Marvel to Abandon Brick-and-Mortar Bookstores

[Comicopolis]

The Top Ways To Read Digital Comic Books

 

 

The future is here.

[dupont2005]

As far as bookstores dying out, I bet they outlive comic book shops.

[dupont2005]

Here is what comics I've bought from Wal Mart looked like:

 

My grandma used to get me them from either Costco or Sams Club, and they would contain 20+ issues, all different titles. Probably from the same publisher. That's how I got weird things like Aquaman in my collection even though I never was an Aquaman fan

 

That's also where she got me my four TMNT TPB's from First. They all came packaged together. All were first prints too

[dupont2005]

Was checking Comichron to see what it had in the way of Direct Market trends.

 

Comic sales to comic stores

 

TPB growth is huge!

 

 

I think that's misleading. More TPB's are being released at higher price points. Some of the print runs are extremely low. Dollars and volume may be up, but I'd bet profit margins are lower than in the past.

 

DG

I've been finding them to be bargain priced more often than not, I just bought a 300+ page MAD hardcover for $10.

[rjrjr]

1) Digital is our newsstand. I first bought comics at Stop 'n Go, a local convenience store. Riding the bike, the spinner rack, the whole deal. So as a fan I miss that. As a store owner I have really missed it for the last twenty five years or so. But the last three years (since DC 52 and the beginnings of digital) have seen a huge increase in new readers for us. Digital is our newsstand.

 

Great comparison!

 

DC Comics had some comparison information about print versus digital growth this year.

 

DC Comics Seeing Double-Digit Growth In Print & Triple-Digit Growth In Digital

 

I read the article and it is very misleading. Digit is about 10% of print today. Digital sales growth slowed this year to 25% for the first 3 quarters after having several years of 300% growth. I cannot tell from reading the above article exactly when the quote was taken from Jim Lee, but I have to believe it was not from this year or he might have just been talking about September when DC shipped the 3D comics?

 

Here is the article I'm using:

 

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/27272.html

 

Naturally, a 10 fold increase in 2010 was possible due to few comics being available digitally prior to that (going from near zero to something is going to drive huge growth.) 2011 and 2012 had 3 fold increases, which is great. But this year was much slower in growth in comparison. I've already speculated in another thread that we saw the rise of the tablet during this huge growth time period which attributed to that growth, but growth slowed this year across the board for all digital e-books (ebooks were actually down this year and hardcover books up - http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2013/11/19/hardcover-sales-growth-outpacing-ebooks-in-2013/) probably because of no new devices like the tablet to drive the growth. Another driver is going to have to come along to drive the next growth spurt in digital. Tablet sales growth has slowed this year to about 50% of 2012 and this is suppose to be halved again next year.

 

Don't get me wrong, 25%-35% growth for comics is great. But you can see at that rate (which is not sustainable without some driver), it is going to be a long, long time before digital sales overtake print sales.

 

 

 

[rjrjr]

DG

 

My point is that it doesn't matter if YOU can relate to kids. The hobby alienates people who do not think exactly like them.

 

This board has endless threads telling me how I should feel about restoration, date stamps, printing defects, pressing etc. I skip over most of it because I really don't care whether my opinion matches yours. I'm not interested in collecting with a magnifying glass and too many collectors are telling me I need to have that attitude.

 

DG

 

What you describe certainly exists on these boards. What your are forgetting - or missing - is that these boards represent an infinitesimal part of the hobby. It's a knowledgeable and passionate bunch for sure. But for every collector that collects slabbed books there are hundreds that do not. For every board member here there are hundreds of collectors that never heard of the place nor ever go online to discuss comics.

 

There are three comic book stores here in town and not a single slabbed book in any. There must be hundreds of collectors here in town if not thousands to support three stores. One other guy and myself probably own 95% of the slabs in town. If there is more than two other boardies in town, I'm unaware of it.

 

Posters on these boards forget constantly we are a small, small and very small part of the collecting hobby. So if you base observations of the general hobby on what you see here, you'll get a skewed idea of what is going on in the larger collecting universe.

 

Most of the collectors I know (that have kids or nieces/nephews) would love for kids to take an interest in comics and would not fret the wear and tear on such. The later Millennials (say born early 1990's) and Generation Z just don't have a lot of interest in comics. They are however into the characters. They just want them in games, movies and on TV.

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

 

[rjrjr]

I forgot the article that says what percentage of total sales is digital:

 

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/26202.html

 

I'm expecting Digital sales to be between $85 and $95 million in 2013.

 

Also, you can see on the chart that comic sales passed graphic novel sales last year. I'm guessing that will be the case for 2013 too.

[dupont2005]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

[rjrjr]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

 

 

For most of us collectors who have kids, getting our kids to read comics (comics are free for my kids) is not an easy endeavour. My son would rather play video games, watch movies, or play sports. My daughter would rather read a book, play with friends, or play sports. It's not an easy sell. I've heard other mention this on the boards and I've seen it at conventions. My kids do read the occasional comic, but I don't see that being the case when they move out of the house.

 

And I have hundreds of comics and TPBs they can read at any time and condition isn't a factor.

 

There is a reason why comic sales have dropped significantly over the years. Yes, availability, content, price, etc. have all contributed to that drop, but a huge piece of that puzzle is lack of interest by kids. Reading superheroes in tights is only going to appeal to so many people, regardless of how age appropriate or good the stories are.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s, when comics were available on the news stand and elsewhere, this was also the case. Sure, there were more comic readers, but you'd be lucky if 1 out of 20 kids were interested in comics. Even then, comics were for geeks. Today it is more acceptable to read comics and we have even less readers.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

Was checking Comichron to see what it had in the way of Direct Market trends.

 

Comic sales to comic stores

 

TPB growth is huge!

 

 

I think that's misleading. More TPB's are being released at higher price points. Some of the print runs are extremely low. Dollars and volume may be up, but I'd bet profit margins are lower than in the past.

 

DG

I've been finding them to be bargain priced more often than not, I just bought a 300+ page MAD hardcover for $10.

 

Yes, but these are Diamond numbers. Just because a retailer sold it to you at a bargain, doesn't mean the publisher sold it to Diamond at a bargain. That paints a terrible picture if Diamond's number are increasing while retailers are flushing them out with very little markup or possibly even at a loss.

 

DG

[rjrjr]

Was checking Comichron to see what it had in the way of Direct Market trends.

 

Comic sales to comic stores

 

TPB growth is huge!

 

 

I think that's misleading. More TPB's are being released at higher price points. Some of the print runs are extremely low. Dollars and volume may be up, but I'd bet profit margins are lower than in the past.

 

DG

I've been finding them to be bargain priced more often than not, I just bought a 300+ page MAD hardcover for $10.

 

Yes, but these are Diamond numbers. Just because a retailer sold it to you at a bargain, doesn't mean the publisher sold it to Diamond at a bargain. That paints a terrible picture if Diamond's number are increasing while retailers are flushing them out with very little markup or possibly even at a loss.

 

DG

 

 

Marvel has done quite a few dumps these past 2 years of HC/TPB stock at really, really low prices on the big bookstores. I'm guessing HC/TPB sales to chain bookstores are not as healthy are Marvel would like. (I'm guessing the chain bookstores are really abandoning Marvel and not the other way around. The article tells why this is probably the case.)

 

How many others have picked up Marvel HCs at rock bottom prices? I know Mile High also seems to have a ton of them available at really, really low prices when Marvel does this warehouse clearing.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

 

 

For most of us collectors who have kids, getting our kids to read comics (comics are free for my kids) is not an easy endeavour. My son would rather play video games, watch movies, or play sports. My daughter would rather read a book, play with friends, or play sports. It's not an easy sell. I've heard other mention this on the boards and I've seen it at conventions. My kids do read the occasional comic, but I don't see that being the case when they move out of the house.

 

And I have hundreds of comics and TPBs they can read at any time and condition isn't a factor.

 

There is a reason why comic sales have dropped significantly over the years. Yes, availability, content, price, etc. have all contributed to that drop, but a huge piece of that puzzle is lack of interest by kids. Reading superheroes in tights is only going to appeal to so many people, regardless of how age appropriate or good the stories are.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s, when comics were available on the news stand and elsewhere, this was also the case. Sure, there were more comic readers, but you'd be lucky if 1 out of 20 kids were interested in comics. Even then, comics were for geeks. Today it is more acceptable to read comics and we have even less readers.

 

Don't forget that the 70's had some pretty diverse content. Publishers weren't relying entirely on superheroes. Excluding underground comics, all mainstream titles were made with kids in mind. Marvel wrote stories for kids while using dialogue at a college age reading level. Comics were educational. We had western, war, horror and humor comics. You had an idea what type of story you were getting from the title you were buying. Marketing to the consumer was targeted. The covers were designed to stand out and entice. Text was put on the cover to pique curiosity. All the lessons that were learned in the first 30 years of publishing became lost when the direct market took over and publisher didn't have the financial risk of taking back returns. Publishers used to do marketing surveys and encourage fan clubs. They had a reliable base of low budget advertisers to help generate revenue. Effort was actually taken to market the product and engage the consumer. There were letter pages, editorials, and no-prizes. You had to buy the comics to see what the creators were thinking. You didn't log into a web page and see news about a reboot of something every three months. The things I read online about comics deter me from wanting them.

 

There is some diversity out there, but you have to be "in the know" to figure out what you are buying. To an outsider, titles like "Revival" and "Unity" don't give you a clue as to what you are buying. Are they religious comics? Nobody is putting thought into what the consumer thinks when they see this stuff on the shelf.

 

The publisher expects the retailer to promote the material. Diamond and the Retailer expect the publisher to promote the material. The publisher markets to the store through Previews. The stores have no budget, so they sit around waiting for consumers to walk in the door. Very little is done to target the guy on the street.

 

How expensive would it be to drop a few TPB's in the waiting rooms at a doctors office or a car repair shop? How expensive would it be for Marvel to collaborate with retailers and publish activity books with comics for grocery stores entrances or fast food chains?

 

These people are doing very little, because everyone expects someone else to promote the comics.

 

DG

[rjrjr]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

 

 

For most of us collectors who have kids, getting our kids to read comics (comics are free for my kids) is not an easy endeavour. My son would rather play video games, watch movies, or play sports. My daughter would rather read a book, play with friends, or play sports. It's not an easy sell. I've heard other mention this on the boards and I've seen it at conventions. My kids do read the occasional comic, but I don't see that being the case when they move out of the house.

 

And I have hundreds of comics and TPBs they can read at any time and condition isn't a factor.

 

There is a reason why comic sales have dropped significantly over the years. Yes, availability, content, price, etc. have all contributed to that drop, but a huge piece of that puzzle is lack of interest by kids. Reading superheroes in tights is only going to appeal to so many people, regardless of how age appropriate or good the stories are.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s, when comics were available on the news stand and elsewhere, this was also the case. Sure, there were more comic readers, but you'd be lucky if 1 out of 20 kids were interested in comics. Even then, comics were for geeks. Today it is more acceptable to read comics and we have even less readers.

 

Don't forget that the 70's had some pretty diverse content. Publishers weren't relying entirely on superheroes. Excluding underground comics, all mainstream titles were made with kids in mind. Marvel wrote stories for kids while using dialogue at a college age reading level. Comics were educational. We had western, war, horror and humor comics. You had an idea what type of story you were getting from the title you were buying. Marketing to the consumer was targeted. The covers were designed to stand out and entice. Text was put on the cover to pique curiosity. All the lessons that were learned in the first 30 years of publishing became lost when the direct market took over and publisher didn't have the financial risk of taking back returns. Publishers used to do marketing surveys and encourage fan clubs. They had a reliable base of low budget advertisers to help generate revenue. Effort was actually taken to market the product and engage the consumer. There were letter pages, editorials, and no-prizes. You had to buy the comics to see what the creators were thinking. You didn't log into a web page and see news about a reboot of something every three months. The things I read online about comics deter me from wanting them.

 

There is some diversity out there, but you have to be "in the know" to figure out what you are buying. To an outsider, titles like "Revival" and "Unity" don't give you a clue as to what you are buying. Are they religious comics? Nobody is putting thought into what the consumer thinks when they see this stuff on the shelf.

 

The publisher expects the retailer to promote the material. Diamond and the Retailer expect the publisher to promote the material. The publisher markets to the store through Previews. The stores have no budget, so they sit around waiting for consumers to walk in the door. Very little is done to target the guy on the street.

 

How expensive would it be to drop a few TPB's in the waiting rooms at a doctors office or a car repair shop? How expensive would it be for Marvel to collaborate with retailers and publish activity books with comics for grocery stores entrances or fast food chains?

 

These people are doing very little, because everyone expects someone else to promote the comics.

 

DG

 

DG:

 

I get what you are saying about the diverse product.

 

You have to admit, you can't really promote the superhero books any more than they are. They are on TV, in the movies, on cartoons, in video games, on cereal boxes and other food products, in toys aisles, at libraries, on posters, etc. There is no kid in this country that is not aware of the superhero characters and that they are from comic books. Look through a Scholastic Order form sometime and you'll see what I mean as a good 20% or more of the products in those things are based on superheroes. And yet, those titles don't sell in big numbers. I don't believe 100,000 copies or even 200,000 copies of a comic in a country that has 350,000,000 people is very many. And most titles are 60,000 copies or less. Let's face it, people know about the comics, and they could care less. Whether it is because of price, content, availability, or what not. Hey, if Marvel decides they don't need to distribute to mainstream book stores any more, what can you really do?

 

The non-superhero books are mostly aimed at adults. Promoting them might bring in adults, but I'm guessing not many kids. As the comic readership ages, it doesn't surprise me that Image and some of the indies are capturing more of the market share. I expect that trend to continue and won't be surprised if in a few years Marvel and DC have 50% or less of the market.

 

I honestly am okay with all this. I couldn't afford any more new comics on my pull list anyway. I'm happy with the selection and what I buy. (Minus the variants.) I'm moving more towards back issues as the years go by, having left superheroes behind completely a few years ago. I only buy what I can afford, never buy with profit as a motive, and enjoy what I buy.

[the blob]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

 

 

For most of us collectors who have kids, getting our kids to read comics (comics are free for my kids) is not an easy endeavour. My son would rather play video games, watch movies, or play sports. My daughter would rather read a book, play with friends, or play sports. It's not an easy sell. I've heard other mention this on the boards and I've seen it at conventions. My kids do read the occasional comic, but I don't see that being the case when they move out of the house.

 

And I have hundreds of comics and TPBs they can read at any time and condition isn't a factor.

 

There is a reason why comic sales have dropped significantly over the years. Yes, availability, content, price, etc. have all contributed to that drop, but a huge piece of that puzzle is lack of interest by kids. Reading superheroes in tights is only going to appeal to so many people, regardless of how age appropriate or good the stories are.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s, when comics were available on the news stand and elsewhere, this was also the case. Sure, there were more comic readers, but you'd be lucky if 1 out of 20 kids were interested in comics. Even then, comics were for geeks. Today it is more acceptable to read comics and we have even less readers.

 

I have to admit that while my 8 year old likes comics (though he prefers to read them in tpb/GN form to floppy), the last 2 times I tried to GIVE comics away to 5-6 year olds at my office (the grandson of a co-worker and the son of another), neither was at all interested. mind you, the 9 year old older sister of the 5-6 year old boy IS interested ... in Archie and what not. So...small sample size, 2 out of 4 with more interest among more advanced readers (while i don't think it really makes a difference, all their parents have graduate degrees). when i hand out the free preview type comics i get at the comic shop at halloween they move quickly to the 10-15 year old crowd, but maybe they chuck them when they get home. funny thing is, when i went to the office yesterday I had just stopped by midtown and was carrying a bag...the security guard, a guy from pakistan who probably came over 10-15 years ago when a teenager, was thrilled to see I was a comic reader, he says he goes to midtown every wed on new comic day...go figure.

 

as for circulation, abandoning broad circulation at newstands/convenience stores, etc. and raising prices so much has a lot to do with current circulation numbers. based on current rates of alleged inflation since 1983, the 60 cent comic should be a little under $1.50 today. sure, they use better paper/inks, etc. now and talent isn't paid starvation wages (not that any of the stars were paid starvation wages in 1983), but other stuff has probably lowered production costs like computerized this and that, the ability to work from home, etc. i see it all the time at my local shop...an adult comes in to buy some comics for a kid (either their own or a nephiew or whatever) and are freaked out by the $3-$4 cover prices on kids comics. i honestly believe that at $1.50 a pop comics would be a much easier impulse buy/child pacifier for parents dragging their kids around if they were available more broadly...problem is, stores probably don't want to devote shelf space to such cheap stuff and honestly, i do not know if the comic cos could turn a profit even if they sold 150% more comics at half the current cover prices (presumably they could charge more for advertising?) instead, marvel pumps out $9.95 magazines to sell in the magazine section of drug stores...$9.95 for a comic magazine is going to freak out most parents, particularly nowadays when everyone is broke.

 

 

[dgarthwaite-migration]

Nobody seems to understand marketing!

 

Marketing is the art of making someone want a product. Placing an ad is one form of marketing. Any public exposure can be a form of marketing. Marketing is far more than just making someone aware of the product. It's the art of making them want a product.

 

Let's say I have a product. I dug it up out in the woods. It's called dirt. Yep! I want to sell you dirt. You laugh. You scoff. I seal it in a plastic bag and label it "potting soil". I now have a target audience where there wasn't one before. Gardening supply stores will buy it and stock it.

 

The reason the general public isn't buying comics in larger numbers has more to do with marketing than it does with the product itself.

 

Until they market comics to the general public and make an effort to reduce prices, the product will start to disappear more and more.

 

DG

[Tony S]

rj & DG - I really like what both of you are saying. I think both of you are mostly agreeing with each other.

 

The publishers - especially the big two - are letting the market for comic books slowly shrink and die. Because today - this year - they can make the most and easiest money selling ever more expensive comics directly to comic shops for purchase by people that consider themselves collectors.

 

Just as DG says, to expand the readership base the publishers would need to get comics out to the general public (Walmart, grocery and drug stores) and reduce prices.

 

Think about it. Even if a 13 year old leaves the Avengers movie all pumped up and wants to read some of the comics - he/she has to get himself to a comic book store. He can't go with his one of his parents to the grocery store and spot an issue on a spinner rack that he asks for - or buys himself. And even were this young potential new customer to see the current issue of the Avengers on the rack, the $4 price point makes it beyond the "impulse" purchase that a comic book needs to be.

 

That young, new potential reader has to be motivated enough to convince someone to find and take him to a comic book store. And pay $4 for a single comic. So despite millions watching super hero movies, very few new readers.

 

Obviously Marvel doesn't feel it's worth the effort to reach such a new potential audience and sell them a comic for $1.50 or less. They made hundreds of millions on the movie.

 

Which really is why I no longer purchase new comics. If the publishers don't care about the product and it's long term viability - why should I?

[Speedy-D]

rj & DG - I really like what both of you are saying. I think both of you are mostly agreeing with each other.

 

The publishers - especially the big two - are letting the market for comic books slowly shrink and die. Because today - this year - they can make the most and easiest money selling ever more expensive comics directly to comic shops for purchase by people that consider themselves collectors.

 

Just as DG says, to expand the readership base the publishers would need to get comics out to the general public (Walmart, grocery and drug stores) and reduce prices.

 

Think about it. Even if a 13 year old leaves the Avengers movie all pumped up and wants to read some of the comics - he/she has to get himself to a comic book store. He can't go with his one of his parents to the grocery store and spot an issue on a spinner rack that he asks for - or buys himself. And even were this young potential new customer to see the current issue of the Avengers on the rack, the $4 price point makes it beyond the "impulse" purchase that a comic book needs to be.

 

That young, new potential reader has to be motivated enough to convince someone to find and take him to a comic book store. And pay $4 for a single comic. So despite millions watching super hero movies, very few new readers.

 

Obviously Marvel doesn't feel it's worth the effort to reach such a new potential audience and sell them a comic for $1.50 or less. They made hundreds of millions on the movie.

 

Which really is why I no longer purchase new comics. If the publishers don't care about the product and it's long term viability - why should I?

He can get it on his iPad while him mom's still pulling out of the parking lot. Assuming he's nicked her credit card while she was in the loo after the show.

[MrBedrock]

rj & DG - I really like what both of you are saying. I think both of you are mostly agreeing with each other.

 

The publishers - especially the big two - are letting the market for comic books slowly shrink and die. Because today - this year - they can make the most and easiest money selling ever more expensive comics directly to comic shops for purchase by people that consider themselves collectors.

 

Just as DG says, to expand the readership base the publishers would need to get comics out to the general public (Walmart, grocery and drug stores) and reduce prices.

 

Think about it. Even if a 13 year old leaves the Avengers movie all pumped up and wants to read some of the comics - he/she has to get himself to a comic book store. He can't go with his one of his parents to the grocery store and spot an issue on a spinner rack that he asks for - or buys himself. And even were this young potential new customer to see the current issue of the Avengers on the rack, the $4 price point makes it beyond the "impulse" purchase that a comic book needs to be.

 

That young, new potential reader has to be motivated enough to convince someone to find and take him to a comic book store. And pay $4 for a single comic. So despite millions watching super hero movies, very few new readers.

 

Obviously Marvel doesn't feel it's worth the effort to reach such a new potential audience and sell them a comic for $1.50 or less. They made hundreds of millions on the movie.

 

Which really is why I no longer purchase new comics. If the publishers don't care about the product and it's long term viability - why should I?

What's wrong with going to the comic store?

[dupont2005]

 

+1

 

You could give comics to kids for free (paper or digital) and most still wouldn't be interested in reading them. There is too much other entertainment that is interesting to them.

I don't believe that. Movies, cartoons, video games, they all existed when I was a kid, but I loved comics. I was artistic. I loved to draw. I also loved to read. Comics were a great fit for me. In school there were only a couple other kids into comics, so it wasn't like the 1940's when every kid had a comic book rolled up in their back pocket, but we still look at the 80's as before comics abandoned kids. If comics didn't abandon kids (and they did. I know you can find kids comics if you're an expert and special order BOOM! titles from the LCS, but for the average impulse buying kid, they don't exist) then I think kids would still read comics. Now, if you give them one of these crappy modern super hero comics geared toward 35 year old perverts they might not like them, but if comics were still made for kids, kids would still like them.

 

 

For most of us collectors who have kids, getting our kids to read comics (comics are free for my kids) is not an easy endeavour. My son would rather play video games, watch movies, or play sports. My daughter would rather read a book, play with friends, or play sports. It's not an easy sell. I've heard other mention this on the boards and I've seen it at conventions. My kids do read the occasional comic, but I don't see that being the case when they move out of the house.

 

And I have hundreds of comics and TPBs they can read at any time and condition isn't a factor.

 

There is a reason why comic sales have dropped significantly over the years. Yes, availability, content, price, etc. have all contributed to that drop, but a huge piece of that puzzle is lack of interest by kids. Reading superheroes in tights is only going to appeal to so many people, regardless of how age appropriate or good the stories are.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s, when comics were available on the news stand and elsewhere, this was also the case. Sure, there were more comic readers, but you'd be lucky if 1 out of 20 kids were interested in comics. Even then, comics were for geeks. Today it is more acceptable to read comics and we have even less readers.

 

Don't forget that the 70's had some pretty diverse content. Publishers weren't relying entirely on superheroes. Excluding underground comics, all mainstream titles were made with kids in mind. Marvel wrote stories for kids while using dialogue at a college age reading level. Comics were educational. We had western, war, horror and humor comics. You had an idea what type of story you were getting from the title you were buying. Marketing to the consumer was targeted. The covers were designed to stand out and entice. Text was put on the cover to pique curiosity. All the lessons that were learned in the first 30 years of publishing became lost when the direct market took over and publisher didn't have the financial risk of taking back returns. Publishers used to do marketing surveys and encourage fan clubs. They had a reliable base of low budget advertisers to help generate revenue. Effort was actually taken to market the product and engage the consumer. There were letter pages, editorials, and no-prizes. You had to buy the comics to see what the creators were thinking. You didn't log into a web page and see news about a reboot of something every three months. The things I read online about comics deter me from wanting them.

 

There is some diversity out there, but you have to be "in the know" to figure out what you are buying. To an outsider, titles like "Revival" and "Unity" don't give you a clue as to what you are buying. Are they religious comics? Nobody is putting thought into what the consumer thinks when they see this stuff on the shelf.

 

The publisher expects the retailer to promote the material. Diamond and the Retailer expect the publisher to promote the material. The publisher markets to the store through Previews. The stores have no budget, so they sit around waiting for consumers to walk in the door. Very little is done to target the guy on the street.

 

How expensive would it be to drop a few TPB's in the waiting rooms at a doctors office or a car repair shop? How expensive would it be for Marvel to collaborate with retailers and publish activity books with comics for grocery stores entrances or fast food chains?

 

These people are doing very little, because everyone expects someone else to promote the comics.

 

DG

I agree with this post 100%

 

 

Except the college level dialogue in 70's comics. I would at least hope college kids are able to handle a bit more than that.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

An added problem is that reducing the price point will not immediately increase sales and orders. Price increases drove people away slowly, and the reader base will not come back immediately. The publishers need to systematically rebuild the readership they've lost through thoughtful planning. They need to look at the demographics and make them appeal to a wider range of people. The target audience of most comics is men over 40. Simply coming out with a children's line to sit on the shelves alongside and adult title doesn't increase the volume. There is no logical transition from buying a child's line of comics to buying one where a hero is murdered or kisses their gay lover. Comics need to be written so that adults and children can read them. One big criticism against Dark Horse's reboot of the Gold Key characters was that Jim Shooter had some pretty extreme sexual overtones to the plots. That's fine for adults, but the criticism is completely valid. You shrink the demographics... the potential audience size... when a story has only adult themes or only a child's theme. Comics need every consumer they can attract. Marvel has made movies that can appeal to both kids and adults. They can make comics that do the same.

 

The publisher's need to focus on building the core characters back up. That means treating them with respect. About 10 years ago I bought a Silver Surfer comic and he was barely even in the comic. The story was about some woman on the street and Silver Surfer just flew around at the edge of space for a few panels. Industry professionals need to be huddled together in a conference room and take the time to understand Alex Toth's criticisms against Steve Rude.

 

http://illdave.com/comicbooks/history/toth-critiques-rude.htm

 

Toth was trying to help Steve Rude do his job better and Steve Rude is quite competent as a creator. Toth summed it up well, "You're too good to be so bad!" This is true of many creators today, but most aren't even as good as Steve Rude.

 

One of the easiest ways to increase value and interest in a comic is to get rid of wasted space that drags out a story. Customers are complaining about the pacing. How many people just walked away from buying a series without saying anything? Publishers need to do something about it.

 

Every comic artists should have Stan's criticisms memorized from this video.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/MoMa27XS6FI

 

Here is a tutorial that conveys action so that the readers sees that something is actually happening.

http://youtu.be/OLx57FWCdz0

 

Here is a tutorial on panel layout and it shows how to condense action.

http://youtu.be/j594K6rqX6k

 

This is all critical layout information that made Marvel Comics stand out in the 60's and 70's.

 

Do we really need another comic with heroes doing nothing and just staring at potential buyers?

 

Is there any reason for me to want a comic with a cover like that?

 

DG