On the Barriers to Diverse Comics in the Direct Market
Over the past week there's been much discussion in the comics sphere about how books that have risen to the challenge of greater diversity have not in turn risen up the charts of the direct market. A debate is taking place over whether the audience is really putting its money where its mouth is, and this debate is more complex than a yes or a no, and requires a little unpacking.
Adam Frey at Pop Culture Uncovered has one take, asking if the failure of diverse books is a responsibility that ultimately rests with the market. Personally, I think a better question to ask when speculating if the market itself has failed is, “which market?”