Tomorrow, It's the End of the World

(rolls eye) wow, someone is being dramatic

Short Stack (Jan. 24th, 2023)

Just a pile of digital flapjacks for you to consume. There are no themes, only vibes. This will usually happen the day before a big article goes live.

ONE | Tomorrow is my first column back at The Beat, and I am nervous. It’s almost done. Mostly done. Maybe a bit angry. If you’ve read anything I wrote here last week, you already have a bit of taste. Here’s another morsel from shortly after I talk about a playlist I’ve curated about songs to listen to at the end of the world:

My current favourite on the mix is a song entitled “Single for the Summer” by Christian Lee Hutson, who writes incredible songs about people who are sad, but surviving. The chorus to this particular song is a phrase repeated over the gentle ticking guitar melody insisting, “things are gonna turn around any day now”. It would be a funny way to go, right? The noise grows louder around you, and you’re hearing someone insist that things aren’t okay, but by gum, they sure are gonna’ turn around.

I listen to that most Sunday mornings, and I smile.

I thought I’d share that with you all for no particular reason.

Let’s talk about the direct market, shall we?

I hope you enjoy it, because it contains a roadmap for survival. Not just for comics

TWO | All of us here are hashtag blessed because two of the smartest people in the comic book industry are joining forces for the year and pulling at all the loose ends that litter this industry.

David Harper and James Tynion IV have kicked off a conversation series that will be running at SKTCHD and the Empire of the Tiny Onion Substack respectively. The first taste is free and available at the links that I provided. You should go to them both to boost up some stats, and read the first instalment at least once. The thing is filled to the brim with the good stuff, including stuff like this:

Tynion: “…the Big Two don't feel like they're in the driver's seat and I'm not sure that they will be able to take the wheel again in this new market we're building.”

Harper: “Right now, people are still talking about that ICv2/Comichron report about 2021 that showcased how revenues were massive and everything was doing well. But that was for 2021.”

Tynion: “Comics are expensive. ‘What am I getting out of this experience that I can't get elsewhere and if I can get it elsewhere, do I get it better elsewhere?’”

Tynion: “I don't think the path forward is going to be repeating any of the steps that we've made in the past.”

A note: those are quotes taken from all over the first piece, and not immediately sequential. But you get the vibes. Change is on its way, and not by choice. The time for choosing has passed. There is no rebuilding, but building something better.

THREE | While the modern single issue market continues to walk on shaky ground, Marvel is out in the streets touting a robust slate of projects that work outside of the direct market grind. Folks talk a lot about comics being in trouble, but they’re not - the direct market and single issues are in trouble if the methods of delivery aren’t addressed.

FOUR | Brian Hibbs continues to be out in these streets, talking about the industry. In his 293rd instalment of Tilting At Windmills, he’s talking about the modern periodical and some of the problems with the format as it exists today. As always, Brian’s viewpoint is valued for good reason. I don’t always agree with him, but I’ll never argue against his body of work not only as a columnist but as a retailer.

If you want to see my version of something like this, you’ll have to travel to the past to the deep pandemic and get a glimpse of my proposal for a way forward. It is something that DC has been running a version of with Batman: Urban Legends and this week’s Action Comics #1051 and beyond. Articles like that are my goal, going forward. Something that doesn’t just point out a failure, but propose a way forward. I don’t always hit the mark, but I try. I think the industry could use a few more people giving a try.

FIVE | This last bit is just something that I want to get out into the world, because I’m feeling pretty okay about it. Last year, the store was up 16% in sales year to year. Our December was up a shocking (and exhausting) 80% year to year - and as of Saturday, we beat our January sales from 2022. I like seeing this trend, though I’m a bit concerned I can’t explain it. My brain won’t allow me a victory, there has to be a reason, and that reason can’t just be “maybe what you’re doing is working”. Things are supposed to be bad now, right? But they’re not. They’re slotting into place. They’re looking even better for the future. This is good, right? It probably means I might know what I’m talking about a little, yes? Please, figure out a way to tell my brain that, because while the logical parts of me are quite comfortable with the state of affairs, there is still a thing that is screaming and screaming and it just won’t stop.

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Hey folks, that wraps things up for today’s post. You’ll find me here tomorrow with something short that sends you off to The Beat. If you want to comment on the article, do so here, because I do not read the comments on that site, or on other more public forums. Mental health is important.

Talk with you soon,

-B.