This is an all over the place edition of Comics Disassembled, but it has a major headliner to kick things off. So, let’s get to looking at eleven things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics, led by a comic shop in need. That’s right. We’re going for extra credit this week!

Books with Pictures, Needing Help

Readers of SKTCHD and listeners of Off Panel are probably familiar with the Portland, Oregon based comic shop Books with Pictures, even if you’ve never visited the store itself. The shop’s owner, Katie Pryde, has visited the podcast several times, appeared in a bevy of articles, and even once was interviewed in my email newsletter The Crossover, which existed between SKTCHD 1.0 and 2.0. There’s a reason she shows up a lot. Pryde is a tremendous retailer, and Books with Pictures is an incredible store. Even in a city as blessed with quality comic shops as Portland, BwP is beloved because of its inclusive intent and reality, its remarkably curated library of comics and graphic novels, and how effective it is at guiding customers to the right book — whether that’s through its excellent staff or stellar merchandising. I know first hand. I always walk out of the store with more things than I planned on leaving with.

In short: Books with Pictures rocks.

Unfortunately, the shop is (was? more on that in a second) in trouble. As Pryde said on Facebook, “The shop is in real financial trouble. I’ve been bailing, stretching my limits, trying new things, but the hole is deep and I need help.” That’s why she launched a GoFundMe to help fill that hole, one that was looking for $42,500 from supporters, which is, as Pryde said on the page, “the magical amount that would get the shop current on all of our accounts, get us out of our frantic hole-digging mode, and allow us to look forward rather than scramble backward.” This was a question of survival, making that GoFundMe a necessity.

I had to lead with who Pryde is and what Books with Pictures means to people because even with its goal being a lofty amount, I knew its GoFundMe meeting its goal was a formality. It was absolutely a “when” type situation, not an “if.” That’s because the direct market needs more shops like BwP, not fewer, and everyone knows it. Pryde and its staff deliberately open themselves up to people while welcoming readers of all varieties. They also make it easier for people to find the comic for them, which is a powerful thing. It’s not that other shops don’t do that. But BwP is undeniably one that’s in the highest percentiles for how much it leans into those ideas.

That might be why the shop’s GoFundMe campaign has already hit its goal. Hundreds of donors — customers, creators, publishers, industry types — have supported Books with Pictures and Pryde. I hope this campaign puts the shop in a position to get its feet under itself and to keep its doors open for all the people who love it. Best of luck to Pryde on this journey, and hey, if you can afford to help this shop in need, this is a great way to do it. Even if it’s already hit its goal, I’m sure it could use the extra support.

Dynamite, Going Universal

Are the Distributor Wars back? Probably not, or at least I hope not. But with Canada’s Universal Distribution previously entering the American market by signing DC to a non-exclusive agreement, the introduction of a new player seemed likely to lead to some shuffling in the space. That was confirmed by the reveal that Dynamite Entertainment is also going non-exclusive with Universal, as it — like DC before it — will be seeing multiple distributors between Universal and its previous partner in Lunar Distribution.

It seems likely that if we see much more movement, it will come in this exact form. It’s hard to imagine Penguin Random House signing non-exclusive distribution agreements. It also makes sense because publishers are seemingly trying to give retailers (especially those with animosity towards Lunar because of its sister companies in Discount Comic Book Service — or DCBS — and InStockTrades) options.

Here’s my take: Options are not a bad thing. That’s true if you’re a publisher or a retailer. Is it the best if you’re a distributor? Maybe not. But opening things up so shops can find the distributor that best fits them and so you can be able to move and shift and allocate the way that matches your shop feels more like the post-Diamond dream than the weird walled garden situation everyone has been in since the demise of the former distribution supergiant. You know what’s worse than one monopoly? It turns out there’s actually an answer to that. It’s two smaller monopolies. Micronopolies? I’ll workshop that.

So, this is a good and interesting thing. The big question, as has been the case in the past five or so years in the distribution space, is what’s next? It’s hard to tell, but I suspect there will be a what’s next coming at some point in this space.