Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Darin Henry, diamond, HRL, Sitcomics

Darin Henry's Sitcomics Wants to Disrupt Comics Industry With Sell-Through Distribution, Binge Books

Published Thu, 28 Dec 2017 11:20:28 -0600

Sitcomics, the comic book publishing startup from veteran TV writer Darin Henry that has described itself as "TV you read," is hoping to shake the comic book industry to its foundations, leaving behind a distribution model that will never be the same again! No, we're not talking about a super-mega-crossover event or a #1 issue reboot. Instead, Sitcomics hopes to shake up comics by changing the way they're sold in the Diamond monopoly system: instead of basing sales strategies on how many non-returnable comics retailers can be cajoled into buying, Sitcomics wants to sell comics to readers through a new system they're calling "Sell-Through Distribution."

Sitcomics laid out the plan in a buzzword-laden press release:

Look alive, comic book fans! There's still one more gift tucked under your trees. Introducing "Sell-Through Distribution," a new national comic book distribution system from Santa Monica-based publishing startup SitcomicsTM that will ring in the new year by putting the buying power back in the hands of readers. "The last few years have seen a seismic shift towards binge entertainment," says SitcomicsTM publisher and TV sitcom writer Darin Henry. "Audiences now expect their entertainment to be complete, immediate, affordable and very, very good. Sell-Through Distribution is a 21st century approach that gives comic book readers across the United States the accessibility and format that's perfectly suited for this new Binge Age."

Sell-Through Distribution will usher in The Binge Age of Comics on Wednesday January 3rd when over 100 comic shops in all 50 states, including Comix Experience in San Francisco, Mile High Comics in Denver, Fat Jack's Comicrypt in Philadelphia and all eleven locations of Graham Crackers Comics, begin handing out free copies of The 2018 Binge BookTM Catalog to their pull list subscribers. The glossy, 8-page catalog contains complete solicitations for Sitcomics' 2018 wave of Binge BooksTM, the all-new, exclusive comic book format that gives readers a complete, 64-page, full-color, story arc for only $3.99. Customers have until January 25th to place orders at participating shops, but instead of the usual three-month gap between solicitations and release date, Sell-Through Distribution allows readers to pick up their brand-new Sitcomics less than a week later, on Wednesday January 31st, 2018!

In addition to lofty goals for comics distribution, Sitcomics also prides itself on a method of producing comics that actually provide a complete story for a reasonable price, as opposed to 1/5 or 1/6 of a story that must be purchased in $5 increments over the course of several months. Sitcomics calls this format a "Binge Book."

The press release goes into more detail:

The creation of Sell-Through Distribution was inspired by Sitcomics' unique 64-page Binge BookTM format which guarantees readers three times the usual amount of story and art for only $3.99. "Comics aren't necessities. They're entertainment and people now have infinite choices for how to spend their limited time and money," explains Henry, whose TV credits include writing for Seinfeld and Futurama as well as executive producing the hit Disney sitcom KC Undercover. "Comic book publishers' outdated approach of charging four dollars for an unsatisfying chunk of a story is no longer viable when that same amount of money can buy two weeks of online streaming. My new Binge BookTM format gives every reader, new and old, a satisfying, self-contained entertainment experience."

Of course, the most important question is: will the books be good?

The press release encourages readers to ask their retailers to stock the 2018 Binge Book Catalog from Sitcomics by emailing the publisher at editor@sitcomics.net so that they can take part in Sell-Through Distribution. The press release says that its complete solicitations will reveal the creative teams and plot summaries of the books on Tuesday, January 2nd. However, a six-page catalog can currently be viewed on their website:

And here's a list of comic shops taking part:

ALABAMA
CAPITOL CITY COMICS
ALASKA
THE COMIC SHOP
ARIZONA
JESSE JAMES COMICS
ARKANSAS
KAPOW! COMICS
CALIFORNIA
COMIX EXPERIENCE
COMICS CONSPIRACY
THE COMIC BUG
HI DE HO/GEOFFREY'S COMICS
YESTERYEAR COMICS
THE PERKY NERD
EMERALD KNIGHTS
HOUSE OF SECRETS
AVALON COMICS AND GAMES
KIMZAR KOLLECTABLES
P DOT'S COMICS & COLLECTIBLES
LEGACY COMICS
PULP FICTION
PAPER HEROS COMICS
HEROES COMICS (FRESNO)
4 COLOR FANTASIES
COMICS FACTORY
COLORADO
MILE HIGH COMICS
CONNECTICUT
THE COMIC CAVE
DELAWARE
CAPTAIN BLUE HEN COMICS
FLORIDA
FAMOUS FACES & FUNNIES
GEORGIA
DR. NO'S COMICS
HAWAII
OTHER REALMS
IDAHO
CAPTAIN COMICS
ILLINOIS
GRAHAM CRACKERS COMICS
ALTER EGO COMICS
INDIANA
COMIC QUEST
IOWA
RODMAN COMICS
KANSAS
PRAIRIE DOG COMICS
KENTUCKY
COMIC WORLD
LOUISIANA
BSI COMICS
MAINE
COAST CITY COMICS
MARYLAND
CARDS, COMICS & COLLECTIBLES
MASSACHUSETTS
THE HALL OF COMICS
MICHIGAN
GREEN BRAIN COMICS
MINNESOTA
ISSUES NEEDED COMICS
MISSISSIPPI
SOUTHERN FRIED COMICS
MISSOURI
ALL AMERICAN COLLECTIBLES
MONTANA
MUSE COMICS
NEBRASKA
THE DRAGON'S LAIR
NEVADA
ALTERNATE REALITY
NEW HAMPSHIRE
DOUBLE MIDNIGHT
NEW JERSEY
DEWEY'S COMIC CITY
FAT JACK'S COMICRYPT
FUNNYBOOKS
NEW MEXICO
ZIA COMICS
NEW YORK
QUEEN CITY BOOKSTORE
NORTH CAROLINA
SSALEFISH COMICS
HEROES AREN'T HARD TO FIND
NORTH DAKOTA
PARADOX COMICS
OHIO
LAUGHING OGRE COMICS
OKLAHOMA
IMPULSE CREATIONS
OREGON
ASTONISHING ADVENTURES
PENNSYLVANIA
FAT JACK'S COMICRYPT
COMICS AND PAPERBACKS PLUS
THE COMIC STORE
COMIC STORE WEST
COMIX CONNECTION
PITTSBURGH COMICS
COMIC WORLD
RHODE ISLAND
RAH-COCO'S
SOUTH CAROLINA
BORDERLANDS COMICS
SOUTH DAKOTA
RAINBOW COMICS
TENNESSEE
THE GOLDEN AGE, 1942
TEXAS
GEEK OUT
UTAH
BLACK CAT COMICS
VERMONT
KILLER RABBIT COMICS
VIRGINIA
VELOCITY COMICS
WASHINGTON
I LIKE COMICS
WEST VIRGINIA
COMIC WORLD
WISCONSIN
GRAHAM CRACKERS COMICS
KOWABUNGA COMICS
WYOMING
DUGOUT COLLECTIBLES
CANADA
HOURGLASS COMICS