I’m going to write a full post on this, but I wanted to get this out there early:
Diamond’s new order minimums increase is going to hurt the DM worse than Marvel’s Heroes World Debacle did. It is essentially the beginning of the end for the Direct Market, in my estimation. Specifically because Diamond Comics Distributors is a monopoly.
So, yeah. All the reasoning is coming later (like: Scott Pilgrim Volume 1 would not have made the new retail cut off, based on its original initial orders). This Is Not Good.
Fun Fact: Do you know what it costs to be a direct market retailer? $600 minimum order each month. A cost between 4 and 10 times less than what it costs to be a publisher, apparently. Figure that one out.
- Christopher
More on Diamond Minimum Increase » Comics Worth Reading says:
[...] Butcher prophesies doom, calling the change “essentially the beginning of the end for the Direct Market.” He [...]
January 19th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Dang, we have to stop using Oni for examples, or someone’s going to get angry.
January 19th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Simon- The irony is, as a brokered publisher Oni has nothing to worry about, now. But anyone not brokered with Diamond is fucked.
- Chris
January 20th, 2009 at 2:47 am
Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Jan. 20, 2009: Utterly filthy and ridiculous says:
[...] “Diamond’s new order minimums increase is going to hurt the DM worse than Marvel’s Heroes World Debacle did. It is essentially the beginning of the end for the Direct Market, in my estimation. Specifically because Diamond Comics Distributors is a monopoly.” – Christopher Butcher [...]
January 20th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Yeah, I knew about that. And it’s something we’ve never been offered, never requested for, and after all this, will never receive. ;)
January 20th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Strip News 1-23-09 — ArtPatient.com says:
[...] new policy – there’s more discussion than I can link to but try here, here, here, here, here, here and here for starters. And the Diamond response can be seen here. Nicely, Dreamchilde echoes [...]
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:13 am
Christopher,
It is a little scary to me as an unknown working on a creator owned book. If I can’t get picked up by Image, Oni, or the two or three other publishers with the weight to get an unknown book into comic shops what options do I have for getting my work to readers? I feel this might be especially difficult for those who focus on more long form stories.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment » New threshold ‘probably means the end of independent serialized comics’ says:
[...] In a post ominously titled “Beginning of the End for the Direct Market,” retailer Christopher Butcher says the increase in the order minimum “is going to hurt the DM [...]
February 20th, 2009 at 12:49 am
Fleen: Enjoy Our Semi-Abusive Opinion Mongering » Busy Today — Busy, Busy! says:
[...] news, Brown informs us that he’s been told that Diamond will not hold Xeric winners to their new order minimums, so you should be able to actually purchase Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing in your friendly local [...]
March 16th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Webcomics’ Identity Crisis, Part V: The Survivor’s Guide on How to Turn a Comic Book into a Webcomic – MorganWick.com says:
[...] numerous commentators, from Steven Grant to Christopher Butcher to Elin Winkler to Brian Clevinger, the latest changes are the last straw: it’s time for [...]
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Book Club: Volume 1 - Techland - TIME.com says:
[...] who's perpetually ahead of the curve). As Christopher Butcher (the real-life Wallace Wells!) has pointed out, the first volume wouldn't have made Diamond's current cutoff mark for distribution based on its [...]
June 30th, 2010 at 1:01 pm