I’m not sure what this will ultimately mean for the Comic Book industry, but short term things will look pretty bleak as far as getting our hands on physical copies of comics. This is being reported across most news sites and one such article is linked & quoted below.
"Diamond is the comic book direct market’s largest distributor, responsible for shipping books from publishers such as Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite, BOOM! Studios and much more. However, because it’s no longer receiving new shipments, only the product it currently has on-hand can be distributed to retailers.
Coronavirus has already taken a massive toll on the comic book industry. Most notably, this year’s annual Free Comic Book Day event, typically held the first Saturday of May, has been postponed until summertime. Meanwhile, publishers such as Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Marvel and Dynamite Entertainment have been doing their part to assist retailers by offering steep discounts on products and providing full returnability in some cases.
Diamond also attempted to ease the pressure on retailers by allowing stores to put their accounts on hold. “If you are in an area where your store will be closing or significantly impacted, you may contact Retailer Services and request that your account be placed on hold until you’re ready to begin receiving product again,” Diamond said in a statement. “You can also request a different delivery address, should that be necessary at some point.”
At the time of this writing, it’s unclear what this means for digital releases."
Thankfully we have our DC library to call on in the meantime.
Does anyone have any idea which months books have made their way to Diamond at this point? I mean, are we talking this week, next week, or sometime in April?
Thank you for this update (with article) @DarkKnightinWhiteSatin! I have been eager to pick up physical copies of comics in the past few months and look forward to darkening the doorstep of our local shop as soon as we’re safely able. My hope is that many others feel the same and can bring back business to these amazing retailers in the near future!
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to the industry on the other side of this thing. I think the longer we go the more likely we’ll see changes, maybe significant ones.
A restructure of the comic industry may be just what we need. That may just give the industry new life and a better chance at future profits.
This is definitely going to be rough. Comic stores aren’t generally huge money makers anyway, so a complete pause is really going to hurt. Hopefully, all these small business loans the federal government has discussed will help some stay above water.
Diamond catalogue has announced all books scheduled to ship after April 1st will not be fulfilled due to concerns about COVID-19. How do you think this will affect DC Comics?
I know as it stands it’s unlikely the two largest comic shops in my hometown will reopen. I know one operated on a very, very tight budget. The other wasn’t making its owners wealthy.
The comic shop in my town is asking customers to pick up or get delivered what’s available this week because every little bit helps and they don’t know if they’ll be viable after this.
I think what’s going to have to happen is the big two publishers (Dc and Marvel) will have to pause the whole release schedule and push every release date back a month or two. If comic book stores are closed down we can’t get them. I’m worried about not being able to get comic books and missing things and when I can get them again I would have missed 3-4 issues of everything.
I read comics digitally here but I have been reading printed comics since I was 5-6. There is just a certain feeling going into a store and then reading the comics you bought each week. I guess I would but I definitely wouldn’t pay as much per comic if it was all digital. If there wasn’t a choice I’m not gonna give up comic books but it just wouldn’t be the same. It’s like a newspaper vs your news app.
I certainly understand the sentimental value (the comic shops that I grew up with have long since closed, much to my chagrin), but I think we have to recognize that more and more people are waiting for the trades, and more and more authors are writing for the trades. On top of that, bookstores in general are going extinct (again, much to my chagrin), let alone specialty or niche bookstores.
Additionally, the cost of single issues has just become impractical. The price might be more manageable if the floppies would go back to four-color newsprint (saving the high quality for trades), but I’m still not sure if it would bring down the production cost enough to sell them for $1.85 apiece (roughly the equivalent of the ten cent price of the Golden Age).
Regardless, as much as I dislike the idea of these places going out of business, it probably is time to recognize that the direct market just doesn’t work anymore. That said, this would be a really bad time for the owners and employees to lose their jobs simply because there’s already an uptick in unemployment thanks to the pandemic.
I’m okay reading digitally sometimes, but I’m a comic collector. Maybe it’s my age? I need a physical copy. I’m reading The Maxx while I’m at home this week. Just an issue or two a day. I have digital copies on ComiXology, but I’m reading the individual physical copies from my collection.
My collection bailed me out several years ago when I suddenly had to move cross country. I’ve always taken really great care of my stuff. I fell on hard times and was able to earn several thousand dollars selling extra copies of issues that I had. Like those floppies!
(Thankful common issues are worth a lot. Shout out at Amazing Spider-Man 300 and New Mutants 98!)
I am fine with digital but nothing can replace the experience of going to your local comic book store or the feeling of the paper and the colorful art in your hands as you read them.
I still give business to comic stores, just not in the form of purchasing comics. I go to buy the action figures, statues, tees, etc… I moved on from physical comics long ago. Now I do purchase a few choice Omnibus or Hardcovers from time-to-time…
