Ink Alliance Sells Out New Titans #38 Exclusive, Plans Expansion

The Ink Alliance, a collection of 10 Black-owned comic shops across the country, announced a complete sellout of the Ink Alliance Exclusive Sanford Greene cover run of 1000 issues in just five days.

A Static Sellout!!

After launching only a month or so ago, The Ink Alliance rolled out its first collaborative release. An exclusive cover of New Titans #38 featuring Static was completed by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning artist Sanford Greene. Despite being composed of 10 initial shops in the alliance, the exclusive cover sold through its entire run of 1,000 copies in only five days. After being initially sold in Ink Alliance shops only, a brief final order amount was made available online. Unique amongst current comic collector culture, it wasn’t until the final online orders that one of the exclusive covers ended up on a resale site, with customers choosing to actually keep the exclusive cover rather than trying to capitalize on its rarity.

A Testament To Cooperation and Coordination

The success of the Ink Alliance exclusive cover shows what independent Black-owned comic retailers can accomplish through coordination and cooperation. The coordinated effort led to some incredible milestones, including the final online orders selling out in just five minutes. Additionally, retailers in the Alliance reported significant first-time customers, along with an uptick in social media growth and new weekly comic subscriptions. Social media sites such as Threads are full of customers traveling across state lines and long distances to visit participating Black-owned Ink Alliance shops. Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC reported customers traveling from Raleigh, Durham, and Charlotte to purchase copies. Eastgate Comics in High Point, North Carolina reported customers visiting from six different states to grab their copies. Online sales managed to reach customers across twenty different states and Canada, with the Blerds Underground and OffBeat in Jackson, Mississippi, releasing a limited final inventory of the exclusive online. NCBD feeds on social media were full of happy customers posing with their exclusive copies of New Titans #38.

Looking To The Future

With the massive success of the Ink Alliance’s first collaboration, they begin to look to the future. Co-Founder Mike Davis of Blerds Underground explains it in the press release, stating, ” The success of this release proves what we’ve believed from the beginning: there is far more we can accomplish together than any of us can accomplish alone”. The success of Ink Alliance’s cover is not only a testament to cooperation among the shops but also a stark realization of how few independent Black-owned comic shops exist across the country. Davis sees the opportunity not only to make people aware of how few of the shops exist but to inspire people to help change the number of shops that do exist. Co-Founder and owner of Offbeat in Jackson, MS, Phillip Rollins goes even further, stating, “This first launch showed us that cooperative economics can work when it is done intentionally and strategically”. Rollins further mentioned that the success shows that people are interested so the shops must make themselves seen and heard to ensure people can find them.

That growth and cooperation begin with the next chapter for Ink Alliance. The collective launched with 10 founding Black-owned comic retailers, including: Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC, Blerds Underground Comics and Collectibles in LaGrange, Illinois, Challenges Games and Comics in Atlanta, GA, Cuts and Comics in Newnan, GA, Eastgate Comics in High Point, NC, Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics in Houston, TX, Offbeat in Jackson, MS, The Comic Den in Los Angeles, CA, Third Coast Comics in Chicago, IL, and Windu’s Comics and Collectibles in Clermont, FL. Now, however, the Alliance prepares to expand. Additional Black-owned comic shops are preparing to join Ink Alliance allowing the collective to expand into new markets and giving more communities direct access to participating Black-owned comic retailers, future releases, events, and collaborative initiatives. Rollins states, “For anyone who discovered Ink Alliance through this release but didn’t have a participating retailer nearby, we hear you. The Alliance is growing. More stores means more communities represented, more opportunities to support Black-Owned comic shops, and greater access to what we build together next.”

Did you get your copy? Let me know in the comments below.