What Big Planet Comics does

Big Planet Comics is an independent comic book retailer and small-scale publisher operating since 1986 across three storefronts in the Washington DC metropolitan area: Washington DC (U Street corridor), Vienna, Virginia, and Bethesda, Maryland. The company sells physical comic books, graphic novels, manga, and back issues to individual consumers ranging from casual readers to dedicated collectors, and curates weekly new-release lists with staff "Planet Picks" recommendations. Beyond retail, Big Planet Comics publishes original comics through two imprints — the Big Planet Comics anthology and Retrofit Comics — distributes them through a Storenvy online storefront, hosts creator signing events, and produces a weekly podcast covering industry news and releases. The business operates on a hybrid physical-retail and direct-to-consumer model: walk-in sales across three locations, an online store, a free subscription service that reserves weekly new releases for regular customers, and recurring community partnerships including participation in the DC Bookstore Crawl and NoVa Bookstore Crawl. Ownership is private and founder-operated with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or acquisition activity, and revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Big Planet Comics

Legal name

Big Planet Comics

Website

https://bigplanetcomics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Planet Comics is an independent comic book retailer founded in 1986, operating three storefronts across the Washington DC metro area (Washington DC, Vienna VA, Bethesda MD) serving comic and graphic novel enthusiasts with new releases, back issues, in-store events, and an in-house publishing imprint.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Comic Book Retail

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921)

akta.pro primary industry

Comic Books, Graphic Novels & Manga Retail (CRALAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Western Comic Books Publishing (Superhero, Indie) (MPAJAGAB), Art/Alternative/Underground Comics Publishing (MPAJAGAK)

Keywords

• Comic book retail
• Graphic novels sales
• Manga retail
• Comic book publishing
• Back issue comics

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Big Planet Comics is a comic book retailer operating three physical stores in the Washington DC metro area (Washington DC, Vienna VA, and Bethesda MD) and an online store on Storenvy, selling weekly new comic releases, graphic novels, manga, and back issues. The company also publishes original comics through two in-house imprints—Big Planet Comics (anthology series) and Retrofit Comics (curated independent titles)—and supports customers via a free subscription service that reserves weekly new releases.

Product overview

Big Planet Comics is a three-location comic book retailer in the Washington DC metro area (Washington DC, Vienna VA, Bethesda MD) operating since 1986. The company operates as a unified retail business with physical stores and an online presence, offering new comic releases weekly, back issues, graphic novels, and manga. Beyond retail, the company publishes original comics through two imprints—Big Planet Comics (anthology series) and Retrofit Comics (independent comics curation)—and produces a weekly podcast covering new releases and industry topics. A free subscription service enables customers to reserve weekly releases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Big Planet Comics: The company's flagship comic publishing imprint featuring their local comics anthology and various titles.
• Retrofit Comics

Products and services

• Comic Books and Graphic Novels Retail Sale of new comic book releases, graphic novels, manga, and back issues through three DC-metro retail locations (Washington DC, Vienna VA, Bethesda MD) and an online Storenvy storefront, targeting individual comic readers and collectors.
• Big Planet Comics Publishing Imprint In-house comics anthology imprint publishing original creator-owned stories from local and independent artists, sold through the company's Storenvy online store.
• Retrofit Comics Publishing Imprint

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Forbidden Planet: Largest U.S./UK specialty comic retailer chain offering new releases, graphic novels, manga, and pop culture merchandise. Comparable product mix but operates at significantly broader scale with a multi-city storefront footprint and established e-commerce.

Direct peers

• Atlantis Fantasyworld: Santa Cruz, California independent comic book and science fiction retailer operating since 1981. Comparable specialty-retail focus on comics, graphic novels, manga, and creator events at a single community-driven storefront.
• Golden Apple Comics: Los Angeles-based independent comic retailer with a long-running storefront, exclusive variants, creator signings, and back-issue inventory. Comparable specialty-retail position and customer engagement strategy.
• House of Secrets Comics: Southern California comic book retailer chain operating multiple storefronts with weekly pulls, back issues, and signature creator signings. Comparable regional multi-store specialty-retail format.
• Third Eye Comics: Maryland-based comic book retailer that took over Big Planet Comics' College Park operations in 2022/2024. Directly comparable specialty retailer in the Mid-Atlantic market with multiple store locations and a similar weekly-release + back-issue + creator-event model.
• Things From Another World: Portland, Oregon-based comic retailer combining a destination storefront with a sizable online store and pull-list subscription service. Closely matches Big Planet's combination of physical retail, weekly subscription, and e-commerce.
• Cosmic Monkey Comics: Pacific Northwest independent comic book retailer with multiple locations and a community events program. Comparable model combining weekly new releases, graphic novels, and creator-focused programming.
• Midtown Comics: New York City-based independent comic book superstore operating multiple locations with weekly new releases, back issues, graphic novels, and a strong online storefront. Closely aligned specialty-retail business model serving a dense urban collector market.

Others

• Lunar Distribution: Major U.S. comic book distributor (successor capacity to Diamond Comic Distributors) that supplies Big Planet Comics' inventory. Not a retail competitor, but a critical upstream enabler and structural counterparty for any direct-market comic retailer.
• Storenvy: E-commerce platform that hosts Big Planet Comics' online stores (bigplanetcomics.storenvy.com and retrofit.storenvy.com). Not a peer retailer, but a relevant channel/ecosystem dependency given the company's online distribution strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/bigplanetcomics
• Facebookfacebook.com/bigplanetcomics
• Instagraminstagram.com/bigplanetcomics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-planet-comics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Planet Comics