Comics Interview — Issue #134

A roundtable discussion on the 1994 direct-sales market crisis, focusing on Capital City Distribution's new cancellation ($500) and resolicitation ($750) fees, which disproportionately punish small-press publishers while leaving major publishers largely unaffected. McFarlane explains how he deliberately skipped Spawn #19 and #20 to expose loopholes in the new policies and argues that independent publishers should unite under a creative community umbrella to gain collective bargaining power with distributors. Wheeler and Morris explore the systemic bias toward superhero titles at the retailer and distributor level.

DAK's editorial reflects on the collapse in direct-sales comics, warning retailers and subscribers about over-reduced orders on established titles, and urging readers to subscribe to protect access to consistent content.

A written supplement presenting Scorpio-Rhys's detailed objections to Capital City's January 6 and March 15 policy letters, arguing the fees were enacted without small-press input and suggesting per-copy fee alternatives rather than flat penalties.

A close reading of Capital City's three-strike timeliness system, concluding it structurally can never penalize large publishers who ship enough titles to stay above the ratio, leaving the problem of late books from major publishers unsolved.

Don Markstein argues the Capital City policies create a "chilling effect" on experimental small-press publishing; Lee Solomon writes an open letter to Batman Forever producers suggesting Leonardo DiCaprio for Robin (DAK notes Chris O'Donnell and Jim Carrey had since been cast).