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Distributing Outside of Diamond

NO FLY ZONE: Distributing Outside of Diamond
© Mania

Greetings, Maniacs, and welcome to this week’s installment of The No-Fly Zone!

A couple of weeks ago, Diamond Comics Distributor’s announced it would increase the advance sales order minimum from $1,500 to $2,500—meaning, the amount the company actually pays the publisher, translating into several thousand in actual retail orders. The web has seen a lot of traffic on where small publishers will take their comics, as many will not make the minimum requirements to appear in Previews, the distributor’s monthly catalog.

Make no mistake, Maniacs—this is a huge blow to the small press.

Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse will still have their place in Previews, but those publishers that only sell books in the hundreds—and not thousands—will have to find a new outlet. At this point, railing against Diamond’s decision will accomplish very little. The company made the decision purely out of financial consideration, and not out of some megalomaniacal drive to make sure everyone reads Amazing Spider-Man until they die. But, Diamond has historically made life for small publishers difficult.

This may stand as the last straw before an exodus of small publishers gives weight to the distributor’s admittedly scant competition—one hopes, anyway. In this week’s No-Fly Zone, we’re going to look at some of those options and examine their respective benefits and drawbacks. This week’s column will focus on print distributors, and not the digital options. Those remain available and should be considered by publishers in light of the circumstances, but we want to talk about some of the options for printed comics.

First and foremost, Haven Distributors will likely benefit the most from the new benchmarks. Haven stands as Diamond’s only significant national competitor, but it’s a David-and-Goliath scenario at this point. Haven distributes to about 2,300 shops nationwide. It often asks new publishers to sell on consignment initially, but it will buy comics at wholesale if the book features licensed characters or established talent. The distributor’s discount when buying from publishers is usually 60%, in either case. The company used to only solicit books it had in stock, but an advance order system is being phased in to accommodate the influx of publishers.

Right now, most of the major independent publishers work with Haven, including Slave Labor Graphics, Top Shelf, Heavy Metal, and even a little company called Seraphemera Books out of Houston (which publishes this awesome comic called Dead Souls). The benefits of dealing with Haven should attract most small publishers. The distributor has very little in the way of sales minimums or requirements for advertisement space. They require retailers to order a minimum of $50 worth of stuff, but they have no benchmarks for publishers. If you just want someone to carry your book they can get the job done, whether you hope to sell one or 100 comics. Still, there are a couple of drawbacks. New publishers may not be prepared to sell books on consignment, especially if they depended on a regular check from Diamond. With Haven’s comparably limited number of retailers, that means less exposure for a given title and potentially lower sales. A publisher used to selling 500 or 600 copies of a comic through Diamond may find their sales down significantly. Still, Haven may work well for hobby publishers who don’t depend on publishing to pay the light bill.

Logos for various alternate sources for Comics Distribution

Second, Ka-Blam—a print-on-demand company specializing in comics—has just announced its own online distributor called ComicsMonkey, which has yet to actually launch. The distributor will forgo a print catalog and just use its website to sell comics directly to retailers at a 35% discount. There will be no minimum orders. Once the service is up and running, retailers only have to register and order their comics. If it’s listed on the ComicsMonkey site, they will always have it because rather than maintaining a stock of comics, the distributor will simply print as many as retailers order. That means that publishers won’t even have to print their own comics. They simply sign up with Ka-Blam, send their files for approval, and then collect a percentage for each book sold—estimated at about 10% at the moment. That hardly sounds like a lot, but with no setup, printing, or shipping costs, it probably works out better than most would think. ComicsMonkey will likely not have the same volume of orders as Haven, at least initially. However, for new creators, it could be a great opportunity. You just create the book and send the files. You pay nothing up front. If it sells, you make money. If it doesn’t, you don’t. You don’t have to keep hundreds of copies on hand in case someone orders them. Ka-Blam will just print a book if someone orders one.

Third, Ka-Blam’s other site, IndyPlanet and longtime small press printer ComiXpress both have print-on-demand stores that sell directly to fans. If you list your book with either of them, they keep your files and then print the book when someone orders it. They do not offer retailer discounts, but sell directly to consumers. Both IndyPlanet and ComiXpress then subtract the printing cost of the comic from the cover price and give the rest to you, the publisher. In both cases, the opportunities for distribution are fairly limited, but a publisher would make more money per book than with Haven or ComicsMonkey. IndyPlanet also offers a consignment service if a publisher has a stock of books on hand, at a 50% discount. You send them the comics, and they sell them and give you half.

Fourth, publishers always have the option of self-distributing by acting as a vendor for multiple retailers. This stands as a monumental undertaking, almost as laborious as creating a comic in the first place. However, it means that a publisher can shop for a printer, rather than accepting ComiXpress or Ka-Blam’s rates as part of the deal. It can also set its own retailer discount and easily make the most money per book. However, establishing relationships with multiple stores and website takes time and energy. For hobbyist publishers with only a couple of books, this might work enough to stay above water. But, it still means a huge amount of work—understandably, probably more than most publishers will want to undertake.

Finally, Maniacs, let The No-Fly Zone remind you that it comes down to money. Haven, IndyPlanet, ComiXpress, ComicsMonkey, and the publishers that use them will only succeed if people buy their comics. Diamond has put the squeeze on the small press for a long time now. That’s business and we all have to deal with it. But, the distributor has exercised a relative monopoly over comics in the United States for years.

Most fans have proven time and again to prefer established properties to newer creator-owned ones, even from the larger independent publishers like Avatar. This will make little difference to them. But, Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse want guys that cut their teeth on independent comics. Many small press creators and publishers understand that comic books don’t make anyone rich. They’ll suffer for their art, but only for so long.

Diamond isn’t a charity, and they’re only giving consumers what they want. Maniacs, this is our fault. We’re the ones that grab Dark Avengers #1 instead of something new that might interest us—even something off-beat from Marvel. We’re the ones that complain when the status quo changes in a series that has seen print for 60 years. The comic industry needs to foster new talent with fresh ideas. Otherwise, the medium will continue to traffic in recycled ideas, ultimately devolving into ongoing advertisements for licensed merchandise and movies. It’s up to us to show Diamond that they don’t control comics as a medium just because they have exclusive contracts with Marvel and DC.

Tell your retailers about these other distributors. Encourage them to order from Haven and ComicsMonkey. Shop around ComiXpress and IndyPlanet and find some new stuff. Keep the medium alive and interesting and forgo a cape with a new logo on it, for once.

You are now exiting The No-Fly Zone.