Continuing last week’s episode on the history of Voyage Comics, by far the most difficult part of running of comic book business is distribution.
One of the reasons why it is so difficult is the fact that prior to a few years ago, nobody was searching for “Catholic comic books” on Google. And when I mean, “nobody,” I mean, NOBODY!
Okay, maybe a few of you were searching that, but the vast majority of the world has never even thought of the concept that there could be Catholic comic books out there. It is true that more people have been searching for “family-friendly” comics in recent years, as mainstream comics have been getting worse and worse in terms of mature content.
Typically when you think of a comic book, most people imagine a kid reading it. However, one of the biggest sections of the comic book market in today’s world are adults, specifically adult men. This means that most comic book companies tailor their products to that demographic in mind, creating comics that contain sexually suggestive women on each cover.
Since we don’t produce comics that contain any of that content, we have to actively find those discerning parents who want what is true, good and beautiful for their children.
It might seem like an easy task to promote our products, but in our media-saturated culture, it’s extremely difficult cutting through all the noise to find those parents or adults who want to keep their hearts pure and simply enjoy a good story.
The additional uphill battle is the fact that we don’t have a “celebrity” face behind it all. As I’ve said a million times, I ain’t no influencer, and so when people see my name, they immediately say, “Who’s that?”
So what did we do?
Well, our most effective marketing (so far) has involved calling every Catholic or Christian bookstore in the United States! It’s been a slow burn, but we’ve had much success expanding our reach through making personal connections.
The other marketing tool that we have been grateful for is old-fashioned organic growth. Sometimes there is truth to the phrase, “If you build it, they will come.” If you create a quality product that fills a need, word will get out.
If we created a sub-par comic book that nobody liked, Voyage would simply tank and cease to exist. However, through God’s grace, we have been able to create high-caliber entertainment that is faith-filled and enjoyed by a wide variety of kids and adults.
Recently what’s been extremely providential has been our working relationship with Ignatius Press and their new Ignatius Book Fair, taking our comics to hundreds of schools across the United States. They are able to get our comics in the hands of kids who would have never heard about us.
While we certainly have been growing each year, we still struggle on a daily basis with distribution. We’ve been building our network from the ground-up and it’s not easy!
We are also one of the most unconventional publishers in the modern era, as we try to encounter the world outside of social media.
How has that been going for us? Find out next week in Voices of Voyage #6!
Philip Kosloski
Philip Kosloski is the founder of Voyage Comics & Publishing and the writer and creator of nearly every comic that has been published by Voyage.