The Coronavirus crisis has shaken the comic book industry to its core. No aspect of life has escaped the Coronavirus pandemic, with over a third of the world's population placed under some form of lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. The economic impacts of these measures are severe, and no industry is spared from them.
That's even true of the comic book industry. Wednesday is traditionally "New Comic Book Day," the day publishers release their weekly single-issues. Sadly, April 1 is an exception, with retailers closed, distribution channels shut down, and publishers releasing only a limited range digitally - if they're releasing anything at all. Worse still, there's no way to know how long the impact will last; the situation is extremely fluid, changing moment by moment.
This has a particularly pronounced impact on the Direct Market, and that's frankly tragic; after years of struggle, there had been reports retailers were beginning to find themselves in a more comfortable place. It's too soon to say for certain what the comic book industry will look like when the Coronavirus pandemic is over, but it will surely be rather different, simply because everyone - retailers, distributors, and publishers - will have had to figure out how to keep their industry alive at this time.
The Closure of Diamond Distributor
In order to truly understand the impact Coronavirus is having on the comic book industry, you first have to understand the industry itself. While most attention goes to publishers, in reality the dominant force in the industry is Diamond, the world's largest comic book distributor. Diamond has exclusive contracts with companies like Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite, and BOOM! Studios. By March 23, Diamond confirmed the entire distribution channel had been disrupted too severely to remain operating, and they halted all new comic shipments. The pandemic appears to have placed Diamond under severe financial pressure, and there have been reports of redundancies; because they are no longer receiving consistent payments from their customers, they have been forced to suspend their own payments to the publishers who typically provide them with content.
This effectively pressed the pause button on the entire comic book industry, because there's now no way for physical books to get to the shops, even assuming retailers are still open in the first place. Shops had already been reporting reduced footfall, although some had reportedly been seeing success with curbside picks and mail-orders, but there are now no new books to sell. This is a tough situation for retailers, who still have regular outgoings such as rent to pay, even though their income stream has dried up.
How Are Publishers Responding To The Shutdown?
Retailers have long feared being replaced by digital channels, and there's been intense speculation publishers will use the Coronavirus pandemic as a reason to switch to digital. These fears may well be overstated, because DC Comics' Director of Marketing Services, Adam Phillips, reassured retailers their sales figures suggest physical and digital sales reach different customers. "Here's where we are on digital," he posted. "All our data shows the digital consumer and the physical consumer are two different audiences. For now, we're going to continue to release digital comics, but will revisit this if the pipeline for physical distribution continues to be challenged and disrupted." For all that's the case, though, DC later clarified this meant a reduced line rather than the normal number of releases.
In truth, the situation is currently too fluid to say what's going to happen next. Some publishers have chosen to shut down completely, telling freelancers to put pencils down until the shops open, because they view retailers as their primary channel. The Big Two, DC and Marvel, will be under immense pressure to find a way to make money; their parent companies, Disney and AT&T, are suffering badly due to the lockdown's impact on film and TV as well. While Marvel has pulled all comics from April 1, their official statement takes a cautious, wait-and-see approach. "Marvel will also not be releasing any new comic book titles digitally on April 1," they observed. "As soon as more information is available, we will outline our longer-term plans and opportunities to support you and the industry." It remains to be seen what that will mean.