Heroes World Distribution Co., originally named Superhero Enterprises, was an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plug ...

. It was founded by Ivan Snyder, active from 1975 to 1997, during the growth and consolidation of the direct market. Heroes World was acquired by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

in late

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

to act as the publisher's sole distributor. This ill-fated move, combined with other marketplace factors of the time, resulted in the financial failure of many other comics distributors and retailers — and the near collapse of the entire North American comic book market.

History

Origins

In the early 1970s, Ivan Snyder was head of licensing in Marvel Comics Group's merchandising department. In this role, he was in charge of selling various Marvel licensed products via mail order. After a change in management in the mid-1970s, Marvel discontinued the mail order service, and Snyder purchased the business in 1975, renaming it Superhero Enterprises. Initially running the business out his basement, Snyder shortly thereafter moved into a storefront in Morristown, New Jersey, with a catalog showroom store format. A second store was opened in a Livingston shopping mall, with

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

products added to their product mix. When the former

Mego Corporation The Mego Corporation was an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed dolls ...

trademark "Superhero" was purchased by Marvel and DC, Superheroes Enterprise was forced to change its name to Heroes World. By 1982, Heroes World's retail chain had expanded to 12 locations, while it continued its mail order distribution business. (The Heroes World catalog was produced in conjunction with the

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

-based Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.)

Acquisition by Marvel

By late 1994, Heroes World was North America's third largest comics distributorGray, Bob. "Newswatch: Marvel Buys 3rd Largest Distributor: Heroes World Purchase Signals Fundamental Changes in the Direct Market," ''The Comics Journal'' #174 (Feb. 1995): pp. 15-22. (behind Diamond Comics Distributors and Capital City Distribution). On December 28, 1994, Heroes World was bought by Marvel ComicsBryant, Adam
"BUSINESS DAY: Pow! The Punches That Left Marvel Reeling,"
''New York Times'' (MAY 24, 1998). to act as the company's exclusive distributor,Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s) "Capital City" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ( Dark Horse Publishing, 1998) , p. 69 thus reducing other distributors' market share by more than a third.Rozanski, Chuck
"Marvel Comics to Self-Distribute Heroes World,"
Tales From the Database, Mile High Comics (2004). The change took effect with books shipped July 1995. As industry veteran Chuck Rozanski notes: The ripple effect resulted in the survival of only one other major North American distributor, Diamond. Heroes World's new role as Marvel's exclusive distributor was a failure from the beginning. Lacking the infrastructure to handle Marvel's huge weekly orders resulted in extensive shipment and billing mistakes, errors which caused great consternation among the thousands of comics specialty shops affected. Writes Rozanski: These factors, combined with the collapse of the comics speculation market, did indeed result in many comics stores closing their doors for good. Throughout 1995 and 1996, Heroes World continued to flounder, facing lost business and lawsuits. Finally, in 1997 the company went out of business, and Marvel returned to Diamond Distributors,"Hello Again: Marvel Goes with Diamond," ''The Comics Journal'' #193 (February 1997), pp. 9-10. which by that point was the only major distributor left standing.

Notes

References

*"Marvelutionary War Declared: Unprecedented Upheaval in Direct Market," ''The Comics Journal'' #175 (March 1995), pp. 9–10. * "Marvel goes exclusive, Capital sues Marvel, Marvel settles with Capital, Marvel buys Skybox, DC/Diamond announcement expected," ''The Comics Journal'' #175 (March 1995), pp. 9–10. * "Newswatch: Marvelutionary Changes," ''The Comics Journal'' #186 (Apr. 1996), p. 23.

History

Origins

Acquisition by Marvel

Notes

References

See also