The Direct Market system has been unchanged for more than 40 years. but it may be ending, for real this time.
Tilting at Windmills #271: A Chance to be Thankful
The Direct Market is sickly, but there are a few things to be thankful for.
Tilting at Windmills #270: Pondering Whether to Close A Comic Shop
A periodical-based comics shop in SF is in jeopardy of closing.
Tilting at Windmills #269: Wal-Mart, Content and ALA
Brian Hibbs goes to New Orleans for ALA and muses about DC’s march on Wal-Mart
Tilting at Windmills #268: Looking at BookScan 2017 – and this time it’s certified
THIS IS THE BIG ONE! Retailer Brian Hibbs analyses 2017’s bookstore sales with actual numbers, and this time with the complete cooperation and help of NPD Bookscan.
Tilting at Windmills #267 – Dear Publishers: Weekly Comics Suck
By Brian Hibbs There’s a particular Myth of the market that says that the “Wednesday Warriors” – the hardcore, most committed fan, who comes in every week without fail, usually on a Wednesday – are the core of the business that we should be catering to. This is a narrative that is regularly advanced by […]
Tilting at Windmills #266: An Open Letter to C.B. Cebulski & Marvel Comics
By Brian Hibbs Dear C.B., I want to congratulate you on your new position as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel comics; from what I know about you I think you’ll probably fit the job pretty well. There’s been a lot of chatter about Marvel’s content, and I’d like to talk a bit more about it from […]
Tilting at Windmills #265: #MeToo – When a Bathroom Makes Women Uncomfortable
By Brian Hibbs So, this is kind of hard column to write, because it means being vulnerable and honest about issues that are genuinely hard to discuss, especially in the exact political climate we live in today. These are also things that are hard for me personally to discuss because I’m a fifty year old […]
Tilting at Windmills #263: Elsewhere in the Direct Market…
By Brian Hibbs I’m a little bored with continually talking about Marvel comics and “Legacy” – there’s not a lot more to say about them now until we get into the sell-through phase in about two months. So, what else is in the comics news? One publisher that caught my eye was IDW, with two […]
Tilting at Windmills #262: Why Marvel’s Lenticular Numbers Don’t Add Up For My Stores
By Brian Hibbs As I write this, it’s the deadline to order the October “Legacy” re-positioning from Marvel, with the lenticular covers. Marvel has been explicit that if we don’t order the lenticulars by the initial order deadline of 8/24, then we should expect to get allocated on any orders we might place. One of […]