Carlos Morales
As unveiled during the ComicsPRO Comic Book Industry Meeting in Glendale, CA, Oni Press is proud to announce that it has surpassed a major milestone in 2024 by breaking all internal records to become the most successful year of publishing in the company’s 28-year history. To follow it up, the Portland-based publishing house intends to pay that dividend forward to Direct Market retailers with the ONI 8 Retailer Appreciation Program – an all-new, eight-point plan of recurring marketing and sales initiatives intended to support and strengthen independent comic book retailers across 2025 and into the years beyond.
“No independent comics publisher exists in a vacuum. What we do is only made possible by standing together both with the creators who entrust us with their work, and the retailers who work tirelessly to support books we send out onto their shelves every Wednesday. But, just a few weeks into the New Year, we all recognize that delicate balance is currently being tested by market forces beyond our control on multiple fronts,” said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “For that reason, we think now is the time to doubly re-assert our support of Direct Market retailers and the often-unforgiving work they do to make the business of publishing comics possible.”
“Those efforts go hand-in-hand with the steps forward Oni itself has taken as one of the industry’s institutional publishers of independent comics and graphic novels. Since I joined the company in 2022, we’ve undertaken a coordinated series of internal efforts to strengthen what Oni does best, while also challenging ourselves to undertake a series of new and creatively invigorating projects. It’s been a true joy to watch those ideas take hold to the point where we could safely say that – by every available metric, including financial performance and units sold – Oni definitively had its best performing year of all time in 2024. For that reason – as well as the unprecedented challenges of 2025 – we want to pay retailers back with an ongoing set of reliable tools that will both further the cause of comics and strengthen our commitment to our retail partners as we both prepare to meet the coming year head-on.”
Oni’s banner 2024 included the launch of several major initiatives for the company, including the 20th anniversary of creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series; the chart-topping resurrection of the EC Comics publishing line with major new series including Epitaphs from the Abyss, Cruel Universe, and Cruel Kingdom; the launch of the first-ever comic book series inspired by Devolver Digital and Massive Monster’s global hit Cult of the Lamb video game, which in turn spawned one of the highest grossing comic book Kickstarter programs of all time and BookScan Top 20 debut for the resulting graphic novel; the first print graphic novel collections for two of Webtoon’s most beloved digital series, LySandra Vuong’s Covenant and Junepurrr’s SubZero; the continued growth of Oni’s diversified line of Middle Grade and Young Adult graphic novels with acclaimed new releases, including I Felt Myself Slipping by Ray Nadine, The Night Mother by Jeremy Lambert & Alexa Sharpe, I Feel Awful, Thanks by Lara Pickle; and much more.
Oni’s even-more ambitious plans for 2025 include the forthcoming launches of Out of Alcatraz #1 by Eisner Award nominees Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook; Free For All #1 by Eisner Award nominee Patrick Horvath; Plague House #1 by acclaimed writer Michael W. Conrad & Ringo Award winner Dave Chisholm; Adventure Time #1, the first issue of the all-new ongoing series from acclaimed cartoonist Nick Winn and LA Times Book Prize finalist Derek Ballard; and the next blockbuster EC Comics series in BLOOD TYPE #1 by Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko & Eisner Award winner Andrea Sorrentino – all of which will be spotlighted in the months to come by the newly implemented ONI 8 Retailer Appreciation Program.
Comprised of eight recurring monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, and annual sales and marketing support mechanisms – including the chance for a single retailer to be awarded an $8,000 grant for inter-store improvements to signage, shelving, and more – the ONI 8 Retailer Appreciation Program will take effect this spring with the following points:
1) GUARANTEED RETURNABILITY ON PREMIER PRODUCT
[MONTHLY]
Each month, Oni will ensure returnability on at least one flagship #1 debut single issue series and/or trade paperback collection for participating ONI 8 retailers.
2) ONGOING BACK CATALOG ROLLING SALE
[MONTHLY]
Oni will soon begin offering an ongoing back catalog sale from their extensive backlist of graphic novels and periodical comics – available only to ONI 8 retailers – with a curated selection of products that will rotate bi-monthly.
3) FREE IN-STORE PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
[MONTHLY]
Participating ONI 8 retailers will automatically receive monthly allotments of free Oni Press in-store promotional materials that could include posters, pre-order cards, ashcans, “Secret Edition” one-per-store variants, catalogs, promotional displays, and more.
4) EARLY ACCESS FOR EXCLUSIVE VARIANT OFFERINGS
[MONTHLY]
Participating ONI 8 retailers will also be offered advance notice and first priority for upcoming retailer variant offerings for flagship series, including ADVENTURE TIME, EC Comics’ BLOOD TYPE, BIKER MICE FROM MARS, RICK AND MORTY, and more.
5) FREE OVERSHIP PROGRAM FOR DEBUT PRODUCT
[QUARTERLY]
Participating ONI 8 retailers will be automatically opted-in for quarterly ownerships of select Oni Press #1 issue releases, designed to drive readership and future pre-orders for the signature Oni series.
6) LIVE RETAILER CONFERENCES & LISTENING SESSIONS
[BI-ANNUAL]
Participating ONI 8 retailers will be admitted to live, retailer-exclusive listening sessions where Oni can share advance notice of major upcoming releases in order to solicit early feedback on promotion and saleability, as well as discuss ongoing industry matters in a one-on-one setting.
7) MAXIMIZED 57.5% DISCOUNT ON SELECT #1 RELEASES [BI-ANNUAL]
Twice a year, participating ONI 8 retailers will also be automatically opted-in for a maximized 57.5% discount on a major Oni Press #1 single-issue release. Oni’s first maximized 57.5% discount will go into effect immediately for OUT OF ALCATRAZ #1 – the double-sized, 48-page first issue of the new series from Eisner Award nominees Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook that goes to Final Order Cut-Off on Monday, February 24th.
8) THE ONI 8 RETAILER IMPROVEMENT GRANT
[ANNUAL]
Oni is also offering one (1) participating ONI 8 store the chance to qualify for the first-ever ONI 8 RETAILER IMPROVEMENT GRANT – an $8,000 award that can be put towards retail improvements and upgrades, including signage, shelving, furniture, structural improvements, and any other intra-store infrastructure. This recipient of this grant will be judged directly by the Oni marketing and sales team, based on the loose criteria of which store creates, implements, and documents the best display of Oni product* before October 1, 2025. More details on the specific terms and conditions associated with the grant will be shared with ONI 8 retailers in the weeks ahead…but it’s not too early to start thinking about ideas!
“We are so excited to support brick and mortar comic shops with the Oni 8 Retailer Program and we believe these initiatives will materially impact stores at just the right time,” said VP, Marketing & Sales, Spencer Simpson, “Comic shops have always been the backbone of our publishing strategy because they are the backbone of the comic publishing industry. They rewarded us last year with a phenomenal level of support for our titles and our creators, responding in kind with a program that rewards that support is the right thing to do and I’m proud of what we at Oni Press have put together in response.”
*This could mean the best display of Oni’s new EC Comics titles, a curated selection of Oni Middle Grade graphic novels, or something as crazy as a life-size Scott Pilgrim statue bursting through your New Release wall. The criteria are wide open, as long as it spotlights one or more Oni Press titles in a specific, identifiable way. Most importantly: Have fun with it!
Participation in the ONI 8 Retailer Appreciation Program is free and open to any Direct Market retailer with a Lunar or Diamond account, as well as a physical storefront. Retailers attending this week’s ComicsRO Comic Book Industry Meeting in Glendale, CA will be able to sign up with Oni Press representatives on site, or qualifying retailers can sign up virtually.
