Some funny things happen when you dig into the history of the comic books.
I can't count how many times I've started reading a comic history book or an old industry periodical and stumbled across something that echoes across the decades.
This week, it was this article from the pages of Comic Shop News #0001 (dated July 1-10, 1987)
When I first came into the industry 20 years ago, skip weeks (and even split weeks) were mostly a thing of the past. Marvel and DC would pad their schedules in different ways - sometimes producing extra issues of regular titles or running a mini-event.
These DC has returned to what feels like the classic "four week" schedule and fills their fifth weeks with annuals and one-shots, while Marvel usually adds a small handful of books to the month to balance everything out.
Key note there is usually.
When I stumbled upon the article I reproduced above, I decided to do a little write up on how the industry ships books today, and decided to look up what things looked like for December, when the next "fifth week" would land. I was a little shocked at what I found.
As of the time of this publication, DC currently has no single issues scheduled to ship for December 30th. Marvel has a grand total of 9 books shipping, only three of which are ongoings (Jean Grey #2, Venom #3, and Marc Spector: Moon Knight #11).
Industry wide, Lunar Distribution will only be shipping 16 titles - 14 from Image, and 2 from Vault. Penguin Random House will have 15 titles out - the previously mentioned 9 from Marvel, as well as 2 each from Boom! Studios, Ignition Press, and Oni Press. 1
That is a total of 31 single issues, in comparison to the 120 the industry just absorbed this week - or the 102 that came out on September 30th.
For DC Comics, it seems like it is well and truly the return of "the skip week" with nothing on the schedule for the first time in several years. Marvel seems to have opted for the "split week" approach, as their schedule features the typical amount of releases for a four week month month (which hovers around 60 titles) instead of the 70-ish they usually publish in a five week month.
Why is this happening, and what will it mean for you and your local comic shop? I'll admit that I don't have any solid answers yet, just past experiences with the comic industry's holiday week shipments.
In the past, distributors have bundled two weeks of books in a single shipment in order to avoid the shipping delays that stack at the end of the year. This always resulted in several shops releasing the second batch of books early, while the more competent shops were given the extra work of splitting the shipments and storing the extra books. It wasn't ideal, but considering the logistics of getting things shipped and printed during the holiday system, it was something.
More recently, the distributors have pushed through the holiday, making attempts at the regular weekly delivery schedule, which often just ensured the product would arrive late. This ended up causing stress as shop owners had to figure out scheduling on the fly during the holidays.
This year's plan of attack remains to be seen, but given my druthers, I would like to see the industry follow DC's apparent skip week and just avoid the December 30th release date entirely. With the issues that occur with shipments during the holidays, the effort needed to get a small handful of books onto the stands pretty much exceeds what any level of the industry will see a return on. Certain retailers have proven they can't be trusted with early shipping books, so why not make it easier for everyone and have all the books scheduled for the last two weeks come out all at once? I know I would appreciate not having to put a pause in my holidays to process a few small shipments worth of books.
This is far from the first time I've proposed a break at the end of the year for comics. As noted, there are problems every year, and I doubt that will ever change if the industry insists on pretending like the holiday season isn't a huge logistical problem. And besides, most of the major publishers are shut down for two weeks around then anyway. Why should retailers be tasked with picking up extra slack when everyone else gets to take a little break?
The argument against that has always been a fear of "breaking the weekly habit", but if COVID couldn't break that cycle and doom the industry, a week off during the holidays won't kill the industry. Personally, I would use the opportunity to run a sale to clear out holiday overstock and push "new to you" recommendations. Turn the week into it's own little event, all while not having to figure out when the shipment will actually arrive.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Back Matter.
- When I was digging through the internet for some more information on shipping dates and skip weeks, I found an in depth article that David Harper did over at SKTCHD about "fifth weeks" and how the industry has dealt with them in different ways over the years. SKTCHD remains behind a paywall, but for as little as $2.99 a month, you get a lot of great comics commentary and journalism. David doesn't pay me to say anything like that, I just really like his work and think folks reading my stuff will enjoy what he does.
- The article I posted above came from the Comic Shop News website, where they have every issue they've published available to download. The cost is a one time payment of $49, but in return, you get access to decades worth of comic news. Any time I end up using something from them, you'll get my pitch to toss some dollars their way. We've found carrying the weekly newsletter has been an effective tool to bring awareness of upcoming releases now that the internet is crumbling around us.
What do you think should happen at the end of this year? Feel free to let loose in the comment section.
Also, if you're a publisher or distributor who wants to talk about the logistics about year end shipping, I'd love to chat either on or off the record, depending on comfort level.
Talk with you soon.
-B.
This does not include graphic novels, collected editions or prose books, as these aren't generally as "time sensitive" as single issues.
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