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The owner and resident comics expert of The Book Nook in Champaign, Illinois discuss the daily realities of running a direct-sales comic shop: erratic distributor shipments, the challenge of ordering new titles blind before issue one even arrives, managing a volatile collectors' market, and the burden placed on retailers by publishers who ignore their end of the supply chain. Brian argues for quality labeling of mature-content comics rather than a full ratings system, while Doug objects to content that pushes toward pornography, calling out Neal Adams' Echo of Futurepast as an example. Both express optimism about comics' future growth and the quality renaissance underway.

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.

Reader Jim Bridges praises issue #134 (the distribution-crisis issue) as possibly the best issue ever; Larry Leroux praises coverage of Lois & Clark; DAK responds explaining the Brian Morris/Brian Murray name error in issue #134's credits.