Introducing ComicsMonkey - a Revolutionary New Comics Distribution System for Direct Market Comics Shops!

I was recently informed by my friend Ian Sharman, co-founder of Orang Utan Comics, about a new Direct Market Comics distributor called ComicsMonkey.
In their own words:

Unlike traditional distribution methods with pre-sales, advance ordering, phonebook-sized catalogs, and weeks of waiting for your order to arrive ComicsMonkey offers a simple, streamlined approach using print-on-demand technology to print and ship your order within a matter of days!  An order placed today could be on your shelves in about a week!

ComicsMonkey is presently in its final phase of internal testing and will be going live in a few days.  We’re not quite ready to accept registrations or allow orders to be placed.  We’re still adding content to the catalog and making adjustments to both site content and software.

The site is far from perfect … there are a some broken links and missing graphics.  Not all of the product and publisher listings are as they will ultimately appear, but we’re working hard to get it all into shape.  We’re pleased with how things are coming along … even though progress has been a lot slower than anyone would’ve liked.

We’re not quite there yet, but we’re close.  VERY close. And we’re tired of keeping this under wraps. So feel free to peruse the site, check out all the great comics here, and help us get the word out — ComicsMonkey is going LIVE in just a few days!

The real beauty of this system is that it means a new way for small press and Indy publishers to make their comics more readily available to Direct Market retailers. Last year, Diamond Distribution made some alterations to their ordering system, which meant a doubling in the minimum order numbers for distribution. This unfortunately put a lot of small press companies out in the cold, because they could no longer get their comics out to stores unless they had a MASSIVE jump in orders.

With ComicsMonkey though, small press companies make their books available as a print-on-demand title, then when a customer want to buy said title all they have to do is ask their retailer to order it in, the retailer then places the order, and the books will turn up in a week or so.

It all sounds very good in theory, but there are of course a lot of practical issues to deal with. Primarily, the company is going to have to do some very savvy marketing, with lots in-store support, including catalogs of books available to order etc. - no mean feat!

There’s a large amount of titles up on the site already including Orang Utan Studios’ Alpha Gods Vol. 1, and FTL #1 & #2 (see review archive), all priced pretty reasonably! Make sure you go check out the website at http://www.comicsmonkey.com/

Related posts:

1. Whatever Happened to the World’s Fastest Man? Picked Up by Diamond for North American Distribution.
2. Diamond Distribution’s Top 300 Comics, Top 300 TPBs & GNs, and Top 20 Publishers for August 2009
3. Diamond Distribution’s Top 10 Publishers, Comics, and Graphic Novels & Trades for August 2009
4. Diamond Distribution’s Top 25 Small Press Comics, Top 25 Small Press TPBs & GNs, Top 50 Creator Owned Comics, and Top 50 Creator Owned TPBs & GNs for August 2009
5. Diamond Distribution’s Top 50 Indy Comics, Top 50 Indy TPBs & GNs, and Top 50 Manga Titles for August 2009