It was likely the biggest ComicsPRO gathering to date, reflecting generally positive market conditions, but I was surprised by the lack of angst at a gathering of comic retailers as a nearly 30-year system of distribution transformed around them. While there was concern about how the Diamond Comic Distributors Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is resolved (see "The Diamond Bankruptcy"), I heard no talk about the end of the Direct Market or an existential crisis for comic stores.
With both of the Big Two superhero publishers coming off a successful 2024, plenty of other positives to point to, and sales that remain at much higher levels than they were pre-Covid, it's going to take more than the Diamond bankruptcy to turn sentiments negative. While no-one likes the disruption to supply chains as some shipments from Diamond are interrupted, other lines switch distributors, and retailers contend with the extra work it all creates, product is largely flowing, consumers are buying, and communities are intact.
The good vibes are harder to find among smaller suppliers to comic stores, who are sometimes dealing with interrupted cash flow as expected Diamond payments don't arrive, and trying to decide how their products will get to market in the future. Here at ICv2, we are getting a constant flow of announcements of companies making new distribution arrangements, expanding direct sales to retailers, and in some cases, pausing publication.
It seems inevitable that there are going to be casualties among small indie comic publishers, and while most don't contribute meaningfully to the total dollars of the business, any reduction of access to the market lowers the chances of an off-beat hit or trend, and reduces the ways that creators can refine their craft.
A record GAMA Expo (see "GAMA Expo 2025") reflected a hobby games market that retains most of its Covid growth, a good finish to the year, and high expectations for 2025. But most board games and many miniature game products and color RPG books are made in China, and even TCGs printed in the United States are printed on paper that likely comes from Canada, so when it appeared last week that a second round of tariffs on China imports were going to be imposed, along with the delayed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, it caused a new round of uncertainty and concern. There's already a lot of price resistance around games, and substantial increases in costs are going to require price increases that may deter some consumers.
…along with disappointment that Alliance Game Distributors was dragged into bankruptcy by Diamond.
While Alliance is not the hobby game powerhouse it once was, it still sells a lot of games and has a loyal following among both publishers and retailers, so there was a lot of disappointment among both those groups that problems with Diamond's comic business had put this important game distributor into such a negative state. That disappointment was tempered by a general optimism for Alliance under new ownership, and much speculation about who that might be.
None of that meant that game retailers weren't hedging their bets, with other game distributors reporting a wave of incoming calls from nervous Alliance accounts looking to secure supply for the coming months.
New York Toy Fair came out of Covid badly damaged, with the 2021 and 2022 shows canceled, a Fall 2023 show that had weak attendance, and after a shambolic attempt to move the show to New Orleans, a return to the city and time frame that have hosted the show for decades brought a show that was smaller than it was in 2020, but substantially better than the 2023 event. Both exhibitors and floor traffic were down from 2020, with big booths from big companies at the front of the upstairs floor of exhibits, but empty space at the back of the hall. It seemed busier to us on the lower floor of exhibits, where collectible figure companies and smaller game publishers showed their wares.
Most of what I was getting about the bankruptcy from the first two shows was about the impact on the companies in the business, so it was interesting to get things from perspectives outside the comics and game hobbies on the current situation.
I stopped at the booth for Diamond Select Toys, Diamond Comic Distributors, and Alliance Game Distributors and spoke to Ramy Aly, Senior Director at Getzler Henrich & Associates, the restructuring consultants that are helping to guide Diamond through its Chapter 11 process. He told me that events since the filing were proceeding as well as or better than expected, including good vendor support and additional parties interested in acquiring Diamond assets. Bidding may be complex, because there are a lot of moving parts, but he said that things were generally going well.
That interaction was coupled with direct and indirect information from other sources that indicated that well-funded buyers that are strategically connected but outside the comics and games businesses are circling Diamond assets, with one telling me directly that they intended to bid.
I came away more optimistic
Although I knew that both the underlying comics and games businesses were solid going into the shows, I was thinking that the results of the Diamond bankruptcy were going to be primarily negative. The shows confirmed that both retailers and publishers were largely optimistic about the future, but at the ComicsPRO and GAMA shows, there was still a focus on the negative aspects of the bankruptcy, which are substantial as of today. At Toy Fair, I got a view from a different perspective, where the changes could end up being positive.
I now have higher hopes for a viable future for Diamond as a comics and merch distributor, with the backing and transformative management that could produce a better company; and my expectations that Alliance will emerge as a stronger company remain high.
While it's no fun going through this period, that's just a reflection of my old maxim from the Capital City Distribution era: change is hard.
