The Business of Comics for October 16th 2026

The Real Art of the Deal: New York Comic Con wrapped up about a week ago, which means this is the time that separates the aspiring creators and publishers from the experienced ones. You see, deals don't happen during Comic Con. They get dreamed up, pitched, and sometimes announced at comic con, but very rarely does anyone sign an agreement at the show.

Which means in order for a professional comic to be published, or a creator-owned deal to get closed, or for a freelance gig to officially start, you have to follow up on all those great meetings you had in Artist Alley, in the pro lounge, at the bars, or on the show floor running between panels. It’s been about a week, so most people have had the chance to catch up on email, submit their expense report, and recover from whatever con crud they caught at the food trucks. So if you want to be in a position to announce a new comic at next year’s show, go through all those business cards and Instagram links you collected and reach out to your potential business partners..

A Variant Distribution Model: We’re going to do something different this time. Instead of you asking me a question, I’ve got a question for you. This question is based on a series of observations I had at New York Comic Con, and it involves the Gordian Knot that we call independent comic book distribution. I have a potential distribution model that takes into account the fact that digital publishing generates far less money than print, that crowdfunding is a major source of revenue for independents, that the Diamond bankruptcy has made direct market distribution harder for independents, and that variant covers continue to generate significant sales in the direct market. This model is based on the distribution window concept in film, where a movie starts in a specific channel for a limited period of time before moving to the next channel, theaters to streaming to network, for example.

First, you set up a website with a newsletter. Then you offer portions of your comic, or your entire comic, for free on one digital platform in exchange for a subscription to your newsletter. This leverages digital comics as a marketing tool, rather than a revenue source.

Then you use social media marketing to drive traffic to your newsletter, so potential fans can fall in love with your characters and your story. Then, you launch a Kickstarter, focusing on your mailing list and social media to offer a print version of your comic. This allows you to sell the initial print run of your comic at premium prices instead of the direct market cover price.

After the campaign, you offer your print comic for sale on your website with a variant cover. This encourages repeat sales among the fans you already have. Once that is in place, and you have an audience, a printed comic, and hopefully some of your production costs covered, you can reach out to comic shops, bookstores, and libraries that sell independent comics, with a new variant cover to give them something new to sell. This reduces your reliance on mainstream distribution channels while still accessing that market with the variant cover.

If and when you move onto your next comic, any remaining inventory from the first issue can be used as additional incentives for either the newsletter growth or the reward tiers for the next Kickstarter.

So what do you think? Does a digital to crowdfunding to print variant model make sense for your comics? Let me know why or why not in the comments.

Comic-Cons for Fun and Profit: So how much money can you make selling comics at a comic con? Results obviously vary, but the nice folks at Lifeline Comics recently offered a breakdown on their TikTok of their revenue, expenses, and profit from Rose City Comic Con in September. According to their numbers, they made more than $3,300 in sales. Their expenses, including flight, hotel, food, table costs, etc., were almost $2,600, which leaves a profit of about $800 or a profit margin of more than 20%. Now, when you compare that to IRS data for small businesses, which range from 7-20%, you can see why convention sales can be an attractive option for independent publishers.

Of course, keep in mind that you have to sell about 170 trades at $20, or close to 600 floppies to hit those numbers, and these numbers might not include printing or production costs, but at the same time the overall expenses can be reduced by doing shows that don’t require flights or hotels. You’re not going to get rich on the con circuit, but your profit could be just as much there as in the direct market…assuming you can even get into the direct market.  

The Weapons of Lawfare: Here’s a creator question: don’t publishers break contracts and play games with talent even when a contract is in place, like the situation with the Black Widow movie? This question came from a post I made about the importance of having a contract in place if you’re working as a freelance creator, and he is correct. Parties break contracts. Parties manipulate contracts. But I still contend that you should have a contract. Your example proves the rule.

For anyone who is unaware, or forgot, or both, Scarlet Johannsen did a solo Black Widow film in the MCU. There was allegedly a clause in her contract that gave her a guaranteed theatrical release window and a substantial bonus if the movie made a certain amount of money in the movie theaters. But Disney released the movie during COVID, and sent it straight to Disney Plus. Unlike similar contracts for movies released at that time, like Wonder Woman, Disney claimed that because there was no theatrical release, Scarlet wouldn’t get any bonus. But because she had a contract, and because there were similar contracts in the industry at the time, and because she had leverage, and because she has plenty of money to sue people, she was able to not only get her bonus.

In a lawfare dispute like this, the contract isn’t a guarantee. But it is a weapon in your arsenal that you’re going to need if you want to win against a final boss like Disney.

Accounting for Lawyers: Here’s a creator question: “Do you have any tips on accounting for legal costs when calculating the cost of goods sold for a publisher? So first, let’s define cost of goods sold for anyone who decided to learn a creative skill instead of accounting, not that accounting can’t be creative, especially during tax time...allegedly.

According to Investopedia, cost of goods sold refers to the direct costs associated with producing the goods a company sells, excluding indirect expenses such as distribution and sales costs. If you’re a comic book publisher, this means that costs like page rates, printing, shipping, and storage can be included in your cost of goods sold. General overhead like employee salaries and insurance are not typically part of this cost.

In most cases, lawyers aren’t usually good at actually writing or drawing comics, although Charles Soule and Marjorie Lu are exceptions to the rule. This means that your legal fees are normally operating expenses and not tied to the cost of a specific book. Now there may be situations where you have specific legal fees associated with the negotiations for a specific book, such as protracted negotiations with high-profile talent, but before you make that allocation, ask your accountant, because I am not comic book writer or an accountant.

Have fun.

Gamal

PLEASE NOTE: THIS BLOG POST IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE A CONTENT, LICENSING OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUE, DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR LEGAL ADVISOR OR CONTACT C3 FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.