PeterDavid.net

Wait, I'm confused. Diamond is a distributor who is acting like a publisher? Can they do that legally or ethically for that matter?

Could someone, PAD or anyone, explain this to me?

I suspect this is all part of Diamond's newly-raised minimum sales threshold. See also Rich Johnson's column on same.

I may be a bit cynical this way, but I've suspected that this is part of a push by the major companies (mainly DC and Marvel) to clear out some of the competition, since the major publishers and Diamond basically live a symbiotic existence.

I thought this had to do with Bass Master Les Claypool of Primus. While I can say I'm relieved it's not, I hope these guys pull through.

Claypool should move online, like the Foglios did with Girl Genius and Michael Jantze did with The Norm. They'd find a far wider audience and would be able to sell back issues and TPBs directly to the public (and would be able to print more TPBs! I have the first Soulsearchers volume and want more!)

Webcomics are the future. Egon Spengler said it best: "Print is dead."

Rob, what this means is that Diamond is saying that, unless Claypool's orders increase, Diamond will no longer carry Claypool's product. Diamond isn't cancelling the books per se, but if Diamond (by far the largest distributor of English-language comics in the world) stops carrying them they probably won't be able to continue publishing.

Paul

When I started my pull list at my comic shop a year and a half ago, Soulsearchers was one of the initial titles I put on it. Since then, my shop has failed to actually get me a single issue. I've confirmed that it's on my list, but so far, no dice. Sadly, the clerks who are working when I go in have nothing to do with the ordering process, so...

(They also told me they couldn't find anything called X-Factor when I asked them to add that to my list recently, so I think they might have some problems.)

Alan, are you sure the shop you have a pull list at is a comic shop?

Diamond is sounding more and more like Ticket Master. As effectively the only game in town, the distributor has an awful lot of control over the product. If only comics sold more, there'd be some competitive call for a better distribution option.

I suspect this is all part of Diamond's newly-raised minimum sales threshold.

This is why a monopoly can be a "Very Bad Thing".

ARGH! I am the touch of death. Whenever I jump into a book, it gets cancelled soon after. I never even heard of this book until earlier this year, and became hooked! And now it's in danger. WTF???

I think I'll pick up an issue of Soulsearchers. To be honest, I never knew that Peter wrote it. The synopsis on Claypool's site looked pretty good.

P.S. Monopolies are bad. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

Not just bad but evidently STUPID as well. How is it wise for a distributer to take an action like this which will certainly diminish the variety of product it carries? The readers of Claypool may be a small minority of its customers but when you add all the people who are reading small company books it starts to add up. Some may stop reading comics altogether once their favorites are unavailable (and the racks are full of Marvel and DC product exclusively). Some companies may explore alternative means of distribution, cutting Diamond out entirely. Hell, maybe someone will even create a competitor, with the inducement to retailers that they actually carry more product.

Seems like a stupid move to me. Bad for the consumer, bad for the industry, possibly bad for Diamond. Good for Marvel and DC, I guess.

At my comic store, I'm the only one that buys it, and it goes straight into my pull list. If you want to have to get a copy, you'll most likely have to specifically order it.

Alan: If you're not getting it, it probably means your store isn't ordering it. Make sure that the comic is on their order to Diamond. If your store don't actually order it any of the comic, then you're not getting it.

I have only mustered enough disgust to purely hate (2) people in my life... So while I can't expend the strength to unconditionally "hate" a corporation like Diamond, you can plant me firmly in the "seriously dislike" Diamond category.

I remember years ago when Capital Distribution was failing, there were scores of "primarily Diamond" retailers gleefully rubbing their hands together in some sort of weird declaration of triumph. Many thought-- as "original customers" of Diamond-- they would be treated with "priority" over the newly arriving Capital retailers.

To Diamond's credit, that never happened.

Here's a little of what did happen though: A lot of those previously gleeful retailers soon found the new "monopolith" that rose from the distributor wars to be a far more bullying behemoth than its' previous incarnation and-- to hear Capital retailers tell it-- thousands of times less caring than Capital ever was.

In short, I watched horrified as many smaller retailers struggled and squirmed under the new iron fisted policies forced upon them by the monopolith and it's newfound distribution "partners" (many retailers eventually just gave up or, in extreme cases, were forced to declare bankruptcy) while larger "national" retailers were allowed to rack up ten of thousands in credit lines each year.

I am always surprised that retailers haven't fought this monopoly... It's bad for creators, it's bad for comics, it's bad for diversity and it's bad for business (unless you're in the Marvel/DC business, of course).

If you think that Claypool possibly being sh*tcanned by these folks is the end, you're sadly mistaken.

In fact, if I was Mike Richardson-- I'd start drawing up incorporation papers for that new distributor right f'ing now.

It'd be pretty hard for a new distributor to gain any traction in today's industry, since I believe Marvel, DC and Image (and maybe Dark Horse) all have exclusive-distribution deals with Diamond. That's what drove Capital City Distribution out of business in the first place.

I think Diamond has been investigated on the basis of anti-trust concerns, but I don't know what the fruits of those investigations have been. Not much, I infer. I don't know if anyone's actually sued Diamond on this basis.

This situation is certainly bad for creators, bad for fans, bad for retailers, and bad for comics generally. It's less clear whether it's bad for Diamond or for the major comics companies. Being the biggest (or only) fish in a small pond may be more desirable than being any sort of fish in a much larger pond. This is especially true for DC and Marvel, whose comics lines increasingly serve primarily as fodder for their larger media businesses (i.e., television and film and other licensed products).

This may even be true for Diamond itself, since the increasing ghetto-ization of comics may have led Diamond to conclude that there is a practical upper bound on how much larger the industry can grow, and that it's better off being the only distributor in a monocultural market than trying to change the market to grow it (which might be hazardous to Diamond's health). It might even have concluded that growing the market is a lost cause.

Aren't we missing the point of the press release? Not that Diamond is bad (which it is, but I digress...,) but that Claypool, especially Soulsearchers needs your support RIGHT F'ING NOW! Go add it to your pull list and if, as one poster said, your shop doesn't or won't or can't get it in, find another shop.

-BBayliss

I'm ordering an extra copy of Soulsearchers this month, and even though I've never read Deadbeats, I'll order two for next month. I hope people can rally to save Claypool, Soulsearchers is a really fun title.

How long has Joe Staton been drawing Soulsearchers. I didn't know he was doing this book. I'm a fan of his. I guess I will have to try it.

it's time to pull the rug from under the comic dealers.

the real problem is MOST mags want those 12 issues in the mail, but comics are for collecting. It's time for the printer to step up and cut a deal with some temp workers on site to cut out diamond. Why should they get 80% of the cover price...

geez, it's like those guys it nascar pits, they die for that job. writers go to printers, printers say this is what we have, stores order. Pretty simple...

After reading of Diamond's actions, I sent an email to my comics shop increasing my Soulsearchers hold from one issue to three. I have friends who will appreciate it and they deserve their own copy. I suggest others increase/add a hold for this book and see what happens.

"It's time for the printer to step up and cut a deal with some temp workers on site to cut out diamond. Why should they get 80% of the cover price..."

While I can't quite parse what your post means (it sounds like you want some printers to become distributors, which is not a reasonable or minor sideline; distribution is a tricky business), I will note that Diamond does not get 80% of the cover price. While the exact amount that Diamond gets from the retailer varies based on publisher and the amount the retailer orders, it's in the range of 50%... and most of that goes to the publisher for the product.

The Justice Department does not treat the direct market or the comic book industry as their own markets, so antitrust lawsuits never go anywhere in the comics industry. The fate of a lot of antitrust suits depend on what definition of a market the government accepts. In this case, comics are viewed as part of the magazines/books industry, so no comic book company or distributor is ever going to get legally defined as a monopolist.

The bottom line on the Claypool books, I'm afraid, is that they sell very, very few copies. Diamond has no interest in sticking it to Claypool, but the reality is that dealers have been complaining for years that the Diamond catalog is too big, taht there are too many comics in the market for them to deal with. So Diamond is out to cut the lowest selling ones.

Claypool has been around for years and years; PAD has mentioned his writing of Soulsearchers many many times. Comic book fans who follow comic books outside of the DC/Marvel/Image contiuum know of ClayPool. But this audience - including, clearly, the great majority of readers of this site - dosen't buy the Claypool books. This isn't some evil plot by Diamond or by DC/Marvel.

I've been putting of picking up Deadbeats and Soulsearchers. I don't know why beacause I enjoy everything Peter David writes and also enjoy most vampire stories. After hearing this I'll make sure that my comis shop orders both on a regular basis for me. And Elvira also.

sorry Nat Gertler

i got the 80% from diamonds web site...

but the middle man should be a helper and a lover NOT a fighter.

Maybe there is a very good reason sales are down. I've never heard of it, does these titles advertise?

I got into Soulsearchers pretty late, and I am currently playing catch-up. I put it on my pull list about a month ago and just got issue 74. If PAD can keep the book alive by bringing it to another publisher (or if the current publisher can get off Diamond's sh** list--or back on, as the case may be), then I'll be along for the ride.

You want an incestuous monopoly? Try Pegasus. The major book distributor in Canada. Who happen to have as majority owners, Indigo. One of Canada's two 'big box' book stores. And who also happen to have bought out the OTHER 'big box' book store, Chapters.

End result? Pegasus gives big discounts and priority to majority shareholders Indipters (or is that Chago?) while happily screwing the independent book sellers.

Yes, there's a lawsuit in the works over that, but it's dragging on and on and on and ...

As for Diamonds/Soulsearchers, as I commented over a year back, never saw any signs of the latter here and enquiries in our comics shops have never yielded any positive results. But I'm not surprised. I date back to the days before 'pull lists' and things seemed a whole lot simpler and more efficient back then. You went into a comics shop with the reasonable expectation of seeing the title you were looking for available on the stands.

Nowadays? Best of luck ...

"Diamond has no interest in sticking it to Claypool, but the reality is that dealers have been complaining for years that the Diamond catalog is too big, taht there are too many comics in the market for them to deal with. So Diamond is out to cut the lowest selling ones."

But isn't a bigger problem for comic shops are with the books they order, tie-up funds with, only to see them ship late (or for many titles, ship VERY late)

And of those late titles, how many are from Marvel? DC? Image?

How many of these late titles (which hurt the shop owners) that come from the big companies do you think WON'T be carried by Diamond?

It's just a wild guess, but I'm thinking none.

I think the whole comic industry is poised for some kind of base-level revolution. It's similar to what television and film is facing. New technology is threatening to replace existing distribution methods. We're poised to get TV shows beamed directly to us, to view when we want. Ditto for film and such. We can already get some books and comics on demand, directly from the publisher, without needing a distribution network. Moves like this, where the distributor uses too heavy a hand that impacts the availability of product, will only encourage smaller producers to seek alternative methods of reaching their customers. And once those smaller producers have worked the bugs out of those systems that eliminate entities like Diamond, how long do you think it'll be before the biggies start using those methods? Sure, Marvel and DC may have exclusive deals now, but contracts don't last forever.

Another vote for moving Claypool's stuff online. I used to read Soulsearchers regularly, but stopped when my local comics shop stopped carrying it. I've been periodically tempted to get back into the groove, but the lack of any easily-available TPBs has really impeded me. I'd gladly pay an annual subscription fee for the rights to get new "issues" online and browse the entire back-order catalog -- and nudge Claypool into printing more TPBs in the process... ;-)

--R.J.

Here's a thought: My mom recently (well, last year is recent for her) got a digital camera. A couple months ago, she got a dedicated, portable printer dock for it. All told, she spent probably less than $300 for the whole thing. It's all portable, so pretty much anywhere she goes, she can plug her camera into the dock, and print out pictures. On Kodak paper. And most of the time, the quality is about the same you'd get have your photos printed at some drug store.

Point being, there's already technology available to most people that could totally replace the printer AND the distributor. What serious comic collector wouldn't drop $300 for a printer that could print, collate, and stable indivudual issues that they could purchase on-line? All you'd need to do is encode a print-limit on the transmission, or something. And sure, hackers will always try to get around that, but that's just a matter of developing the right system. Not that I want to put the LCS out of business, but it seems that the path that Diamond has been on over the past 20 years is doing that pretty well on it's own. Maybe the LCS could get these printers for themselves, and decide to print out only the books they actually sell?

It all goes back to the market being poised for a revolutionary change in the way comics are consumed. The technology is there, the demand is there....now it's just a matter of someone on the supply side to provide it.

What serious comic collector wouldn't drop $300 for a printer that could print, collate, and stable indivudual issues that they could purchase on-line?

Plenty. Y'see, in addition to the cost of the printer, there's the cost of consumables - and when you're printing full pages of color, that cost adds up. Printing 23 pages of high-grade color on a home printer costs you a lot more than buying the issue in a store.

Robert: I think you may be on to something there.

I'm really starting to think digital is the way to go - both for publishers and for readers like myself.

I mean, yeah, I really only read Marvel, but I've picked up stuff from other companies lately, like DBPro (before they shot themselves in the foot again and again) and Devil's Due.

But Claypool Comics? Never heard of them. I'm looking at MHC's website, and they don't even list them as an independent publisher; I had to search the actual comic on their site to find the back issue listing.

Anyways, the notion of digital comics appeals to me - I'm not so much into collecting as much as I used to (not to mention not wanting to have to buy even more long boxes), but I still want to read stuff.

I have been following SOULSEARCHERS and DEADBEATS since their first issues. This is some pretty good stuff. I would like to recommend these books for all true comic fans. I can't, though. The reason is that the Publisher has neglected to publish collected version of both titles beyond the first 12 issues. For a gothic horror soap opera like DEADBEATS, I think my friends would figuretively lynch me if I gave them the only two trades and they found out that over 60 issues remain to be read.

Just out of curiosity, how would your friends react if you informed them that every single back issue was available from the publisher, most of them at no more than cover price?

See, that's why it's unbelievable that anyone would think that Claypool books are hard to come by. They are, in fact, easier to acquire than any other publisher around.

PAD

My hats off to Nat Gertler and Peter David.

Claypool problems? Or MARVEL/DC FLOOD

Diamond is a Claypool killer, look at the books at Walmart. New books have to sell with books sold in the million, book out for 100 years. That Preview book takes me over a month to go through it.

If there was a simple list 1 of limited runs and 1 for on-going series, the big and little guys level off. Show ONLY NEW BOOKS, nothing reprinted, nothing in great big trade paperbacks!

Image has 8 to 12 issues in on-going, marvel and dc maybe a little more, but title likes Claypool can't get that lost. (espically if in a-z order)

Sted Leonards, sells fewer items, two or three kinds of peanut butter, rather then twelve, they sell 3 plus more time per square foot then any other grocery store. Diamond could learn from tthem.

I know I rant, but I get lost at my comic book store, the comic wall is 100 plus feet. They hang up signs like new this week and a list on paper to look at, but if it's sold out I don't see it. Maybe if they took that list I said, and emailed it to me, so I could look at only new titles, or ongoing titles(that's aren't reprints), I would see new stuff.

As to those back issue, I think it's kewl they're their.

And to Computer comics they have both ups and downs, I still like to collect, but I don't like this 9.8 rating comic company, because NM is damn good enough for me.

-later
:)

I applaud Claypool for keeping their entire line in print, but I am no longer terribly interested in acquiring very large runs of single issues. If they had entire series collected, that would be more interesting to me. I am glad they at least have some collections, two each for Soulsearchers and Deadbeats I think. Before this news, I thought they had none.

It's all my fault. Over the last year, I just got into Soulsearchers, buying the two collections and adding the issues to my buylist while hunting down back issues. I'm hoping the books stay around.

By the way, if your store isn't honoring pull lists, or you're not satisfied in any way, STOP GOING! There are enough great mailorder companies that will be happy to have your business. I've used mailordercomics.com for the last three years, and LOVE it. And they've NEVER missed an issue I put on a pull list. And they're not the only one out there! Don't put up with bad service.

I wasn't aware that PAD wrote a comic called Soulsearchers! I have ordered some copies, one for me, and some other for my online retailing operation in Venezuela!

Claypool problems? Or MARVEL/DC FLOOD

Certainly, one of the challenges these days is that Marvel and DC have become more efficient at parting the customer from their money, leaving less expendable income from the little guys.

If there was a simple list 1 of limited runs and 1 for on-going series, the big and little guys level off. Show ONLY NEW BOOKS, nothing reprinted, nothing in great big trade paperbacks!

Well, that's fine... but it can't be Previews. Previews needs to be the listing of the items the retailers can order. Its original intent was as a catalogue for the dealers; it's sort of in an odd position of being both that and a consumer catalogue as well.

Sted Leonards, sells fewer items, two or three kinds of peanut butter, rather then twelve, they sell 3 plus more time per square foot then any other grocery store. Diamond could learn from tthem.

Except Diamond doesn't need sales per square foot, they need total sales. If what you're saying is that Diamond should offer fewer items -- that's what they're doing. That's why the Claypool books are at risk.

Anyway, Diamond cannot cut back on the Marvel, DC, etc., listings because those companies have special deals with Diamond. Some or all of them are actually their own distributors, hiring Diamond to be their representatives.

I remembered being frustrated when I first read about Diamond's new thresholds blah-blah-blah a couple of months back, but now that an actual company with a long-running book is getting hit by it, I've moved beyond frustration and now just flat pissed.

I don't get it. What does Diamond get out of no longer carrying these books? An extra column inch or two in their Previews? I'm not a comic publisher or creator (yet), but does it really cost Diamond that much more to coordinate the sales generated by Claypool?

I don't quite understand. What do they have to gain by doing this?

Craig: I hear ya. I think Claypool should team up with one of the webcomics sites and go digital. Seems to be working for the Foglios.

I applaud Claypool for keeping their entire line in print, but I am no longer terribly interested in acquiring very large runs of single issues.

I think a lot of people feel that way, particularly people who buy indy comics. I realize it may not be economically feasible for Claypool to produce further trade paperback collections, but they do need to offer some other format alternatives for people who don't want the single issues.

The online suggestion is a good idea. As people have mentioned, it's worked for Phil Foglio's Girl Genius, and also Carla Speed McNeil's Finder.

Okay...now we're just into weird territory. I mean, are people SO locked into trade paperbacks that they're literally *incapable* of acquiring back issues even when they're readily available?

I just don't get this. When I was a kid, I was a late starter on Marvel comics. I started catching up on earlier issues via reprint packages such as "Marvel's Collector's Items Classics" and "Marvel Tales." As they garnered my interest, I went back and started collecting back issues. It was long and involved but the acquisition was part of the fun.

So what's the current paradigm? Not only must back issues be easy to get, but they're only to be had if they're in a particular format. Trades or nothing. I mean, that's what's being said here. Here's a company that's teetering on the brink, but if you can't have the comics in trade collections, you're not interested. Being readily available isn't sufficient. They have to be readily available in a permabound format. Why? To avoid the non-existent ads? The letters page at the end?

If it means that much to you, do what many fans in Spain do: Buy the books and have them bound yourselves.

Sheesh.

PAD

There is another solution. STOP BEING SO OBSESSIVE! I read the first two trades, and jumped right into the series. The series is very accessible, and I never felt that I needed to read the issues I missed to enjoy it.

I'm sure eventually I'll pick up the issues, like PAD said, Claypool does a terrific job making them easy to find, but I have no pressing need for them.

Okay, first how many of the people saying that they have never heard of Soulsearchers and Deadbeats actually get a Previews each month and look at it? Every body who has a hold slot or an interest in comics should be getting a copy every month, even if they have to pay the retailor for their copy. It's like a little bit of a christmas each month getting to see the whole world of cool stuff you could get.

Question for PAD just to clarify. How many trades of Soulsearchers are there and is the entire print run of the issues supposed to be available through Diamond or do you have to go to Claypool for the back issues?

Cal

>Every body who has a hold slot or an interest in comics should be getting a copy every month, even if they have to pay the retailor for their copy. It's like a little bit of a christmas each month getting to see the whole world of cool stuff you could get.

Are ya kiddin' me? I will never pay a dime, muchless $4.95-$5.94, for a catalog of advertisements. I enjoy wading through it when it is provided for free, but I wouldn't actually purchase on principle alone.

>Question for PAD just to clarify. How many trades of Soulsearchers are there and is the entire print run of the issues supposed to be available through Diamond or do you have to go to Claypool for the back issues?

I recently sold a friend's 1st and second issues for less than cover on eBay. I'd imagine that they'd been pretty cheap to grab via online auctions, if one didn't want to go through the publisher to get them as PAS suggested.

Fred

I mean, are people SO locked into trade paperbacks that they're literally *incapable* of acquiring back issues even when they're readily available?

Personally, I don't like trades. I own a couple for the Age of Apocalypse storyline, but then for those, I also own the monthlies as well.

But even if they're available at near-cover prices, do I have $150 to drop on the series to pick up all the back issues? Unfortunately, no.

There are lots of things I'd love to get back issues on, but, at this point, I'm only doing so for series I'd already started (Age of Apocalypse, Gen X, Guardians of the Galaxy, Force Works, Avengers WC, some others).

It's just hard to get into something new (from my perspective) that's been around that long with that many back issues to catch up on.

Btw, Ray, that Mailordercomics.com link looks like a good one. Maybe I'll consider them for subscriptions in the future.

Although I do have a question: do they require a minimum # of titles for subscription? That's a problem I have with MHC, they want min. 3 for in-store pull, 5 for mail, and I probably won't buy that many comics each month for awhile.

Craig J. Ries:
But even if they're available at near-cover prices, do I have $150 to drop on the series to pick up all the back issues? Unfortunately, no.

Do you have $30 to drop to pick up 10 issues? No?

Peter David: "Okay...now we're just into weird territory. I mean, are people SO locked into trade paperbacks that they're literally *incapable* of acquiring back issues even when they're readily available?"

It's a matter of convenience. If I'm perhaps looking to pick up a new series and I have a choice between getting 75 back issues from Claypool or five or six collections from someone else, it's very likely that I'll just order the five or six items. I'm sick of buying and storing single issues. I've got a whole closet full of them. Nowadays, the only books I buy in single issue form are the ones I absolutely love.

PAD: "It was long and involved but the acquisition was part of the fun."

When I was a kid, that was part of the fun too. It is no longer part of the fun. It's just another hurdle that I don't want to have to jump through. It's a hurdle many other companies do not have.

PAD: "Not only must back issues be easy to get, but they're only to be had if they're in a particular format. ... Here's a company that's teetering on the brink, but if you can't have the comics in trade collections, you're not interested. Being readily available isn't sufficient."

Yup, pretty much. Being readily available is not sufficient because there are a billion other books out there that are also readily available.

PAD: "They have to be readily available in a permabound format. Why? To avoid the non-existent ads? The letters page at the end?"

So I can stick them on a shelf. So I can lend them to friends easily. So I can throw them in the car and read them in the park. So I can sell them on Amazon if I don't like them. Bound softcovers are so much easier to deal with than single issues that it's ridiculous.

PAD: "If it means that much to you, do what many fans in Spain do: Buy the books and have them bound yourselves."

The thing is that it *doesn't* mean that much to me. I have only ever been *mildly* interested in Claypool's offerings. Why go to all that extra trouble for books I was only ever half-interested in anyway? Instead I'll just move along to see if Oni (or whoever) has something that I'm mildly interested in. Frankly, binding single issues myself isn't an expense I'm willing to incur at all at this point in time. Maybe someday. For those who are interested, I've heard http://www.dpbanks.com/ as a recommended site to do it.

I will also second the recommendation to try mail order shops if your local store is so pathetic and incapable that they can't manage a pull list correctly. There are a bunch of sites people usually recommend (g-mart.com for me) but I've never heard of any of them having the chronic ordering problems that people have had with some local stores. Some are internet-only and some also have a brick-and-mortar location so you can feel like you're not totally abandoning physical shops. You're just supporting a different one that's a few states away that you never visit. ;-)

"I mean, are people SO locked into trade paperbacks that they're literally *incapable* of acquiring back issues even when they're readily available?"

Taking off my PADophile fanboy hat, and putting on my web developer/e-commerce architect hat for a minute...

Putting myself in the role of the casual comic-book reader, going to the Claypool purchasing web site does not give me a lot of confidence in ordering back issues of Soulsearchers, or any other Claypool titles. To call it a "storefront" would be stretching the term; it's little more than a list of titles -- without even any indication of whether the titles listed are in stock or not -- and a hard-to-find request to send an email to order back issues. Where's the easy-to-use shopping cart? Where's the "We have X issues of Soulsearchers #42 in stock"? Sure, if I poke around I'll eventually find a note from catherine yronwode saying "everything listed is in stock," but as an e-commerce visitor, that page inspires as much confidence in me as Bush's assurances that he really and truly does have a plan for Iraq.

Revamping the entire Claypool web site is probably something that's beyond the scope of this discussion, but if they want people to buy stuff from them on-line, a seamlessly easy e-commerce experience is critical -- especially given how hard it (already) is to get Claypool comics by conventional means. Considering you can get now free content/e-commerce frameworks that will let you build a fully-functional web site in a day -- complete with shopping carts, automatic inventory management, the whole nine yards -- the Claypool website is just depressingly uninspirational.

(I see the Claypool "catalog" page says it was last updated in May 2005. It looks even older than that...)

--R.J.

P.S. And to show I know whereof I speak, here's a storefront I helped launch last week (I'm not affiliated with them other than being the geek-for-hire).

Peter, I am a long-time fanboy. I do go to my comic store each Wednesday to pick up my new comics. But many of my friends do not have the time. Children, life etc. Further, Claypool titles are not readily available in the sense that you can simply head over to the local comic store and pick up the back issues.

Trades also make great Christmas gifts. For years, I would buy one of Dave Sims "phone books" to give as Chrismas/birthday presents for one of my friends. Heck, I would love to do the same with SOULSEARCHERS.

Do you have $30 to drop to pick up 10 issues? No?

What is this? A beratement? An insult?

You might want to expand upon your point a little.

Are you saying I only need the last 10 issues of the series, when, as I thought was stated pretty clearly in my post, I was interested in the series from the beginning?

Part of the problem is that I'm just not up to having to flip through 75 back issues, having to store them, etc.

I'm *so* tempted to pick up those Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four DVD releases for all those back-issues (it's really come down to the fact that I don't follow either series), although I've heard the quality on them is pretty bad at times.

"Not only must back issues be easy to get, but they're only to be had if they're in a particular format. Trades or nothing. I mean, that's what's being said here. Here's a company that's teetering on the brink, but if you can't have the comics in trade collections, you're not interested."

Just on an off note releaseing tons of back issues in trades didn't save crossgen. Furthermore buying the back issues while helping your comic shop out will not save claypool. Diamond doesn't care how the back issues are doing, those issues have already been delived and diamond already has the money. Only new issue sales will save these comics. I only point this out due to the number of posts where people are saying they want the trades, or they would like to read the back issue but balk at the investment of time, money, or storage space. This is not the issue. The issue is if your don't pick up the current issues, then very soon all there will be are back issues. It reminds me of a friend i used to have, when Mystery Science Theater was cancelled by sci-fi I wrote letters and asked him to write a quick letter that I could mail in support of the show. Before I asked this he had gone on about how he loved the show and how it sucked that it was being cancelled. When I asked him to write the letter which I offer to mail at my expense he refused on the grounds that he simply didn't have the time. 5 minutes, 2 paragraphs, but no time. A few of the abouve posts remind me of that.

JAC

"Part of the problem is that I'm just not up to having to flip through 75 back issues, having to store them, etc."

But you can pick up and store the 10 TPBs it would take to collect all these issues? If I understand PAD"s point, it's that he's perplexed as to why TPBs are for some people the only way to go. It's almost like saying you'll only eat the red M&Ms, because you don't like the yellow ones. They're the same size, taste the same, and with your eyes closed, you can't tell the difference. It's only when you look at them that you're able to tell them apart.

Storing single issues takes up just as much space as storing trades does. Maybe less. I've got the TPB of Marvel's Secret Wars. It's far thicker than the collected series, bagged and backed (2 per bag) would be.

It can't be an issue of cost. Anyone that's serious about comics has no basis to complain about "oh, that's too expensive." We're paying $4 for a single issue in some cases right now. And most of us are buying 5-10 books per week. Dropping $20-40 a week on the hobby, none of us can really say that we can't afford another $4 a month or week. With back issues, you don't have to get them all at once, although I certainly understand the desire to do so.

What's funny to me is how different the perspective is on TPBs today. They used to be the ugly stepchildren of the comic world, a step below the dreaded second (or, gasp, third) printing of on issue. Now, you see all over "I'll wait for the trade." While I understand that the snobish desire to have nothing but first prints was somewhat driven by the collector's in the hobby, it's hard to imagine that having single issues has fallen so low in the esteem of some.

Here's a company that's teetering on the brink, but if you can't have the comics in trade collections, you're not interested.

Like I said, I get Soulsearchers regularly, and in light of this situation, I'm going to start getting Deadbeats. But I do see where other people are coming from. Trades are a superior format, and it's not unreasonable that somebody might choose not to get a product at all if they can't get it in a format they like. As I understand, most indy publishers do most of their business in bookstores anyway, not the direct market.

Maybe there is a compromise, such as the online suggestion, but either way, I think the very fact that Diamond can basically shut Claypool down singlehandedly points out that Claypool does need explore other venues. It's a changing market.

Craig,

If you're interested in the book, why not just check out the "Jump On" issue like Claypool requested? Just $2.50 that way. The book's pretty accessible normally, but if there's an issue intended for the newbies...

If you get it and then like it, then worry about back issues. Or forget the back issues and just pick up the details as you go. This isn't an Epic Saga with a Beginning, Middle and End (ala Sandman, Preacher, etc.). It's the ongoing adventures of some misfit mystic detectives (ala Spider-Man, Superman, etc.).

What is this? A beratement? An insult?

You said you didn't have $150 for all the back issues. I am asking you if you have $30 for some. It's a great book. I recommend it, even if you can only get a few of them.

Dave, what are the "jump on" issues? Which Previews were they solicited in?

But you can pick up and store the 10 TPBs it would take to collect all these issues?

Apparently you need to reread my post: I don't buy trades.

But then, my initial point is that I want more comics available in digital format.

Anyone that's serious about comics has no basis to complain about "oh, that's too expensive."

Well, as I also said, that's why I am no longer buying many, if any, comics. I'm a huge fan of the X-Men, but I could no longer justifying buying a half dozen comics (at the very least) or more a month just to make sure I could follow the story.

Part of the REAL problem with trades is that you might as well wait for them and buy them alone, because Marvel (my only real experience with comics these days) writes everything in sets of issues that fit neatly into TPB's.

So, Marvel has convinced people that this is the way to go. Should the consumer be blamed for what Marvel has done? No. What should be done is for people to convince Marvel to quit writing stories that take place over half a year or more.

With amount of story vs the cost per issue compared to, say, a Star Trek novel... well, there is no comparison - most comics just aren't justifying the cost any more.

I am more interested in READING comics, not collecting them. So, if I want to read 75 back issues of Soulsearchers, I'd prefer a way that didn't involve having to store monthlies or TPB's away in the closet.

If you're interested in the book, why not just check out the "Jump On" issue like Claypool requested?

I am considering it. I am also considering a subscription, but I need to find a site willing to allow subscriptions for only a handful of titles (maybe 2 or 3 at most). I'm willing to pay the shipping on so few titles, because I really don't want to waste my time going to MHC any more for current stuff.

MHC has pull list subscriptions for 5 titles via mail, 3 in store. And going to a MHC store (I'm in Denver) is out of my way since I'm on public transit.

I also had to deal with the fact that, in trying to get the first couple of issues of the Dragonlance: Chronicles adaptation from DDP, they were sold out by the time I could get to the store in my area; any day but Friday is just about impossible for me to get over there. :(

Ralf,

The #76th issues of both titles. Soulsearchers would have been in last month's Previews and Deadbeats in this month's.

PAD,

If the "call for action" doesn't work out, have you guys considered other options or would this basically be the end?

Other options include combining the books into one "Fear City" book (either monthly splitting a standard page count or 64 pages bi-monthly (the latter idea (if you can hold on to your sales) might work better for meeting Diamond's sales threshold), expanding the page count of Elvira and folding both features into that series, Craig's digital idea, etc.

(The following is a satire, outerwise you might think me a complete nutter)

'd like to pick up the new PAD Spider-man title, I really would, but I'd want to catch up with all of the back issues first. Now thats a large chunk of change so I can't get first runs. but they don't have them all in trades. many of the early issues yes, but really how many issues are available in trades 200, 300? I mean just regular series, annuals and sepcials alone that is in excess of 1800 issues and if they arre not all available in 73 or so conveniently available trades, well then PAD I'm just not interested. If I can't know the whole back story in every minute detail I simply can't be interested. On a related note my cable went out for 6 days in 96, and I haven't turned on my tv since. I just know i missed something in those 6 days and as a result if I started watching again I'd be completely lost. Now I know your saying but Jeff there have been new shows you could have started watching, but I'm very relecutant to try anything new. I remember in the early 90's some flap about image or some such. They were apperently going to publish comics too but I wouldn't know about that.

JAC

Problem 1, books stores will care a crap load of japan manga, (which seems to always sit there)and hay they are comic books!!!

Problem 2, comic books are hidden in with puzzle mags in the back of the store and not with books?!?!? WHY?

Trade verse single issue:

My father-in-law is a DC man, remembers the first super-man issue. NOT his first issue, THE FIRST issue. He always has a stack near his bed to read, he waits until the whole story arc is there before reading, AND likes trades over issues AND thinks about skipping the singles and waiting for the trades.

I left comics right before Age of ...another x-men-bore, I was a Marvel guy. Now, be it girl genius, or powers I DO NOT BUY trades, PERIOD. I read when I feel like it-one issue at a time. I came into x-men with the brood, 244 or so i think, i have a solid run from 130 or 141, (with various eariler issues) until I stopped collecting in 96/97. I loved getting the back issues.

HEY, plus if PAD is on it it has to be good!

Actually, by-and-large TPBs are my last choice for buying comics these days. Hardcovers are preferred (but only for series I enjoy enough to spend that kind of money), and after that I prefer individual issues. The reason is that I don't have much confidence that TPBs will survive over the long haul (i.e., the rest of my life) without greater degradation than I'll see in hardcovers and individual comics. This is especially true since comics these days are rarely printed on newsprint anymore.

I have a few series which I replaced with TPBs some years ago, and now I'm going back and replacing them (again) with the original comics. Especially because it's often nifty to just have the original comics - they're more likely to become more valuable, too!

For series which I just want to read out of curiosity, but which I expect I won't want to keep once I read them once, I'll buy whatever format is most convenient (i.e., cheapest and readily available and easiest to read). For current monthlies, if a comic is enjoyable buying it every month, then I'll buy the monthly. If it's more enjoyable reading a whole multi-part story at a time, then I'll buy the paperback when it comes out.

For a very few series, I buy and keep both. For instance, I have Thieves and Kings in both the original issues and the TPBs. I'm also keeping my original GrimJack comics even as I buy the hardcovers. Those are rare, though.

To a certain real extent, whether or not a reader prefers reading comics in book format (tpb or hardcover) or in the traditional "comic book" stapled-together-bunches-of-paper-kinda-like-a-magazine format is a matter of personal taste, and there's probably not a lot of point arguing over folks' preferences. De gustibus non est disputandum and all that.

That said, for me, I'm something of a bibliophile anyway, so I recognize that I'm more likely to give something a try in a book format as opposed to anything else. Years ago, as comics tpbs were becoming more common, I predicted my own buying patterns and preferences would natually migrate toward book format options (I think that prediction may be on record in a lettercol in Comics Buyers Guide or something from way back when.) And time has shown that that's exactly what's happened. And, I'm guessing, to others as well.

But that's just me.

No. I'm not kidding you Fred. It costs the retailer $2.50 of the $4.95 to get that catalogue for you. For the security of getting the book to take home and look at several times to make sure you've found everything you want, including things you would otherwise never know existed, and then the ability to turn in that wish list to the shop, and then they can order it for you, you know you will have it, and you won't miss out, and they know for sure they have somebody who wants that certain book or toy and they may have motivation to get extras for walk-ins, it is well worth the price.

IF you have a favorite shop that you have a hold slot at and you want them to be there for you in a month or a year, it isn't all that hard to help them out a little bit, letting them know what they need to order to serve their customers better.

Just can't spring for the $5? You have the first three weeks of each month to go in to the store and spend a 1/2 hour or so to flip through the store's copy and let them know what you want.

My impression from this thread was that the orders from stores through Diamond needed to increase. I'm not sure if it would make Diamond happy to sell any more of the copies of #1 but it might. Buying them on eBay won't help Claypool out.

I'm thinking I'll ask my store to get two copies, pay for both, then have them put the second copies out on the shelf for someone else to discover. If I can go back for the early ones through Diamond, then everyone will be helped out.

I just sent a copy of this press release to the mail order company where I buy my comics from, New England Comics. A simple thing for each one of us to do is print a copy of that press release and take it with us the next time we stop in our local comic shop. (I don't have a local shop, which is why I do mail order.)

That's really all the press release is asking for. Just let your comic shop know that this company needs some help right now to keep its titles on the shelves. Even if you're not interested in the titles that Claypool publishes, there are a lot of comic fans out there who would enjoy them if they were only made aware of their existence.

Craig, don't take this as a contradiction, but you did mention that you do, in fact, have a couple of TPBs, so saying you don't buy trades isn't accurate. I do understand that you don't like TPBs. My apologies if your comments were directed more at the larger task of collecting a longish-run of back issues, and not one (as I thought) suggesting that TPBs were a more convienent way of getting those back issues.

I'm with you on more digital access to comics. I think it'd be good for the industry to give the consumer the choice as to what, how, and when they purchase their books. I say let folks download the books they want. If they want paper copies, take their downloads to the LCS, where there's a high-quality printer. For a small copy fee, they can get a printed, bound (maybe a Choose Your Own Cover Enhancement option?) copy of the books they want to add permanently to their collection. For everything else, they can read it as many times in a month as they want. Then it goes into the archives, where the publisher can offer, for a monthly/yearly subscription fee, access to chunks of the archives. Pay a little more, and you can get similar printing privileges at the LCS (or eventually, your home printer).

The current system is archaic.

As to Marvel dictating the TBP format of arcs, I'd say that it's the fan, and their purchasing of TPBs, that's dictated Marvel's decision to shoehorn arcs into 6 part chunks. If TPBs didn't sell well, Marvel wouldn't care. It's the same reason why there are 235 X-Books out...because they sell.

Convenience, plain and simple. I stopped collecting comics a long time ago, but I have a soft spot for JSA and JLA. The nonsensical escalation of price of back issues totally put me off. And, since I really don't organize them all that well, finding individual comics in my walk in closet is a pain.

Hence the beauty of trades. Add that to the deep discount at Amazon AND the fact that I can order ahead and actually get them, and I'm a happy camper. Waiting isn't a problem and who has time to search for back issues? I did a quick comparison once when I did have time: back issues for the equivelant trade JSA book at the local comic shop was incomplete, but those they had totaled over thirty bucks. The trade on Amazon was around thirteen dollars.

Trades are for the casual reader looking for cost/value trade offs with patience thrown in (so what if it's a year later?).

Trades are how I'm getting the complete Joss Whedon run on Astonishing X-Men... (Is Vol 2 with the conclusion coming out soon?)

>No. I'm not kidding you Fred. It costs the retailer $2.50 of the $4.95 to get that catalogue for you. For the security of getting the book to take home and look at several times to make sure you've found everything you want, including things you would otherwise never know existed, and then the ability to turn in that wish list to the shop, and then they can order it for you, you know you will have it, and you won't miss out, and they know for sure they have somebody who wants that certain book or toy and they may have motivation to get extras for walk-ins, it is well worth the price.

Won't miss out? Based on the number of books that are late hitting the shelves, it appears more reliable in some instances to wait to see it up close and in person, than to preorder. With many titles I do just that.

Possibly well worth the price for you. To me, it is a waste of my limited income that I'd prefer to spend elsewhere. I don't begrudge anyone who is willing to pay for it, but see it as a giant book of advertisements. I enjoy looking at it, but the minute that a retailor attempted to charge me for it, I would not longer pick it up.

>IF you have a favorite shop that you have a hold slot at and you want them to be there for you in a month or a year, it isn't all that hard to help them out a little bit, letting them know what they need to order to serve their customers better.

I help them out as a regular customer and buy about a hundred and fifty dollars of comics a month. They provide a product and I purchase what interests me and is worth the price to me. I feel no more responsibile for paying for the Previews than I would paying for their rent or heating bills.

>Just can't spring for the $5? You have the first three weeks of each month to go in to the store and spend a 1/2 hour or so to flip through the store's copy and let them know what you want.

It isn't so much "couldn't spring" as it is won't spring. I don't see it as any different than going to a movie and seeing the previews there. If they asked me to pay to see the trailers, I'd reply without so much as a hesitation. Test driving a car, pretzel samples in the mall, that creepy metal scalp massager that the kiosk workers chase after me to try out, etc. I guess I simply see this as an expense of doing business.

I could see myself taking 15 minutes and filling out an order form there, since I enjoy the conversation with a few of the guys that work there. Though I wonder if I'd be charged for the order form, since that it a part of the Previews magazine. Honestly, I'd have no problem is Previews disappeared. I survived without them before. The only people hurting from it not being in my hands are retailers and the comic companies. Whether Marvel, DC, or small independent publishers, it is in their best interest to get this book into my hands. I laughed out loud when Marvel made the decision to slap a $.99 cover price on their advance order book.... at least Marvel Age had some substance.

>I'm thinking I'll ask my store to get two copies, pay for both, then have them put the second copies out on the shelf for someone else to discover. If I can go back for the early ones through Diamond, then everyone will be helped out.

Nice idea. I've done this a few times and it is great to think that I am turning someone else onto a solid title.

Fred

Craig, don't take this as a contradiction, but you did mention that you do, in fact, have a couple of TPBs, so saying you don't buy trades isn't accurate.

I bought two of them 10 years ago for one specific storyline (Age of Apocalypse) because the monthlies weren't readily available to me at the time.

But, if that means I like trades, then it also means I apparently still like Power Rangers, since I watched that more than 10 years ago too.

However, now, I'd rather watch a Bush speech than watch an episode of Power Rangers. How do you think I feel about TPB's? :)

As I said, "I do understand that you don't like TPBs." :)

And, hey, I still enjoy me some Power Rangers once in a while, and I've never really made an effort to watch them. Not that I have to, as it's almost as bad as Saved by the Bell was about 6 years ago. You couldn't channel surf at all without hitting Screech or Zack.

I think Robbnn states it pretty well, that trades are marketed to those that don't have the time anymore to hit the LCS weekly, who are only casually into comics, not the stack a week diehards. I don't understand when a guy on Newsarama with a pull list longer than my resume' makes a comment about waiting just for a trade of something. They didn't want to spend $3 a month a few times to see if the like something enough to get the rest of the issues, but they'll drop $20 at one time to buy the whole story?

Some relevant info from http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2005/12/claypool_comments.html

"Okay we goofed there, although all of the public statements about Claypool vis a vis Diamond were vague on whether it was the BENCHMARK ($1500 in wholesale sales in order to be carried by Diamond) or the THRESHOLD (a book must make 40% of benchmark or $600 in actual orders or those orders may be cancelled) that they failed to make. It's am important difference, and we regret making the error. This does make it a new kettle of fish. Everyone was blaming Diamond's NEW policy (the threshhold) but it's actually an OLD policy (the benchmark) which is the culprit here."

The argument that the PREVIEWS catalog is too big seems counter-intuitive to me. Are we really saying that we want fewer entertainment choices?

Bill

The argument that the PREVIEWS catalog is too big seems counter-intuitive to me. Are we really saying that we want fewer entertainment choices?

I think the issue is more about the fact that it (Previews) costs money.

It's like if I walked into the bookstore and picked up something I was possibly interested in, they'd charge me to read the back cover blurb. :)

>>The argument that the PREVIEWS catalog is too big seems counter-intuitive to me. Are we really saying that we want fewer entertainment choices?

>I think the issue is more about the fact that it (Previews) costs money.

>It's like if I walked into the bookstore and picked up something I was possibly interested in, they'd charge me to read the back cover blurb. :)

Exactamundo. I actually enjoy looking over all of the Independent comics, because I find potential gems to order on a monthly basis. I enjoy the possibility of finding things that I would not otherwise have been aware of, but have no interest in paying to read solits.

Fred

Hello, all.

For the record, I used to follow Soulsearchers a few years ago. A few cross-country moves and some budget constraints did prompt me to lose track of/stop following the series for some time.

I now buy almost exclusively trade paperbacks, although I intend to buy some Soulsearchers issues next time I am at Midtown Comics. Hopefully Midtown takes the hint and raises orders (assuming that they have any to begin with).

I just wanted to address a few of PAD's issues, although these are simply my feelings and observations. I make no claims to speak for anyone else.

[i]Okay...now we're just into weird territory. I mean, are people SO locked into trade paperbacks that they're literally *incapable* of acquiring back issues even when they're readily available?[/i]

I started buying trades for a few reasons - easier storage, more convenient for reading on the subway, and personal preference for the book aesthetic.

I'm capable of buying issues, and I do on rare occasion, but have you [i]seen[/i] how many trades are published every month? My entire comics budget doesn't even cover all of the trades that interest me, so if I can spend the entire budget on my preferred format, spending money on serialized comics rarely has the opportunity to even cross my mind.

[i]I just don't get this. When I was a kid, I was a late starter on Marvel comics. I started catching up on earlier issues via reprint packages such as "Marvel's Collector's Items Classics" and "Marvel Tales." As they garnered my interest, I went back and started collecting back issues. It was long and involved but the acquisition was part of the fun.[/i]

The key phrase, to me anyway, is "when I was a kid." When I was a kid, I loved the back issue hunt too. But I'm 29 now. I don't even have a regular shop - I use a few different shops infrequently, and I mail order most stuff anyway. I love comics, but back issue hunting doesn't give me that 15-year-old thrill anymore. I'm more interested in getting a good story than collecting a run, which is why I'll pick up the good stories that I can get more easily.

[i]So what's the current paradigm? Not only must back issues be easy to get, but they're only to be had if they're in a particular format. Trades or nothing.[/i]

Not "or nothing," but if my entire comics budget is claimed by quality offerings in my preferred format, the impetetus to buy monthlies is certainly lessened.

[i]I mean, that's what's being said here. Here's a company that's teetering on the brink, but if you can't have the comics in trade collections, you're not interested.[/i]

Because I've enjoyed Soulsearchers and want to see Claypool succeed, I'll look for the issues, but I still believe that it is the publisher's duty to put out material that readers want to buy - if format, content or anything else is an issue to the consumer, then it is the publisher who should react accordingly, not the buyer.

Claypool's issue is that it needs more sales RIGHT NOW, so I'll chip in. But looking to the future (assuming that there is one) lots of people on this thread have brought up other formats and distribution options that they would prefer to see explored, be it trades or online or whatever. I think it's Claypool's duty now to consider/investigate those options if that's what their readership wants.

Just my two cents.

Bladestar, the second volume of Astonishing X-Men is currently available. It came out either this week or last.

I've looked around my comic shop for Soulsearchers and haven't found it; I'll have to see if they can add it to my list. Hopefully enough awareness is being raised here and elsewhere that Claypool can meet the - not that frighteningly unreachable, one would hope - benchmark.

Personally, I much prefer regular comics to TPBs. Aesthetically, I don't like the trades - the coloring often looks off to me, they don't physically feel like comics, and in general they just seem like unauthentic copies of the "real thing". With trade paperbacks you miss the LETTER COLUMNS (not always applicable anymore, I know) [which reminds me I really should do better at supporting those letter columns which have kept going/returned ...], and the loss of the individual covers, at best reprinted as just another page of story, is also significant. (Less so for those titles with nothing but meaningless "poster covers", granted.)

I do have a few TPBs - all for series for which I could not find some of the individual issues, and almost all reprintings of PAD works, come to think of it :) But for me, I still prefer the monthly pursuit of individual issues; and if I've lost any of the above-mentioned thrill of looking for back issues, it's only because the back issue collections of current local stores can't compare to the depth of the Mile High Comic stores of my youth.

Speaking of "MCH" - that's too bad that Mile High isn't convenient to public transit, Craig. Mile High Comics is definitely one thing I've missed about the Metro Denver area (along with being able to see every Broncos game - took it for granted while I had it .... At least I should be able to see most of the rest of them - including into January and maybe February ... :) ). If they still had the store on 308 S. Broadway, would that be closer to a bus route? I was bummed when I heard they moved out of that place - I have a lot of memories of that store ....

Ralf, I'm with you. Trades only for me. Bagging and boarding comics are a pain in the ass. I'm finished with it.

While I wish no ill on Claypool and do hope they survive.

Speaking of "MCH" - that's too bad that Mile High isn't convenient to public transit, Craig.

I live in Denver (rather than the suburbs), but with a full time job, and college classes in the evening at Auraria Campus, it's more about a total lack of time. But public transit is a part of that, because of the times it can take to get to and from places.

And if you've been in Denver any time recently, you can easily see that most everything these days is in the suburbs. :)

If they still had the store on 308 S. Broadway, would that be closer to a bus route?

Wouldn't need a bus - I could've walked to that location. Broadway & Alameda isn't too far away. :)

They still have the store along Colorado Blvd in Glendale. And, up until a few months ago, the company I work for had their office in a next-door building to MHC's location (although I've been working from home for the last 2.5 years), so that was the location I'd go to.

I just do an online order now and then of back issues when I have the chance They still run great sales at times.

Anyways, I hope to make my decision on starting any new subscriptions in the next day or two. I think I'll give MailOrderComics.com a try, as they told me they don't have a minimum for the number of titles you can order each month.

i don't think marvel or dc are to blame.

#1 they make so much money i don't think they even consider the #3 (image) or #4 (dark horse) publishers to even be a threat, so i don't think they are going out of their way to destroy the small publishers.

#2 they make more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on licensing then on actual comics.

now some of you were complaining about how many comics they dc, marvel) produce and how many comics marvel & dc throw out to flood the market. well who's fault is that?

don't blame the big 2, blame all the people that buy anything that has the letter X on it. there are over 10 xmen related title at any given time, whether on limited series or regular titles and all the fanboys run out there like giddy little girls to buy the latest xmen: the end chapter 4 # 6.

blame all the people that buy everything brian bendis and geoff johns put out. nevermind that the avarage issue of powers takes 3 minutes to read, but hey, bendis wrote it.

how many of you read avengers, powers, (ultimate, amazing, friendly neighborhood, mk) spiderman(new, uncanny, astonishing) x-men, the pulse, house of m, hulk, wolverine, young avengers, (adventures of, action comics) superman, (detective comics, legends of) batman, jla, wonderwoman, teen titans, infinite crisis, how many of you bought all the infinite crisis prequels. don't blame them if you're going to buy all things marvel & dc i love all things marvel & dc (the only non marvel dc stuff i buy is conan by dark horse & fallen angel by idw) the big 2 do put a lot of stuff out, but guess what, a lot of it is really great stuff.
100 bullets is amazing. ennis is doing wonders with punisher. teen titans is awsome. has anyone read what winick & mankhe are doing over @ batman or brubaker and epting on captain america. even warren ellis who at one swore off the big 2 has fianlly realized that if you can't beat them, join them. the big 2 rule for a reason.

blaming diamond is fine to an extent, but the reason they have a monopoly is because no one has the guts to beat them at their own game and open up their own method of distribution to get their books out.

joe v.

Soul Searchers added to my monthly sub, for what it's worth.

PAD - I've always considered myself a fan of your work, but I didn't know you wrote this comic. Perhaps you would consider keeping a section on your site up-to-date with your current projects, or maybe a "My Stuff Recently / About to be Released" list...?

It would be really useful for others like me who buy anything you write regardless of publisher, format or subject (I read your blog a lot too - apart from the political stuff - but sometimes forget to make a note of projects not coming out for a few months!)

Crossing fingers...
...Simon.

while I read all of the Claypool titles (except Phantom of whatever) at the begining - I stoped a few years ago, when my tastes changed to mostly humor and true fact comics.
But I liked them enough to re-add them to my list -- hope they keep coming out

Paul O'Brien has just written an
article about this over at Ninth Art; hopefully it will generate a bit of publicity, and he also has various pieces of advice for Claypool.

Peter, maybe you covered this before, but is there a reason why your name isn't on the cover of *Soulsearchers and Company*? I happened to see an issue on a shelf at my local shop, and the only reason I recognized it was because of the recent blog discussion. I would have absolutely no idea that you were affiliated with this book at all if it weren't for the blogs.

Chiming in on the trades issue: I'm happy to buy singles of indy comics, but for DC and Marvel, the advertising is just interspersed too much to make reading the comic enjoyable at all. One page of content, one garish ad. Repeat twenty times.

The ease of format plays a big part, too. Trades can be easily carried around and loaned without worry of damage, displayed on my bookshelf for guests to admire and borrow, and stored in a conventional manner like the rest of my books without needing special props.

I'll buy singles if I have to, but I much prefer trades.