Paul Dunne takes a look at the comics climate in these unprecedented times.
25th March 2020
So, it's all change in the comics industry. This week was last week - for the foreseeable future – that Diamond (the sole comic distributor for most of the industry) will ship new comics. However, it wasn't pricing, service issues, or arguments with publishers that brought the industry to stand still, but the now worldwide problem of the Covid-19 outbreak. This outbreak has not only damaged our arts but the delivery system of those arts. It is at least unbiased in the path of its destruction. We're all going to be affected.
The Diamond situation seems to have arisen from a number of factors. And though Diamond has become something of a company that people love to hate, none of these factors is directly their fault. Or anyone's really. We're in unprecedented times. With people instructed to stay home (rightly so), there is little to no foot traffic for comic book stores. Some stores can't afford to take the hit on their business that interrupted foot-traffic causes, so they've closed. Couple this with the instruction from many Governments that non-essential businesses should shut down to minimise the risk of the virus spreading means there are pretty much no comic book stores open right now. At least not in the UK. Although most of those stores are still doing mail orders, that's a significant change in the business model. It also means that stores may have to scale back their upcoming orders, understandably. Then, of course, there's the fact that some books may not be ready for solicitation. Comics are a joint effort, a chain. And if one link in the chain is broken, even temporarily, that may cause delays in the books being made available.
And again, it's not anyone's fault. If you're a writer or artist that previously packed their kids off to school and then settled down to begin your day's work, that's not going to be an option for you right now. They may also have to support partners who are unwell. And even if that's not the case, creators may simply not be able to work because of the emotional weight they now have to carry. You can't really undersell the amount of stress this situation has caused people. On one hand, none of us is being asked to storm the beaches at Normandy. On the other, the news is reporting this as a war. A war against an invisible enemy, fought by a small group of people who are under-equipped and under-funded. People whom we should support and salute every day. The level of mental health problems that this 'new normal' we're now in has the potential to cause... well, I don't think we've even begun to consider that yet.
And that brings up another point. Diamond has thousands of staff in its supply chain, working around the world. Their first priority has to be the protection of those staff. So having people stay home is a must. Really, there was no other action they could have taken. And with no end in sight, what will happen to the industry that we know and love? Well, one thing that's been mooted is that digital comics still be made available where possible. But this has drawn ire from retailers. No surprises, since if people can buy digital and not physical, they're unlikely to pick up the physical copies when they become available again. Personally, I'm not sure that's true for those of us that still love physical media because ultimately, the physical object is the prize. But asking people to pay twice for the privilege is probably a bit much, especially since most of us are expecting a financial downturn in our earnings over the coming weeks. With no comics to buy, no place to sell them and no one able to earn the money to purchase them even if they could leave the house, this might feel like the end of the industry. So what can we do?
‘Be patient’ is the first thing that comes to mind. I'm confident Diamond will fulfil those orders already made and that when all this is over, we'll buy comics again. What we've lost during this time is the social outlet, the excitement of sharing this week's books with our friends, whether that's over coffee or over Twitter. But that doesn't mean we'll never do that again. My hope is that stores can hang on long enough for the tide to turn on this and for comics to be made available again. In the meantime, if you're anything like me you have boxes of comics you haven't read yet. Start digging into those, catch up, re-read. The scope and history of comics are immense and there's a world of future, undiscovered favourites waiting for us all. And you can tweet, skype, chat with your friends about the new things you're discovering. The community lives, if only electronically. Show how much you love the medium and why. If you can, rally ‘round your favourite creators. Reach out to them, and tell them what their work means to you. And if you're financially able, support your LCS by making some mail-order purchases. Dig into their trades catalogue or maybe their indie section. There's more than ever out there for us to enjoy and sample. And we get to help the stores that have helped us as readers, giving us years worth of enjoyment in 22 pages. Maybe it's our turn to be their superheroes now.