The Dangers of the Direct Market for Comics Self-Publishers
Why the splintering of comics distribution to comic shops is high risk for self-publishers
The availability and viability of crowdfunding are critical to the continued existence of comics self-publishers, primarily because the traditional modes of distribution for comics are either in flux or downright obsolete in the modern environment. The ability to directly engage comics collectors and readers and to even involve them as micro-investors in our products unquestionably created the current crowdfunding marketplace, so it’s crucial that we maintain the integrity of the preeminent crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. Do other distribution methods still remain effective and potentially profitable options for self-publishers today?
Let’s consider the case of distribution to comic shops (e.g., the direct market) via “middle men” like Diamond, Lunar, and Penguin/Random House. Joining me to offer real experience in this arena for this discussion is Cosmic Times self-publisher and writer, Martin Pierro, who has sailed the stormy seas of direct market distribution.
From Martin Pierro - Writer/Publisher of Cosmic Times
It’s harder to step back and look at the comic book industry than it is to say look at the film industry because there are so many weird nooks and crannies to comics that a proper overview of how comic readers ingest content is near impossible. As much as digital, web comics, conventions, and crowdfunding have established their corners … the direct market is still the bulk of single issue comic book sales … for now.
The Realities of Direct Market Distribution
When I entered the world comic publishing in 2009 (though I had been flirting with it since 2006), the gold standard was being distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors, who at that time was pretty much the sole gatekeeper for getting books into comic shops. To be distributed by Diamond was … to use a very old term … the brass ring everyone was reaching for (though back then, there were maybe 10% of the indie comics on the scene than there are now). I reached and reached, then around 2013 I caught it - thanks to a chance encounter at the New York Comic Con, Diamond agreed to distribute our very small catalog of books.
Diamond and its founder Steve Geppi were for all intents and purposes a monopoly … until the cloud of COVID descended on the world. DC Comics’ exclusive agreement with Diamond was ironclad, with one caveat - if Diamond ever failed to distribute their books the deal was off. When everything shut down, DC made a deal with online seller DCBS and a NEW distributor was formed - Lunar. Other studios started to jump ship and then Marvel inked a deal with Penguin Random House, suddenly splintering the distribution model into three parts. Then combined with the surge in Kickstarter success for indie publishers that happened during the lockdown - the landscape of our industry was changed forever.
My experience with Diamond before the pandemic was a lot different than what we see now. Originally Diamond was very strict with their policies on minimum quantities and delivery dates, post the pandemic I can say that they are a little looser with some of their requirements. Being distributed to comics shops is a good feeling - knowing that readers you could never reach are discovering your books … the down side is … good feelings won’t pay the bills.
The Costs of Trying to Go “Big Time”
The deal you must strike for distribution is a hard pill for some small press folks to swallow - right off the top you have to give Diamond a 60% discount off of your cover price. Meaning a $4.99 comic will only see a net return of $1.99 per issue. Without getting too lost in the numbers of everything - that means you need to have your profit margins high enough to cover all of your talent costs + printing + shipping … at a minuscule $1.99 per issue. Now if you can scale high enough it’s possible that one could cover those costs … but the reality is with three distributors, plus all the other places readers can find comics … an unknown indie comic is highly unlikely to sell enough units. There is also the reality of attrition … the second issue of a comic series will most likely only sell 50% of the first and then the third will drop down further. Making scaling near impossible.
Every year I would go to New York Comic Con and every year (without naming names) I would see two or three new BIG publishers who were spending tens of thousands to launch their new comic book publishing endeavors, all swearing that they were the next BIG thing. Well 365 days would come and go - and there would be two or three new BIG publishers taking the place of the ones that failed. People who want to make comics are dreamers and if they get an investor or some money from selling grandma’s house - they will set that money on fire in hopes of making their dreams come true. I feel for these publishers and writers and artists - I really do … but the reality is the market is only so big and throwing money at something … hardly ever works.
The Perils of Trusting Other Publishers
There is another type of publisher who will come on the scene with some flash and razzle-dazzle - promising fat movie checks down the road. These are predatory publishers who will offer all comic creators the world … but ask them to live on bread crumbs. They tend to last a little longer as they drain creators dry and milk the comic buying audience for all the shekels they can. These are usually run by manipulative folks who wanted to be comic creators but lack any real talent … they will make the creators that they pull into their web actually feel bad for them. They often fade away with a whimper leaving creators sometimes tied to bad contracts for years to come.
While I don’t want to cast any shade on these types of publishers (well maybe a little) they always fail for the same reasons - too big too fast. In the current marketplace you have to build to success you can’t always just buy it. A publisher needs to cultivate a fan base and then grow from there, but it has to be honest - not just a way to milk the audience in the short term.
The Importance of a Diversified Sales Strategy
I think ultimately the key is to expand beyond what we as “old timers” know as the traditional market. I honestly still believe in the direct market (in spite of the economic pitfalls associated with it), but I know that it cannot be the end-all-be-all comic book marketplace. A business model in 2025 has to be multi-faceted, I think Kickstarter or other crowdfunding outlets MUST be part of that equation, it’s honestly the only clear path to financial solvency that I can see. A plan where crowdfunding and the direct market work hand-in-hand is where I believe my focus will be this year.
Kickstarter or other crowdfunding platforms are the starting point - the profit margins are high enough that a writer or publisher can afford to hire and pay a production team as well as offset much of the printing costs. Once those funds are in the coffers and it makes sense - that’s where one can begin to look at other outlets, such as Diamond and the direct market. But that important groundwork must be laid before making a jump like that.
The direct market doesn’t have to be the next destination after a Kickstarter … convention sales are still a lucrative part of my business, though not as much as they had been in years past. I have fortunately found ways to stay in the black at most shows I attend - though it can be tight. However sometimes convention appearances can be seen as a promotional effort and the contacts made can be pointed back to the next Kickstarter.
As I mentioned before, community and a fan base are two main elements to success. So much of your efforts as an indie comic creator need to be focused there. Bringing readers or fans behind your sails, is how you can keep traversing this rough and rocky indie comics ocean.
Crowdfunding Versus Comic Shops
To slip back off this tangent and focus on the original point, Kickstarter only works if you have mechanisms in place to guide fans to a campaign and then the knowledge and mechanisms to print and fulfill those orders. I learned the hard way that direct market distribution is the same way … only on a somewhat more complex scale. The larger problem is that Diamond is your “partner” where with a crowdfunding project - you’re on your own for the most part. Having a “partner” means having to acquiesce to their requirements. It also means working with larger printers and relying on them to keep the proper timeline so that your books arrive in comic shops when you said they would.
Another chief difference is the way you market. Kickstarter has you marketing directly to the fanbase that you have cultivated. Crowdfunding also has several platforms in place such as Backer Kit Launch that really focuses your marketing to the exact customers you are looking for. With the direct market … your customers are the comic shop owners all over the country and sometimes the world. Outside of way over priced marketing plans that only Diamond can provide - it’s difficult to reach those shop owners. There are other layers like trying to mobilize your fanbase convincing them to go to their local comic shop (if they even have one) to “pre-order” your products, but I’ve learned that many Kickstarter customers tend to NOT visit comic shops regularly.
So marketing to the Kickstarter crowd and then printing for them will yield a higher profit margin. With the direct market, the costs are much higher … and the profit margin is way lower … sometimes in the negative numbers. Thus logic would dictate to just focus on crowdfunding … but when have comic creators ever been known to be logical?
My thanks to friend and colleague, Martin Pierro, for those first-hand insights into navigating the ever-shifting, one might even say unstable, world of comic book distribution and how it interacts with crowdfunding. Every self-publisher has to evaluate their own position and financial standing to determine if direct market distribution is a road they can afford to travel, given the risks of:
Paying for much larger print runs
Sourcing production and printing that fall within the extremely narrow budgets allowed by the enormous share distributors take from direct market sales
Waiting months for compensation for direct market sales
Relying on third-party distributors to get the comics where they need to be, when they need to be there
Accounting for the guaranteed sales attrition that comes with each successive issue of a comic series via the direct market
Crowdfunding is a much more predictable, direct-to-consumer sales model for small self-publishers, involvement with which can easily be scaled up or down at one’s sole discretion, without the unreliable involvement of critical third parties, like distributors. That’s why I spotlight Kickstarter’s Comics platform, celebrate its virtues for self-publishers, and spotlight facets in need of review and change in order to keep this vital marketplace healthy and thriving for self-publishers, creators, and backers alike.
 | A guest post by
|
This was a great article.