The State of the State of the Industry
Where has The State of the Industry been, all three of you readers have been asking these long, long months. Between moves, job changes and other side projects, The State of the Industry had to take a back seat, and your humble writer is not sorry about it. This column has been a bear to put together from month to month, with sales figures that fluctuate so frequently it’s difficult to determine how any publisher can keep their company in the black. With recent developments from the top-selling titles coming out of Diamond Comics Distributors, the column had to be reassessed, retooled and reformatted.
Starting at the end of September, The State of the Industry will continue with a wholly new focus beyond the top series sold two months prior. As Diamond now releases the top 500 titles rather than the top 300 they’ve been doing the last decade or more, it would become too cumbersome to continue covering series the way I had been. Also, with sales on digital platforms not being readily available (or out and out refused on request), books being sold on websites, print-on-demand or at shows, it is getting much more difficult to lock down specific numbers month to month. Comics aren’t as dead as some might make them out to be, they’re just moving into a different method of being bought and sold. Sorry Diamond, but your distribution model is a dead horse that you haven’t stopped flogging.
What you will see in the new State of the Industry will be newsworthy items from the month, including specific hires, important releases and occurrences affecting the business of comics. An example might include the sentencing of writer Gerard Jones to six years in federal prison on child pornography charges. For those that desire it, I’ll throw in some numbers to appease the sales lovers, but they’ll be random and of no real import if taken from a Diamond list. Should any of you readers feel you’ve some important information to share, please email it on to us at Pint O’ Comics. Maybe it’ll be incorporated into a future State of the Industry column. Keep an eye on the Pint as we continue to bring you content no other pop culture site is interested in running.
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