[It’s been a while since we dove into the archives. But now that hour’s come round at last—again.]In 1995, the comic book industry was approaching what later became known as “
the Great Comics Crash of 1996”—triggered in part by Marvel Comics’ 1994 purchase of the business’ third-largest distributor, converting it to
distribute Marvel’s stuff exclusively.
So that was a significant topic June 30, 1995, when I sat down at WNUA-FM in Chicago—just ahead of the 20th annual Chicago Comicon*—with acclaimed comics writers Peter David and Chris Claremont, maybe best known then for their work on Marvel’s
The Incredible Hulk and
The Uncanny X-Men, respectively; and the convention’s CEO, Classics International Entertainment President
Gary Colabuono, also then the proprietor of Moondog’s comic shops.
Looking back on that time now, Colabuono recalls: “Marvel’s decision to distribute their own comics was not only the death knell for direct market distributors, it was also the beginning of the end for the vast majority of comic book specialty shops in the U.S. Of the 21 stores in the Moondog’s chain, 20 were out of business within a year of Marvel’s move.”
I’ve also asked David and Claremont for their perspectives on that time. I’ll share them as they arrive.
* For a show that was broadcast July 2, which explains David’s joke at the end, “Boy, am I exhausted from that!”