What Comic Shop News does

Comic Shop News (CSN Press, LLC.) is a privately held Skowhegan, Maine-based publishing company founded in 1987 by Cliff Biggers and Ward Batty. Its core product is a weekly print newspaper covering comic books, toys, books, and games, distributed every Wednesday through local comic book shops worldwide and read by more than 40,000 people per week — making it the last continuously published print comic book fanzine. The company also operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront on Squarespace selling branded apparel, limited-edition art prints on Japanese museum-quality matte paper, and nostalgia collectibles (pint glasses, enamel mugs, vintage toys, art supplies), and in 2025 launched the CSN Archive, a fully searchable DRM-free digital database of every issue since 1987 sold via tiered Founding Member subscriptions at $50, $100, and $250.

The business runs three revenue streams: weekly print newspaper distribution through retail partners, e-commerce merchandise sales, and the CSN Archive subscription membership, with tier-bundled benefits including store discounts and named recognition in the print paper. Under the CSN Press umbrella, the company has assembled a portfolio of legacy toy and game sub-brands (Transogram, Monster Pop!, Green Ghost, Ka-Bala, Mystic Skull, Wonder Horse, Linemar Toys, Team America, Timeless Toys, Carnival Guitar) and operates Comic Shop Map as a global comic-shop directory. Leadership is a lean team of 1-10 with Dave Witting as Publisher / EIC and contributing editors Chad Gilley and Matthew L. Price; the company has no disclosed venture or private-equity backing and operates as a bootstrapped independent LLC.

The audience is split into two primary segments: comic book enthusiasts and hobbyists (a persona segment) who collect and follow weekly releases, and independent local comic shop retailers (an SMB business segment) who use the paper as a customer marketing and information tool. Customer-facing technology is limited to a Squarespace storefront, an email newsletter signup, and the searchable CSN Archive — there are no public APIs, mobile apps, or documented AI features.

Name

Comic Shop News

Legal name

CSN Press, LLC.

Website

https://comicshopnews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Comic Shop News (CSN Press, LLC.) is a Skowhegan, Maine-based publisher of a weekly print newspaper covering comics, toys, books, and games distributed to 40,000+ readers via local comic shops, with a DTC e-commerce merchandise store and a subscription archive launched in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Comic Book Publishing and Print Media

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Comic Strips & Syndication Publishing (Newspaper/Online) (MPAJAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Comic Books & Graphic Novel Collectibles Retail (CRALAGAH)

Keywords

• Comic book publishing
• Print fanzine news
• Comic book archive
• Vintage toy collectibles
• Comic merchandise retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Skowhegan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Print Newspaper Sales: Weekly print newspaper covering comics, toys, books and games available at local comic shops. Distributed to comic book shops and readers.
2. CSN Archive Membership Subscription: Founding member subscriptions providing full archive access, exclusive collectibles, store discounts, and recognition in the print newspaper. Three tiers available at $50, $100, and $250.
3. Merchandise E-commerce: Sale of branded clothing (t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts), collectibles (pint glasses, enamel mugs, vintage toys), and art prints through the online store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Comic Shop News is a publishing company that produces a weekly print newspaper covering new comic books, toys, books, and games, distributed every Wednesday at local comic book shops. The company also operates the CSN Archive, a fully searchable digital database of every issue since 1987 available to Founding Members via paid subscriptions, and sells branded merchandise (art prints, clothing, collectibles) directly to consumers through its own online store.

Product overview

Comic Shop News is a publishing company operating primarily as a weekly print newspaper for comic book enthusiasts since 1987. The core product is the Comic Shop News newspaper, the last surviving print comic book fanzine read by over 40,000 people weekly. The company offers a digital subscription archive (CSN Archive) with Founding Member tiers, branded merchandise including apparel (clothing line with t-shirts and hoodies), art prints (limited edition archival prints), and collectibles (pint glasses, enamel mugs, vintage toys, art supplies). Under CSN Press, the company manages multiple vintage toy and game sub-brands including Comic Shop Map, Team America, Monster Pop!, Transogram, Carnival Guitar, Timeless Toys Image Archive, Wonder Horse, Linemar Toys, Green Ghost, Mystic Skull, and Ka-Bala—many featuring classic 1950s-1980s toy and board game intellectual property. The product portfolio spans print publishing, digital archives, e-commerce merchandise, and licensed nostalgia brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Comic Shop Map™: Explore thousands of fan-loved shops across the globe, both big and small. Dive into a world of anime, comic books, manga, toys, collectibles, and geeky goodness.
• Team America™
• Monster Pop!™
• Transogram®
• Carnival Guitar™
• Timeless Toys™
• Wonder Horse®
• Linemar Toys®
• Green Ghost®
• Mystic Skull®
• Ka-Bala®
• CSN Archive

Products and services

• Comic Shop News Newspaper A weekly print newspaper covering comic books, toys, books, and games, distributed every Wednesday at local comic shops worldwide. Published continuously since 1987, it is the last surviving print comic book fanzine and is read by more than 40,000 people each week.
• CSN Archive A fully searchable digital database of every issue of Comic Shop News since 1987, available to read or download completely DRM-free. Sold to consumers through Founding Member subscriptions at three tiers ($50 Archive Sponsor, $100 Archive Patron, $250 Archive Benefactor) with benefits including weekly digital newspaper access, store discounts, collectibles, and print paper recognition.
• Art Prints Limited edition 12x16 archival prints on museum-quality matte paper sourced from Japan. Includes posters featuring CSN covers, Free Comic Book Day specials, Halloween Spooktaculars, First Issue covers, and fine art prints from artists like Javier Saltares; priced $28-$30.
• Clothing Branded apparel sold direct-to-consumer, including CSN logo t-shirts in multiple color variants ($25.50-$35.00), Green Ghost and Ka-Bala branded hoodies ($65.00), and CSN logo sweatshirts ($55.00) in black and navy.
• Collectibles Vintage and nostalgia collectibles including custom branded pint glasses featuring vintage toy characters (Flummer, Whumper, Snurf, Puffel, Granch, Moodle) priced at $25.00, CSN-branded enamel mugs in red/blue/green/yellow at $20.00, plus vintage toys and art supplies like Tombow pencils and MONO erasers.
• Comic Shop Map A website directory under the CSN Press brand for exploring comic shops across the globe, covering anime, comic books, manga, toys, collectibles, and geeky goods.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bleeding Cool: Comic book and pop culture news site publishing daily scoops, interviews, and industry coverage. Competes for the same comic enthusiast readership through a digital news model parallel to CSN's print curation.
• ICv2: Industry trade publication covering comics, graphic novels, and hobby games with a B2B slant toward retailers and distributors. Overlaps with CSN's coverage of weekly releases and serves adjacent retailers in the same comic shop channel.
• Newsarama: Long-running online comic book news and commentary site historically positioned as a direct competitor to print comic news outlets. Operates in the same product category (comic news) targeting the same enthusiast base, with a digital-first distribution model.
• The Beat (comicsbeat.com): Comic book and graphic novel industry news blog covering releases, publishing, and industry trends. Direct news category competitor focused on the same comics professional and enthusiast audience CSN serves.
• Wizard Magazine: Historic (now defunct) monthly print magazine covering comics, manga, and related collectibles that was the dominant print comic news publication before its collapse. Closest historical precedent for CSN's print fanzine model and demonstrates the secular print risk CSN faces.

Broad incumbents

• Heritage Auctions: Large auction house specializing in comics, toys, and vintage collectibles markets. Comparable to CSN's collectibles and vintage toy (Transogram, Wonder Horse, Linemar) ambitions, but operates at much larger scale in secondary collectibles markets.
• CBR (Comic Book Resources): Major online publication covering comic book news, reviews, and pop culture. CBR is a far larger digital incumbent that serves the same comic fan audience CSN targets, but distributes for free online rather than through a paid weekly print newspaper.

Regional players

• Mike's Comics: Independent comic shop retailer that is part of CSN's distribution and customer base. Representative of the local comic shop channel that CSN depends on for weekly newspaper distribution and merchandising placement.

Emerging players

• GeekTyrant: Pop culture and geek news site covering comics, movies, and collectibles. Competes for the same comic fan attention via digital content, with a smaller and more niche footprint than CBR or Newsarama.

Others

• Free Comic Book Day: Industry-wide annual event promoting comic book readership at local shops; CSN produces limited edition art prints (FCBD 2024) tied to this event. Comparable channel partner rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comic-shop-news-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Comic Shop News