Seriously - Who’s Shopping Online?
Is the Comic Book Web-Store still Relevant?
Greetings,
I’ve been busy lately working on the Cosmic Times website - specifically updating the Cosmic Shop (technically a sister site), our online store for Cosmic Comics. My original plan was to use this Substack post to shamelessly shill our titles and hopefully drive folks to the shop. But while working on the redesign, I started poking around at other publishers’ online stores to see what they were doing.
That’s when it hit me: I had never seen many of these sites before … because I just don’t shop for comics this way.
Which raises the question: are online comic shops still relevant in 2025?
The New Age of Comic Buying
We live in the age of Whatnot, TikTok Shop, and DCBS, platforms where many comic buyers already go for their online fix. Yet most indie and small-press titles don’t really move through those channels — unless they’re pushed by gimmicks or dirty NSFW covers. Sure, many publishers do run their own online stores, but when I think about my own habits … I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought a comic directly from a publisher’s site.
It’s not because I don’t support indie comics. Far from it! I back a lot of Kickstarter campaigns tied to the indie market. Kickstarters are events — they pull you in with marketing, buzz, and urgency. But when those campaigns end - there’s usually a quiet stretch where the books are only available on the publisher’s site … and I get the impression that most readers just don’t go looking for them there.
If you consider yourself an “avid comic reader,” ask yourself this: when was the last time you stumbled onto a small publisher’s website, discovered a book, and actually bought it?
If this were 2010, I’d expect a lot of you to say “yes, I’ve done that.” But in 2025? Probably not.
So … Are Publisher Web Stores Worth It?
Don’t get me wrong - I don’t believe a publisher’s web shop should be the only way they sell comics. Any publisher worth their salt should be exploring every platform they can to get their books into readers’ hands. They owe that to their creative teams.
But still … does the traditional publisher web store have a place in today’s market? I think the answer is (hopefully) yes.
There’s still a world where someone scans a QR code, or does a Google search (or even asks ChatGPT), and ends up on a publisher’s website. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll buy a book or two. That possibility alone makes the effort worthwhile. Which is why I’m continuing to rebuild the Cosmic Shop — to be ready for those moments.
Okay, Shill Time
I started this Cosmic Update planning to plug the shop, so here goes …
Please … oh please … oh please check out our online store - The Cosmic Shop and support us by purchasing a Cosmic Comic.
Sharing the Love
While researching, I came across a few other indie publisher web stores worth visiting. I’ll drop the links below. If you do buy something from them (after buying EVERYTHING from the Cosmic Shop first, of course), let them know you found their site through this Substack.
Click on the name for the link …
Inverse Press / Flatline Comics
There are so many more … so please hit up Google for them.
Final Question for You
Here’s my challenge to you: Is the publisher web store dead, or does it still matter? Where do you go first when you’re hunting for indie comics, and why? Your answers might shape how we (and other publishers) think about the future.
Thanks for indulging me in this little detour — more Cosmic Times news will be coming in the next Cosmic Update!
Stay Cosmic,
Martin
Small publisher webstores won't be needed or used often...but when they're needed, they're NEEDED.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've heard about an incredible unknown comic and then the only way to get my hands on it - either easily or in full, like all the issues or all the volumes, etc. - is through a publisher website. And when that happens the webstore is pure gold. I also cannot begin to tell you how many times I've heard about an incredible unknown comic only to NOT find any webstore, and so experiencing the comic is straight up impossible. It's one thing if you've distributed to where your books are on eBay, second hand online shops, etc. But when they're not, then the publisher webstore is the place of last resort, and so, so beautiful for existing when that's needed.
Yeah I'm often late to campaigns, and it's a struggle to get to physical stores with such bad traffic around me, I like looking around the publishers I've found and bookmarking their stores for later.