DSTLRY

DSTLRY (pronounced "Distillery") is an independent creator-owned American comic book publisher founded in May 2023. It was founded by David Steinberger and Chip Mosher.

DSTLRY publishes original comics, graphic novels, and merchandise that are intended to cater to both collectors of physical and digital content. Digital issues go on sale for a week, in which fans are able to buy comics directly from the company, after which owners are able to buy and sell comics on DSTLRY's secondary market.

David Steinberger, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of comiXology and Chip Mosher, the former head of content at comiXology, announced DSTLRY on April 13, 2023 in The New York Times.^[1]

David Steinberger said that DSTLRY will focus on ethics, creator empowerment, and equity. Along with up-front participation by the founding creators, DSTLRY sets aside an additional 3% of company equity to be distributed among the creators who have projects released within the first three years. This equity will be distributed based of performance of titles.^[1]

As reported by Forbes, David Steinberger stated, "One of the biggest things that made comiXology successful was our understanding of the industry pain points. Obviously we want to correct the situation with creator rights by giving them real equity and ownership. If they contribute to the success of our brand, they get to benefit from that. When you align the interests of the creator and the publisher, we all share in the rewards." Further more Steinberger continued, "We want to avoid all the scams and issues associated with crypto, so there are no wallets, no NFTs, no cryptocurrency components. At the same time, we recognize that collectability is a fundamental part of the comics community. When we did straight digital distribution, we were only able to get about 15% of the total market. With DSTLRY, rather than fighting against the collector aspect, we are playing into it."^[1]

DSTLRY's debut publication, The Devil's Cut, received 50,000 orders from comic book retailers and sales made from San Diego Comic-Con. The Devil's Cut contains 11 different stories, all from the founding creators. This initial issue is never to be re-printed in its initial 88 page format. Many of the stories in The Devil's Cut expanded into comic book series in the fourth quarter of 2023. The DSTLRY co-founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger said in a joint statement, "We're overjoyed by The Devil's Cut's reception... Our goal is to provide the most nurturing environment for creators to craft their best work and package that into premium formats. We couldn't be happier that retailers are as excited by The Devil's Cut as we are."^[2]

In October 2023 DSTLRY launched its first title, Gone, a 48-page science fiction adventure written, drawn and colored by Jock as a continuation of his 8-page story, "The Stowaway" from The Devil's Cut.^[3]

In November 2023, the company published Somna, which was written and drawn by both Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay. The series is described as "an intoxicating blend of horror, eroticism, and the supernatural."^[4] Somna was the recipient of the 2024 Eisner Award for Best New Series.

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• Mirka Andolfo
• Brian Azzarello
• Marc Bernardin
• Elsa Charretier
• Becky Cloonan
• Lee Garbett
• Jock
• Joëlle Jones
• Tula Lotay
• Jamie McKelvie
• Junko Mizuno
• Stephanie Phillips
• Scott Snyder
• James Tynion IV
• Ram V^{[citation needed][5]}