The Old Gods Are Dead

2025 has been a whirlwind thus far, and it doesn’t show many signs of slowing down. Two industry shows back to back have gathered many of the pop culture players together to figure things out: ComicsPRO in Glendale, CA the last week of February, and Toy Fair in New York City this weekend (with two days to go.) And there was a lot to see and learn at both shows.

You can read my ComicsPRO wrap-up for Publishers Weekly here, and for audio learners, listen to myself, Calvin Reid and Kate Fitzsimons on our More To Come Podcast here. And a retailer’s view here. I’ll have a few more links below, but a few points that I wanted to mention (which I probably did on the podcast so sorry to repeat myself).

As noted, despite these chaotic times we face, everyone at ComicsPRO, including retailers and publishers, were optimistic and solution oriented. Participants shared even more  positive vibes on various Facebook posts, but it’s really remarkable to have such an upbeat meeting. It reflects the comics community in general – the people in this business are just passionate about comics. Making them, selling them, reading them. It’s a tremendous spirit, and one that overcomes any bleak “comics are doomed” sentiments. 

It’s obvious that comics are never doomed. No matter what happens, people will continue to make comics, sell comics and read comics. The channels may change, the brand on the cover may change, people come and go. But new methods, new ideas, new stars will evolve and arise. I think it’s this attitude that gives ComicsPRO its cooperative and unified spirit. 

All that said, it’s a whole new ballgame. 

Comics were going to die when newsstand distribution died in the 70s. Instead the direct market gave rise to a boom in creativity and new formats. Comics were going to die in the 90s during the last distributor meltdown that took thousands of shops with it. Instead, manga and graphic novels arose, making comics in one form or another ubiquitous wherever printed matter is sold. 

And so we come to the present day, and the end of the Diamond Comics Era. Diamond was the single biggest institution in the industry for 30 years, and much of how the industry worked was built around how Diamond did business. I would include DC publisher Paul Levitz and Senior Vice President—Sales and Marketing Bob Wayne as other key figures in building this system. Levitz stepped down in 2009, Wayne in 2014, but how they saw the business influenced (and reflected) many retailers who were around from the 90s on. 

I don’t want to write the complete history of the Diamond Era here, but when Diamond become the sole direct market distributor, they had a clause in their contract with DC that would have allowed DC to buy Diamond. I went into this in some detail back in the early pandemic days. I mention this just to show that there was a system in place that was very much How Things Were Done, that lasted until March 23rd, 2020, when Diamond announced they would cease shipping products due to the pandemic lockdowns. 

This set off a chain of events over the last five years that resulted in Diamond announcing its bankruptcy on January 14. 

Six weeks later we’ve entered a phase that I keep calling “The Old Gods Are Dead.” The business game ran a certain way for 30 years, and Diamond was the referee. But the rules have changed. Change and evolution are eternal, but at ComicsPRO retailers, still the backbone of the industry, evinced a “can do” attitude about facing this future. The truth is, there are so many different ways to bring comics to market now. Direct to consumer, digital, crowdfunding, bookstores, Lunar, PRH…and new players on the scene. Lots of things are being tried, many will fail, but some will succeed, and better approaches to the things that fail will be discovered. When people work together, they can solve problems, and that was very much the mood. 

And some other quick observations: 

I know I mentioned this on the podcast, but it was very cool that DC had two big reveals – Matt Fraction on Batman and a new DC/Marvel crossover – and neither one leaked. I think a very conscious effort was made to preserve the surprise, and it worked! There are one or more “DC leakers” who have spoiled big announcements in the past and while I get the thrill of leaking stuff, I think this industry needs big surprises. The energy in the room when the news broke was so exciting, and that excitement carries over and spreads. It’s “Hall H” energy and we need more of that. It is true that it’s very hard to have surprises that big – and Marvel and DC teaming up IS pretty much the biggest surprise possible – but it’s a good thing for everyone in the industry, especially comics periodicals, a serial format that lends themselves to this kind of reveal. I hope we have more exciting in-person reveals! 

There were a lot of new publishers on the scene, and they did their best to stand out. Ignition Press is the most impressive, but The Lab Press, Amp Comics, Rekcah Publishing, Panick Entertainment, and more folks who were just walking around. The retooled Oni and Bad idea, and recent launches DSTLRY, 247 Comics and Invader Comics also continued to show strong game or upped their game. There is a lot of product out there, and a lot of players, but they showed dedication and planning for the future. 

The one kind of down note was that the COMET Standard to standardize metadata, is having slow going. The Diamond turbulence hasn’t helped and it’s just a big, big project. As important as it is, the project trudges along, and hopefully we’ll see results eventually. 

ComicsPRO will return to Glendale next year, and I suspect it will be even bigger. With so many publishing entities located in SoCal, so many people wanted to exhibit that some had to be turned away, as the venue has only so much space. I spoke with ComicsPRO Executive Director Marco Davanzo and they will most likely think about changing the configuration of the event for next time. The event has several sections, including an exhibit hall that is only open for a few hours on one day, and then a series of soundtables for publishers and retailers. The roundtables are universally seen as the most valuable time for conversations (and not open to the press, as it should be). The exhibit room is a staple of shows, but less effective…but allows more people to be seen. Anyway, I’m glad I don’t have to figure this one out. 

One final note: I find it pretty incredible that I was the only press who attended in person to cover ComicsPRO. I was only allowed to attend starting last year, so I know this is a new idea. It was a very tiring two and a half days for me, as I knew my live posting on BlueSKy was being read by a lot of people, so I felt it was my duty to stick around for nearly every presentation. That said, there was a livestream that was open to more people, but only ICv2 and one other outlet covered that. It’s a much a reflection of the dismal state of comics journalism, but ComicsPRO is a vital event for connecting with new and established publishers so maybe next time I can have a sidekick or two. (And remember if you would like to write for the Beat HMU at our NEW dedicated submission line. 

The end of Old Gods suggests the rise of New Gods. I don’t know who the Orion, Metron and Big Barda of the New Era will be just yet, but I look forward to finding out. 

I mentioned Toy Fair in the headline, and I’ll have some blurry photos and more analysis in another post, but this was only the second Toy Fair since 2020, and the first in the traditional Winter time frame since COVID. The toy industry had its own pandemic boom and bust, but seems to have stabilized for now. The effect of Diamond’s restructuring on the toy industry has been little reported, but they owe toy companies a lot of money – millions in a few cases. The owner of one smaller toy company I spoke with mentioned that their debt from Diamond was an annoyance but nothing they couldn’t handle – which seemed to be the general tone. 

Diamond did have a booth – they had already paid for it, and I’m guessing a refund wouldn’t have mattered much. I went around the Diamond Select showroom, but the mood was muted, as you might expect. More on this later. 

If ComicsPRO had the mood of building a new infrastructure, Toy Fair is the end result of a decade of licensing frenzy. I asked a few people if there were any rising brands they could pinpoint, but everyone said “Everything is already licensed.” There is so much stuff (much of it cool) but stuff in every possible size and variety. If one company has Rubik’s Cube and Batman, there will be a Batman Rubik’s cube. There are now tiny Funko figures (Bittys) that can go inside larger Funko figures. Funko pops now have their own pops. At Hasbro there was a line of figures who are holding the comics they debuted in. It’s like toy inception. 

Where does this all go? Is there any stone left unturned? Will we end up having the deepest cut characters from One Piece or Star Trek in oversized 50 point articulation? I’m returning for one more day of Toy Fair today, and I’m looking for answers. 

A few more things before we wrap up ComicsPro. Atom Freeman’s Comics Industry Insider podcast is a newish and very valuable resource for those of us looking for industry talk, and there was a live ComicsPRO roundtable last week which has more coverage. (I was supposed to be on it but messed up the times.)

Freeman’s Prana Solutions is one of the comics marketing companies that is providing valuable services for the many new players on the scene I’ve plugged their newsletter before, but the new issue has Freeman’s own takes on ComcisPRO, and his own advice for the industry. Don’t take it from me, take it from someone in the trenches. Reprinted with permission,   

“Enough of metaphor, Atom! What should I be doing right now?” Okay, fine. Let’s focus on 5 points that any publisher should be leaning into:

1. 1. Refocus on quality. We all got caught up on SKUs there for a minute. And who could blame us? Start a rumor about media rights and build a dozen covers knowing that the rest of that series was DOA anyway. Doesn’t matter. Let’s print some money!But, it did matter. All those SKUs filled up the store shelves, made the retailers lives harder, drove up the prices for printing, and, in the end, was one of the downfalls of Diamond. Distributing small press is a viable business but not when each issue has a dozen covers. At Prana, we had a client that we sold several hundreds of thousands of exclusive covers for in one year. The year before they went bankrupt.

      The answer is simple. Do LESS of BETTER. Hire the best editors and creators you can find, not just more of them. Find creative partners who share your vision and are determined to create something wonderful. Build something you are proud of and then don’t give up until you’ve done everything you can to make it better. You know the difference in printing work you are proud of and the work you just put out to pay the bills. Demand the first.

      The ramifications of that strategy are tough to swallow, I know. You will need a leaner team. You will need to adapt more quickly to the marketplace. You will, in short, need to work more and harder. But the benefits of producing work you are proud of will keep you going and build your company faster than the same long list of IP everyone else has.

   2. Refocus on consistency. There are plenty of reasons the Direct Market works as a sector. But the number one reason has to be the weekly comics fan. The person who shows up each week no matter what is going on in their lives to pick up their comics (even those who will never have time read them all), talks to the store staff, and gives a portion of every week to thinking about what they are going to buy when they go in.But, they won’t show up if you don’t ship. Dedicate yourself to consistency. Pick a date each month that is yours and own it with the best product you can build. This strategy works if you are a comics publisher, retailer, creator, or, I don’t know, Tik Tok dancer. You won’t build an audience if they don’t know when to meet you. BE ON TIME.
   3. Market the shit out of it. Variant covers made us complacent. They made us weak. It’s time to get back to the gym. Build your social media campaign, your advertising campaign, your marketing campaign, and your retailer relations campaign  (if you don’t know the difference between those, let’s talk) before you solicit and work those plans within an inch of their lives. Then go back and rework them when they don’t perform. Nothing sells wholesale like retail demand and that is not something you can delegate to the busy retailer (though thank the retail gods for those that can hand-sell).
   4. Spread your risk and your rewards. Any of my retailer friends who are reading this, can I recommend that you skip to #5?Are they gone? Okay, good. Publishers, if you don’t have a Direct To Consumer plan that isn’t just a website and tabling at your favorite conventions every year, this will not be the last implosion threatening to take you down. Your business plan must include some sort of direct to consumer marketing and sales plans. That means (but isn’t limited to) conventions and a website, yes. But, also, crowdfunding and email campaigns. It means social media ads to support all of those things. It means advertising on every platform you can afford (can I recommend ZCN?). You started a comics publisher to develop a fanbase. You owe it to yourself and your team to always be growing that base.

      The benefit of this is that larger consumer demand and more impressions will not only benefit your direct sales, they actually increase demand in the comics shops and bookstores themselves.

   5. Build community. This means a lot of different things for a lot of different companies, but I can tell you what I’ve seen work. Podcasts, newsletters, Discord channels, meetups, and conventions and many, many more. Find your tribe. Your fans are not just consumers, they are people with interesting lives and they want to connect. Be open to that connection and find as many channels to start and grow those conversations as possible.