Ex-Amazon Execs Announce New Comics And Collectibles Venture DSTLRY

Two digital comics pioneers, David Steinberger, co-founder/CEO of comiXology and former Global Director of Digital Comics at Amazon
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, and former comiXology head of content Chip Mosher, today announced a new comics and collectibles publishing venture called DSTLRY. The company will publish original content from some of the biggest names in mainstream comics and include intriguing features that enable a collecting experience for both physical and digital products.

The company will launch with a diverse slate of “founding creators,” each of whom will receive an equity stake. According to the announcement, those creators include Scott Snyder (Batman, Wytches), Tula Lotay (Barnstormers), James Tynion IV (Something Is Killing the Children, The Joker War), Junko Mizuno (Pure Trance, Ravina the Witch?), Ram V (Detective Comics, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr), Mirka Andolfo (Sweet Paprika, Mercy), Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer, Catwoman), Jock (Batman: One Dark Knight, Wytches), Becky Cloonan (Wonder Woman, Batgirls), Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Joker), Elsa Charretier (Love Everlasting, November), Stephanie Phillips (Grim, Harley Quinn), Lee Garbett (Spider-Man, Skyward), Marc Bernardin (Adora and the Distance, Star Trek: Picard), and Founding Editor Will Dennis (Y: The Last Man, Snow Angels), with more founding creators, creative teams, and a publishing rollout to be announced later this year.

DSTLRY has not announced titles yet, but Mosher says to expect “lots of great genre content in terms of sci-fi, horror, fantasy” and other types of material similar to what comiXology Originals produced over the past few years. For now, superheroes and shared universes are not on the menu, but the founders said it will ultimately be up to the creators.

While the comics publishing industry has seen a lot of new entrants in the past decade as the market has expanded to over $2 billion in North America, Steinberger says that DSTLRY brings something new to the party with its focus on ethics, creator empowerment and equity. In addition to up-front participation by the founding creators, DSTLRY has set aside an additional 3% of company equity to be distributed among all creators who release projects during the first three years, allocated based on performance.

“One of the biggest things that made comiXology successful was our understanding of the industry pain points,” said Steinberger. “Obviously we want to correct the situation with creator rights by giving them real equity and ownership. If they contribute to the success of our brand, they get to benefit from that. When you align the interests of the creator and the publisher, we all share in the rewards.”

Two features immediately distinguish DSTLRY from other comics startups. First is that the books will be published in a deluxe, oversized format, giving more room for the creators to develop the story and art. Though pricing has not been announced, Mosher said they will carry a higher price than typical comics (currently $4 and up), which gives retailers an incentive to stock and promote them. “A higher price means higher margins for the stores,” he explained.

As you might expect from two digital comics pioneers, there is also a strong digital component, but with an unusual twist. Digital issues will be fully owned and resellable on DSTLRY’s “trusted digital platform,” which the co-founders say does not involve a blockchain component.

“We want to avoid all the scams and issues associated with crypto, so there are no wallets, no NFTs, no cryptocurrency components,” said Steinberger. “At the same time, we recognize that collectability is a fundamental part of the comics community. When we did straight digital distribution, we were only able to get about 15% of the total market. With DSTLRY, rather than fighting against the collector aspect, we are playing into it.”

Digital issues will go on sale for a week for fans to purchase directly from the company. After that, owners can buy and sell on a secondary market that Mosher describes as a “StubHub for digital comics” that also offers a royalty on secondary sales for creators, plus added benefits like discounts, drops and meetups for loyal fans.

Steinberger said trade editions of the comics will also be available both digitally and in print on all the mainstream platforms once the series are collected in book form, typically several months after the series wraps up. Mosher confirmed that both periodical direct market and trade distribution deals are in place to put DSTLRY books in the hands of “every comics shop in North America at launch” but those terms have not yet been announced.

DSTLRY comes to the market with an international slate of early stage investors, including investors publishing giants Kodansha USA and Groupe Delcourt, as well as video game industry heavyweight John Schappert, tech strategist Mike Vorhaus, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The last three make up DSTLRY’s Advisory Board. Mosher said to take the diverse lineup of backers as a signal of the company’s larger global ambitions.

Despite the presence of entertainment, technology and gaming leaders in the early round, Mosher says the company is focused on publishing and content first. “The media angle is gravy for us,” he said. “We’ve worked out deals with creators to participate on media that are very equitable for all parties, but we’re focused on making money on publishing and digital.”

DSLRY has been fermenting in the casks since Mosher and Steinberger departed Amazon last summer. The co-founders say to expect the first batch of titles by San Diego Comic-Con, July 21-24, 2023.