I dug into a pet topic today, talking to retailers and publishers about the two sides of direct market comics — readers and speculators — and how maybe, just maybe, they might be in balance right now.
This piece started as one thing and became something much different. I enjoyed it.
David Harper
2026 has been big for comics speculation. It's also seen a continued influx of new readers. But which side is winning?
Well, why not both?
I wrote about the two sides of the direct market, how they seem to be in harmony for once, why that's happening, and the success shops are seeing as a result.
Readers and speculators often exist in conflict. What this snapshot of the moment in the direct market posits is, maybe they aren’t right now?
