Another new year has already begun! There are still a few things we as comics fans should keep paying attention to, so here goes!
BLIND BAGS REMAIN BIG BUSINESS
It wasn’t very long ago that Image started a trend that continues going strong today—the business of blind bags!
Battle Beast #1 came out bagged, which meant that customers really didn’t know which version of that debut issue they were buying. Some wanted their bags opened right away, others waited until they got home to find out just which book they had purchased.
However, there have been found to be some problems with this system. For instance, the recent Marvel Ultimate Endgame #1’s, when the bags were opened, many of them were found to be damaged. You just can’t see their condition through those bags, after all! That particular situation is still being sorted out as I’m writing this!
Right now, though, the concept remains a powerful comic book sales tool. For instance, my roommate recently sold “holiday bags” during his Whatnot sales shows, and every single one sold out, and fast! I guess the mystery and the hope of getting a big bargain continue to attract a lot of attention! How long that will keep going, I don’t know. But does anyone else remember Beanie Babies? They were hot as molten lava for a while, but then, one day, literally, they completely disappeared as that trend was over! Will blind bags follow suit and one day stop selling so strongly as they do now? I would say that will happen, but just when is anybody’s guess!
DIAMOND’S BANKRUPTCY CONTINUES TO CAUSE CHANGES
Probably the biggest story of 2025 was Diamond Distribution declaring bankruptcy. I have to point out that I still get notes telling me I have not gotten all the facts right whenever I talk about this subject.
The one thing I want to again highlight is that Free Comic Book Day will continue in 2026, but it has a competitor this year in what is being called Comics Giveaway Day—held on the exact same day, the first Saturday in May, the 2nd.
Local comics shops seem pretty together in that customers likely won’t notice any change from last year. The shops will order from as many companies as it takes to keep this popular event going. Most stores want to keep FCBD success underway, and this all may be in the rearview mirror by 2027. We’ll see!
The industry keeps evolving, so fans likely will continue to notice changes in the industry for years to come, but I hope we can all put this behind us soon!
IN COMICS, NOTHING EVER REALLY ENDS
It’s really true that comics creators are often literally bursting with story ideas, so when a mini-series concludes, those people just might have more to say on that subject, so it may not be the last of that story!
See, what is bothersome about all this is that a story is supposed to have a beginning, a middle, and end. That doesn’t seem to apply to comics, however!
I always say that this is particularly true with certain more popular comics, like the X-Men, for example, which has about 40 years of required reading before you truly “get” what’s going on in the book.
Yikes!
I’ve mentioned this before, but comics are a habitual medium, meaning you have to buy the books each month to truly understand what is happening. Not all of us can do that, though. Every jumping-on point is also a jumping-off point, so don’t be surprised if someone has to pay their bills, so they need to take a break from the comics for a while.
ALTERNATE VERSIONS ARE HOT RIGHT NOW
I see some debate online regarding just how popular the “other” comic stories are right now. Based on what some local store owners are saying, Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is ending just as DC’s Absolute Universe is hitting high gear. Absolute Batman #1 recently came out with its 10th printing, for example.
I again want to say that Marvel likely won’t let the Universe quietly fade away from memory. This will be especially true if their 3099 line picks up steam!
Yes, these all used to be called “imaginary stories” in years past, but they seem to be big business today. I expect that trend to continue this year.
So, 2026 will be another challenging and interesting year, so expect me to continue to comment on the industry in the weeks ahead!
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