Desert Island
Desert Island is a Brooklyn-based independent comic book shop founded in 2008 that sells underground comics, zines, and artist's books through a no-restrictions consignment model, serving alternative comics enthusiasts, independent artists, and DIY culture consumers across the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Desert Island does
Desert Island is a single-location independent comic book shop and cultural publisher founded by Gabriel Fowler in 2008 in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood at 490 Metropolitan Avenue. The shop retails underground and alternative comics, zines, artist's books, graphic novels, art magazines, and screenprints, operating on a no-restrictions consignment model inspired by Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago that allows independent artists to sell their work through the store on commission. The physical space is recognized as a designed cultural artifact, featuring ice-blue stalactite sculptures, tapestries, plywood shelving, and rotating art displays by comic artists.
The company operates four interlinked business lines: (1) the physical retail store, open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 7pm; (2) a Squarespace-based web shop extending reach nationally; (3) a $40/month Mystery Mail subscription service delivering curated monthly comic packs within the US; and (4) publishing operations, including Smoke Signal, a quarterly free comics anthology newspaper (Eisner-nominated for Best Anthology in 2014) that has published 45+ issues including a 58,000-copy RESIST! special issue distributed nationally at Women's Marches in 2017. The company also organizes Comic Arts Brooklyn, an annual comic book festival and art book fair founded in 2013, and in 2022 launched Desert Island Recordings, a music label imprint publishing vinyl records bundled with zines.
Desert Island's brand is reinforced by editorial coverage in The New Yorker and The New York Times, describing it as 'so beautifully designed that it doubles as a work of art' and a 'punk rock comic book shop.' The business is privately held, founder-owned, and bootstrapped with no disclosed external investment, institutional funding, headcount, or revenue figures. There is no proprietary technology platform; the entire operation runs on a brand-driven, human-curated, community-anchored model with analog products and physical retail as the core experience.
Desert Island firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Desert Island
- Legal name
- Desert Island
- Website
- https://desertislandbrooklyn.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Desert Island is a Brooklyn-based independent comic book shop founded in 2008 that sells underground comics, zines, and artist's books through a no-restrictions consignment model, serving alternative comics enthusiasts, independent artists, and DIY culture consumers across the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Desert Island industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Comic Book Retail
- NAICS
- Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Book Retailers and News Dealers (45921)
- SIC
- Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Comic Books, Graphic Novels & Manga Retail (CRALAAAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Art/Alternative/Underground Comics Publishing (MPAJAGAK)
Keywords
Where Desert Island is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Desert Island business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retail Sales: Sales of underground and alternative comics, zines, artist's books, graphic novels, art magazines, and screenprints from both store's own stock and consignment basis. Products are sold in-store and via the web shop at various price points.
- Mystery Mail Subscription: Monthly curated mystery pack subscription service priced at $40/month, including shipping. Subscribers receive a hand-selected package of comics monthly. New subscriptions are only available for limited time periods to manage capacity.
- Specialty Products: Sale of specialty items including vinyl records with zines (Concrete Rock LP + Zine at $25), books (Etiquette For Assclowns at $30), zines (Philcockophy at $18), screenprints (Paul Pope THB screenprint at $120), and Smoke Signal publications.
- Consignment Revenue: The store operates on a 'no-restrictions consignment' model where individual artists sell their works through the store, with the store taking a commission on sales. This model was inspired by Quimby's Bookstore.
- Smoke Signal Publishing: Desert Island publishes Smoke Signal, a free quarterly comics anthology newspaper. The publication transitioned from submission-based anthology to solo artist issues. Supporters can preorder copies before printing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Mystery Mail Monthly Subscription - curated mystery pack delivered monthly |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual products - various price points |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Desert Island product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Desert Island operates a Brooklyn-based comic book and zine shop at 490 Metropolitan Ave, retailing underground and alternative comics, zines, artist's books, graphic novels, art magazines, and screenprints on a no-restrictions consignment model. The company publishes Smoke Signal, an Eisner-nominated quarterly comics newspaper, organizes the Comic Arts Brooklyn annual festival, and runs Desert Island Recordings, a music imprint releasing vinyl + zine compilations. Revenue streams include in-store and online product sales, the $40/month Mystery Mail subscription, and commissions on consigned artist works.
Product overview
Desert Island is a single-location Brooklyn comic book shop and publisher offering a unified portfolio of retail, publishing, and subscription services. The core offering is the physical retail store at 490 Metropolitan Ave, which stocks underground and alternative comics, zines, artist's books, graphic novels, art magazines, and screenprints on a no-restrictions consignment basis. The company publishes Smoke Signal, an Eisner-nominated quarterly comics tabloid newspaper (now featuring solo artist issues), and organizes Comic Arts Brooklyn, an annual comic book festival since 2013. A digital Web Shop platform extends retail offerings online, while Mystery Mail provides a $40/month subscription box service delivering curated mystery comic packs. The company also operates Desert Island Recordings, a music imprint releasing LP and zine compilations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Smoke Signal: Eisner-nominated free quarterly comics anthology newspaper published by Desert Island, featuring solo artist issues in tabloid format
- Comic Arts Brooklyn
- Mystery Mail
- Desert Island Recordings
Products and services
- Smoke Signal An Eisner-nominated free quarterly comics anthology newspaper published by Desert Island. Originally a submission-based anthology featuring multiple artists per issue, it transitioned in 2018 to solo artist issues. Featured artists receive an honorarium; supporter copies can be preordered before printing at $10 per issue.
- Mystery Mail A monthly subscription service priced at $40/month including US shipping that delivers a hand-selected curated mystery pack of comics via USPS. All subscribers receive the same items each month with no selection or return options; packs ship within 2 weeks of billing cycle end.
- Consignment Services No-restrictions consignment program enabling individual artists to sell their comics, zines, artist's books, and prints through Desert Island's Brooklyn retail location. The store takes a commission on each sale; the model was inspired by Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago.
- Desert Island Recordings Music label imprint operated by Desert Island that publishes vinyl compilations paired with zines, including Red Xerox LP + Zine and Concrete Rock LP + Zine (priced at $25). Releases are sold through the store and at live events tied to the imprint's DIY community.
Quantifiable outcome
- Desert Island has been serving the alternative comics community since 2008, operating in the same location with consistent curation.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Desert Island
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Desert Island technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Desert Island partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.
- Comic Arts BrooklyncoreDesert Island organizes Comic Arts Brooklyn, an annual comic book festival and art book fair. This event, run since 2013, positions Desert Island as a central hub for the comics community and drives significant foot traffic and brand awareness.
- Quimby's Bookstore (Chicago)foundationalDesert Island's 'no-restrictions consignment' model was inspired by Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago. Quimby's would later open an additional location in New York in 2017 directly adjacent to Desert Island, validating the market Desert Island helped create.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Desert Island competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Secret Headquarters: Independent curated comic book shop in Los Angeles specializing in indie and alternative comics, graphic novels, and zines. Comparable mission, curated retail format, and artist-event programming model.
- Printed Matter: NYC-based non-profit bookstore dedicated to artists' books and zines. Operates both physical and online storefronts for the same alternative print community Desert Island serves, with overlapping artist and collector audience.
- Atomic Bookshop: Baltimore-based independent bookstore specializing in graphic novels, zines, and alternative press. Comparable curated indie-print mission with a similar consignment-friendly approach and active event programming.
- Quimby's Bookstore: Chicago-based (and now NYC) bookstore specializing in zines, underground comics, and DIY publications on a no-restrictions consignment model. Direct inspiration for Desert Island's consignment approach; offers nearly identical product mix to a directly overlapping customer base.
Regional players
- The Source Comics & Games: Minneapolis-based independent comic and games shop with strong indie and small-press selection. Comparable product mix and community-event programming, but operates in a different regional market.
- Fantasy Graphique: Independent comic and graphic novel bookstore in Paris specializing in alternative and indie comics. Comparable curation approach and underground-comics focus in a different geography.
Broad incumbents
- Strand Bookstore: Iconic NYC independent bookstore with a massive new, used, and rare book inventory. While not comics-focused, it serves an overlapping cultural-curious NYC reader base and is a recognized NYC literary institution of comparable scale.
- McNally Jackson Books: NYC independent bookstore chain with multiple locations and a strong literary and indie-press selection. Larger and broader than Desert Island but overlaps on curated independent publishing, events, and NYC cultural readership.
- Forbidden Planet: NYC-based chain of comic book shops with a wide mainstream and indie comics selection. Significantly larger scale, broader inventory, and multiple locations; competes for comic-buying foot traffic but lacks Desert Island's curation-first positioning.
Others
- Desert Island Recordings distribution peers (independent zine distributors): Small Press Distribution (SPD) — non-profit distributor for independent publishers of poetry, comics, and zines. Comparable supply-chain role for indie print creators and a downstream ecosystem partner for Desert Island's consignment model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Desert Island social profiles
Digital presenceDesert Island financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Desert Island leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Desert Island subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Desert Island funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Desert Island M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Desert Island
What does Desert Island do?
Desert Island operates a Brooklyn-based comic book and zine shop at 490 Metropolitan Ave, retailing underground and alternative comics, zines, artist's books, graphic novels, art magazines, and screenprints on a no-restrictions consignment model. The company publishes Smoke Signal, an Eisner-nominated quarterly comics newspaper, organizes the Comic Arts Brooklyn annual festival, and runs Desert Island Recordings, a music imprint releasing vinyl + zine compilations. Revenue streams include in-store and online product sales, the $40/month Mystery Mail subscription, and commissions on consigned artist works.
Is Desert Island a public or private company?
Desert Island is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Desert Island founded?
Desert Island was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Desert Island based?
Desert Island is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Desert Island make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Sales are the primary driver. The others are mystery Mail Subscription, specialty Products, consignment Revenue and smoke Signal Publishing.
Who are Desert Island's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Secret Headquarters, Printed Matter, Atomic Bookshop and Quimby's Bookstore. Regional players are The Source Comics & Games and Fantasy Graphique. Broad incumbents are Strand Bookstore, McNally Jackson Books and Forbidden Planet. Desert Island Recordings distribution peers (independent zine distributors) is listed as an others.
Does Desert Island have an API?
No public API is recorded for Desert Island.
What industry is Desert Island in?
Desert Island's product category is Comic Book Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAAAF, Comic Books, Graphic Novels & Manga Retail, with a secondary code of MPAJAGAK, Art/Alternative/Underground Comics Publishing. Its NAICS code is 45912 and its SIC code is 5945.