I know publishing is full of buy-more ploys, and that it's not just LKH. It just sickens me how she's using comics as her new little toy, because comics get very little respect as is; they don't need those craptastic "posters" dragging them down further into the mud.
1) For the hardcover trade which collects GP 1-6, there's an exclusive story. Or, as Marvel crows, "As a special treat, Anita Blake fans will also discover an original side story featuring Anita and Dolph written especially for the hardcover edition by Laurell K. Hamilton."
Oh, goodie! It's not just a treat; it's a special treat. And we get to discover it! Is this like looking for easter eggs? Or is it going to be yet another round of Find the Plot, which we always seem to lose, since it's a rigged contest and there's no plot to find.
But then there's the whole "if you want the WHOLE Anita story, you have to buy this and this and this…." angle. Like I said, I know it's not exclusive to LKH, but it's still a pain in the ass-especially when you know it'll just be published in another LKH anthology in 2 years or so.
2) For the Strange Candy trade paperback, "This collection also includes a new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story.
I don't own the HC of Strange Candy, so I don't know if it has this "new story", but if it doesn't, that's pretty low. Hardcovers are damned expensive these days, and if any readers deserve perks, it's the readers that are willing to shell out the money for a brand-new hardcover.
And then there was an ad for The Harlequin (which they initially typoed as The Harlequinn) amusingly categorized under "Horror". Riiiiight. The only scary thing about LKH's books these days (aside from the fact that they're still getting published) is the quality of the writing.
And completely unrelated, but I felt the need to share. Many of us have commented on how LKH seems to talk about her child as a burden. Compare to
Neil Gaiman, who would quite possibly be the coolest dad ever (except I have a litcrush on him, and crushing on your dad is just… not good):
"You know dad," said Holly, who has turned up for the day to make sure I'm alive and get hugged. "Your hair is doing some really interesting things today." By which she means it looks like it's getting ready to escape from my head and go hunting for weasels.