Looks like Diamond’s new shipping policies are claiming a victim early on, and it’s pretty crappy timing, forcing these guys to scramble over the holidays to try to save their company. Clapool Comics has been notified that, under Diamond Comics’ new distribution number requirements, the publisher is going to be dropped from their catalog. Yes, Diamond’s in business to make money, but they’ve also been in the business over the years of being bastards who have managed to (with Marvel’s idiotic help) kill all their real competition and create a virtual monopoly when it comes to comic book distibution. Since they’ve actively killed off several distribution channels that smaller companies used to thrive through, Diamond really has a moral obligation to help promote and nurture publishers like Claypool rather than simply cut them off at the knees. I don’t think that every wannabe publisher deserves a listing in Previews, but when a company’s been making money enough to stick around for over a decade, Diamond really needs to re-evaluate their new policies.
CLAYPOOL IN CRISIS
Independent Publisher Reaches Out to Readers and RetailersDiamond Comics Distributors has told Claypool Comics of plans to cancel the Claypool titles DEADBEATS and SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY, starting with the issues shipping in April, unless Claypool can push their sales up. That move would wipe out much of Claypool’s line.
This news comes as Claypool is in the middle of a group of special issues. SOULSEARCHERS #76 and ELVIRA #153 (shipping in January) and DEADBEATS #76 (shipping in February) are “Jump In� issues written and drawn especially for new readers. Last year, when Claypool inaugurated the “Jump In� issues, they sold very well.
Claypool has asked retailers to order an extra copy of each “Jump In� issue. In addition, Claypool has asked readers to buy Claypool titles now and request that the retailers order the “Jump In� issues. The cover of SOULSEARCHERS’ “Jump In� issue is on the Web at http://www.claypoolcomics.com/uploads/ss76.gif, while http://www.claypoolcomics.com/uploads/db76.gif houses DEADBEATS’ cover.
Claypool is backing up its requests with point-of-sale cards that retailers can put on their counters or use as bag stuffers. The cards tell readers about the issues and include a spot to check off which issues they’d like to buy.
DEADBEATS, by Marvel veterans Richard Howell and Ricardo Villagran, is a punk vampire soap opera that should appeal to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 30 Days of Night. SOULSEARCHERS, written and co-created by Peter David, is a super-hero satire featuring a group of supernatural investigators, featuring art by Joe Staton and covers by JSA Classified: Power Girl’s Amanda Conner.
Claypool editor Richard Howell says, “Claypool Comics has always had a dedicated base of fans, most of whom are literate and educated people whose needs aren’t always met by the current comics marketplace. A retailer who puts our comics on the shelves will most likely find that they continue to sell month after month. The consistency of our sales is undisputable, and we have every indication that if our books got more exposure, they’d sell strongly for many, many more retailers. Claypool Comics are and always have been a labor of love — love of comics, that is. We’re committed to good comics, and that makes our readers committed to us. Any retailer who wants to profit from that dedication and goodwill is enthusiastically invited along for the ride.â€Â?
Claypool, which has published comics steadily since 1993, is known as “the publisher of hidden treasuresâ€Â? — but it doesn’t WANT to hide them!
