The Ink Alliance has wasted no time making its presence felt in the comic industry just over a month after the announcement of its formation. The collective of Black-owned comic shops (which make up less than 1% of the comic shops worldwide) set out to demonstrate what could happen when they work together toward the common goal of creating something for the culture. Now, not only has Static returned to the DC Universe in a major way, but his return was also celebrated with the now-sold-out exclusive variant cover for New Titans #38, which was only available at stores that were part of the Ink Alliance.
In a conversation with The Beat, Co-founder of the Ink Alliance and owner of OffBeat in Jackson, Mississippi, Phillip Rollins spoke on how important this first initiative was for the future of the collective. “After talking with everybody, this was probably one of the best Wednesdays a lot of stores ever had. With our stores being small mom-and-pop shops, we’re not as big as Midtown Comics or anything like that. Everything counts. Every red cent counts. So, even when they buy merchandise, that works, and at a lot of our stores, we made it a celebration.”
Although any extra copies left over were planned to be available on digital storefronts in the near future, there was already a sale of the special cover on the secondary market for $129.99 – and all copies have since sold out. Impateint people paying a premium price for a variant is inevitable, says Rollins. “The bigger mission of it is getting awareness of our stores and getting the news out there. We haven’t seen this much publicity for a black-owned comic shop since Amalgam Comics,” referring to the Philadelphia Black-owned store that closed down in 2022.
Rollins also spoke about how this is just the beginning for the Ink Alliance. There are other exclusives planned, as well as more Black-owned shops already applying to join the collective. This will give these stores opportunities that they may not have had otherwise. The poetic irony of that isn’t lost on these owners when it comes to the importance of this moment. Hard-working entrepreneurs are coming together to create their own exclusive variant, with critically acclaimed artist Sanford Greene collaborating with them, while also celebrating the return of Static, Milestone Media’s breakout star, as he transitions into this new chapter of his publication journey. Multiple moments, all coming together at once to create a pivotal moment in comic book history.
