Comic Book Resources

Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news

• Retailer Brian Hibbs points to distribution problems caused by Diamond moving its Memphis warehouse as the likely culprit behind February's 9-percent drop in graphic novel sales. However, Michael Churchill of Pop Nouveau Comix says that he, at least, has begun ordering about half of his graphic novels from other sources.

• Alternative Comics Publisher Jeff Mason tells Tom Spurgeon that, despite Diamond's new minimum-order policy, he thinks the traditional comics format will remain part of alternative publishing. What's more, some of his company's cartoonists may return to the "floppy."

• Barnes & Noble predicts a 6- to 9-percent drop in store sales for the first quarter of 2009.

• IDW Publishing has hired AnnaMaria White as its in-house marketing manager.

• Japan's Daily Yomiuri reports that while U.S. otaku enjoy the community aspects of fandom -- online and at conventions -- they don't appear to be that much manga and anime.

• John Jakala breaks out the charts to do some comparison shopping online for a handful of manga.

• Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder is urging fans to write the editors of Village Voice Media newspapers and other alt-weeklies and ask them to bring back comics like This Modern World. (via The Daily Cartoonist)

• The Business Insider has photos of disused newspaper boxes that provide a grim snapshot of the state of the industry.