It’s that magical time of the year, that period when we all turn our attention to the future as we contemplate the different ways we’d like to improve or the goals we’d like to accomplish once the calendar turns to January. That’s right: It’s time for New Year’s resolutions!

The nature of these all depend on the individual, of course. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds. 13 Perhaps you want to spend a bit more time with the important people in your life, like your friends and family. 14 You might even have something specific in mind, like my eternal — and eternally unaccomplished — resolution of “I’m going to run a marathon!” 15 Whatever your resolutions are, though, they typically orient on finding ways to improve yourself or your life as you head into the new year.

The direct market side of the comic industry, or the space defined by a couple thousand comic shops, can’t have New Year’s resolutions, of course. It isn’t alive! How can it have New Year’s resolutions?! Even if it was, it’d be a decentralized monster with no consistent thought. Everyone would have different ideas about which directions are the right to take. But even with 2025 being a banner year for comic shops by most accounts, there are always ways things could improve, especially considering that there’s more bristling about the state of things behind the scenes (and in front of them) than one might typically expect during a high time like this.

So, with 2026 arriving tomorrow, I thought it’d be a good time to do what cannot otherwise be done: I’m going to create New Year’s resolutions for the direct market! More specifically, I limited myself to three resolutions, because as many of us know, long lists of resolutions are just not realistic. Each is built from conversations from throughout the year, 16 ones that highlighted perceived weaknesses in the direct market from the perspective of disparate people in disparate roles — and ones these people would like to see shored up in the future. While they might not be slimming up your waistline or traveling more or anything like that, each could lead to real gains for the direct market that could be even better if some adjustments are made in 2026.