Chris Butcher is Cynical Orange

[doronjosama]

This is a must-read for anyone interested in the continuing health of the North American comics industry.

That's not hyperbole. I'm seeing this stuff from both sides, as both a comics publisher and a comics retailer, and Chris nails it. This is what has been going on. How much stuff are we missing at the shop I work at, the shop that is considered to have the best selection in our city? Never mind the things that have been hit with a Code 28, what things weren't even listed that we might have normally carried?

I end up doing a lot of searches for people looking for things at work. And it's always upsetting to find things that have been out for six or eight or ten months that Diamond Distribution apparently just didn't even bother to list. (Ouran High School Host Club Season 1 Part 2 DVD set? REALLY?!)

I admit, my taste is not the average comic reader's. I don't read superheroes aside from cursory pass-throughs on my lunch breaks to keep up with stuff for work. I read a lot of obscure indie stuff and a lot of manga and manhwa that categorically Do Not Sell in our store (I special order). But I do know if I find something that I think is awesome and amazing, I CAN HAND-SELL THAT. I am damn good at hand-selling. It's what I've done since I first started working in a comic store when I was 19. (jameshanrahan and I hand-sold literally dozens of copies of The Death of Speedy and dozens of copies of a brand new comic called Bone, back in the day.)

I can't hand-sell stuff when we can't even get it in the store because we didn't even know it existed. This is where the Direct Market is going to fail us as retailers, and where it is going to fail us as consumers.

It's kind of already failing me as a publisher, so it shouldn't be too unexpected, really.

Comments

[badjahsensei.livejournal.com]

The article alludes to it: induced competition. Retailers seek out other distributors for their wares--ones who are happy to provide the service Diamond won't.

If they're smart, Marvel and DC will break exclusivity with Diamond (and since both are now corporate--Disney and WB--their lawyers ought to be bigger and better than Diamond's) and start selling to these smaller distributors. It won't be like the old days, with Diamond and Capital keeping each other in check, and smaller regional distributors there to step up when one or both blew it.

I don't think we're going to see the death of the pulp any time soon. It's nice, alarmist, and makes for good drama on the discussion boards, but nostalgia alone will keep that medium going for a while now...

[doronjosama.livejournal.com]

We're seeing a LOT of long-term, dedicated comics readers dropping titles left and right from Marvel and DC lately. They're fed up with year-long crossover events and the $3.99 price point is really making people take a long hard look at what they buy. If a guy has a $20 a week budget for comics, and all the comics he wants to buy are $3.99, he's going to drop down to the few series he's the most interested in. The days of the Marvel Zombie or the DC fanatic are going the way of the do-do, as those hardest of hardcore guys who will put aside any and all other life expenses in favor of buying every title on the stands are getting older and older.

And, why pay $3.99 each for six issues of a comic when you can wait and buy the trade paperback for $14.99? We're seeing a lot of that going on.

I can't say what Diamond's biggest motive is, but if they could ONLY carry trade paperbacks and graphic novels, I think they would. They've pretty much said as much to small press publishers- basically, do trades, or don't bother us with your products. They absolutely are not interested in small press floppy pamphlet comics from anyone except Marvel, DC, IDW, Image, BOOM! or Dark Horse. It's all about money.