Direct market
The direct market is the dominant
- three major comic distributors:
- Lunar Distribution (which distributes DC Comics since 2020 and Image Comics since 2023[2]);
- Penguin Random House Publisher Services (the distribution arm of the publishing company), which since 1 October 2021 distributes Marvel Comics, since 1 June 2022 distributes IDW Publishing,[3] and since 1 June 2023 distributes Dark Horse Comics;[4] and
- Diamond Comic Distributors, which distributes most, if not all, non-DC/Marvel/Image/IDW/Dark Horse comics (having exclusive deals with those publishers) and wholesales Marvel Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, and Dark Horse Comics.
- the majority of comics specialty stores, and
- other retailers of comic books and related merchandise.
The name is no longer a fully accurate description of the model by which it operates, but derives from its original implementation: retailers bypassing existing distributors to make "direct" purchases from
The emergence of this lower-risk distribution system is also credited with providing an opportunity for new comics publishers to enter the business, despite the two bigger publishers Marvel and DC Comics still having the largest share. The establishment and growth of independent publishers and self-publishers, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing to the present, was made economically possible by the existence of a system that targets its retail audience, rather than relying on the scattershot approach embodied in the returnable newsstand system.
Comic book specialty shops
Prior to the 1970s, most comics were found in
- Timing: direct-market specialty shops were often able to obtain new issues a week earlier than newsstand vendors.[9]
- Condition: the wire racks of grocery, drug, and toy stores were often only half the height of comic books, resulting in bent spines and dog-eared pages. In contrast, direct market retail outlets usually attempt to maintain their inventory in good condition. Their shelves are often the full height of the comic book. Many stores also included backing boards and vinyl bags to further protect comics upon purchase (a practice that began in the 1980s and continues in some shops today).
- Content: direct-only stores could cater to older, more mature audiences, and thus can market material deemed too offensive (due to graphic violence, nudity, language, drug use, etc.) for grocery/drug/convenience/toy stores. In addition, due to the non-returnable nature of direct sales, typical direct-only stores contain a substantial archive of back issues. These retailers could also stock ancillary merchandise such as figurines, posters, toys, and novelties that would not be expected to be stocked by newsstands, etc.
- Price: The older, more mature customers of direct-only stores are typically willing to pay several times more than the average customer of a grocery/drug/toy store. Cover prices approaching (or even exceeding) $5.00 became common.
- Knowledge: The proprietors of direct-only stores are often collectors themselves, which means they are quite familiar with their inventories. Customers often have the option of phoning their orders in ahead of time, and by the time the customers arrive at the direct-only stores their orders will be set aside behind the counter (known as "pull and hold"). Direct-only store proprietors often arrange their inventory by publisher and/or genre, as opposed to the haphazard presentation of grocery/drug/toy stores.
History
Background
Before the direct market, from the 1930s through the 1960s, most comic books were distributed through
In 1957, Atlas (later Marvel Comics), was forced to switch from American News to that of its biggest rival, Independent News, which imposed draconian restrictions. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview, "[We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books a month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us."[11] In 1968, while selling 50 million comic books a year, Marvel revised the constraining distribution arrangement with Independent News it had reached under duress during the Atlas years, allowing Marvel now to release as many titles as demand warranted.[12] By 1970, Independent News was defunct, absorbed into a larger and changing distribution business.
1960s and 1970s
The
The direct market was created in the early 1970s in response to the declining market for mainstream comic books on
Additionally, retailers ordering comics through Seuling's
Direct distributors typically were much faster at getting the product into the hands of their customers than were IDs: a direct distribution warehouse generally had re-shipped a weekly batch of comics or delivered it to local customers within a day or two (sometimes within hours) of receiving the books from the printer. By contrast, most IDs would usually take two or even three weeks to do so, though some moved more quickly. This factor was a strong drawing card for retailers whose customer base consisted principally of fans eager to see the new issues each week.
Finally, another factor in creating demand for direct sales distribution was that many IDs refused to deal with comics specialty shops or with any retailer who dealt in back issues on any terms at all, fearing that used comics could be purchased by these shops from readers for pennies, and then cycled back through the system as returns for full credit at a profit.
By the mid-1970s, other direct sales distribution concerns had sprung up, mostly regionally based (Donahoe Brothers in the Great Lakes region,
Newsstand distribution through the IDs continued at the same time (and indeed remained dominant for years afterward, on its conventional returnable, low-discount terms).
1980s
In the early 1980s, a trade organization, the International Association of Direct Distributors (IADD) was formed, consisting of all the distributors who purchased product directly from either DC, Marvel, or both. The IADD had annual conferences, issuing obscenity guidelines in 1987,[17] and electing Diamond Comic Distributors' Steve Geppi as IADD Vice President in 1988.[18]
As early as 1980, Marvel Comics saw the growth potential of the direct market,[19] and by 1981 was putting out a number of titles geared specifically to that market (including Dazzler and Ka-Zar the Savage). By the early 1980s, all the major publishers were producing material specifically for the new market, series that would probably not sell well enough on the newsstand, but sold well enough on a non-returnable basis to the more dedicated readers of the direct market to be profitable.[20]
Several of the new distributors lasted a relatively short time, and were succeeded by more competitive organizations; Diamond Comic Distributors replaced New Media/Irjax and Capital City Distribution largely replaced Big Rapids Distribution in the marketplace.
By 1985, the number of direct distributors in North America peaked with approximately twenty companies, many of them multi-warehouse operations, purchasing product for resale to retailers directly from either DC Comics, Marvel Comics, or both. There were also an unknown number, probably in the dozens, of sub-distributors who bought DC and Marvel product from these larger companies (and often the products of other, smaller publishers direct from those publishers), and re-sold to retailers. Most of these sub-distributors were in cities in which the direct distributors themselves did not (at least as yet) have warehouses, including
From the mid-80s to the mid-90s, nearly every major urban area in the United States had at least one (and sometimes two or three) local direct distribution warehouses that functioned not only as distribution points for pre-ordered weekly shipments, but also as what could be described as "supermarkets for retailers", where store owners could shop for reorders and examine and purchase product that they might not have ordered in advance.
1990s
As newsstand sales continued to decline, the Direct Market became the primary market of the two major comics publishers (
Such rapid growth (due partially to speculation) was unsustainable, however. The market contracted in the mid-1990s, leading to the closure of many Direct Market shops.[21] Diamond and Capital City began closing local warehouses, moving from a decentralized model in which many local warehouses provided full service to a given area to a centralized one with a few shipping hubs and no local walk-in service at all. In 1994, Capital City created controversy by announcing penalties for publishers who didn't deliver their products within promised deadlines; this move followed an industry-wide push for 30-day returnability, a practice formerly in use when comics were primarily distributed in newsstands.[22]
In early 1995, Marvel Comics purchased
2000s and 2010s
In the early 2000s, Diamond continued to dominate direct-market distribution. However, the
2020s
In 2020, the
Direct market distributors
The list below includes sub-distributors, who bought their mainstream comics from one of the companies below but many of whom were on direct terms with one or more of the smaller or underground publishers.[36]
United States
Distributor name | Headquarters | Founded | Closed | Fate | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Action Direct | Kansas City, Kansas | Defunct | operated in the 1980s; in 1985 acquired assets of Cavco Longhorn | ||
Alternate Realities Distributing, Inc. |
Denver, Colorado | 1979 | 1987 | Acquired by Bud Plant |
Wholesale distributor operated by Mile High Comics and run by Nanette Rozanski[37] |
Big Rapids Distribution | Detroit, Michigan | 1975 | 1980 | Bankruptcy | Originally underground press and underground comix distributor founded in 1970; began mainstream comics distribution in early 1975, when Donahoe Brothers Inc. of nearby Ann Arbor went under. Two former employees — Milton Griepp and John Davis — went on to form Capital City Distribution. |
Bud Plant Inc. | Grass Valley, California | 1970 | 1988 | Acquired by Diamond[38] | Wholesale distribution operation |
Capital City Distribution | Madison, Wisconsin | 1980 | 1996 | Acquired by Diamond | |
Cavco Longhorn | Texas | 1985[39] | Accounts acquired by Action Direct | ||
Charles Abar Distribution | Belmont, California | 1982 | Acquired by Bud Plant[40] |
||
Cold Cut Distribution | Salinas, California | 1994 | 2008 | Assets acquired by Haven Distribution | Owned by Mark Thompson and Tim Stroup. Specialized in small-press and independent comics; in March 1998, acquired the assets of Minnesota-based Downtown Distribution[41] |
The Comic Distributor | Lansing, Michigan | 1975 | 1979 | Acquired by Big Rapids Distribution | Sub-distributor started by former Donahoe Brothers employee Jim Friel. (The name "The Comic Distributor" was later taken by Mark Hylton of Comic Carnival.) |
Comic Kingdom | Detroit, Michigan | 1981 | early 1980s | Acquired by Glenwood Distributors | Started by retailer Bob Hellems |
Comics Hawaii | Honolulu, Hawaii | Defunct | |||
Comics Unlimited | Staten Island, New York | 1975 | 1994[42][43] | Acquired by Diamond | Operated by Ron Foreman and Walter Wang; also a retailer — the retailer business was acquired by Fantasy Books & Games in mid-1995[44] |
Common Ground Distributors |
Berkeley, California | 1978 | 1982 | Acquired by Capital City | Sub-distributor started by Robert Beerbohm and initially supplied by Big Rapids Distribution |
Destiny Distributors | Seattle, Washington | early 1980s | 1990 | Acquired by Diamond.[45] | Sub-distributor started by Phil Pankow and initially supplied by Bud Plant
|
Diamond Comic Distributors | Baltimore, Maryland | 1982 | — | Active | Inherited New Media/Irjax distribution centers and warehouses |
Donahoe Brothers Inc. | Ann Arbor, Michigan | c. 1970 | 1975 | Bankruptcy; accounts acquired by Big Rapids Distribution | The second direct distributor (pre-dating both New Media Distribution by a month or two). The Donahoes had been in business for about a year, dealing first with Marvel Comics, then Warren Publishing, Atlas/Seaboard Comics, Charlton Comics, and Archie Comics, and finally (and only for about two or three months) with DC Comics when they went out of business. Also known as Comic Center Enterprises; their catalog was called Weekly Dealer
|
Fat Jack's Comicrypt |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1976 | — | Defunct as distributor | Still active retailer that once acted as a sub-distributor |
FM International | Wisconsin | 1996 | 2006 | Defunct | Primarily supplied back-stock |
Friendly Frank's | Gary, Indiana[46] | 1984[citation needed] | 1995 | Acquired by Capital City[47] | Owner's name was Frank W. Mangiaracina. "Registered agent" located in Gary, Indiana; owner's offices located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.[citation needed] Their catalog was called Future Comics. |
Glenwood Distributors | St. Louis, Missouri | c. 1980 | 1987 | Bankruptcy | Sold in 1986,[48] they went through a financial crunch in the spring of 1987,[49] were sued by four publishers that summer,[50] and declared bankruptcy in the fall of 1987[51] |
Global Hobo Distro | San Francisco, California | 2003 | c. 2012 | Defunct | Distributor of hand-made and hard-to-find comics co-founded by Andy Hartzell and Jesse Reklaw; was partnered with Last Gasp |
Haven Distributors | Chicago, Illinois | 2008 | 2011 | Defunct | Began by acquiring the assets of Cold Cut Distribution.[52] Primarily focused on non-exclusive independent publishers; formally out of business as of October 31, 2011.[53] |
Heroes World Distribution | Morristown, New Jersey | 1975 | 1997 | Acquired by Marvel Comics in 1995 | The third largest distributor (behind Diamond and Capital City) at the time of its acquisition and out of business soon thereafter |
Isis News | Minneapolis, Minnesota | mid-1970s | Acquired by Big Rapids Distribution | Sub-distributor | |
Last Gasp | San Francisco, California | 1970 | 2017[54] | Defunct as distributor | Founded as a publisher; began distributing soon after |
Lunar Distribution[34] | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
2020 | — | Active | Part of Discount Comic Book Service |
Irjax Enterprises |
Rockville, Maryland | 1973[55] | 1982 | Assets sold to Diamond | Run by Hal Schuster.[56] In late 1981, the company filed for Chapter 11,[57] and in 1982 it sold the distribution end of the business to Steve Geppi (who immediately founded Diamond Comic Distributors).[58]
|
Nova | Los Angeles, California | mid-1970s | Acquired by Big Rapids Distribution | Sub-distributor | |
Pacific Comics Distributors | San Diego, California | c. 1974 | 1985 | Bankruptcy; distribution centers and warehouses acquired by Bud Plant Inc. and Capital City Distribution | Retailer, publisher, and distributor; went bankrupt in 1984 |
Print Mint | Berkeley, California | c. 1969 | c. 1975 | Defunct | Also a publisher and retailer; mostly focused on underground comix, posters, and other products of the counterculture |
Sea Gate Distributors |
Brooklyn, New York | 1972 | 1985 | Bankruptcy[59] | Essentially the first direct market distributor |
Second Genesis Distribution | Portland, Oregon | 1991[60] | Acquired by Diamond in 1990 | ||
Solar Spice and Liquors |
Cambridge, Massachusetts | c. 1981 | 1982 | Acquired by Diamond | Originally owned by Hal Schuster of New Media/Irjax |
Southern Fantasies/C.I.B. | Atlanta, Georgia | 1986 | c. 1994 | Defunct | |
Sunrise Distribution | Commerce, California | early 1980s | c. 1988 | Bankruptcy[61] | Run by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg |
UCS Comic Distributors[34] | New York City, New York | 2020 | — | Active | Part of Midtown Comics |
Well News Service | Columbus, Ohio | late 1970s | Acquired by Big Rapids Distribution (?) | Sub-distributor; their personnel later became the nucleus of an early Capital City Distribution branch | |
Wisconsin Independent News Distributors (WIND) | Madison, Wisconsin | 1971 | late 1970s | Acquired by Big Rapids Distribution | Eventually run by Milton Griepp and John Davis, who later went on to co-found Capital City Distribution |
Canada
- Andromeda Distributing Limited (Toronto, Ontario) — established in 1989
- Big Picture Distribution (Toronto, Ontario) — managed by Robert Myre
- Comex Distributors (Calgary, Alberta) — acquired by Portland, Oregon-based Second Genesis Distribution in 1988[62]
- Galileo Distributors (Edmonton, Alberta)
- Multi-Book and Periodical (Toronto, Ontario)
- Robin Hood Distribution (Oakville, Ontario)
- Styx International (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
United Kingdom
- Neptune Distribution — operated from 1986 to 1991, when it was acquired by Diamond[63]
- Slab-O-Concrete — small press-focused distributor run by Peter Pavement; operated from 1994 to 2001
- Titan Distributors — operated from 1978 to 1993, when it was acquired by Diamond[63]
See also
Notes
- ^ Salkowitz, Rob (April 12, 2021). "How PRH Could Expand the Market for Comics Periodicals". ICv2. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Image Comics Leaves Diamond Comic Distributors for Lunar". CBR. 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (March 25, 2021). "Marvel Comics Shifts to New Distributor in Industry-Rattling Move – IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ "DARK HORSE EXPANDS PARTNERSHIP WITH PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHER SERVICES". darkhorse.com. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ^ Bradburn, Jamie (2 September 2015). "Vintage Toronto Ads: Memory Lane – The story of "Captain George" Henderson, Toronto's first retailer to specialize in comic books". torontoist.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ VanderPloeg, Scott (14 September 2011). "Canada's 1st Comic Shop?". comicbookdaily.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ "Comics History: Underground comix and the underground press". lambiek.net. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
- ^ Dorn, Lori (6 February 2014). "Gary Arlington (1938-2014), Owner of the First Comic Book Store in the United States". laughingsquid.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ Rozanski, Chuck. "Tales From the Database: Destroying the Entry Point of Most New Readers Archived 2015-04-24 at the Wayback Machine." Mile High Comics, March 2004.
- ^ Eury, Michael. Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003), p. 42.
- ^ "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas". Comic Book Artist. No. 2. Summer 1998. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009.
- ^ "Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 10. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale / St. James Press, via FundingUniverse.com. 1995. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-914171-64-X.
- ^ Distributor information, indicia, The Comics Journal #45 (March 1979).
- ^ a b Evanier, Mark. "Notes From Me," POV Online (Dec. 31, 2004). Archived 2014-10-19 at the Wayback Machine Accessed Oct. 14, 2014.
- ^ "Direct Distribution" in Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s). Comics Between the Panels (Dark Horse Publishing, 1998), pp. 126-130.
- ^ "Newswatch: Distributor Organization Issues Guidelines About Obscenity," The Comics Journal #117 (September 1987), p. 14.
- ^ "Newswatch: Diamond's Steve Geppi Elected IADD VP," The Comics Journal #125 (October 1988), p. 25.
- ^ "Marvel Focuses On Direct Sales," The Comics Journal #59 (October 1980), pp. 11-12.
- ^ "The Direct Sales Boom," The Comics Journal #64 (July 1981), p. 7.
- ^ Miller, John Jackson. "Nov. 17, 1992: A $30 Million Day — and the Days After," Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine "The 1900s: 10 biggest events from 100 years in comics," CBGXtra.com (Dec. 12, 2005).
- ^ "Newswatch: Capital Announces Controversial Penalty Fees for Publishers: Move Follows Industry-wide Push for 30-day Returnability," The Comics Journal #166 (February 1994), pp. 17–26.
- ^ Gray, Bob. "Newswatch: Marvel Buys 3rd Largest Distributor: Heroes World Purchase Signals Fundamental Changes in the Direct Market," The Comics Journal #174 (February 1995), p. 15-22.
- ^ Gertler, Nat. "Marvel Buys Heroes World," Hogan's Alley, v. 1, no. 2 (1995), p. 17.
- ^ "Newswatch: Tip 11: Go Exclusive with Diamond" The Comics Journal #185 (Mar. 1996), p. 27.
- ^ ""Diamond Comic Distributors acquires Capital City Distribution; Comic distribution industry stabilized by purchase," bNet: Business Wire (July 26, 1996)". Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
- ^ "Tokyopop Signs Alliance with HarperCollins". icv2.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ "W.W. Norton To Distribute Fantagraphics". icv2.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ "Diamond Moves into Bookstore Distribution". icv2.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ Crawford, Blair (24 March 2020). "COVID-19: Ontario to close all non-essential businesses; Schools won't reopen April 6". Ottawa Citizen. Post-Media. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Rich (23 March 2020). "Diamond Comic Distributors No Longer Taking In New Comics". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Salkowitz, Rob (23 March 2020). "Final Crisis? Diamond Comic Distributors Halts Shipments Of New Comics In Response To COVID-19 Shutdowns". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (28 March 2020). "DC Exploring 'Multi-Distributor Model' to Deal with Coronavirus Crisis". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b c Arrant, Chris. "Inside DC's New Print Distribution Plan (And The New Distributors Involved)," Newsarama (April 17, 2020). Archived at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Griepp, Milton (April 29, 2020). "Diamond to resume weekly new product distribution". ICv2. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- East Coast Seagate Distribution.
- ^ Rozanski, Chuck. "Returning to the Topic of My 1979 Visit to the Marvel Offices," Archived 2009-12-31 at the Wayback Machine Tales From the Database, MileHighComics.com (March 2004).
- ^ "Bud Plant Sells Out to Diamond," The Comics Journal #124 (August 1988), p. 9-10.
- ^ "Newswatch: Texas Distributor calls it quits," The Comics Journal #99 (June 1985), pp. 17-18.
- ISBN 1-56971-344-8, p. 356-357
- ^ "About Cold Cut," Archived 2015-08-13 at the Wayback Machine Cold Cut official website. Accessed March 31, 2017.
- ^ Gray, Bob. "Newswatch: Marvel vs. Comics Unlimited : Marvel Cuts Off Distributor, Forcing Sale to Diamond," The Comics Journal # 171 (Sept. 1994), pp. 23-30.
- ^ "Diamond Timeline Chronicles 30 Years of Service & Success," Archived 2015-02-11 at the Wayback Machine Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. official website. Accessed Feb. 10, 2015.
- ^ "Retail Chain Doubles Size with Acquisition," The Comics Journal #180 (Sept. 1995), p. 29.
- ^ "Newswatch: Independent Meets Its Destiny," The Comics Journal #139 (December 1990), pp. 12-13.
- ^ "Newswatch: Friendly Frank's Consolidates and Expands," The Comics Journal #167 (Apr. 1994), p. 30.
- ^ "Newswatch: Capital City Acquires Friendly Frank's," The Comics Journal #178 (July 1995), pp. 13-15.
- ^ "Newswatch: Glenwood Distributors Sold," The Comics Journal #108 (May 1986), p.21.
- ^ "Newswatch: Glenwood in financial crunch," The Comics Journal #115 (April 1987), p. 23.
- ^ "Newswatch: Four Publishers Sue Glenwood For Non-Payment," The Comics Journal #116 (July 1987), pp. 17-18.
- ^ "Newswatch: Glenwood Distributors Declares Bankruptcy," The Comics Journal #117 (September 1987), p. 12.
- ^ Carlson, Johanna Draper. "Cold Cut Becomes Haven Distributors," Comics Worth Reading (Mar. 16, 2008). Retrieved Sept. 8, 2008. Archived September 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stahlberg, Lance. Haven website Archived 2011-12-29 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed December 17th, 2011.
- ^ Aoki, Deb. "Comics Publisher Last Gasp Shuts Down its Distribution Operation," Archived 2021-06-30 at the Wayback Machine Publishers Weekly (Dec 07, 2016).
- ^ Gearino, Dan. Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture (Ohio University Press, 2017).
- ^ "Direct Distribution," in Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s), Comics Between the Panels (Dark Horse Publishing, 1998), pp. 126-130.
- ^ "Newswatch: NM in Trouble, to File for Chapter 11," The Comics Journal #70 (January 1982], p. 16.
- ^ "Newswatch: New Media Distribution out of Business," The Comics Journal #72 (May 1982), p. 16.
- ^ "Newswatch: Pioneering direct-sales distributor Sea Gate files for bankruptcy," The Comics Journal #101 (August 1985), pp. 17-18.
- ^ "Second Genesis Delaying Its Exodus," The Comics Journal #140 (February 1991), p. 13.
- ^ "Sunrise Creditors Meet," The Comics Journal #122 (June 1988), p. 22.
- ^ "Newswatch: Second Genesis Absorbs Comex," The Comics Journal #128 (April 1988), p. 15.
- ^ a b "Newswatch: Diamond Acquires Titan Distributors," The Comics Journal #162 (Oct. 1993), pp. 35-36.
References
- Beerbohm, Robert L. "A Short Synopsis of the Direct Market," Comics Buyer's Guide #1029 (Summer 1993).
- Beerbohm, Robert L. "A Few Origins of the Direct Sales Market," Comic Book Store Wars, the First Hundred Years (1995).
- Beerbohm, Robert L. "Secret Origins of the Direct Market, part 2: Phil Seuling and the Undergrounds Emerge," Comic Book Artist #7 (February 2000), pp. 116–125.
- Carlson, KC. "KC Column: Scaling Mount Baron," Westfield Comics (Nov. 16, 2009) — the inner workings of Capital City Distribution in the early 1980s
- Hanley, Jim. "Comics Distribution: An Historical View and Predictive Query," Comicon.com (Sept. 18, 1999).
- Luttrell, Hank "Comic Book Distribution: A Modest Proposal", 20th Century
- "The Origin of the Comics Direct Market - 1994 interview with Ed Shukin". ICv2. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- Stewart, Alan "A Brief History of the American Comic Book Industry"