Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic distro, Comics

Comic Distro Launches As New Comic Printer/Distributor

Before this last year, who knows how this would have gone down? But with DC Comics and Scout Comics moving to Lunar for the comic book shop direct market, Marvel moving to Penguin Random House and everyone else looking at their distribution contracts, the future of comic book distribution is very much up in the air. So let's have a big welcome to the party for Comic Distro.

Operating from San Jose, California, Comic Distro is providing a new distribution service to comic book publishers looking to sell their comic books direct to stores. "We aim to democratize the business of comic book distribution to be more accessible and practical for comic book publishers and retailers," says Austin Osueke, founder of Comic Distro.

But it's not just distribution, it's print-on-demand as well. Comic Distro's distribution service is its website, ComicDistro.com. The website serves as a Business-to-Business marketplace for comic book publishers to sell to retailers. Publishers start by uploading their digital files to the website; they set the price and printing details of their comics. Retailers visit ComicDistro.com to discover and buy comic books for their stores. Those orders are sent to Comic Distro's independent print fulfillment partner, Robinson Anderson. From there, they print and ship the comic books to stores. Publishers are notified whenever their comics are sold; they can access real-time sales reports and receive payment.

ComicDistro.com also provides social media sharing and messaging components that publishers and retailers can utilize to directly communicate with each other to build business loyalty. Creating a ComicDistro.com account is free for publishers and retailers; publishers don't pay any upfront costs to utilize the service which includes printing and shipping their comic books.

Comic Distro intends to provides numerous benefits for publishers and retailers, for instance, the platform is designed to be easy to use for everyone. A publisher's comics are in a digital catalog for retailers to re-order at any time. Retailers are meant to be able to benefit from Comic Distro's centralized print fulfillment that guarantees quality books and on-time delivery. Publishers are meant to be able to make more money because they never have to pay any costs associated with distributing comics to stores. Comic Distro also has the lowest commission rates compared to other comic book distribution companies. Retailers are meant to be able to save more money because they can buy comics at low discounts which provide an even greater margin on their retail selling price.

"We felt that there was a need for a better way to distribute and sell comic books directly to stores, and this resource needs to be accessible to all types of comic book publishers, regardless of their size," says Austin Osueke.

For webcomic book publishers without a current print plan, it seems a no-brainer. Others more invested in their own print production process may be warier.

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