Retailing & Marketing

Marvel's svp of sales David Gabriel has  confirmed that STAR WARS #1 will sell 1 million copies.  And already my inbox is jammed with missives...

Retailer organization ComicsPRO has been a major influence in the industry over the last few years, working with publishers and holding a yearly conference...

I'm devastated to learn of the death of Brian Jacoby, the owner of Secret Headquarters, a comics shop in Tallahassee, FL. Jacoby was admitted to the hospital last week with blood clots in both lungs and a leg, and he died suddenly on Thanksgiving night. Jacoby tweeted his health experiences and hospitalization on his Twitter account—painful reading now, but his humor even in illness is evident. The above photo is taken from his Twitter account.

Well, sort of. It's well known that some used book prices on Amazon are just kind of...loony. Take for instance, Monsters by Ken Dahl, an excellent book about a guy who thinks he has herpes by Ken Dahl, published by Secret Acres but now out of print. (A new edition is planned for next year.) In the meantime, you can get a used copy for a mere $394.94... or brand new for $11,964.08.

After several years travelling around the country—three years in Chicago and then earlier this year in Las Vegas—Diamond is holding its 2015 Retailer Summit...

With both Marvel and DC running big, somewhat vague multiverse spanning crossovers this year, I decided to take some time to go over what...

It’s the return of The Beat’s weekly look at comics on Final Order Cut-Off (FOC) and bits of retail process that doesn’t merit a...

Want to find more about how graphic novel publishers are approaching the massive changes in comics readership and marketing now underway? Then fire up your computer tomorrow at 1 pm EST for a webcast with these industry experts.

We've been talking about how the comics industry is doing well, and people seem to be making good on their business plans. But there are still cautionary tales. One such tale is Kaboom Test Labs, a two store cain located in Albuquerque, NM that abruptly closed shop this weekend. The main site has only a note that the owners were leaving New Mexico; a Facebook page where disappointed customers wondered what happened has been removed.

Out with the old, in with the new? As we've been reporting, October comics sales were pretty damn massive. It's the culmination of a year that started a little rocky but has blossomed as new trends blew into town behind a strong trade wind. Multiversity's David Harper has the much needed big think piece on what's happening complete with CHARTS. First he points out that The Big Two are still the big two:

2014 is swiftly drawing to a close. In the midst of making sure my shelves will weather the upcoming Christmas season, I’ll be placing...

Navigating monthly orders is a bone-numbing pain. I feel as though this is something I write a variation of in most of these columns....