Ink Alliance, a national collective of Black-owned comic book retailers, has officially sold out the complete 1,000-copy run of its debut exclusive, DC Comics‘ New Titans #38 featuring Static and an exclusive cover by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning artist Sanford Greene.
The entire print run sold through in just five days, beginning with a coordinated in-store launch across Ink Alliance’s 10 founding retailers on August 19.
The release culminated with remaining inventory from OffBeat in Jackson, Mississippi, and Blerds Underground being made available online. Both retailers sold through their remaining copies in under five minutes.
Online orders reached collectors across 20 states and Canada, extending the reach of Ink Alliance’s first project far beyond the individual communities served by its founding stores.
The response was just as visible in person.
Participating retailers reported new customers discovering their stores specifically because of the release, with collectors traveling across cities, counties and state lines to support the project.
At Acme Comics, which has served its community since 1983, first-time customers traveled from Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina. Others traveled from Baltimore, Maryland; Woodbridge, Virginia; and Tennessee to purchase the release and support the initiative.
The Comic Den experienced a similar response on the West Coast, with customers traveling from across Los Angeles and surrounding counties specifically to purchase the release.
At Eastgate Comics, the campaign translated increased visibility into new local relationships. Owner Fred Wright Jr. reported customers traveling from six different states to purchase the release, along with approximately 20 to 30 local customers who had never previously visited the store.
Several of those first-time customers went on to establish subscriptions for weekly comic pulls, demonstrating the potential for a collaborative release to introduce collectors not only to Ink Alliance, but also to independent retailers they may continue supporting long after the release.
Eastgate also gained more than 800 new followers across its Facebook and Instagram accounts during the campaign.
For Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics, the launch demonstrated the potential for collective action to expand the visibility and reach of independent Black-owned retailers.
Cuts and Comics also reported reaching new customers and experiencing a major increase in website traffic and sales surrounding the project.
The response extended throughout the broader comics community. Cover artist Sanford Greene publicly supported and shared the project throughout its rollout, while the release generated enthusiastic engagement from readers, collectors and members of the Milestone community.
More Than a Sellout
For Ink Alliance’s founders, selling through 1,000 copies represents more than the commercial success of a limited comic.
The project was designed to test something larger: what independent Black-owned comic retailers could accomplish by coordinating their marketing, combining their audiences and resources, and approaching the marketplace collectively.
The Alliance Is Growing
The sellout arrives as Ink Alliance prepares for its next stage.
The collective launched its debut project through 10 founding Black-owned comic retailers, but the Alliance is already preparing to grow beyond its founding membership.
Additional Black-owned comic shops are preparing to join Ink Alliance, expanding the collective into new markets and giving more communities direct access to participating Black-owned comic retailers, future releases, events and collaborative initiatives.
