The Business of Comics for March, 13th 2026
Creator Questions:
Our first Creator question comes from LinkedIn, and is in response to a story we covered last month concerning AfterShock’s new show in development at Netflix.
Just as a recap, Aftershock is continuing to develop creator-owned comic book projects in Hollywood, even though they’re still dealing with bankruptcy and outstanding payments to multiple parties.
The question is: “With (AfterShock’s) lack of payment, wouldn’t they be in breach of contract? Would it not be easy to sue over the exploitation and the rights?”
Before I answer, I should clarify that the particular creator of the potential Netflix show might not be owed anything by AfterShock. I was referring to the company’s general financial condition, not the particular circumstances of this creator. In that same vein, there is no way for me to tell if there is a breach of contract without seeing the contract.
But even if the creator of Astronaut Down is owned money from AfterShock and there was a breach of contract, it is normally not easy for comic creators to engage in civil litigation. This isn’t a question of legal rights. This is a question of economic ability. In a lot of cases that I’ve seen representing comic book creators, the cost of filing a lawsuit can start at anywhere from $10,000 to $ $30,000 dollars, depending on the nature of the lawsuit, if you can’t file in small claims court. Because a lot of comic creators don’t have 30K lying around, and because there is no guarantee that you’ll win the lawsuit, and there is no guarantee that you can recover the money you’re owed from a publisher even if you win, going to court isn’t a viable option in a lot of cases. This is why it’s important to negotiate contracts that give you the maximum flexibility to resolve disputes and recover your IP without going to court.
Our next question is what’s the biggest challenge you see when tackling an ongoing superhero universe versus other genres?
When you’re talking about publishing an ongoing superhero series, the specific problem comic creators face that don't apply to other genres is the economic dynamics of the direct market. Keep in that I use the terms direct market and comic book shops interchangeably, and you can too.
The first point is that most single issues sell in the direct market. There are other distribution channels, but comic shops are designed to move floppies.
The second point is that direct market shops buy on a non-returnable basis, which is just what it sounds like. Once the shop buys the book, they can’t send it back. So the comic shop owner has more in common with the person who buys books at a con or in a crowdfunding campaign, than a traditional bookstore, that can return unsold inventory.
This makes non-returnable books a gamble for every comic shop owner. If they buy the wrong book or they buy too many copies of the right book, they lose money. If they lose money often enough, they close.
In order to hedge their bets and make the most of their limited shelf space, comic shops are statistically better off betting on a random Marvel reboot instead of a new superhero series, regardless of the artistic quality of either book. They’ve sold Batman and X-Men before. They know there will be more of those books in the future. They know that there are fans of these characters coming to their shops. They don’t know any of that about a new superhero franchise from an unknown publisher. If they have to make a bet on one superhero series, it probably won’t be the unknown quantity.
Now not all shops operate this way. Some of them actively seek out independent books and some of them don’t like just carrying Marvel and DC. Also, keep in mind that if you have other forms of distribution (crowdfunding, DTC, libraries, etc), then its not a problem, You just need to remember that making a new superhero series, even if it is a better one from an artistic standpoint, doesn't change the financial realities of the market.
News:
Japanese eBook distribution company Media Do Holdings has acquired US Manga publisher Seven Seas for $80 million.(Comics Beat)
Webtoon showed an operating loss of $13 million in the 4th quarter of 2025 (ICV2)
A growing audience is buying short-run, independent comics for premium prices and then attempting to flip those books for even higher prices before the books are even published (Comic Book Resources)
If you have a question, comment, criticism, or joke related to The Business of Comics, please leave a comment.
If you are working on a deal for your comic, or if you need ongoing legal support for your comic book business, please contact me for a free consultation.
Until next time, get off the internet and go make some comics.
Gamal
