Phil Seuling
Phil Seuling | |
---|---|
Born | Philip Nicholas Seuling January 20, 1934 New York City, U.S. |
Died | August 21, 1984 New York City, U.S. | (aged 50)
Education | City College of New York |
Occupation(s) | Comic book distributor; convention organizer |
Spouse | Carole Seuling |
Children | 2 |
Philip Nicholas Seuling (
Biography
Early life
Seuling was born in the
Comics retailer
In 1958, he and a friend began buying and selling back-issue comic books,[4] though his primary career was as an English teacher[4] at Brooklyn's Lafayette High School.[5] By 1970, Seuling was also operating the After Hours Book Shop in Brooklyn.[6]
Comic Art Convention
In 1968, Seuling — who as a sideline was president of the newly founded but short-lived
Other activities
Seuling performed as a voice actor in Ralph Bakshi's 1972 Fritz the Cat movie, doing voices for two characters.[10]
In 1974, at the
Seuling appeared on the July 28, 1977 episode of the
Sea Gate Distributors
Company type | Comic book distributor |
---|---|
Industry | Comics |
Founded | 1972 |
Founder | Phil Seuling |
Defunct | 1985 |
Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York |
Key people | Phil Seuling (founder) |
In 1972, Seuling founded Sea Gate Distributors, named after the Brooklyn community
Comics historian Mark Evanier, noting the significance, wrote that
. . . it became apparent that the old method was being destroyed, with or without selling books the Seuling way, so DC, Marvel and other companies tried it. Within a year, around 25% of all comic books were being sold via 'direct' distribution, through Seuling's company and about a dozen others, with 75% still on conventional newsstands. Within ten years, those percentages were reversed. Today [in 2004], the 'direct market' is the primary market.[14]
Seuling ran Sea Gate with his then-girlfriend Jonni Levas.[15] A key element of Sea Gate's new distribution system was a prepay requirement for customers, which, given the low margins of comics retailing at the time (and the fact that many books shipped late), was onerous for many of the stores.[15] By the late 1970s, however, thanks to Seuling's changes to distribution — and the merchandizing success of such comic-book-styled films as Star Wars and Superman — comics were selling well: in the six years between 1974 and 1980, U.S. "comic or fantasy-related specialty shops" rose from 200 or 300 to around 1500.[16]
In late 1977 or early 1978, Sea Gate set up regional sub-distributors who were buying product at a 50% discount. This reduced Seuling's paperwork and enabled the sub-distributors to sell smaller orders than Sea Gate's minimum of five copies of each comic book title.[15]
Seuling maintained a virtual monopoly on comics distribution, until a lawsuit brought by New Media/Irjax in 1978.[17] Irjax sued DC, Marvel, Archie, and Warren for their anti-competitive arrangement with Seagate.[18] As a result of the suit, Irjax eventually acquired "a sizable chunk of the direct-distribution market,"[17] and many of Seulings's sub-distributors left Sea Gate to become independent distributors.
Death
Seuling died of the rare liver disease
Personal life
By 1957, Seuling was married to Carole Seuling, with whom he had two daughters, Gwenn
Awards
Seuling was presented with an Inkpot Award at the 1974 San Diego Comic-Con. In 1985, he was posthumously named as one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.[26]
See also
References
- ^ 1977 World Color Press Tour Sparta, Illinois & Phil Seuling
- ^ Social Security Death Index, Social Security #130-26-6243.
- ^ ISBN 9780786443475.
- ^ a b c d e f "An Interview with Phil Seuling". Fantastic Fanzine Special. February 1972. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2013. Interview conducted July 1971.
- ^ a b Lichtenstein, Grace (October 10, 1974). "Comic Books Displayed as Serious Art". The New York Times. (Abstract; full article requires fee or subscription)
- ^ Sloane, Leonard (March 22, 1970). "Nostalgia for Extinct Pop Culture Creates Industry". The New York Times. (Abstract; full article requires fee or subscription)
- ^ Carmody, Deirdre (July 6, 1968). "Comic Books Get Star Billing at Convention Here". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2013. (Abstract; full article requires fee or subscription)
- ^ "Old Comic Book Art is on Display Here". The New York Times. July 5, 1969. p. 16. Retrieved July 12, 2013. (Abstract; full article requires fee or subscription)
- ^ Seuling, Phil (June 1973). "Vampirella" (guest editorial). Warren Publishing.
- ^ Bails, Jerry; Ware, Hames. "Seuling, Phil". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^ Red Sonja (Wendy Pini) on Mike Douglas 7/28/77
- ^ Rozanski, Chuck (December 2003). "Evolution of the Direct Market Part III". Tales from the Database. MileHighComics. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
One large California dealer, who was good friends with Phil, solved this problem by taking a vacation each year in New York. He stayed at Phil's house in the Seagat [sic]...
- ^ Beerbohm, Bob (March 14, 2008). "Please Consider Buying Some Comics From Industry Icon Robert Beerbohm". The Comics Reporter. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
- ^ Evanier, Mark (December 31, 2004). "Phil Seuling and Red Sonja". News from Me. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ a b c Rozanski, "Evolution, Part IV", Comics Buyer's Guide #98 via MileHighComics.com. "Joni Levas, Phil's girlfriend of the time and partner in Seagate [sic] Distributing." Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b Sanford, Jay Allen (August 19, 2004). "Two Men and their Comic Books". San Diego Reader. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "Direct Distribution" in Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s). Comics Between the Panels (Dark Horse Publishing, 1998), pp. 126-130.
- ^ Rozanski, Chuck (2004). "Chuck Goes to New York Part I". Tales from the Database. MileHighComics. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
- ^ Schelly, p. 108
- ^ "Newspeak: Don Newton and Phil Seuling Die," Speakeasy #44 (Sept. 1984), p. 4.
- ^ "Phil Seuling, father of the direct-sales Market, dies at age of 50," The Comics Journal #93 (September 1984), pp. 13-14.
- ^ "Newswatch: Pioneering direct-sales distributor Sea Gate files for bankruptcy," The Comics Journal #101 (August 1985), pp. 17-18.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde; Johnston, Laurie (July 5, 1982). "New York Day by Day: A Comic-Book Fourth". The New York Times.
- ISBN 9780804040839.
- ISBN 9780804040839.
- ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Phil Seuling The Beginning of Direct Distribution" Fifty Who Made DC Great, p. 46 (1985). DC Comics.
Further reading
- Beerbohm, Robert. "Secret Origins of the Direct Market, Part 2: Phil Seuling and the Undergrounds Emerge." Comic Book Artist #7 (February-March 2000), pp.116-125.
- Eisner, Will. "Interview with Phil Seuling." Will Eisner's Shop Talk. (Dark Horse Comics, 2001) pp.283-305.
- McLauchlin, Jim. "The Man Who Invented Your Comic Shop (Among Other Things)." Wizard #219 (January 2010).
- Schelly, Bill. Golden Age of Comic Fandom (Hamster Press, 1995)
- Schelly, Bill, ed. Alter Ego, the Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine (Hamster Press, 1997)