Pacific Comics was a comic book distributor and publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California , comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes, later moving into comics distribution and then publishing.
77-538: As a publisher, starting in 1981, Pacific took early advantage of the growing direct market , attracting a number of writers and artists from DC Comics and Marvel Comics to produce creator-owned titles, which were not subject to the Comics Code , and thus were free to feature more mature content. In 1971, the Schanes brothers (Steve Schanes, age 17, and Bill Schanes, age 13) co-founded Pacific Comics, which started out as
154-527: A John Buscema portfolio of six signed, colored plates meant to accompany a Doug Moench and Buscema three-issue Weirdworld epic-fantasy tale which ran in Marvel Comics Super Special #11-13 (June-Oct. 1979). In 1981, rival distributor Capital City launched a black-and-white title, Nexus , and distributed it through their own system. The Schanes brothers took note, and decided to follow suit, even though they were still paying off debt from
231-524: A mail-order company, selling to consumers via advertisements in the Comics Buyer's Guide . This led to ads inside some Marvel comics , and ultimately to tangible retail stores. The first Pacific Comics store opened in Pacific Beach, California , in 1974, and business was soon doing so well that the brothers realized they "couldn't get merchandise" for the stores, and so set up a distribution system, which
308-639: A $ 300,000 bank loan taken out in 1979 at 25 percent interest. Steve — who, with a degree in sculpture had a background in art — handled negotiations with creators, while Bill took on the business and accounting end. The brothers turned to Jack Kirby . Steve Schanes recalled, "I figured if you want to get people's attention with a new comic book, who better to do it with than the King of Comics, Jack Kirby! We were already friends with Jack. We used to send him free copies of comics he'd drawn for other publishers because they never sent him any! So I just went ahead and called him on
385-548: A 1988 interview, "[We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books a month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us." In 1968, while selling 50 million comic books a year, Marvel revised the constraining distribution arrangement with Independent News it had reached under duress during the Atlas years, allowing Marvel now to release as many titles as demand warranted. By 1970, Independent News
462-721: A San Diego warehouse to which they'd moved in July 1982. They also purchased a firehouse in Steeleville, Illinois and converted it into a distribution hub. It was also operating warehouses in L.A. and Phoenix at the time. Printing about 500,000 comic books every month, the Schanses employed around forty people at their San Diego operation alone, and were grossing over $ 3.5 million per annum. The brothers hired their father, Steven E. Schanes, as financial vice president and their mother (Christine Marra) as office manager. Elder brother Paul "Pablo" worked in
539-462: A backup. The sectarians are offended by Silver Star's shining, sumptuous suit and attack him, but they fail. Drumm then arrives with Norma, who is now romantically interested in Silver Star after her time with irrational Drumm. Drumm explains his anti-social view and how his sect will get rid of perceived hedonists - albeit he had told Norma, and would tell Silver Star later, that he intended to wipe all
616-540: A base of operations, shared with Hammer and Silver Star's father Dr. Miller. Hammer is growingly sceptic; although Miller insists that his son is a good man, other subjects may not be - indeed they are attacked by a giant bacillus sent by Drumm, proving Hammer's point. Although Silver Star saves them, Drumm also sends monsters after Floyd, killing him, then sending illusions to show his death to Silver Star, Hammer and Miller. Miller then reveals to Hammer that his superhumans can alter their aging: Silver Star looks no older than he
693-504: A baseball game, feeling that someone there is another superhuman. Batter John Blainey "Home-Run" Hunter, a perfect scorer, is thrown an explosive ball, and Silver Star understands the danger too late: the ball blows up and the whole crowd is killed. Separated from Silver Star, Norma is found and captured by Drumm. Silver Star reports to Hammer and Dr. Miller, while Drumm goes to a circus to see strongman Albie Reinhart. With Norma captured and unable to move, Drumm alters Reinhart's show so that it
770-408: A man who is hiding at that point. Meanwhile, Hammer explains to Floyd that the latter had worked with Miller's father, Bradford "Cowboy" Miller, in an experiment to create "homo geneticus", a new breed of man who can survive after a nuclear holocaust - albeit Hammer was reluctant in several points. A number of babies from different mothers were inoculated with implants and will become more than human. In
847-769: A minuscule profit margin, maybe five percent to eight percent. We didn't push hard enough to get the money from receivables, who owed us hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you had to boil down the single biggest reason we blew it, that would be our poor cash management on the distribution side. Pacific's publication arm was also attracting competitors, and Pacific found itself distributing competitors' titles, including Kitchen Sink Press , Last Gasp (publisher) , and Rip Off Press . With this in mind, other publishers—including Capital City (whose Nexus comic outsold several Pacific titles), Comico , Aardvark-Vanaheim , Educomics , Quality , Eagle , Eclipse , First , Vortex , New Media , Fantagraphics , Mirage —feared that having Pacific,
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#1732876835228924-502: A new Silver Star as a part of its "Kirbyverse" imprint. The series, written by Kurt Busiek with art by James W. Fry III and Terry Austin , only lasted one issue before the line was cancelled, although the cover stated it was the first issue of four. In 2007 Image Comics released a hardcover collection titled Jack Kirby's Silver Star . The collection featured all six issues of the original Pacific Comics series, with restored colors on issues #5 and #6 by comic artist Erik Larsen , plus
1001-423: A practice formerly in use when comics were primarily distributed in newsstands. In early 1995, Marvel Comics purchased Heroes World , by that time the third largest distributor behind Diamond and Capital City, with the intention of self-distributing their products; Heroes World also stopped carrying other publishers' books. Other distributors sought exclusive deals with other major publishers to compensate for
1078-454: A rival publisher that they had helped promote. After organizational difficulties pushed back the release of Starslayer by several months, Mike Grell decided to take his creator-owned property to First Comics , and a domino effect began to occur as the loss of a high-profile title to a rival publisher engendered bad industry PR, leading other creators to lose faith in Pacific. More importantly,
1155-530: A rival publisher, as their distributor could result in their being cut off from comic shops. This likely played a factor in the multiple alternate distributors who came into being to compete with Pacific, until nearly a quarter of Pacific's comic-shop accounts defected to alternate distributors in 1984, skipping out on paying Pacific for upwards of three months' worth of comic books. At the same time, Pacific and parent company Blue Dolphin Enterprises found themselves
1232-495: A sale-or-return model, direct market distribution prohibits distributors and retailers from returning their unsold merchandise for refunds. In exchange for more favorable ordering terms, retailers and distributors must gamble that they can accurately predict their customers' demand for products. Each month's surplus inventory, meanwhile, could be archived and sold later, driving the development of an organized market for "back issues." The emergence of this lower-risk distribution system
1309-427: A seven-week shutdown. The list below includes sub-distributors, who bought their mainstream comics from one of the companies below but many of whom were on direct terms with one or more of the smaller or underground publishers. Silver Star (comics) Silver Star is an American superhero comic book series created, written, and drawn by Jack Kirby , first published by Pacific Comics in 1983. Featuring
1386-485: A strange place "projects" a birthday song for a 21-year-old man called Morgan Miller while cryptically talking about several plot points, including Morgan's father. Simultaneously, Miller is an infantry soldier in Vietnam War who lifts a 40-ton tank, then suddenly collapses. Colonel Walter Hammer, M.D. , treats Miller and orders a stuntman-like silver suit for him, claiming that Miller would die without it (Hammer compares
1463-561: A title character who becomes super-powered due to genetic mutation, the series continued Kirby's run of creator-owned work. Reprints of the original series and new stories based on it have subsequently been published by other comic book companies. The concept for Silver Star began in the mid-1970s as a movie screenplay by Jack Kirby and Steve Sherman. The final comic series was based on the initial screenplay, with some revision made by Kirby. The original Pacific Comics series ran from February 1983 to January 1984, lasting six issues. The series
1540-438: Is also credited with providing an opportunity for new comics publishers to enter the business, despite the two bigger publishers Marvel and DC Comics still having the largest share. The establishment and growth of independent publishers and self-publishers, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing to the present, was made economically possible by the existence of a system that targets its retail audience, rather than relying on
1617-529: Is as of 2022 – in the process becoming the oldest known comic book store still in existence. In the 1970s, the development of the direct market allowed a widespread network of comic shops to flourish. The specialty shop presented a number of competitive advantages: Before the direct market, from the 1930s through the 1960s, most comic books were distributed through newsstands , pharmacies , and candy stores . The major distributors during this period included American News Company and Independent News , which
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#17328768352281694-468: Is little they can do. Norma and Silver Star share a kiss, then Norma leaves to warn the nearest town and try to protect it; Silver Star stays behind to confront Drumm's final form. They wrestle mid-flight, but Drumm's death powers rot Silver Star's body. Becoming little more than a skeleton in rugs of his suit, but still alive, Silver Star falls and tries to heal. Meanwhile, the USAF - alerted by Dr. Miller - attacks
1771-473: Is more than even Reinhart's super-strong body can handle. Silver Star hears Reinhart's screams and teleports there. Silver Star finds Reinhart too late, only to see him die. Drumm takes Norma to a cave; she shows courage confronting him there, but she can't escape. Silver Star then finds teenager Elmo Frye, known as the hero of the ghetto, Big Masai, but Elmo is not interested in Silver Star's quest, preferring to help his peers. Three gangsters - Sugar Man; Macho,
1848-538: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in public health authorities in affected regions ordering non-essential retail sectors and businesses closed for the interim. Diamond Comic Distributors announced on March 24, 2020, a full suspension of distributing published material and related merchandise as of April 1, 2020, until further notice. As Diamond has a near-monopoly on printed comic book distribution in North America , this
1925-493: The homo sapiens from the face of Earth. The sectarians attack, but they cannot defeat either Silver Star or Norma. Drumm is nonetheless calm, as the heroes cannot defeat him either. After the fight, Drumm changes his appearance to a winged creature to carry on with his plan. Drumm's new aspect as the "Angel of Death" is received by his followers with cheers, while the heroes try to escape. Meanwhile, Silver Star telepathically contacts his allies outside to warn them, although there
2002-616: The Angel of Death, but they are unable to stop him from destroying suburbs and several areas. The Angel of Death reaches Redlands City, population ten million and, when he starts to kill people in the crowd - he sees that all of them have Darius Drumm's face - this is later revealed to have been an illusion staged by Silver Star. The Angel of Death, who is Drumm, cannot kill himself and, facing this paradox, he disintegrates. Due to his powers, he may survive, but Silver Star speculates that Drumm would be incapacitated for several centuries. Silver Star closes
2079-744: The Direct Market became the primary market of the two major comics publishers ( DC Comics and Marvel Comics ). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as the popularity of comics collecting grew, many new comics shops opened, and existing retailers (such as sports card shops) joined the Direct Market, carrying comics as a side business. By this time, Diamond and Capital City each had approximately twenty warehouses from coast to coast, and both were functioning as fully national distributors. Several of their larger remaining competitors, notably Glenwood, Longhorn, and Bud Plant , had either sold out or gone out of business. Such rapid growth (due partially to speculation )
2156-485: The Flash; and Roswell Baggs - want to shake Frye off but, when they try using thugs and semiautomatic weapons, Frye becomes a 30-foot giant and gets rid of Sugar Man, then going after Macho, while Silver Star has a drink at a local bar, sharing philosophy with the bartender. Finally sick of waiting, Silver Star matches Big Masai's size, confronts him, and insists on the urgency of his quest. Silver Star and Big Masai wrestle over
2233-548: The U.S., including Los Angeles — George DiCaprio and Nova — and the Midwest — Donahoe Brothers Inc. (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Keep On Truckin' Coop/ Big Rapids Distribution (Detroit, Michigan), Wisconsin Independent News Distributors (Madison, Wisconsin), Isis News (Minneapolis, Minnesota), and Well News Service (Columbus, Ohio). By the mid-1970s, Big Rapids had acquired all of its midwestern competitors; by that time,
2310-448: The ability to resist enormous stress) and Big Masai (a size changing mutant), and battles with the villainous Darius Drumm, an early subject of Dr. Bradford Miller's genetic structuring with the ability to warp reality. Unlike the initial run of Marvel Comics' X-Men, also done by Kirby, in which the cast remains intact, the story kills off two potential members of the team before Silver Star could recruit them (one by an exploding baseball,
2387-435: The astral worlds, Miller wrestles a giant, growing to confront it (while also growing his comatose body on earth), then meets Darius Drumm. Drumm introduces himself and promises to kill Miller after he kills "the others" (later discovered to refer to "the other homo geneticus"). When Miller wakes up, Hammer christens him Silver Star. Silver Star has demonstrated the skill to manipulate atoms, creating anything he wants to build
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2464-489: The brothers at San Diego Comic-Con in 1981. When Starslayer #2 came up short a few pages, Stevens was approached to fill in the remaining pages, and ultimately came up with The Rocketeer . In 1983 Pacific upgraded to paper with higher quality ink. Pacific's innovations in creator-owned properties and high-quality printings were soon imitated by industry leaders DC Comics and Marvel Comics . Pacific continued to distribute and publish comics, running both operations from
2541-469: The buildings so he could escape, then began his quest to murder his own peers, creating a base of operation from which he could attack Silver Star. They are nonetheless in an impasse: whenever Drumm shoots, Silver Star generates a shield that protects him and his friends. This is not satisfactory, though: ten years ago, Drumm had damaged the nearby Coleman farm and the Millers could only save little Tracy Coleman -
2618-434: The city, until Big Masai decides to end the fight by changing them both to human size and discuss the issue. Drumm listens to the conversation and gathers the sectarians as their army. The sectarians also try to keep Norma captive, but she is too strong and brazen for them – only Drumm's threat are useful, as her powers are not developed enough to match his. Silver Star finds Drumm's lair and teleports there, keeping Big Masai as
2695-419: The comic-book printing plant. Steve Schanes and his wife, Ann Fera, subsequently founded Blackthorne Publishing , and Bill Schanes found employment with Diamond Comic Distributors . Writer Jay Allen Sanford stated that Pacific "formed the template for Image Comics ." Direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books . The concept of
2772-595: The companies which had been their principal suppliers. From the mid-80s to the mid-90s, nearly every major urban area in the United States had at least one (and sometimes two or three) local direct distribution warehouses that functioned not only as distribution points for pre-ordered weekly shipments, but also as what could be described as "supermarkets for retailers", where store owners could shop for reorders and examine and purchase product that they might not have ordered in advance. As newsstand sales continued to decline,
2849-473: The company, and Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier 's Groo the Wanderer . By 1984, Steve Schanes decided to bring back 3-D to comics, a fleeting trend in the 1950s that had then been stymied by poor printing separations. Ray Zone was hired to do the production, after he had successfully converted a Kirby image for Honeycomb cereal . Steve Schanes decided the 3-D book would be Alien Worlds 3-D , featuring
2926-447: The creation of specialist comics shops to cater to the collectors who could then buy back issues months after a newsstand issue had disappeared. By the late 1970s, thanks partly to the success of films such as Star Wars and Superman: The Movie , comics were selling well, and Pacific expanded its distribution system nationwide, raising $ 200,000 by closing its four San Diego retail locations and selling off inventory, rising rapidly to
3003-656: The direct market to be profitable. Several of the new distributors lasted a relatively short time, and were succeeded by more competitive organizations; Diamond Comic Distributors replaced New Media/Irjax and Capital City Distribution largely replaced Big Rapids Distribution in the marketplace. By 1985, the number of direct distributors in North America peaked with approximately twenty companies, many of them multi-warehouse operations, purchasing product for resale to retailers directly from either DC Comics, Marvel Comics, or both. There were also an unknown number, probably in
3080-466: The direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling . The network currently consists of: The name is no longer a fully accurate description of the model by which it operates, but derives from its original implementation: retailers bypassing existing distributors to make "direct" purchases from publishers . The defining characteristic of the direct market however is non-returnability: unlike book store and news stand distribution, which operate on
3157-419: The distribution arm of Pacific was suffering serious problems, due in part to overly-generous credit extensions to retailers, which were not paid back as quickly as expected. Thus, Steve Schanes explained: Most of our comic books still made money hand over fist, but there was a big problem in distribution. We extended too much credit to retailers who didn't pay us on a timely basis, and we were already working on
Pacific Comics - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-874: The distribution arm, and he and his brother lacked the business expertise to sell off part of the business. After the 1984 collapse of Pacific, many of its creator-owned publications moved to Eclipse Comics : Bruce Jones' Twisted Tales , Alien Worlds , and Somerset Holmes ; Dave Stevens' Rocketeer Special and a one-shot of Mark Evanier / Sergio Aragones ' Groo the Wanderer . As Pacific went into liquidation in September 1984, Phil Seuling's distribution company Sea Gate Distributors also closed down. Pacific's distribution centers and warehouses were purchased by Bud Plant, Inc. , and Capital City Distribution , who also opened an expanded facility in Seagate's old space in Sparta, alongside
3311-521: The dozens, of sub-distributors who bought DC and Marvel product from these larger companies (and often the products of other, smaller publishers direct from those publishers), and re-sold to retailers. Most of these sub-distributors were in cities in which the direct distributors themselves did not (at least as yet) have warehouses, including Philadelphia , Boston , Columbus (Ohio), Madison (Wisconsin), Lansing (Michigan), Indianapolis , and Berkeley (California). Many of them were eventually absorbed by
3388-480: The early 1980s, a trade organization, the International Association of Direct Distributors ( IADD ) was formed, consisting of all the distributors who purchased product directly from either DC, Marvel, or both. The IADD had annual conferences, issuing obscenity guidelines in 1987, and electing Diamond Comic Distributors ' Steve Geppi as IADD Vice President in 1988. As early as 1980, Marvel Comics saw
3465-408: The financial records department, and sister Chris, an L.A.-based attorney, provided counsel on legal affairs. Pacific's published output contained editorials by David Scroggy , who had started as a comics retailer in 1975, and risen to general manager of Pacific's four San Diego shops by the late 1970s. He helped to bring the reclusive Steve Ditko to Pacific. Ditko's Pacific offering Missing Man
3542-685: The first company to pay royalty payments to Kirby. Kirby provided Pacific with Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers , which was published bimonthly from August 1981. Though the Schaneses anticipated sales of less than 25,000, the first issue sold 110,000 copies. Kirby then let Pacific publish his Silver Star , and the brothers decided to start a line of full-color mainstream comic books. Before long, Pacific had attracted interest from other comics professionals, including Mike Grell (who recalls that he
3619-402: The first published work of Art Adams , alongside John Bolton , Bill Wray and others. Sales on the expensively-produced comic, however, were poor, and sales all round were following suit. One-shots became more common, and tolerable sales on Elric of Melniboné stumbled when First Comics acquired the rights, putting Pacific in the awkward position of continuing as distributor on a comic from
3696-427: The girl in the first issue - by keeping her in stasis. Silver Star decides to recruit "the others" against Drumm. Silver Star finds stuntwoman Norma Richmond in a film set. Knowing she is one of "the others", and that Drumm would attack them, Silver Star teletransports the whole film crew to his base. When they return, they see the remains of the attack, a huge bomb. Norma agrees to join Silver Star, then they leave for
3773-473: The growth potential of the direct market, and by 1981 was putting out a number of titles geared specifically to that market (including Dazzler and Ka-Zar the Savage ). By the early 1980s, all the major publishers were producing material specifically for the new market, series that would probably not sell well enough on the newsstand, but sold well enough on a non-returnable basis to the more dedicated readers of
3850-450: The largest customers by the end of the 1970s, and extended the ability to provide drop shipping to those large customers to all the direct distributors — by which time several of the newer distributors had multiple warehouses. Newsstand distribution through the IDs continued at the same time (and indeed remained dominant for years afterward, on its conventional returnable, low-discount terms). In
3927-400: The market for underground comix had essentially dried up. The direct market was created in the early 1970s in response to the declining market for mainstream comic books on newsstands . Fan convention organizer and comic dealer Phil Seuling approached publishers in 1972 to purchase comics directly from them, rather than going through traditional periodical distribution companies. Unlike
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#17328768352284004-648: The mid-1970s, other direct sales distribution concerns had sprung up, mostly regionally based (Donahoe Brothers in the Great Lakes region, Pacific Comics Distributors in Southern California, and New Media/Irjax in the Southeast were all operating by early 1974), essentially replacing the order-taking and fulfillment functions of newsstand distributors for the infant comic shop specialty market. For several years, Seagate retained an edge over its competitors in that it
4081-399: The new issues each week. Finally, another factor in creating demand for direct sales distribution was that many IDs refused to deal with comics specialty shops or with any retailer who dealt in back issues on any terms at all, fearing that used comics could be purchased by these shops from readers for pennies, and then cycled back through the system as returns for full credit at a profit. By
4158-464: The newsstand, or ID (for independent distributor ) market, which included drugstores, groceries, toy stores, convenience stores, and other magazine vendors, in which unsold units could be returned for credit, these purchases were non-returnable. In return, comics specialty retailers received larger discounts on the books they ordered, since the publisher did not carry the risk of giving credit for unsold units. Instead, distributors and retailers shouldered
4235-479: The original screenplay by Kirby and Sherman. The character appeared in the 2011 Dynamite Entertainment series Kirby: Genesis , which incorporates the pantheon of Kirby's creator-owned properties. In November Dynamite published a 6-issue tie-in Kirby Genesis: Silver Star miniseries, by writer Jai Nitz and artist Johnny D, featuring covers by Alex Ross , Jae Lee , and Mark Buckingham . A girl in
4312-611: The other by a circus act gone wrong), in issues #3 and #4. A secondary character is also killed (Floyd Custer, introduced in #1, killed in #2), and several disasters implying great loss of life are depicted in #2 and #6. The original Pacific Comics series also featured additional back-up stories, including Steve Ditko's The Mocker (in issue #2), Mike Thibodeaux's Last of the Viking Heroes (in issues #1, #5, and #6), and Detective Flynn by Richard Kyle and D. Bruce Berry (in issues #3 and #4). In 1993 Topps Comics planned to launch
4389-448: The phone, and he turned out to be a nice guy, completely accessible. ... We negotiated a whole detailed publishing deal between the two of us. No middlemen." The Schaneses asked Kirby, who had effectively quit comics in 1978, for only the publishing rights, assuring him that he could keep full ownership and copyrights, and said they would even help him license characters for use overseas or in other media. Thus, Pacific claims to have become
4466-580: The primary supplier for the Direct Market. In the early 2000s, Diamond continued to dominate direct-market distribution. However, the bookstore market began to challenge the Direct Market as a channel for sales of increasingly popular graphic novels . The growth of interest in comics among mainstream booksellers and book publishers led to several publishers arranging for bookstore distribution outside of Diamond (for example, Tokyopop through HarperCollins , or Fantagraphics through W. W. Norton ), while Diamond created Diamond Book Distributors . In 2020,
4543-399: The process to "stopping a leaking reactor with lead shielding"). The White House sends a high-ranking man, Floyd Custer, to make a report - they both find Miller unconscious. Miller is astral-travelling through several worlds to meet with the girl, Tracy, thanking her for the song but explaining that it will be dangerous for her to contact him again in the future: there is an imminent threat -
4620-485: The product into the hands of their customers than were IDs: a direct distribution warehouse generally had re-shipped a weekly batch of comics or delivered it to local customers within a day or two (sometimes within hours) of receiving the books from the printer. By contrast, most IDs would usually take two or even three weeks to do so, though some moved more quickly. This factor was a strong drawing card for retailers whose customer base consisted principally of fans eager to see
4697-441: The risk, in exchange for greater profits. Additionally, retailers ordering comics through Seuling's Sea Gate Distributors (and within two years, through other companies) were able to set their own orders for each issue of each title, something which many local IDs did not allow. This ability to fine-tune an order was crucial to the establishment of a non-returnable system. Direct distributors typically were much faster at getting
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#17328768352284774-685: The scattershot approach embodied in the returnable newsstand system. Prior to the 1970s, most comics were found in newsstands , grocery, drug, convenience, and toy stores. A handful of early comic book specialty shops first appeared in the late 1960s, stocking back issues as well as sourcing new releases from newsstand distributors and the new counterculture underground comix . The oldest known such comics specialty shop in North America (or worldwide for that matter) has been Canadian comic book store Viking Bookshop, established in Toronto by "Captain George" Henderson in
4851-544: The spring of 1966, one year later renamed to Memory Lane Books when it relocated to other premises in the city. The oldest US comic book store is reputed to have been Gary Arlington 's San Francisco Comic Book Company which was established in April 1968 in the namesake city. Neither store is in existence anymore, though the third oldest known one, the Dutch Amsterdam -based comic book store Lambiek (est. November 1968), still
4928-564: The substantial loss of Marvel's business. DC Comics, Image Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and several smaller publishers made exclusive deals with Diamond Comic Distributors . Most other distributors, including Capital City Distribution , Diamond's main competitor at the time, either went out of business or were acquired by Diamond. Others established niches — such as re-orders — in which they could compete. When self-distribution failed to meet Marvel's objectives, they also signed an exclusive distribution deal with Diamond, which had by then become
5005-403: The target of lawsuits, including some dealing with foreign rights and royalties for Pacific-published creator-owned titles. In August 1984, with the company $ 740,000 in debt, the Schaneses informed their staff that they would all be out of work by September. According to Steve Schanes, Pacific's publishing arm was still seeing profit at the time of the closure, but it was outweighed by the losses of
5082-575: The top of the new distribution system. In the six years between 1974 and 1980, comic or fantasy-related specialty shops rose from numbering 200–300 to around 1500, while Pacific was operating out of a 2,200-square-foot (200 m) office warehouse in Kearny Mesa , with 500 wholesale accounts. According to elder brother Steve, the company "grossed just under a million dollars that year," soon doubling its floorspace. In 1979, Pacific dipped its feet into publishing when they released Warriors of Shadow Realm ,
5159-574: Was unsustainable , however. The market contracted in the mid-1990s, leading to the closure of many Direct Market shops. Diamond and Capital City began closing local warehouses, moving from a decentralized model in which many local warehouses provided full service to a given area to a centralized one with a few shipping hubs and no local walk-in service at all. In 1994, Capital City created controversy by announcing penalties for publishers who didn't deliver their products within promised deadlines; this move followed an industry-wide push for 30-day returnability,
5236-489: Was able to provide "drop shipping" (the shipment of an order directly from the printer to the retailer) to its customers for quantities of 25 or multiples thereof per issue, while the newer distributors had to use more conventional methods, putting together customer orders and re-shipping or delivering them from their own warehouses. Threats of legal action and the need for retailers to order very precise (and sometimes very small) quantities of items ended this practice for all but
5313-399: Was actually the first to sign with Pacific by a couple of weeks, but that Kirby's work was published first because he "delivered his first.") who had planned his Starslayer to appear from DC, but after it dropped from the schedule, the Schaneses approached him about publishing it. Another invitee was then-aspiring artist Dave Stevens , who purchased comics from Pacific's shops and had met
5390-608: Was based in San Francisco and a number of distributors originated in the Bay Area, including the Print Mint (beginning c. 1969), the already mentioned comic book store San Francisco Comic Book Company (which doubled as a publisher, beginning c. 1970), Bud Plant Inc. (1970), Last Gasp (1970), Keith Green/Industrial Realities (c. 1970), and Charles Abar Distribution. Around 1970, underground distributors sprang up in various regions of
5467-421: Was defunct, absorbed into a larger and changing distribution business. The underground comix movement of the late 1960s was part of an alternative distribution network that also served the underground press , which proliferated in the mid-1960s. As underground comix were not sold in newsstands or drugstores, head shops played an important role as retailers of those publications. The underground comix movement
5544-695: Was described as an "extinction-level event" that threatened to drive the entire specialized comic book retail sector out of business. As a result, publishers like IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics suspended publication of their periodicals while DC Comics explored distribution alternatives, including an increased focus on online retail of digital material. On April 17, 2020, DC announced that two new distributors would be shipping their comic books — Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, which are owned by Discount Comic Book Service and Midtown Comics , respectively. On April 28, 2020, Diamond announced that shipping to retailers would resume on May 20, after
5621-519: Was in Vietnam War (apparently ten years have passed since), and Drumm himself is a child in a man's body. Drumm recalls his past: just after birth, he was able to speak and make cultural references, then started manipulating his surrogate father to control the Foundation for Self-Denial, a sect whose business affairs Mr. Drumm handled. Darius Drumm then influenced the sectarians to murder his father and burn
5698-469: Was launched following the success of Kirby's previous creator-owned book for Pacific, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers . Silver Star follows the exploits of government agent Morgan Miller, who, after being transformed into a genetic mutant ("Homo Geneticus") by his father Dr. Bradford Miller, was appointed the task of fighting other super-powered beings. In the six-issue series Silver Star teams with fellow "Homo Geneticus" Norma Richmond (gifted with
5775-444: Was owned by National Periodical Publications , the parent company of DC Comics . Charlton Comics had their own distributor, Capital Distribution Company (not to be confused with the later entity Capital City Distribution ). In 1957, Atlas (later Marvel Comics ), was forced to switch from American News to that of its biggest rival, Independent News, which imposed draconian restrictions. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in
5852-458: Was previewed in Captain Victory #6, and then featured in issues of Pacific Presents . His work was scripted by Mark Evanier . Meanwhile, Pacific published a magazine-sized black-and-white reprint of Rog 2000 stories that John Byrne had done in the '70s for Charlton Comics , as well as a number of titles under its parent company Blue Dolphin Enterprises . It also welcomed Bruce Jones to
5929-442: Was soon supplying neighboring stores also. The move from newsstand distribution to the direct market (non-returnable, heavily discounted, direct purchasing of comics from publishers) happened in the 1970s, in large part due to the work of Phil Seuling and his Sea Gate Distributors company (founded in 1972), as well as a number of individuals, including the Schanes brothers and Bud Plant . The direct market went hand-in-hand with
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