The Four Color Media Monitor

IGN's writing apologia for Diamond Distribution, which as previously reported is filing for Chapter 11 due to bankruptcy:

So what exactly is going on with Diamond right now? The gist is that Diamond was, until relatively recently, the only major distributor of monthly comics in the US. The company had a de facto monopoly on the market, to the point that the Justice Department opened an investigation back in 1997 (one it ultimately closed without pursuing further action). To their credit, Diamond helped the industry survive and eventually thrive again after the dark days of the mid-’90s comic book crash, but they’ve also been steadily criticized over the years for substandard customer service and a failure to innovate.

You could also say the same thing about Marvel/DC in modern times. They certainly failed to prove entertaining without being alienating, and abandoned good taste to boot.

While many of these publishers still sub-distribute through Diamond (meaning comic shops can order through Diamond if they prefer), the number of publishers exclusive to Diamond has steadily dwindled over the past several years. Their biggest exclusives remaining include Dynamite Entertainment, DSTLRY, Valiant Entertainment, and Archie Comics.

Unsurprisingly, Diamond - a company already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic - has struggled to deal with the loss of so much revenue. Late last year, they closed their Plattsburgh, New York, warehouse, thereby consolidating their entire operation to a single warehouse. In recent weeks, many comic shop owners have voiced complaints about late deliveries, suggesting Diamond is struggling to keep up with demand and fulfill orders. And now we come to this.

Well how come nobody took issue with how one company monopolized the landscape, and didn't encourage others be established, or that publishers try to change their format and approach to printing and marketing? If they don't want to "upset the applecart", they have only themselves to blame for painting themselves into a corner. And if they won't complain about the dire state of artistic quality in modern comicdom, that's another reason why sales have fallen, to the point where even Diamond won't make much money from the mainstream.

Again, Diamond isn’t necessarily fading away into the ether just yet, but should the company ultimately fold, the consequences could be pretty dire for the industry. Neither Penguin Random House nor Lunar have shown much interest in catering to smaller publishers, meaning the Archies and Dynamites of the industry could be left with no means of distribution. Where do they go from there? Do they try to find alternate avenues or pivot to a digital-only business model? Is the digital market enough to sustain these publishers on its own? And what about the many creators and editors who depend on those publishers for their livelihood or their first big break?

Wow, we're supposed to care about a publisher that turned to woke pandering nearly 15 years ago? Even Dynamite went that route to some extent. If Archie collapses, it'll be their fault too, because who wants their children to read heavy-handed leftist ideology?

Diamond may no longer be the monopolistic force it once was, but it’s still an important one. It’s especially crucial to many comic shops as a source for buying collectibles and action figures. Those items tend to have much higher profit margins than comic books, which is why so many comic shops in recent years have pivoted to wall-to-wall Funko Pop! displays. Those toys pay the bills, and Diamond was the best outlet for acquiring them. Diamond Select Toys itself is one of the last companies targeting the more affordable end of the collectibles market, so it would be a real shame if they didn’t survive this situation.

If Diamond goes under, a lot of publishers and comic shops are going to be dragged down in the wake. That would in turn have ripple effects that even the larger publishers would feel. Again, PRH is Diamond’s single biggest creditor. According to ICv2’s Rob Salkowitz, the $9.2 million debt represents several years’ worth of profit for PRH. Now the biggest force in comics distribution in the US, how much would a total write-off of that debt affect PRH? How does that in turn affect big guns like Marvel and Boom? At the very least, a massive write-off would make PRH much more risk-averse and even less likely to take on the publishers left out in the cold by Diamond.

I should think there's dozens of distributors who could handle toy merchandise with discounts available, and if it's really hard to sell comics now, maybe they should just run a toy store. I certainly can't understand why anybody's expected to sell pamphlet comics, that's for sure. Another topic never explored by these propagandists.

All of this fear and uncertainty comes at a time when the industry already has plenty of both to spare. While 2024 had several very successful launches, from DC’s Absolute Universe to IDW’s star-studded TMNT relaunch, overall graphic novel sales were down 11.4% last year (despite the book market in general holding fairly steady).

If they're going to sugarcoat Jason Aaron's writing, I'm not sure what they're talking about. This also fails to consider IDW really brought themselves down to an abyss with their woke pandering and marketing, and I'd strongly recommend any independent creators part ways with them at this point.

That’s to say nothing of fears over the potential impact of the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs. American comics are largely printed in Canada, and a 25% tariff would force major price hikes across the board. $4.99 is rapidly becoming the new standard cover price for monthly comics. Will increasingly cash-strapped readers put up with a $6 or $7 cover price for a 20-page comic? At what point do people become priced out of the hobby entirely?

Why won't they ask if readers would be more comfortable buying a paperback/hardcover comic with a few hundred pages? This sure is cheap and provokes no thought at all. And the claim comics are "largely printed in Canada" is hugely exaggerated, since according to this list on LinkedIn, there are printing companies for comics in the USA, like PrintingCenterUSA, Greko and PrintNinja, and they do offer decent prices for the job. So the above is just an anti-Trump smear, which they apparently see as better than complaining why USA industry doesn't try to make its services more affordable, to say nothing of how Marvel/DC don't try to make their comics more entertaining again without vicious leftism stuffed in.

It's clear IGN's writer is not interested in encouraging the industry to better itself, artistically, businesswise, or otherwise. He wasted several paragraphs for this laughable puff piece that only excuses all the guilty parties in the downfall of comicdom that really went into hyperspeed post-2000, and the continued refusal to do so is exactly why the industry will collapse, with or without Diamond.

Labels: Archie, dc comics, indie publishers, licensed products, marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, sales