III when the trade comes out next week (shameless plug), separated from the hype surrounding the initial release, more people might find something of merit in there.

Tell ya what, Keith, I'll even re-read the WWIII issues on their own and do a bit on them next week.

I'm not sure why I'm catching grief when I point out the inherent flaws in a "double your money back" offer.

At no point did I say that Keith was an asshole. Nor did I imply it. All I did was point out the offer had a major problem that needed to be addressed. Which, it seems, Keith is openly acknowledging.

When offers like this are made, you can make the exact same point by saying: I will give you your money back (not double your money, which then creates a profit incentive), and limit of one per customer. You protect yourself, while still providing a guarantee to the potential consumer.

So, I've been broke and away from the comic shop for weeks now. I missed this one. Did anybody try it out?

It hasn't come out yet, Dan. I'm not sure when it's supposed to be out.

[...] As noted awhile back, Keith Champagne thinks that everyone should give Countdown: Arena a shot, and if they did not like it, he’d buy the book back from them. So I think it only fair to give Arena its own review here. [...]

[...] At Comics Should Be Good, they point out the following writer’s guarantee: Keith Champagne came by the blog a couple of weeks ago to make the following offer - if you buy his upcoming comic, Countdown: Arena #1, and do not enjoy it - he will purchase the comic back from you at double the cover price. His contact info is keith.o.graphics@snet.net. [...]