--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that comics stores, distributors…" description: "\"The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers simply 'give the customers what they want' is nonsense. What the customers wanted they didn't ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f6/scott-mccloud-15046_book_the-idea-that-comics-stores-distributors_1739824.jpg" --- # The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers… ![“The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers simply 'give the customers what they want' is nonsense. What the customers wanted they didn't get - and they left.” quote by Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f6/scott-mccloud-15046_book_the-idea-that-comics-stores-distributors_1739824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f6/scott-mccloud-15046_book_the-idea-that-comics-stores-distributors_1739824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f6/scott-mccloud-15046_book_the-idea-that-comics-stores-distributors_1739824.jpg) > “The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers simply 'give the customers what they want' is nonsense. What the customers wanted they didn't get - and they left.” [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The market does not always reflect true demand; customers often leave when their expectations aren't met. **In simple terms:** Customers may not get what they think they want. Key Takeaway Align products with genuine needs. Themes business customer expectations market dynamics Mood analytical reflective Type business advisory When to use this quote - retail - digital platforms - customer feedback Key Concepts consumer behavior product design Questions to Reflect On - What signals indicate true customer desire? - How can creators validate demand early? A Different Perspective Assuming demand without research can cause failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-book/) [Comics Stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comics-stores-1509418/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Customers Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers-want/) [Distributors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distributors/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Nonsense Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense-customers-1509416/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Simply Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simply-customers-1509419/) [Stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stores/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-nonsense-1509417/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [As I've indicated, most books go out of print within one year. The same is true of music and film. Commercial culture is sharklike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/as-i-ve-indicated-most-books-go-out-of-print-within-one-year-the-same/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [To make a film and to sell it to the distributors you need a name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajay-devgan/to-make-a-film-and-to-sell-it-to-the-distributors-you-need-a-name/) [Ajay Devgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajay-devgan/) > [I put that in my management's hands and my company's hands. We sit down all together, the family, D-Block, my management and I go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/styles-p/i-put-that-in-my-management-s-hands-and-my-company-s-hands-we-sit/) [Styles P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/styles-p/) > [There's guys like me who aren't going to the theater, so distributors are leaving money on the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-brunetti/there-s-guys-like-me-who-aren-t-going-to-the-theater-so-distributors/) [Dana Brunetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-brunetti/) > [I believe this nation hungers for a spiritual revival; hungers to once again see honor placed above political expediency; to see government once again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-believe-this-nation-hungers-for-a-spiritual-revival-hungers-to-once/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Producing and distributing premium TV entertainment content is more 'global' now than at any point in the history of the business. 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It is a great distributor for ideas and opinions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-american-motion-picture-is-the-greatest-unconscious-carrier-of/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [A lot of times, I can put a product together with a distributor when I go into my Rolodex for distributors. I can then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/a-lot-of-times-i-can-put-a-product-together-with-a-distributor-when-i/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [One of our neighbors is a salami distributor, and they pretty well - I mean, we used their salami to make a rocket engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/one-of-our-neighbors-is-a-salami-distributor-and-they-pretty-well-i/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [We see community organizations as major service providers and economic drivers rather than as recipients or distributors of charity, and coordinators of volunteers. Today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-gillard/we-see-community-organizations-as-major-service-providers-and/) [Julia Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-gillard/) > [Being Indian is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings. It is allowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-medicine-eagle/being-indian-is-an-attitude-a-state-of-mind-a-way-of-being-in-harmony/) [Brooke Medicine Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-medicine-eagle/) > [Luck is an equal opportunity distributor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/luck-is-an-equal-opportunity-distributor/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) > [“Contributors and distributors tend to do better at personal branding than takers and fakers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/contributors-and-distributors-tend-to-do-better-at-personal-branding/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [My man Ruger up in Vancouver with the Landcruiser. That's my mans and, he was hand to hand distributors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-block/my-man-ruger-up-in-vancouver-with-the-landcruiser-that-s-my-mans-and/) [D Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-block/) ## More by Scott McCloud > [It would take a lifetime to read all the webcomics published in one year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/it-would-take-a-lifetime-to-read-all-the-webcomics-published-in-one/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [“...when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another . But when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/when-you-look-at-a-photo-or-realistic-drawing-of-a-face-you-see-it-as/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [By stripping down an image to essential meaning, an artist can simplify that meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/by-stripping-down-an-image-to-essential-meaning-an-artist-can/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [There's a very big part of me that just wants to take all of comics history and toss it on the bonfire. I'd sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/there-s-a-very-big-part-of-me-that-just-wants-to-take-all-of-comics/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [I had a lot of ideas on how comics worked and pretty early on I had this idea that it would be fun to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/i-had-a-lot-of-ideas-on-how-comics-worked-and-pretty-early-on-i-had/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [All through my comics career, I was always trying to reinvent the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/all-through-my-comics-career-i-was-always-trying-to-reinvent-the-form/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [My first influences were superhero artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/my-first-influences-were-superhero-artists/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [The notion of getting under the hood and explaining how something works, that's fairly familiar territory to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/the-notion-of-getting-under-the-hood-and-explaining-how-something/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [I don't think the potential for comics in nonfiction has been exploited nearly as much as it could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/i-don-t-think-the-potential-for-comics-in-nonfiction-has-been/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [Webcomics are much bigger than any one scene can circumscribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/webcomics-are-much-bigger-than-any-one-scene-can-circumscribe/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [A medium is a bridge between two minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/a-medium-is-a-bridge-between-two-minds/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [If you just write the kinds of stories you think others will want to read, you'll be competing with cartoonists who are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/if-you-just-write-the-kinds-of-stories-you-think-others-will-want-to/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [Today, comics is one of the very few forms of mass communication in which individual voices still have a chance to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/today-comics-is-one-of-the-very-few-forms-of-mass-communication-in/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [“I may have drawn an axe being raised in this example, but I'm not the one who let it drop or decided how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/i-may-have-drawn-an-axe-being-raised-in-this-example-but-i-m-not-the/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [My dad was an engineer and so I had this picture of science and technology and pursuits of the mind as being more impressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/my-dad-was-an-engineer-and-so-i-had-this-picture-of-science-and/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) [Explore all 44 Scott McCloud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea that comics stores, distributors and publishers simply 'give the customers what they want' is nonsense. 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