Big Ol' Pub on the Skids Again

Will the rubble rolling down the hill generate landslides elsewhere?

Old Pub continues its downward slide as the Death of the Lumber Mill rolls toward its inevitable conclusion. This recent post by

Brian Niemeier

highlights the woes of Penguin-Random House (PRH) after its acquisition by Simon & Schuster was prevented.

See Brian’s full story here.

The interesting twist in the PRH saga is how this is also the story of the downward slide of the American Mainstream Comic Book. Marvel Comics signed a deal with PRH to become their distributor of comic books and graphic novels back in March of 2021, making the final move away from both Diamond Distributors and Hachette Publishing in 2022.

A few links on that deal can be found here, here, and here.

Recall that DC Comics jumped from Diamond during early days of the COVID Year of 2020, moving from Diamond to a deal that had Lunar Distribution and UCS Comics Distributors fulfilling orders (sort of) to local comic shops (LCS). DC eventually settled on Lunar as their sole exclusive distributor.

Background on that deal here, here, and here.

Diamond Distribution hasn’t settled its churn either, with Alliance Entertainment withdrawing its bid to purchase the Chapter 11-facing company. Will it recover to return as a distribution option? We shall see.

Links here and here.

What this points to is the ongoing fragility in the OldPub printing and bulk distribution models, as well as in their markets. The threat is primarily to their physical sales endpoints — local bookstores and the LCS.

While PRH struggles with layoffs and drawdowns brought on by ignoring and often deriding half their market (men), the LCS is being hammered from multiple sides by past changes in distribution, potential price increases due to publishers’ use of overseas markets for sourcing their paper and printing, and by disruptions in product logistics.

See this 2019 article about the Big Five use of China’s paper and printing industries to get a feel for what has likely happened in the intervening six years. Tough times likely ahead for the Lumber Mills.

Logistics was a choke point due to COVID in 2020 for physical distribution of many products. Comic books and comic-related items were no exceptions. Many an LCS took immediate body blows that either destroyed their businesses within a year or two, or delivered enough damage that their ability to stay in business between 2020 and 2025 required restructuring, shifting to other items on offer (manga, anime, collectible movie memorabilia, books), or quietly giving up after a prolonged struggle to stay afloat.

The problem of current year American comics rotting on LCS shelves like Disney Star Wars merch collecting dust in defunct Toys ‘R Us stores doesn’t help that situation at all.

Should PRH’s troubles accelerate, it could create another wave of similar problems for the LCS model. Stores that depend on Marvel Comics could again be faced with unexpected churn. LCSs that are already strained may break.

Opportunities for Independent creators of books, graphic novels, and other entertainments again abound for those who are interested in jumping into the pool.

Remember the tiny Mammals who survived the asteroid that killed the Dinosaurs.