Weird Comics History ep. 31 - The Direct Market, Part Two

Hello, investors! In this episode, rabid speculators Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggierggie) finish their talk about comic books' direct market, taking it from about 1988 until the present day! They talk about comic book collecting during a speculator's bubble, and how this affected distribution and the the operating companies when that bubble burst. Our armchair economists also look at Marvel's financial dealings during the period, including the fateful acquisition of Heroes World, and what really cause them to file for bankruptcy in 1997. It's not all doom and gloom, however, when they discuss how comic book retailers reinvented themselves as something more in the late 1990s and into the 21st Century. Plus: Anedcdotes and recollections of the period! After this episode, you should know enough about the crazy business of comic books to stay as far away from it as possible.

Weird Comics History ep. 30 - The Direct Market, Part One!

Hello, comics enthusiasts! In this episode, Chris (@AceComics) and Reggie (@reggiereggie) tackle a subject they've been meaning to cover since the very beginning: the comic book industry's direct market! In part one of two, they'll cover the dirty beginnings of newsstand distribution, and how it developed through the 20th Century. They'll talk about some of the big figures in early comics fandom, and the developing aftermarket that developed around comic book collection. This will lead them to discuss Phil Seuling, the first to directly distribute comics from the publisher to retailers and collectors, and that business would continue and expand in interesting ways, which are covered in great detail. At the end, they leave things off just when things are about to get hot—and comic book distribution will get really, irrevocably weird!