Update: THE COMIC INDUSTRY, A.D. : LIFE AFTER DIAMOND?

[D.J. Coffman]

Update: I'm on Flobots business out in Denver, but upon arriving I had an email from diamond assuring me all publishers are paid on time and he asked me to name the publisher and I did mention one, Zenescope, who i hav heard the diamond excuse from many creators who are disgruntled-- diamond was going to contact said publisher to see what's up- bit obviously the story now has changed to, why are the publishers lying to creators aBout diamond owing them money?-- diamond contact also said that no ad money is owed to the other parties I mentioned either- so a very clear denial from diamond there which I wanted to updte this post on. Whether it's the truth or not, I don't know.... It's getting harder to tell these days, but I appreciate parties stepping up to comment on this- again, my main concern is for my friends and colleagues who aren't being paid or strung along and I hope they all take appropriate action. A publisher can't pick and choose who gets paid when- I u did the work and they made agreements, they owe u- period. It troubles me to hear some of the behaviour and lack of business ethics going on in the Indy market. -


My father in-law is a hardworking railroader. He says in regards to people who are hit by trains, that when you are walking along the tracks with your back not facing the train that is coming, you can't hear it even if it's blaring it's horn-- until AFTER it hits you. People don't believe this and still walk along the tracks because it seems clear and end up as track fodder. An added note, he said it also takes about a mile before a train can fully stop so the coroner folks can pick up the pieces, and there's not much left after you've been scraped and smeared for a mile down the tracks... And yet, people still walk on the tracks with their backs facing the oncoming trains.

I'm troubled. I've been troubled for quite some time. While I'm off and out of the comic book industry sandbox doing fun work for the Flobots and working on webcomics and new media stuff and planning a fun minicomic comeback for YIRMUMAH, I've been hearing very troubling things regarding the comic industry and Diamond Comic Distributors.

The comic book industry has been on life support for a long time and I'm afraid Diamond is about to pull the plug.

First, it started of course with friends of mine not being paid by their publishers, a problem I had a year ago that went very public. So I've become a magnet for people's troubles when they are owed money. They usually ask me what to do or how to get paid up. My advice is to always be transparent, first with the people who owe you, then with your fans and followers-- but none of these people will go on the record for fear of being blackballed in the comic book industry and not getting future work. I can understand that fear, but it also makes me sad to hear that it's happening to so many creators. I haven't done any investigating on this myself, but only have kept my ear to the tracks and listening to the stories and the whys and wherefores from friends and colleagues. Sometimes it feels like they want ME to be the one to sound the alarm. Another comic reporter I talk to said they hear the same stories but nobody will go on record... It's.... INSANE. Everyone seems to be sitting around with their dick's in their hands waiting for someone else to make a move, hoping beyond hope that whatever they are owed will show up... sooner... or later... Nobody will sound the alarm.

And that's what I'm doing now... because this time it's serious.

Three of the stories of creators not being paid by KNOWN publishers leads back to the excuse given that DIAMOND COMICS owes the publisher money. The first time I heard this excuse I thought it was bogus... but the second and third time I heard it from totally different creators who don't even know each other, it made me start to worry something was up with Diamond. I wondered why no comic news sites were reporting on any of this trouble??? Nothing really in the gossip columns or blogs like Rich's Lying in the Gutters. So I ignored it and figured it's up to those creators to do something on their own. Not me.

I did start to see mentions of Steve Geppi's (Diamond's owner) fin... He's losing a big zillion dollar property/house, something or other-- Gemstone Publishing couldn't afford the Disney License and I believe went under (again, I could be wrong with those facts, but I think I read them on Heidi McDonald's THE BEAT. This made me believe that the rumors from publishers that Diamond was having a hard time paying were likely spot on.

Fast forward a bit, and I start hearing from friends I have who run websites, who say Diamond also owes them advertising and sponsor money... and we're not talking chump change here folks. It's an awful lot and some sites and publishers may have to close up-- this means more of my friends losing jobs, which makes me a bit angry....

But again.... NOBODY WILL BLOG OR REPORT ABOUT THIS. They all keep quiet. Why? Diamond is really the only game in town for comic book distribution. Period. Yeah yeah, I know people might comment that there's Haven or whatever, but the truth is the only REAL game in town for comic book distribution to direct market comic book stores is Diamond. Period. They are the backbone of the entire comic industry.

All of those BAD stories mixed with the news from my sources that they are working with a pretty much skeleton crew at Diamond right now and it really makes you wonder. It made me start to think what would happen if Diamond just went POOF in the middle of the night? What if Steve Geppi ends up being the Bernie Madoff of the comic industry?

Most of you reading this far likely have great imaginations... so let's imagine the scenario of Diamond Comics going POOF in the middle of the night? Let's peer into that crystal ball for a moment.... First people to notice would be the fans... Wednesday's would no longer be NEW COMIC DAY, it would be NO COMICS DAY. The majority of comic shops would have to close, especially in this terrible economy where cover prices are outrageous to begin with, and sales of comics have pretty much been in the toilet the past decade if you compare to the 90s. Indy Publishers and creators would be the most hurt-- some of them working 5 months ahead on titles suddenly would have no way to distribute. Some of the bigger indy companies would try frantically to offer DIRECT sales to comic book shops for the known books... or suddenly announce that they've gone ALL DIGITAL! (ugH!)

Marvel, DC and Dark Horse will be okay. (Maybe Image?) because of other deals they have going.... but for all intents and purposes... the comic "industry" will be dead.

If you're like me, and have many friends in the comic industry, you've heard the murmurs and rumors or are even being directly affected by what's going on right now. And yet still, nobody is saying or reporting at all. Some think, maybe they'll be miraculously paid and all be good... if they raise a stink now, Diamond may make it harder to distribute new titles or get listed at all. To those people, I say that I've also just heard stories from people who are owed from over a YEAR ago and are STILL owed.

My advice to my friends and colleagues, for whatever it's worth... SPEAK UP! BE VOCAL! If not first to the people who owe you, then become transparent and let your fans know. Publishers and creators should start thinking SERIOUSLY about a move to a webcomics model regardless, and start realizing it's not a cookie-cutter thing you can just go slap up and do. It takes time to build, but I know several creators, including myself, making WAY more money then they did in the Diamond Direct Market system. Creators and Publishers can learn more about this from me and my crew at the Pittsburgh Comicon in September, I'll be hosting a BREAKING OUT OF COMICS panel all about this, and dishing a lot of dirt that will shock people awake and get them motivated to do their own thing.

Why am I saying anything? Because I have absolutely nothing to lose. I don't NEED Diamond. I don't need a publisher. I have no eggs to protect in that market at all, and EVER. I'm happy doing my own thing direct to my fanbase and friends. I've ALWAYS thought that the Diamond system was stupid and backward. Asking (begging) fans to preorder your titles 2-3 months ahead of time, and then waiting what 30-60 more business days after sales come in to get a Diamond check? And now to hear that those checks aren't coming to publishers??? WTF? Can't you see or smell the blood on the tracks? - Most of all though, I'm saying something on behalf of my friends. Some who can't pay their bills now, and some who are about to lose their jobs entirely. Only then will you see them likely come out and say WHY.

I know a lot of that "imagination" paragraph is all speculation, but it's speculation based on facts. Behind the scenes, Diamond Distribution owes TONS of money to publishers, in advertising, printers, all down the line. The owner is in serious financial straights... the writing is on the wall. Who will step up now to report? Who will actually investigate and get to the bottom of things? Who will go on record? Rich? Heidi? Dirk?

If you're out there reading this and want to vent your troubles anonymously or publicly here at the new YIRMUMAH Anti-Social Network, go right ahead in the comments, or start your own profile here if you want. We have all kinds of tools here for you to play with... image and music hosting, blogs, etc etc. Put them to use, they are yours for the taking.

Excelsior, bitches!

[Ray Cornwall]

Here's why you shouldn't worry about Diamond dying- when DC signed up to go direct with Diamond in the mid-90s, there was a contract provision stating that DC would have the option to purchase Diamond outright if this sort of scenario happened. In an absolute worst-case scenario, Diamond would go from an independent company to a Time Warner company.

I'd also be surprised if Marvel hasn't thought about this (having seen first-hand what happens in a bankruptcy) and wouldn't pitch in financially.

The most likely scenario is a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The business would shed debt while continuing to run. The ownership of the company would be in play- perhaps the debtors would end up owning the company, not Geppi- but Diamond itself would continue to run.

The only way that this nightmare scenario comes to play is if every investor in America decides that owning the comics distribution monopoly is a bad idea. That's a bit of a reach. If you had some spare change, wouldn't you want a piece if you thought you could run the business?

The bigger cloud- even bigger than the Diamond bankruptcy- is the potential Borders bankruptcy and the possibility of Barnes and Noble having problems. In the past decade, the comics industry has chased the bookstore market, believing it to be as viable if not more so than the Direct Market. But Borders is in really bad shape, and a bankruptcy would not only wipe out outstanding debts for books already shipped but could also tie up inventory already shipped. We saw this in the distribution shakedown in the mid-90s; many small publishers were killed when distributors took shipment on books then filed bankruptcy, keeping the books but not paying for them!

The other issue that's more important to most publishers this year with Diamond is the increased order minimums. For many publishers, the effect has already been chilling. If you're not a mid-level publisher, it's very hard getting listed in the Diamond catalog now.

We may be finding now that, in this new economy, the Direct Market model may not be the best for all parties. It was certainly better in the 70s than the old newsstand distribution model, but the DM model puts the greatest risk on those that can least afford it- the independent retail store owner. As such, those small business owners minimize their risk by ordering very conservatively, which chokes off possible growth for publishers and the art form.

We're clearly on the verge of a viable digital market. Look at the Kindle- that's a huge win for Amazon and publishers. The numbers are staggering; where a Kindle version of a book is available, sales are running 35% of the print copy. That's huge for a platform in its infancy. If resolution improves and color is introduced to the platform in the next five years, that could be the new marketplace for comics. Imagine a day where Diamond is replaced by Amazon as the principal distributor of comics! (And don't think Marvel's not aware of this- the owner of Marvel gave his tech staff Kindles last Christmas...)

[D.J. Coffman]

Yes, I'm not worried about Diamond going under at all, or even hiccuping in the market. It might be the BEST thing that happens to comics in the past decade actually to really kickstart and update how the market should be working. I've heard from Ex-Diamond people in the past too, who say that there's really no profits being made after costs at Diamond, so I find it highly unlikely that Time Warner would dump money into that.

My main point in writing this article is, I know a lot of people who are hurting financially because of this, and nobody is reporting on it, most afraid that they'll be blackballed. Some people, even retailers aren't aware of these situations at Diamond and they should be. The rosy idea that DC will buy them and everything will be paid--- is a friggin longshot at best.

[Glenn Sekse]

I agree, after my experience with local comic stores. I will never deal with them. If I want book or comic. I'll order it on-line. If I want to see a new comic, they BETTER provide some sort of on-line introduction to the comic. If HBN was intended to stop where it did, it would have done the job for me, I would have ordered the next stuff if it was only available in print.

I own books from Girls with Slingshots, DAR and other comics because I started digging the comic I was reading. Other comics that allow donations, I send $10 now and then. I'm rather old for the typical comic reader, but I think that those younger than me are more "on-line oriented" than "print oriented"

I think that ALL artists, music, video, pictures, cartoons and etc, are better off going to a direct market approach with their fans. Yeah, you might not get the same fan base as something promoted by Disney, but it will be YOUR stuff, and the fans you DO have will give you direct feedback. Kinda like the direct feedback that live performance gives to artists. (Conventions being the live feedback for cartoon artists.)

I look forward to what comes from some of the comic artists that I already follow and what new stuff might spring up from those I haven't seen yet.

[Ray Cornwall]

You're not wrong on the notion that there will be people hurt by the Diamond collapse if it happens. I just don't think it'll take down comics as we know it- or rather, that won't be the factor that takes it down.

The bigger issue that NO ONE talks about is the effect of piracy on sales. I would bet you that there are Marvel and DC comics that have total pirated downloads that are at least 10x the paid circulation of the comics. The piraters have developed a much better distribution system and a better product. And for all of the people who say that there's no device for reading digital comics- try a tablet PC. Same size as comic pages.

It isn't just comics. Look at Hulu- it's KILLING traditional TV. It's easy to use, has a great library, and can be embedded, so it's viral. It's a little more difficult for comics- we haven't developed a great in-browser platform for comics in the traditional format (taller than wide). Marvel's digital platform is okay, but it's wonky, and the fonts are poor. They haven't grasped the notion that to succeed, you need WIDESCREEN comics. (Heck, in all honesty, DJ, I think you should consider that for Flobots. I bet you'd have a better user experience if you could make the pages fit a traditional browser screen.)

[Glenn Sekse]

I find the resolution versus font thing come up all the time with my subscription comic page. I wish the page would set the comic size larger. I have to right mouse click to enlarge the image (Thunderbird option I think) so I can read the print of the comic. While I like my comics to fit all on a page. I would rather "scroll than squint" so to speak.

Traditional TV is getting killed by the larger percentage per hour of commercials. (that and sucky content, god if I see one more show featuring idiots doing stupid things in the name of reality...) I won't watch commercial TV without a DVR or VCR. I just can't wade through the commercials anymore. At least on the Internet, the provider get's direct information on what the viewer is doing. If their platform is too boring or screwed up, they will see the viewer click away from the site and change their operations until they get it right.

[Jason Embury]

Piracy isn't an issue. It's been around forever. Price point, and distribution are the real issues. If I want to read an entire "Story" that crosses over multiple titles, I have to spend $30 a month because the comics cost $4 each and are littered with ads (that $30 only buys me 7 books). No WAY am I spending that kind of money anymore on comics, maybe that means I'm not a true comic fan, but c'mon... There's a 6 page Ball Park ad in the middle of Battle for the Cowl #1 for crying out loud, followed by 2 pages of comic and another 2 pages of ad. it's ridiculous. and no major title for either of the big 2 is pulling 10 times ciruculation numbers via piracy. there are NOT 1 million people reading Spiderman, Batman, X-men or Superman or anything anymore. The medium just isn't as popular as it once was.

[Dustin Parker]

Made a post on webcartoonists site about this article, hopefully shows a couple new eyes.

[Scott Austin]

This might sound terrible, but I kind of secretly hope that Diamond falls down... As said earlier, it's time for something new. So far it seems like nothing better will take it's place until Diamond just plain sinks. It's not a secret that KaBlam is pushing forward with their distribution system ComicsMonkey. I'm sure there are those that are skeptic of them, but hey, they pretty much became the no. 1 in indie printing and POD. People love them already. And the same people already hate Diamond so if ComicsMonkey manage to pull off at even half speed they'll have a good foothold.
Whether they can keep it going is another thing. Time will tell, but I'm cheering for them.

[George A. Tramountanas]

Thanks for reporting on stuff like this. I agree - it gets overlooked far too easily. You rule!

[Wally Wood]

Right off the bat, I feel bad for all the creators that have been and are getting screwed. It sucks, and I feel for you. As a retailer, I have been screwed several times by customers that have ordered (promised to purchase) large amounts of comics/whatever and stuck me with them, so I have an inkling of how it feels. May you all find stability and compensation. However, after reading this article I have a number of thoughts to share.

First of all, it's unfair to compare comic sales to those of the 90's. Speculation was rampant then, and many of the "90's Glut" comics populate quarter bins and boxes at conventions. That said, many of the independent comics being produced today could just as easily be compared to the Black & White glut of the 80's. Just because someone can buy some art paper and put together something that resembles a comic book and get their uncle to publish it doesn't mean it's a relatively good comic book, or that people will buy it. As a retailer I have been contacted by several would-be publishers and invited to check out previews of their proposed production output, only to find that they are cranking out more of the same old crap, only of considerably worse quality. (One "editor" in particular has trouble writing a complete sentence in his "press releases", let alone making it grammatically correct or free of "typos" (ie. he just can't spell). This person has been begging me (and others) to support their line, and I have been replying repeatedly that if this is his idea of english, then who would want to read any of his company's output?) For every young turk to come along there are a hundred creators that either need to severely hone their craft or look for honest work.

Leave us not forget that in the earliest days of the direct market, you could count the publishers on both hands, and the industry was relatively strong and healthy. Once everyone and their dog got in on the act (and I swear some guys had their dogs throwing the inks) things started going downhill. The simple fact is, not everything deserves to be published and distributed and purchased. Giving upstarts a chance is a sweet thought, but relatively impractical from a business standpoint. If you can make a comic and sell it at local shops & shows, online, through Haven, more power to you, but to play with the big boys on an international level, you have to earn it. Just because you can play baseball, even relatively well, does not mean that the major leagues should sign you up. Perhaps a better analogy would be to compare the overabundance of comics "trying to find a market" (to be kind) with the credit crunch crisis: too many comics published on "credit" (speculating that people will want them) with no one to pay for them (turns out not enough people are interested enough to pay for them). Art is one thing, and commerce is another. Art is most often produced seperately from commerce. If the two find a meeting ground it can be a good thing, but it is not guaranteed. If it takes a return to established publishers screening these works and selecting those it feels are viable for the industry to survive, then perhaps we would all just have to make do.

As a retailer it is difficult to walk the line. As the vast majority of comics ordered are non-returnable, then yes, we order as cautiously as possible. I do support independent publishers, but seriously, there are far more comics publishers than readers who want them. The Big Publishers have been making some inroads into getting promotion out to the masses in time, because there isn't really a better way to operate. They can't exactly make their books returnable, otherwise they would go bankrupt waiting on the fickle public to decide if they want something or not. In my store, it still amazes me that I have customers that come in expecting absolutely everything to be there ready and waiting for them. They expect the publishers (at least) to assume the responsibility for availability, but really in the end, it comes down to the customers themselves. Preorder accounts for 80-85% of what I order because it has to. The printed comic has to sell, it can't just sit there looking good. If it doesn't sell, it doesn't just magically disintegrate as the cost of it magically reappears in the publisher's, distributor's and retailer's bank accounts. It's a business just as much as, if not more than, an artform on the major publishing distribution level. If someone has a better method of moving a printed comic from creator to reader, I'm all ears.

Finally, I agree with a previous poster that the comic industry will not dry up and blow away if Diamond craters. Regardless of what anyone says, there is money to be made in the industry. Much of Diamond's/Gemstone's woes are owed to businesses not being run properly, not the industry itself. I fully agree that TW, Marvel, or whoever else would pick up the ball and run with it if/when Diamond fumbles. The digital market will be what it will be, but there are also those that will only read the paper version, and where there is a viable market, there will be something to supply it.