Op-Ed: Does DC Comics Leaving DIamond Destroy the Direct Market?

Please note:  This is an opinion piece.  The views expressed are those of the author and any contributors are named.  They do not represent the views of Comic Crusaders or Undercover Capes Podcast Network websites.

The History
It’s been a strange few months for the comic industry.  With the worldwide pandemic affecting every facet of life, it was no surprise that there would be ramifications for the industry.  For many retailers, the worry was about the safety of their staff, their customers whilst trying to remain open.  Alternative options presented themselves; curbside pick-up and mail order to name a couple.  However, on March 23rd, Diamond Distribution made a decision that affected everyone, be they customer, retailer, creator or publisher; they decided to cease distribution of comic books.

Of course, this decision was not taken lightly.  Diamond had its workers and their families to consider and lives of people will always trump comic books.  But that decision threatened the livelihoods of every element of the industry.  Fans lost out, shops lost out, creators lost out and some indie and small press companies severely lost out.  It was during this time that  DC Comics, owned by AT&T announced that going forward, they were going to use a further two distributors in the future.

The Present

Currently, the world is seeing an easement of the lock-down rules that have isolated so many for so long.  Comic shops are starting open again.  In the UK, June 15th is being bandied around as the date for the re-opening of stores as long as they follow social distancing.  Then the news of DC leaving Diamond Distributor hit.  Comic companies doing their own distribution is not a new thing.  Marvel tried it years ago with their Heroes World Initiative.  How did that go? Well the company almost went bankrupt (there were loads of things happening to impact this) and is still part of the Diamond Distribution deal.  Small press and indie books also self publish, so with a smaller amount of product this avenue can work.  But it is not for everyone.

Retailers

The comic book industry is built on levels of symbiosis,  What affects one part of the chain, affects the others.  DC pulling away from Diamond affects the retailers and the readers.  This is due to the dreaded “D” word; Discounts!  Think of it this way, (and I am keeping these figures small but the logic tracks), for a retailer to get the a decent level of discount from Diamond they have to order a certain cash amount.  Lets say for the sake of the argument that is $400 per month.  With the number of book out that should be easy, right? Well no.  Ordering three months ahead of time, retailers need a magic 8 ball to work out which of the numerous books will capture the readers attention, parting them from their hard earned.  There will always be constants; Batman, Avengers, Spider-Man maybe.  Now, by taking away DC comics from Diamond, retailers will reduce their order by titles which will have the impact of lower spend, which means less discount, which eats into their profit margin.  To maintain their discount, they will have to take bigger risks on lesser known books.  To get their books from DC, the same principle will apply; certain spend equals discount level.  As they will be ordering less product, because there is only one brand on offer, it is realistic to assume that they will not meet the discount level, again costing them more money.  That means it will cost them more money to order the same number of books., which will put price up in some cases, impacting on spend head as reader focus on their got to books.  This will leave retailers with a backlog of no sold items.  Talk about a double whammy!

Remember what I said about symbiosis; retailers may not be able to afford to carry their Diamond ordered product and the DC ordered product.  Readers, not getting their books will leave to go to those retailers than can get Batman, Justice League and Superman or go to the digital market place (more on that later).

DC Comics (AKA Pride Comes Before a Fall)

Let’s do some role play (not that kind, keep it clean!).  You run a pizza place.  You are known for being one of the two best places for pizza.  You create a wide range of pizzas and all the sundries.  To get your product out to the people you use a delivery system, a distribution network you could say.  However, that network lets you know, that from his date, they will no longer deliver your pizza; in fact they will deliver no-ones pizza!  Meaning that your business is being controlled by a third party decision.  Eventually, the delivery service resumes, but you have learnt your lesson; no more will you rely on a third party to control your business.  You will find your own delivery service!

That’s exactly where DC are right now.  Being owned by AT&T, the powers that be no longer want control of their product to be affected by a third party organisation., such as Diamond.  With that in mind, who can blame them.  It is about profit at the end of the day.  I know people talk about the love of making comics etc. but these are pop culture icons.  Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman have all been laid low, not by Cheetah, the Joker or Lex.  No, they have been laid low by the people who own them and their need to have control.  However, by striking out alone like this, they may actually reduce their readership.  People may have hard time getting the books or may even boycott them because of this decision and it’s impact on the industry.  For a while, I have been saying that the majority of people going to the comic book shop are going for their Big 2 books.  Whilst there, they may sample an indie book or two.  Without the magnetic pull of the most popular characters, everyone, publisher, reader and retailer suffers.

The Future 

Very much like the retailers, trying to place their orders, I can’t see the future.  What I do know is that Diamond have an extensive distribution network that delivers comics, across the world all in time for NCBD, well….. at least they did.  Due to the COVID crisis, Diamond are distributing to the UK only fortnightly and a week behind as well.  Consider this; for all the years that Diamond have been doing their business, that time frame is the best that they can manage.  From DC Comics fans point of view, at time of writing, there has been no indication how international retailers will get hold of their books.

All is not lost though worldwide DC fans.  You can always cut out the retailer and go digital! Given as how lacklustre DC’s attempt to take their DC Universe app worldwide has been, is this even an option?

Conclusion  

My colleague David Taylor (@DT2ComicsChat) suggests: “Comics will survive. They have done so for 80+ years. What is forever changed is the way fans consume them. And that’s the funny thing about time: you can’t turn back the clock. Things will NEVER be like they were before.”

I want to have faith.  I want the time I have spent in the DC Universe,over nearly 40 years, to continue.  At the time of writing I am unsure where DC leaving Diamond leaves us fans. David is right; how we consume our books will have to change.  However, that change is being forced on us by a third party; isn’t that what Diamond did to the industry back in March?  Their choice was about not risking lives; DC’s is about pride and their profit only.

Feel free to leave your opinions below!

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network

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