Phil Boyle of Coliseum of Comics in Orlando, Florida, published a passionate opinion piece about the struggles his shops are having in the current Comics Industry climate. Largely, Boyle places the blame for those struggles at the feet of Marvel and DC Comics for a succession of bad business practices and misguided creative strategies.
Today’s Op-Ed won’t debate or affirm each point in Boyle’s article. Instead, it’s time to acknowledge a larger reality with respect to the Big 2:
Marvel and DC don’t care about the health of the direct market, so it’s time to let them go.
The Good, Bad, And Ugly
Before we dig in, you can read Boyle’s point-for-point article via ICv2 here: https://icv2.com/articles/columns/view/55531/comic-stores-2023-its-nearly-2024-im-more-concerned
In the article, Boyle addresses a number of points regarding the difficulties in working with the Big 2 and their distributors and how those difficulties complicate his ability to satisfy his customers.
- Delivering titles on time and with consistency is a challenge.
- High-quality storytelling is a challenge
- Expensive cover prices are a challenge
- Etc., etc., etc.
Boyle’s criticisms have a grain of truth, depending on your point of view, in some points and factual basis in others, but the individual complaints could be summarized like this:
Marvel and DC comics are lower quality compared to past decades, too expensive, and don’t appeal to regular customers or new customers.
So, without saying it (writing it?), Boyle is lamenting that his store is struggling because he can’t sell the unsellable. How do you sell a poorly made, expensive product nobody wants? You don’t.
Where Boyle Gets It Wrong
Boyle’s frustration is fair and easy to see, but the way he goes about offering suggestions is the wrong approach. A majority of the article proffers ideas about making the comic distribution experience better, adjusting the pricing, and more, but Boyle is barking up the wrong tree.
Marvel and DC already know how to make changes that could improve the long-term viability of the Direct Market. If they don’t, they have access to the data and analysts who do. Nothing Boyle offers in his article is news to executives at the Big 2. Marvel and DC simply have no reason, based on their corporate objectives, to change.
I’m not saying Marvel and DC are money-hungry Luddites intent on burning the Direct Market down if it means a fast buck. But it’s clear the Big 2 regularly favor quantity over quality, short-term cash over long-term growth, and to Boyle’s points, a lack of accountability for the salability of their comics once the comics arrive at the LCS.
In short, the Big 2’s attitude to the Direct Market is: “If you can’t sell it because nobody will buy it, that’s not our problem.”
What Can We Do?
I get it. As a lifelong comics fan, it’s hard to emotionally disconnect yourself from the characters and stories you love, but for the Direct Market to thrive as a business, it has to act as a business. Dispassionate, logical, and when necessary, ruthless. So, we’ll tackle this point in three areas, so everyone gets a piece of good advice.
For the Direct Market, say goodbye to the Big 2 as your primary stock. Your store’s survival is nobody’s responsibility but your own. Diversify your inventory with Manga, tabletop games, collectible statues, Magic: The Gathering cards, or whatever else is in demand for your area.
You cannot rely on the Big 2 getting better, so do what’s right for you to survive.
For Indie, Small, and Mid-Sized Publishers, you’ve got to get your act together regarding your brand and target audience. I see too many smaller publishers with gobs of potential trying to publish everything and experimenting with who they are, so the net result is a publisher simply referred to as “another indie publisher.”
Pick a lane, lean into that lane hard, and be the best there is in that lane. Don’t experiment until you have the luxury of cash and time to do so.
For example, IDW has the publishing rights for Star Trek comics. Within contractual limits, IDW could lean into the sci-fi market as THE publisher for sci-fi comics. Attend comic-cons AND sci-fi conventions. Let the world know at every turn that the best place to find sci-fi comics (which could lead to sci-fi expansion in other mediums), is IDW.
Here’s another example. Dynamite Comics, one of our favorite publishers, has all the tools to become THE defacto publisher for pulp adventure. Grab up all the public domain characters from the Golden Age wherever possible, expand beyond the standard fare of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard into Lester Dent and Hugh B. Cave, and shout to the world that classic adventure lives on through Dynamite.
For the Big 2, keep doing what you’re doing or choose to do better. You have the cash, contacts, and resources to turn your respective ships around, but nobody can do it for you. The Big 2 is no longer a viable source of income for an LCS, and that lack of viability is mostly on the Big 2’s shoulders.
If the Direct Market turns its back on the Big 2, they’ll have nobody to blame but themselves. Change or accept what comes next.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.