Posted in: Antarctic Press, Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite, IDW, Image, Marvel Comics | Tagged: diamond, lunar, Penguin

What Choice For Smaller Publishers, If Lunar & Penguin Aren't Options?

What choice for smaller publishers oif Diamond goes away, If Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House aren't options?

Diamond Comic Distributors does one extraordinary thing. It gives small press comic book publishers the opportunity to gain national, indeed worldwide distribution for free across the direct market. And what money Diamond took was a small fraction. Given processing costs on the smallest titles, they probably took a loss. The qualifications were ridiculously low on a commercial nature. I mean, they even distributed my own black and white small press comics back in the early nineties, which raised enough money to fly me from London to San Diego Comic-Con several times. Looking back now, especially what I was then, it was… well… extraordinary. Even then, when there were several distributors I was initially going through, Diamond brought in the biggest buck, even as they then bought up all their rivals.

Now Diamond Comic Distributors has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The big publishers had already left, after taking advantage of lockdown making their exclusive contracts with Diamond bulk and void. A rather cut throat and mercenary decision, but inevitable after the train started rolling down that hill.

So what remains? Well, Lunar Distribution has a lot on its plate. The survivors of the DC distribution war, they had initially stepped up to distribute Marvel Comics at one point, but Image Comics has taken up much of their resources. They have a number of small publishers, who chose not to be Diamond-exclusive, but taking on more right now seems to be a no-no. While Penguin Random House has Marvel, Dark Horse, and IDW… and will soon have Boom. Their interest in taking on smaller publishers seems negligible. Dynamite may be considered, but no one smaller. Publishers will likely stick with Diamond, but would that be throwing good money after bad? As it stands, they are owed and owed stock. Full bankruptcy may deprive them of either or provide pennies on the dollar. Will they risk greater exposure by allowing Diamond to distribute more of their comics?

This also comes at a time when shipping cost increases have made crowdfunded comics less prevalent, printing costs have made publishing harder, and increased warehouse costs are also pressing on people who just want to make comics. Ben Dunn of Antarctic Press writes on social media, "With the bankruptcy of Diamond Comics distribution what exactly does this actually mean to comic stores? For now, it is business as usual. Comic stores will continue to get their comics, but this portends a shift in buying. Many comic stores are making the shift to being pop culture stores selling mostly toys, merchandise, cards, etc. Despite what you may personally think of Diamond, it was the ONLY distributor of small press comics. If they go, where will these publishers and creators go now? Imagine a world with no BONE, no USAGI YOJIMBO, no TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES or no NINJA HIGH SCHOOL. If the direct market had not arisen, then chances are none of these small press comics would have gotten into stores and found an audience. Yes, Diamond made some mistakes, and hopefully, they will learn from them, or maybe it may be too little, too late. We shall see. Apparently, both Lunar and Penguin have shown little interest in AP. Not for lack of trying. We have attempted to contact them on many occasions but to no avail. We are essentially on our own, as I am sure many other small press publishers. Will we survive? Yes. AP will survive but it may be changed. Our method of distribution will change. Our product line and editorial content will change. What that change will be remains to be seen, but I believe we will know in a few months where we will be. Will someone pick up the baton? Perhaps. Will retailers care? I hope so. The thing is, if comic stores disappear or stop carrying small press comics, the indie small publisher will have a greatly diminished presence to the public. Will it be the end? Well, not really, as we have various new ways to make money, but our reach will no longer be as influential. No real chance for a new small indie to break out and build an audience. Right now the industry is relying on nostalgia. Oh, there will be a success here and there, but not nearly as much as it could be. I lament how the comics industry has self-destructed. I long had advocated to re-think the distribution model, but it fell on deaf ears, with many saying that it is outdated or impossible to implement. Well, here we are. Looking into the abyss. Had we just taken a moment to look to the future instead of lining our own pockets or indulging in personal drama, we might have had a healthy, thriving industry. Now we are looking to one that will soon disappear. I don't wish to end this on a down note. I love comics. Always have. Always will. I love the creators who make them. I love the fans and readers who support us. We need to work together to revitalize the industry and the best way to do it is to give people a reason to read comics. Give people what they want, and they will beat a path to your door!"

Diamond Comic Distributors was very effective, but only at scale. And a scale dwarfed by Penguin Random House. There are moves I hear for new smaller-publisher and small-press distributors to set up if Diamond does indeed go away. I heard UCS, who lost the DC distribution war formed by Midtown Comics, may be revived for just this purpose. However, the chances are that it will be less financially remunerative for publishers and creators. How does that song go? "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." Maybe they'll put up a parking lot in Baltimore.

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