City of Demons with creator writer Parker Newman

March 8, 2026·1 hr 8 min·4 clips

Parker Newman says Blood Moon shut down the month City of Demons was set to publish.

It starts loose. The host welcomes Parker Newman, writer and creator of City of Demons, and talks about the book like it is sitting on the counter between them. Store talk leads. A sighting in Arizona turns into indie distribution, Frederick getting photos, and the little jolt of seeing small press books actually reach the shelves. The Diamond debacle sits in the background. Parker treats the distribution shift as a real problem for small press and independent publishers, where simply getting into shops can feel like a victory lap. Then the chat opens up into the larger comics business. City of Demons gives way to events, reboots, and new issue ones from the major publishers. The mood stays fan-first. Nobody pretends fresh starts, extra covers, and fast sales bumps make no business sense, but the concern is obvious: readers can only be pushed so many times. DC becomes the comparison point. Too many events make each one feel smaller, and Marvel's frequent restarts come off like a quick hit with a bill due later. The practical stuff lands best. Pull boxes, canceled runs, changing writers, shifting themes, and consumer engagement all come up without making the episode feel like a panel transcript. There is still room for hype, including another competitor universe catching fire and a coming Deathstroke book they are excited about. City of Demons circles back near the close, with Parker clearly fired up about what the book is tapping into. The host sends listeners to the show notes and their comic shop. The ending is very comics shop: put it on your pull, then ignore the stray unrelated ad audio after the goodbye.

As heard by us

A grounded comics conversation about shelf presence, small press churn, and earning reader trust.

Parker Newman’s City of Demons reads like a practical comics talk, grounded in real shelf life rather than big theory. It starts with books turning up in Arizona and Charlotte, then settles into the harder part of the work: how small press titles move through a market that keeps…

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Why you'd press play

You want creator-owned comics talk with real shelf stakes and a live look at how small-press books reach stores.

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