Posted in : Comics , DC Comics| Tagged : diamond
I ’m afraid I ’ve not been privy to this recent decisiveness . I can say purely as a private individual that Diamond has , for a long sentence , been unwilling or ineffectual to modernise and put up and grow the game as needed for a healthy direct TV channel . And may not even be solvent .
It would be imprudent for any publisher to not have a dispersion contingency plan . I am disappoint by the communication theory roll up out if the conclusion , as it seems ( from my admittedly removed and limited POV ) not nearly racy enough and to not have offered retailers sufficient notice and explanation as to what I ’m sure is a fairish and plausibly even advantageous decision for them .
It ’s never good for any party to have a monopoly on a patronage and Diamond has for too long . I ’m optimistic DC will assist retailers empathize how to navigate the transition . And I ’d almost guarantee ( I would vouch but as I say , I ’m not privy to this ) that there ’s no path DC or WB have a financial stake in these distributors .
Then there’sGary Groth , publisher of Fantagraphics Books , whose Comics Journal covered the last Distributor Wars of the ninety better and more thoroughly than anyone .
All the distributors in the ' LXXX and ( early ) ' ninety carried the same comics , there were no exclusivities back then , so retailers could buy all their strip from a unmarried allocator . There was about a 99 % overlap among distributors . So , there were Diamond retail merchant and Capital retailers and Friendly Frank retailers , and many retailer established a trueness to their distributor of choice . Some retailers had account at multiple distributor , but usually only to get the few comedian that one of the distributer handled that others did n’t . You ’d have to be fairly hard-core to do that .
Anyway , I do n’t fuck what everyone ’s complaining about . Seems like a ripe clock time for DC to change distributors . We have pestilence , racial strife , Trump . Why not add destabilizing the comics market to the mixture ?
While after a portion of consultation , mulling it over and run back and forth I thought I ’d throw in my own take .
Diamond Comic Distributors has suffered from a deficiency of competition over the decades , the biggest issue for retailers being damaged livestock . It can be devolve but it takes up fourth dimension , effort and money to do so . While the premium variant cover , often a part of retail merchant deals with publishers , and highly prize by collectors , seem most vulnerable to be damaged . One thing that Lunar and UCS have shown is a greater desire to keep hurt down , which bounty chance variable screen are shipped bulletproof .
But the only direct rival being experienced in the current situation is between Lunar and UCS . Diamond is no longer distributing DC claim and they have no competition for the residuum of the monthly comics they are distributing . The only theory is that other publishers could jump to UCS or Lunar – but they may have trouble ramping up to the whole of DC Comics dispersion , they are not go to be taking on other publishing company so before long .
The other face is that Diamond spiel much more of a purpose in the verbatim market than just a distributor . The intellect why so many comic stores owe them such fealty is that Diamond often keep comical store alive by operating as a de facto bank . Diamond has give extend terms to many a stock to stop them going out of clientele . If sales are slow , and big score ca n’t pay , what happens when DC comes to collect from UCS and Lunar ? Will they have the Johnny Cash on hand to pay DC and float default accounts ? And if it all die in the south , what pressure level will they be able to bestow to bear if those workshop can still get product from every other company to keep customers come and in and the lights on ? specially when they are retailer themselves and will still , purportedly , swear on Diamond for 75 % of their production ?
And that ’s without the worry that non - US retail merchant are suffering . One retailer , their details cast , passed Bleeding Cool their own express concerns – no reply yet . possibly Bleeding Cool can help . We are meant to get a line something regarding outside shipping this week …
DC call for to know the be concerns UK retailers have that MUST be do within 7 daytime before the first FOC close up , but which are not currently being adequately address by UCS ( Lunar not really an option for the UK , unless we prefer to ante up for an additional 2,500 mi in airwave freight ):
- Damages are of particular concern for us , as instead of our box journey no more than 200 Swedish mile across the UK , they will instead experience an additional 4,000 + miles that previously would have been part of a pallet , and therefore better protected .
Could this all just a big negotiation tactic by DC to get good Diamond terms ? Oh yes , UCS is now alsoselling comic book long boxes . So there ’s that too .
revel this ? Please share on societal medium !
