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You guys know I am a longtime comic book collector and fan. You know that the Coronavirus / COVID-19 situation has changed the comic book industry literally overnight.
I’ll try and break down the story, at least how I perceive and understand it.
It started with some states shutting down “non-essential businesses”, which comic book stores fell under this category. That’s fine, some comic shops started offering curb-side pickups and mail order.
A few days after the shutdown, Diamond Comics, the country’s only comic book distributor, announced that they’re no longer shipping comics. Comics affected were meant to arrive April 1st and onward. They indicated that they don’t know how long they’re going to do this.
Diamond is a monopoly, so the entire comic publishers couldn’t turn to anyone else.
It’s interesting how we got here in the first place. It used to be that there was no direct market. You used to buy your comics on the newsstand. Comics were meant to be disposables, like newspaper, you read it and you throw it out. By 1983, Diamond Comics started distributing comics to book stores, that also specialized in carrying comic books.
Diamond wasn’t the only game in town, there was also Capital City, Heroes World Distribution, and Bud Plant, all competing in the same comic book space. Marvel Comics bought out Heroes World, Diamond bought out Bud Plant, and eventually buying out Capital, as well. Marvel’s Heroes World endeavor failed, and by 1997, Diamond emerged as the only distributor in the comic book market.
I used to work at a comic book store, back in the heyday, and the comic book store owner hated having to order comics from three distributors. For example, some indie titles were only available on Capital, while Marvel Comics had to be ordered through Heroes World. The owner hated having to deal with three companies, but it was good for business… as companies were bending backward trying to offer better deals (free shipping or other perks) than their competitors.
With only Diamond remaining as the sole distributor, they can change their pricing, they can change their terms, and, taking advantage of the Coronavirus pandemic, decided it wasn’t going to ship any new comics.
For stores that are still opened, there are no new products for them to sell. For comic book publishers, like DC and Marvel, they can’t ship their books to the store. It’s a bad situation for everyone involved, all because Diamond stopped working.
DC Comics decided to break their exclusive contract with Diamond and quickly reached an agreement with Discount Comic Book Service and Midtown Comics to distribute DC’s books. One would hand the East Coast, while the other would handle the West Coast. DC also rushed to get their Walmart 100-Page new original content to the digital market, calling the effect “Digital First” books. DC was moving fast, trying new things to see what works.
Anyway, when Diamond saw that DC was going ahead without them, they quickly announced that they were resuming service late May 2020. I personally did not think Diamond would resume shipping if DC hadn’t gone this new shipping route without Diamond. I also think that Diamond saw the backlash how Diamond stopped the comic industry and decided to go on an apology tour with owner Steve Geppi going on various interviews, trying to defend their decision to stop shipping comics.
There are some positive changes, in my opinion, out of all this. DC Comics using alternative shipping companies, DC comics are now available on Tuesday (instead of Wednesday), and they’ve also eliminated the artificial 6-day comic store exclusive release of their books.
If the comic industry wants to survive in the future, it must break out of the direct market. I’m not saying get rid of the direct market, but the industry has got to get comics in gas stations, grocery, general stores, etc. Maybe even print it on newsprint paper, making it cheap and affordable. I remember when comics were going on to $1.50 (for Baxter Format), and Eclipse Comics were trying to get new readers by offering their comics at an affordable $0.50 (for New Wave), and I bought them to try them out.
I’ll try and break down the story, at least how I perceive and understand it.
It started with some states shutting down “non-essential businesses”, which comic book stores fell under this category. That’s fine, some comic shops started offering curb-side pickups and mail order.
A few days after the shutdown, Diamond Comics, the country’s only comic book distributor, announced that they’re no longer shipping comics. Comics affected were meant to arrive April 1st and onward. They indicated that they don’t know how long they’re going to do this.
Diamond is a monopoly, so the entire comic publishers couldn’t turn to anyone else.
It’s interesting how we got here in the first place. It used to be that there was no direct market. You used to buy your comics on the newsstand. Comics were meant to be disposables, like newspaper, you read it and you throw it out. By 1983, Diamond Comics started distributing comics to book stores, that also specialized in carrying comic books.
Diamond wasn’t the only game in town, there was also Capital City, Heroes World Distribution, and Bud Plant, all competing in the same comic book space. Marvel Comics bought out Heroes World, Diamond bought out Bud Plant, and eventually buying out Capital, as well. Marvel’s Heroes World endeavor failed, and by 1997, Diamond emerged as the only distributor in the comic book market.
I used to work at a comic book store, back in the heyday, and the comic book store owner hated having to order comics from three distributors. For example, some indie titles were only available on Capital, while Marvel Comics had to be ordered through Heroes World. The owner hated having to deal with three companies, but it was good for business… as companies were bending backward trying to offer better deals (free shipping or other perks) than their competitors.
With only Diamond remaining as the sole distributor, they can change their pricing, they can change their terms, and, taking advantage of the Coronavirus pandemic, decided it wasn’t going to ship any new comics.
For stores that are still opened, there are no new products for them to sell. For comic book publishers, like DC and Marvel, they can’t ship their books to the store. It’s a bad situation for everyone involved, all because Diamond stopped working.
DC Comics decided to break their exclusive contract with Diamond and quickly reached an agreement with Discount Comic Book Service and Midtown Comics to distribute DC’s books. One would hand the East Coast, while the other would handle the West Coast. DC also rushed to get their Walmart 100-Page new original content to the digital market, calling the effect “Digital First” books. DC was moving fast, trying new things to see what works.
Anyway, when Diamond saw that DC was going ahead without them, they quickly announced that they were resuming service late May 2020. I personally did not think Diamond would resume shipping if DC hadn’t gone this new shipping route without Diamond. I also think that Diamond saw the backlash how Diamond stopped the comic industry and decided to go on an apology tour with owner Steve Geppi going on various interviews, trying to defend their decision to stop shipping comics.
There are some positive changes, in my opinion, out of all this. DC Comics using alternative shipping companies, DC comics are now available on Tuesday (instead of Wednesday), and they’ve also eliminated the artificial 6-day comic store exclusive release of their books.
If the comic industry wants to survive in the future, it must break out of the direct market. I’m not saying get rid of the direct market, but the industry has got to get comics in gas stations, grocery, general stores, etc. Maybe even print it on newsprint paper, making it cheap and affordable. I remember when comics were going on to $1.50 (for Baxter Format), and Eclipse Comics were trying to get new readers by offering their comics at an affordable $0.50 (for New Wave), and I bought them to try them out.
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