An Analysis of the Comic Book Industry’s Issues
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2011 Shawn James
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please go to Smashwords.com and purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Published by SJS DIRECT Bronx, NY 10456. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from Shawn James.
Is this the end of the Comic Book?
The comic book has been an American institution since World War II. While the strips themselves remain popular, the industry standard medium used to publish them in retail over the past 70 years, the 32-page comic book is becoming unsustainable. In the wake of changing economic forces, I have to ask: this the end of the Comic Book?
In its golden age, from the late 1930’s to the mid 1950’s comic books like Superman, Batman, and Shazam sold over 3-5 million copies a month. Today a bestselling comic book barely sells 70,000 copies and many struggle to sell on average 15,000-25,000 copies a month. In the wake of these declining numbers many publishers like Time Warner’s DC Comics and Disney’s Marvel Comics are relying more and more on product licensing such as toys, video games, movies and television to stay profitable and keep their characters relevant with younger audiences.
Currently the average age of a comic book reader is 35, and the audience for comic books is getting older, not younger. Since the Comic book industry bust of 1994 following The Death of Superman, the industry has not attracted any new readers from any demographic in over 16 years.
In the wake of the industry decline, the business model for publishing comic books is under tremendous pressure. With no new readers to sustain growth, publishers have been raising prices to cover their printing costs for a shrinking comic book audience. Unfortunately, those price hikes seem to have hit a market threshold. The few remaining older readers have balked at recent price hikes of $2.99 and $3.99, and aren’t willing to pay anymore for a 32-page comic book. Comparatively, a 300 page pocket paperback book only costs $6.99 and a 300 page trade paperback book is $15.00.
With prices at the market threshold, comic book publishers are reaching a breaking point for the medium in its current 32-page state. After paying their writers and artists for their work and then paying for printing of the books themselves, comic book publishers have to offer distributors like Diamond and retailers like Barnes & Noble a 55-60 percent discount to get their product on store shelves. With just a 30-day window for sales, and a 30-day shelf life for product at retail, the profit margin for comic book publishers has narrowed to just a few cents per copy.
In between a shrinking older audience, high production costs, and high retailer discounts, the business model for the 32-page comic book has become difficult to maintain over the past few years. Soon it will become unsustainable.
The 32-page comic book is dead. Only the comic fans don’t know it yet.
Most publishers have fought to keep the 32-page comic book in print out of tradition to that small base of readers and to maintain the trademarks to their large catalogs of characters, but soon this will not make any financial sense. There aren’t enough readers available from the older reading audience to sustain the business model for 32-page comic books long-term. Eventually publishers will have to look at more profitable products to present the medium of comic strips on.
In stores such as Rite Aid, CVS, Toys R Us, and Kmart the 32-page comic book has become irrelevant to consumers. With no children to notice them, the thin books easily get lost on retailer racks next to larger magazines and ignored by the largely female audience that frequents these venues to shop. At Bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders they’re routinely stuck on revolving racks in the back of the magazine section and also ignored by the largely female audiences who shop there. Over the course of 30 days, the books wind up damaged, soiled, and unsold.
Unfortunately, unlike magazines, comic books can’t be returned to the publisher for credit. So retailers who buy them are stuck with them until they sell all the inventories of titles they have regardless of what condition they’re in. As a result of this constant merchandise shrinkage and turnover of product with no profit, many retailers, bookstores and newsstands have stopped carrying comic books.
In order for the comic strip to survive, the medium will have to find a medium with a business model that’s more profitable than the current comic book. It’s clear publishers must find a product to present strips in with a longer shelf life, appeals to big box, and bookstore retailers in addition to comic shops, and can be visible to customers whether displayed spine out or cover forward on store shelves. Any new product will definitely be bigger than 32 pages.
Current products that will allow the comic book industry to adapt to a more profitable business model include digest magazines, hardcover books and trade paperbacks. Bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Amazon like the trade paperback and hardcover omnibus editions. These books have a shelf life that can last years. Moreover, they can be displayed spine out on or facing cover forward on a bookstore shelf.
Smaller retailers like Target, Kmart, Rite Aid, and CVS will probably prefer the wider, larger, digest sized comic books like Archie Comics currently produces and large 500 page magazine sized books like Shonen Jump. Both are cheaper to print, are more visible to casual customers and have a longer shelf life than 30 days. In addition, the digest and magazine sized comic offer more pages for advertising than the current 32-page comic book to cover the cost of printing and production.
These comic strip mediums can be competitively priced with paperback books, e-books and magazines. In the case of paperbacks, digests and hardcovers, retailer discounts offer an opportunity for publishers to lower prices and target new audiences of casual readers in addition to comic fans. $14.99 for a trade paperback or $7.00 for a 500 page digest magazine is more of a value to a casual consumer than paying $18-$24 for six 32-page comic books.
Currently the industry uses hardcovers, paperbacks and e-comics to present mostly reprint material. The obsolete 32-page books are still used to publish new stories. Moreover, the industry continues to use the obsolete business model for publishing 32-page comics to sell trade paperbacks and e-comics. That’s going to have to change if the comic book is going to survive into the next century.
Along with the change in comic mediums, comic book publishers will have to adapt to a new editorial and creative model for writing, drawing, and publishing comic strips. The Graphic novel, a self-contained story that tells a story using comic strips in one volume will have to become the new industry standard for publishing stories featuring comic book characters. They’ll probably be 96-180 pages long and be released on a bimonthly or quarterly schedule.
There will probably be an adjustment period as editors, writers and artists adapt to a longer production schedule of 60-180 days between titles. This larger window for production turnaround may mean fewer books being produced per year, but overall comic products that will have better editorial and creative control than the current 32-page comic book.
In addition the graphic novel model must offer more creative freedom for writers, artists and editors. Currently comic books published at Disney’s Marvel and Time Warner’s DC are restricted by a tight decades-long continuity where events in one comic book story directly affect events in another. This continuity is extremely difficult for new writers and artists to work with and for new readers to access on bookstore shelves.
When the industry transitions to graphic novels it must do away with the baggage of continuity and start fresh. It’s the only way to offer new readers access to characters. Moreover it allows writers and artists an opportunity to write stories where they aren’t restricted by the decisions of previous writers and artists. In most cases a graphic novels’ story should be resolved at the end of the single volume so readers can have the option to pick and choose stories they want to read.
The only thing preventing comic book industry from completely adapting to a new business model is their loyalty to a small audience of aging comic book readers. And unfortunately most of those older readers are resistant to change. However, as the declining business model forces publishers of the medium to meet a cross-road in the next few years, they’ll be forced to either adapt to a more profitable business model or die.
It’s the end of an era for the comic book. But the beginning of a new era for the graphic novel.
The Comic Book Industry is NOT Too Big To fail
Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are icons to most comic fans.
Bear Stearns was an icon in the financial world. They no longer exist.
Woolworth’s Gimbels, Montgomery Ward, Alexander’s and Abraham and Strauss were icons in the retail world.
They no longer exist.
Borders was an icon in the book retail business for close to 40 years. Considered one of the retail juggernauts in the book business at one time.
They’re out of business now.
Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are icons to comic fans Today.
But they can easily be forgotten in 20 years if the comic book industry continues on its course.
The Comic book industry is not too big to fail.
In fact, the comic book industry has gotten so small that it’s in the right place to fail. With readership declining to the point where top-selling titles barely sell 50,000-70,000 copies a month and audiences finding cheaper forms of entertainment over the past twenty years comic books are right on the brink of extinction.
There are over 300 million people in the United States. Currently most people under 35 don’t care about comic books. And many under 12 don’t know what a comic book is. Moreover, those under 12, don’t need a comic book to be entertained these days.
But tell this to a comic fan or person working in the comic book industry and they’ll tell you that their favorite
heroes are icons. That they’re starring in movies and have their pictures on everything from T-Shirts to oven mitts. That they’ll be around forever.
And what happened to Dick Tracy, Brenda Starr, Little Orphan Annie, Tarzan and the Lone Ranger will never happen to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman or any superhero.
They’re in such denial about the problems plaguing the industry they don’t see the calm before the storm.
The licensing today of comic book characters on merchandise today is barely keeping the industry afloat. And the catalog of heroes who can maintain a presence at the box-office is small. Moreover, interest in big-budget superhero movies is starting to wane. This year’s superhero movies have not done the blockbuster business of films like Iron Man and The Dark Knight. In fact, this year, those kinds of movies actually saw declines in ticket sales.
The Comic book industry is not too big to fail.
Right now kids are having a hard time relating to today’s comic book characters. Even some adults are having a hard time relating to them because the material is so dark and graphically violent. They don’t identify with comic book characters, nor do they see their experiences reflected in current comic book stories. Because comic publishers are so out-of-touch with their readership, there hasn’t been a new breakout comic book character in over 20 years.
And no one creatively is developing characters significant to the early 21st Century or dealing with issues relating to the 21st Century. For example, Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent works at a newspaper, The Daily Planet. And in the 21st Century newspapers are going out of business left and right. So where’s Clark going to work in 20 years? Or even five years in a world where people get their news on an ipad, a laptop, or a cellphone?
Comic books used to be a fusion of art and politics. A commentary on the times of a period. Relatable to the problems of readers 18 and under.
But the publishers of the medium refuse to adapt material to relate to anything past the 1990’s and people 35 and older. An audience that’s shrinking with each passing day.
If the comic book industry continues to develop product for an increasingly older audience instead of targeting younger readers it won’t become too big to fail. It’ll be too small to survive. Today’s icons easily can become yesterday’s relics.
Why Comic Book Reboots Fail.
Since 1986, comic book publishers like Marvel and DC have relied on “reboots” to keep their characters fresh in the eyes of readers and to allow new readers to start reading a character’s adventures. The “reboot” concept usually requires editorial to end a long-running original series of a comic book and start over with a new number one issue. The new number one issue usually starts with an updated character origin, and a more contemporary premise.
Usually these rebooted characters are written, drawn and penciled by critically acclaimed writers and artists. And things flow smoothly for about the first 36 or 50 issues.
Then the wheels fall off the bus.
Around the 36th or 50th issue, members of the original critically acclaimed creative team who started the series leave the book. Then or the 37th or 51st issue, new lesser known artists and writers are hired to write and draw the character’s adventures. Unfortunately, it’s during the transition period between creative teams that problems arise.
As the new writers and artists try to find their footing creatively, the quality of the stories and art declines. The books’ sales start to decline and interest in the character wanes among comic readers.
Nowadays, many titles at Marvel and DC are now actually on their second, third, fourth and fifth and even sixth number one issues. What causes all these titles to collapse again a couple of years after starting over so soon?
From what I’ve observed over the past two and a half decades studying the comic book industry, a title’s creative and sales decline began during the transitional period after the initial acclaimed creative team left a title and the second lesser known creative team began its run.
What was the cause of that collapse during the transitional period? Was it the new writer? Was it the new artist? Was it a lack of chemistry between the two? In a lot of cases I couldn’t blame either the writers or the artists. Most of those writers and artists have done solid work in the past. And most went on to do other work elsewhere that was top quality.
Personally, I think what causes this collapse when one creative team leaves and another takes the reigns of a title is a lack of leadership and guidance creators have received from the editorial department. I have to wonder in a lot of cases: Did the editor make sure the new writer read all the old issues of the run before plotting their new stories? Did the editor make sure the writer had a good handle of the character by discussing their plans for the series long-term? Did the artist read all the previous issues to get a “feel” for the character? Did the artist submit model sheets for the characters? Do they have a feel for the character’s overall design? Did the writer and the artist meet with each other and the editor to discuss their short and long-term plans for the series? Are both on the same page with the editor about maintaining the mission for the character while they tell their stories?
It was clear to me by reading a few comics in transitional period between the old and new creative teams that editorial didn’t sit down with both the old writer and the new writer to plan a solid direction for the title when it was time to prepare the issues transitioning between the acclaimed author and a secondary writer. Moreover, during meetings with the second writer there wasn’t time taken to examine their work thoroughly to make sure they had a clear understanding of the character. In a lot of cases, the new writer often didn’t have a good sense of the character’s personality or “voice” before they took to the keyboard to write the story.
It was also clear to me that editorial didn’t make sure that the artist had a solid understanding of what the character looked like. A lot of times it felt like the artist hadn’t practiced enough to get a “feel” for those little nuances that make a comic book character distinct. In some cases like later 2001-2002 issues of Iron Man volume 2, and Captain America Volume 2, the character design changed from panel to panel and page to page.
Reboots in the comic book industry are a clear sign that there isn’t something wrong with the writers or the artists. It’s a clear sign that there’s something wrong with editorial management at comic book publishers. Without consistent direction and leadership from editorial to provide comic book writers and artists with guidance on how to work within structure and form of house standards, series start out strong with the first more experienced creative team and then quickly falls apart when the second inexperienced creative team comes on.
And instead of editorial management working on a comprehensive business plan that allows for a smoother transition between the issues where the old creative team leaves and the new one starts, they just take the lazy route when sales decline end the series and start over.
Again.
Again.
And again.
And again.
To the aggravation and frustration of old readers and new ones.
This kind of incompetent leadership is one of the reasons why the comic book industry continues its two decades long decline downward spiral into oblivion. When long-running comic book series have five new number one issues over the course of twenty years, it’s a sign there’s apathy in editorial. This indifference from the top for the medium trickles down to the writers and the artists and leads to their work becoming more and more uninspired with each new number one issue.
The constant rebooting of comic book titles devalue the characters in the eyes of the reader and the general public. Each time there’s a new number one issue it gives veteran readers a reason to stop caring about characters they grew up with because they feel “their” stories ended with the last issue of the previous volume. Moreover the debut of a new first issue makes new readers indifferent to what makes a comic book characters great because they have no historical standpoint to connect them to the character emotionally.
Some say the new number one issues allow new readers to “jump on” a series easily, but where’s the customer’s incentive to buy back issues and pick up those stories they missed out on? Where’s the new customer’s security in knowing that the new series featuring said character will continue if the old one was cancelled so abruptly? Why should they continue buying a comic book series if there’s going to be a new number one issue in 36-72 months and the current series will end with no definite conclusion?
Storytelling is all about endings and beginnings. Setups and payoffs. And many in the comic book industry don’t understand that the reader has to CARE once they START reading comic books and they have to KEEP CARING in order for them to buy the books regularly.
All a comic book reboot does is give the reader a reason to NOT care. It creates a vicious cycle of failure, focusing on the negatives that didn’t work in the past instead of working towards improving on the positives of the character in the future. Once something is published an author can’t take it back.
God doesn’t give people reboots when they make mistakes. When we fail, fall, or go through hard times in life, we don’t start over with a brand new life. All we can do is learn from our mistakes, pick up the broken pieces of our lives and move on.
Creative mistakes in comic books aren’t fixed with a new number one issue. They’re fixed with strong editorial leadership and a clear line of communication. A good editor works with the writer and artists to make sure they synergize with the mission of the character’s story and craft work that is easy to follow and relatable to the reader.
The Sad State of Affairs in the Comic Book Industry.
People in the comic book industry seem like they’ve been going around in circles repeating the same mistakes which caused the industry to collapse in 1993. And they’re in such denial about the problems plaguing the business that it seems like they have no chance of breaking free of the vicious cycle, waking up and joining the rest of us in the real world.
Reading about DC’ Comics’ plan for new targeting new readers has me shaking my head. Their idea of younger readers are 18-24 year olds.
*FACEPALM*
The average age of a comic book reader today is over 35. But the geniuses in the comic book industry think 18-24 year olds are the group of younger readers who will reverse close to two decades of slumping sales.
*DOUBLE FACEPALM
18-24 are the age ranges where people start growing OUT of comics and into reading novels. So the influx of new readers to the medium would be neglible to the older readers who are leaving. Worse, in a few years, the average reader age shoots back up to the over 35 demographic.
The comic book industry needs to understand that the younger readers they need to be targeting are tweens and
teens in the 7-18 age range. Ages 7 and 8 are where most small children start independent reading. It’s a time where they buy the books they want to read with the disposable income given to them by parents and grandparents. Money that’s currently being spent on songs on itunes, apps, games, game tokens, Tv shows, and ebooks. Kids aged 7-18 represent a group of younger buyers ten to twenty million strong who could possibly reverse two decades of slumping comic book sales and create a new customer base over the next fifteen to twenty years.
Other media companies understand how big this demographic group is and are targeting their entertainment products towards this younger audience. Disney and Nickelodeon understand tweens and teens ages 8-18 are where the most money are and that’s why most of their sitcoms are targeted towards youngsters in this age range. They’ve made billions from licensing products from their shows like Hannah Montana, True Jackson VP and That’s So Raven while the comic book industry continues to lose thousands of readers a month.
It’s also why publishers of YA literature like Scholastic and spend so much time stocking their shelves with books targeted towards 7-14 year olds. Harry Potter and Twilight have millions of readers anticipating the next book or the next movie while the comic book industry continues to lose thousands readers a month.
And it’s also why WWE continues to have millions of fans all over the world. Pro wrestling targets kids ages7-18 and the industry moves billions of dollars in merchandise, pay-per-views, and millions of young viewers who are growing up with the product while the comic book industry continues to lose thousands of readers a month.
But the geniuses in Comic Book industry now think 18-24 year olds are where the money is. Brilliant.
What makes these demographic plans absurd is the fact that there’s been a huge baby boom going on in the United States since 2000. There’s currently a growing audience of younger readers in elementary school ready to read on its own. And those kids would be eager to choose comic books if they were presented to them.
But the geniuses in Comic Book industry now think 18-24 year olds are where the money is. Seriously, if people in the comic book industry were smart, they’d be targeting the 8-18 demographic in the hopes of building a customer base that will stay with them for a decade or more, not 18-24 year olds that will outgrow the medium in a year or two.
Then there’s DC’s comics plan to launch 52 titles in September and more after that.
Brilliant.
Wasn’t publishing hundreds of titles what collapsed the comic book industry in 1993? Back then Marvel had close to 175 titles, DC had close to 70 or so titles, Archie comics had over 35 titles, Image Comics had over 20-25 titles, and the now defunct Valiant Comics had a dozen or so titles on the shelf next to those. There were so many comic books clogging the shelves the market became saturated with product.
Hasn’t anyone in the comic book industry taken a look at their own history? More importantly haven’t they taken a look at the U.S. real estate market in Nevada and California recently?
Those real estate pros followed the same crazy business practices of comic book publishers and saturated the market with properties. That flood of product caused the entire U.S. housing market to collapse.
When there’s too much product available at one given time on the supply side it decreases demand for said product.
That drives down prices. Worse, it drives down the value of said product to nothing. Basic economics.
Right now there is no market for comics because there is no demand for comic books. Adding large quantities of books to the supply chain doesn’t increase demand for them.
Almost twenty years after the collapse of the comic book industry the approach to business continues to follow the same vicious cycle while the rest of the world has moved on.
And while the comic book industry continues to target older readers with hundreds of brand new titles, it still refuses to deal with the distribution issues that have kept comics out of the hands of readers for close to two decades. None of these relaunches, new costumes or new number one issues matter because customers can’t find the product at a retailer that’s NOT a comic book shop or a bookstore.
Comic book publishers just can’t wrap their heads around the fact that when their products aren’t on the shelves of national and regional retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Rite aid or a Mom and pop store where readers aged seven and up frequent no one will be able to buy them. More importantly, if comics aren’t on these retailer shelves where customers can SEE them, no one will KNOW about them or CARE about them.
Insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result.
And I feel many who work in the comic book industry have lost their minds.
Most businesses understand that if something isn’t working, they stop doing what they were doing and try a different approach. Moreover, they study the approaches that other industries are doing and try to apply some of those strategies to their business.
But for most in the comic book industry their idea of a new approach is an event like a death of a major character, a new costume, a new logo, or a new number one issue.
These are same things comic publishers have been doing for close to twenty years. The same things that drove away an audience for a generation.
But with each new effort delusional people in the comic book industry actually believe things will change for the better.
Unfortunately, the publishers in the comic book industry don’t understand that comic books are still all being sold in the same venues to the same audience of older readers. Moreover, they continue to be distributed in the same venues to the same audience of older readers.
So how are the comic books going to reach the new readers if they’re sold in the same places?
No one has figured out the answer to this question in the comic book industry.
And I don’t think they ever will because everyone is in their own world. Denial is a way of life among people in the comic book industry. Everyone from the fans to the writers, artists, and editors are refusing to see the truth about how bad things are.
If the comic book industry wants to return to profitability, the people in the industry from editors to artists, to writers and even comic fans are going to have to WAKE UP and LOOK at their industry the way the REAL WORLD sees it. Until everyone can face those harsh realities regarding the sad state of affairs regarding the approach to business within comic book industry then nothing is going to reverse the decline of comic book sales.
Can the comic book industry turn it around? I believe so. It just takes a different approach to business.
Who The New Readers Are In The Comic Book Industry
Over the past twenty years the Comic book industry has been in desperate search of New readers for their medium. Unfortunately, they can’t seem to find any of these new customers because they keep catering to a small minority of diehard comic fans instead of trying to appeal to a broader audience.
Who are these new readers? I’ll break it down for everyone:
New Readers are Fathers. These were the boys who grew up with comics and want to share the characters they grew up with with their kids. I’ve heard too many fathers say they want to buy their kids comic books but can’t because the content features such graphic violence, nudity and coarse language that it’s not appropriate for their children.
New Readers are Mothers. Moms are the gateway to getting comics into the household. If Mom thinks can see a good educational Again, I’ve heard so many mothers say that they want to give their children comic books but refuse to buy any because the content contains misogynistic content such as graphic violence featuring women being humiliated, mutilated, crippled, stuffed in refrigerators, heroines, scantily clad in thongs, barely there costumes and graphically sexually costumes that it’s not appropriate for their children.
New Readers are children. There’s been a huge baby boom going on since 2000. Most of those kids right now are independent readers and YA readers the Comic book industry could capitalize on.
What’s frustrating is this current young audience is totally being ignored by comic book industry publishers who only want to focus on adults ages 18-40. I feel not targeting the Independent readers, tweens and teens is a HUGE mistake that’s costing the industry BILLIONS of dollars in revenue and hundreds of thousands of sales. Comics need to go back to being all ages content so younger readers can find the gateway to reading.
Parents who grew up with comic books want to buy new comics for their kids. They want to share their experiences with comic books with their children and bond over the adventures of the characters together. They want to take their kids to the comic book store and share comic books with them.
Publishers making comic books a family experience again could save many comic shops from going under and get the big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target excited about stocking comic books again, but publishers are so focused on older readers they currently have that they don’t see the millions of potential new readers they ignore.
New Readers are girls. Contrary to popular belief, lots of girls read comics and want to read comics. Personally, I feel the girls market could be huge if comic book publishers put some serious effort into it.
For way too long the comic book industry has ignored girls or targeted them with patronizing dumbed-down content featuring pink covers, sparkles, flaky one-dimensional characters with no personality or depth, and stories about ponies, unicorns and dresses.
I feel if a comic book publisher focused on giving girls comic book characters with the depth and complexity of the male characters they could have a corner on the next big market. Girls like comic book characters too, and Many Mothers are looking for good, strong positive female role models to present to their daughters. I’ve always believed the girl’s market is ripe for expansion and if girls were presented with heroines they could identify with and related to they’d buy comics just as much as boys do right now.
New Readers are Women. Women also enjoy comics. But there is practically no content targeted towards them. The comic shop is a Man’s world featuring mostly male fantasies.
Many women want to get into comics but are turned off by the sexism and misogyny in comic books. And when a good female character is presented in comics that women like, they usually wind up with amnesia, raped, killed, mutilated, beaten or murdered and stuffed in a refrigerator instead of being given their own series and promoted to female readers.
I’d like to see more comics targeted towards women. Books that feature female characters with the depth and complexity of the male characters. I’d like to see more comics the defunct indie book Ms. Tree, where the ladies are as smart and strong as the male characters in comics.
New Readers are African-Americans. African-Americans could also be another strong market for comic publishers. The African-American fantasy market and science fiction market is about to emerge as the next big trend for publishing and the comic book industry could get in on the ground floor by targeting African-American readers with fresh content.
African-American readers want more than “Black” superheroes. They want complex stories, multidimensional characters and stories unique to the African-American experience. A smart publisher could gain a new generation of a million or more readers if it knew how to present new comic book material to Black readers.
New Readers are Latinos. Hispanic comic readers are also looking for fresh content. Hispanics are the largest minority in the United States, yet there is very little content targeted towards Hispanic readers. The Hispanic comic book market could be HUGE with millions of customers over several countries on three continents. A smart publisher could gain a huge international audience if it produced content to target Hispanic readers in the international market.
New Readers are Asians. Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing minorities in America. But Asian-American customers are one of the most underserved customers in all of the United States. The Asian-American experience is one that needs to be presented in the media in a substantial way. And The comic book industry could reach millions of readers if it made a serious effort towards presenting more Asian-American characters.
I feel DC Comics missed a HUGE opportunity to target Asian American readers when it killed off Ryan Choi, it’s new Atom. The character was starting to build an audience and was becoming more popular than his predecessor. It could have been a step in the right direction for comics and provided new Asian readers a character they related to and identified with, along with a gateway into comics.
All of these audiences are huge markets of a million customers or more.
But Comic book publishers can’t see these new readers because of their tunnel vision.
95 percent of the people who work in the comic book industry are White and Male. And the world is becoming more blacker, browner, yellower, redder and more female. Those readers aren’t buying comics because they don’t see themselves in the pages of comic books. Moreover, they because they don’t relate to the stories in comic books they don’t see them as relevant to their lives.
Which is why the comic book industry is having such a hard time finding new readers.
The world of comic books has become one of the last White Male strongholds in America. But if it’s going to survive over the next few decades, it’s going to have to open itself up to audiences of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Women, families and younger readers.
Shawn’s plan for rebuilding the comic book industry.
There’s no one silver bullet that will fix close to two decades of systemic structural damage in the comic book industry. It’s going to take a long-term comprehensive business plan that includes retailers, educators, and forming a stronger relationship with the general public.
So how can the industry turn it around? Well, here’s what I’d do if I were editor-in-chief at a major comic book publisher:
Create core products for children ages 7 and up. Currently, the average age of a comic book reader is over 35. Most publishers like DC comics want to target readers ages 18-24. But they’re missing the chance to target an audience of twenty million independent readers currently in elementary school. Children usually start reading on their own at seven, and there needs to be an effort by comic book publishers to reach an audience of younger readers who will be the future of the industry for the next twenty years.
The comic book industry needs to make children ages 7 and up its primary target audience. In the middle of the biggest baby boom since World War II, there needs to be focus on promoting comic book characters that are child and family friendly.
Develop all-ages content with an emphasis on independent readers. When it comes to comics, All-Ages content sells the best. When comics are accessible to younger readers, they become something families don’t mind sharing and spending time reading together. Comic books need to go back to being family entertainment with good moral messages that promote positive values and good social behavior.
Show the public the value of comic books. To the general public comics are just funny books, disposable entertainment. Many don’t see the influence of comic books on much of the culture around us or its impact on the life of a child. The industry needs to tell more of the stories about people and famous people who were influenced by comic books throughout their lives.
For myself, comic books were the gateway to reading. They were the way I learned how to read, developed new vocabulary words, and learned about a dozen different science and historical subjects and career fields. I wouldn’t be a writer today if it weren’t for the comic books in my brother’s collection I read as a kid.
When comic books are a part of a child’s life, they open their imaginations and encourage them to try more challenging reading material when they get older like novels and classic literature.
Bring Back the Comics Code. The comic book industry has been a rudderless ship ever since it abandoned the Comics Code. Right now anything goes. Sex, nudity, graphic violence, profanity can be found in a Superman or a Batman comic. The Comics Code created a standard that all comic book publishers had to follow. That standard made parents comfortable about giving comic books to children and major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target comfortable about stocking them.
Bring in Early Childhood/Educational Specialists to consult/assist Editorial on content. Comic books can encourage a child to read. But I feel the content needs a strong educational component as well. I’d like to see more involvement from people with backgrounds in Early Childhood development and educational specialists in the editorial process. I believe these specialists could help with making sure comic book content educates readers as well as entertains them.
People with backgrounds in Early Childhood/Education would help with making sure stories featured strong vocabulary and themes that promoted good values. Moreover they’d ensure that children would learn something from a comic book, whether it be something about history, art, or concepts in science or mathematics.
Win back the moms. Mothers and Grandmothers are the ones who give kids money for comics. They control what goes in and out of their homes. Comic books are seen by many women today as extremely antisocial and misogynistic; that’s why they won’t let their kids, especially their sons read them. Women have no interest in buying comics for their sons nowadays because they feature images of scantily clad females, and panels featuring violence against women like Green Lantern’s girlfriend Alexandra Dewitt killed and stuffed in refrigerators, or major characters like Barbara Gordon shot and paralyzed by the Joker.
There has to be an effort to win back the moms and get them to support their children reading comic books again. To earn back that trust, comic books have to go back to being all-ages entertainment that promotes good social values and encourages children to read. Presenting more positive balanced images of female characters will go a long way towards persuading mothers to let their kids read comic books again.
Make an effort to reconnect with readers. The Comic book industry has withdrawn into itself becoming a reclusive secret society with its own secret set of social codes. Being closed off from the general public like this for close to twenty years has alienated many of the casual customers parents and the general public. Worse, it has made them apprehensive about sharing comic books with their children. I feel there needs to be an effort by everyone working in the comic book industry to reach out and connect with the public and show them the faces of all the hardworking men and women working behind the scenes of their favorite comic books. I feel if people formed a relationship with the people who work in the comic book industry, people would take more time to support comics.
Offer employment opportunities/make it easier to break into comic books Right now it’s harder to get a job in the comic book industry than it is to sell a script in Hollywood or publish a book with a trade publisher. Because the industry is so full of recluses at every level and so resistant to bringing in newcomers, it has stagnated creatively for close to twenty years. I feel there needs to be an effort towards making the industry more accessible to new artists, writers and computer designers. New creative blood could breathe new life into the comic book industry. But it can only do that if it were allowed a foot in the door. I’d make an effort to hire those new artists and new writers.
Along with the changes in marketing I would make an effort to promote diversity in the comic book industry. These would include:
Hiring more women and minorities in editorial. Editorial at comic publishing is mostly white and mostly male. That’s led to a comic book world that’s mostly white and male. I feel if more women and minorities were working in editorial there’d be a lot less misogyny, sexism and violence towards women in comic books. And I feel if there were more minorities in editorial there’d be a lot more diversity in the world of comic books.
Presenting more positive balanced images of women/female superheroines. One of the biggest black marks in comic books has been the depiction of women. Oftentimes, women are objectified, degraded and sexualized in comics. Many times they are the victims of brutal violence as in the case of Alexandra DeWitt, Sue Dibney, Jean Grey, and Barbara Gordon. This has to stop if the medium wants to reach an audience of new younger readers.
One of my goals as a writer personally was to write more balanced multi-dimensonal female characters like Marilyn Marie, E’steem and Isis. I’d love to see stronger more independent female characters in comic books like Catwoman, Spider-Woman and Storm and I’d be willing to give these books and characters all the support they needed.
Presenting more positive balanced images of African-Americans and minorities. Comic books have always been a white male stronghold. That’s also why they’re not selling. America is becoming more multicultural and that’s not reflected in the comic book industry. I believe if comics were more multicultural, there’d be an increase in sales.
Hiring more women writers. Reading a lot of well-done webcomics and online strips by women, I’d love to see more women involved in the creative process with comic books If I were running a comic book company, I’d make an effort to hire more women writers and I’d make sure to get their input on the development of any female characters being produced.
Hiring more minority writers. The comic book industry is 95% white and 95% male. Efforts at diversity in comics have failed because the concepts come from white males who create characters minorities can’t identify with or relate to. I feel there needs to be an effort to hire more minority writers so characters of color can be as multidimensional and complex as their white male counterparts.
Hiring writers and artists not from the comic book industry. In a stale industry like comic books, there’s a
desperate need for a fresh perspective. Sometimes a new writer with a different point of view can revive interest in a character that wasn’t selling. Sometimes a new artist can make readers look at the world differently.
Along with efforts to diversify the creative staff in the bullpen, I’d establish standards for content. These would include:
Create new characters. There hasn’t been a new breakout superhero since The Punisher in the 1970’s and there hasn’t been a new breakout supervillain since Bane back in 1993. Comic books are a blend of art and politics and the best characters are commentaries of their time. Younger readers want characters they can relate to and identify with, who deal with the problems they’re having. They don’t see that in many of the older characters now. Comic book companies need to start focusing on creating new characters that reflect the world going on today and deal with the issues kids are facing in the world today.
Get rid of the tight continuity. Continuity can be a tool when used effectively, but it can also bog a character down. I’d like to set an editorial standard where events in one story don’t directly affect events in another. They could be referenced, but it wouldn’t be a hard and fast rule. This would give writers and artists room to tell their own stories without being bogged down by another writer’s baggage. I feel as long as a writer stays within guidelines and standards for a character they should be able to tell a variety of stories.
Get rid of the numbers. Sure numbers have been a tradition in comics for close to 75 years. But a #1 issue no longer matters in an age where series are restarted every 24 to 36 months and titles are on their fifth and sixth volumes. With comics featuring the same character getting cancelled so quickly, a month/year filing system would be more efficient.
Get rid of the adult content. I was flipping through a Justice League comic book and I was shocked to see nudity and sexual content. In an Avengers issue I flipped through characters like Captain America used mild profanity. And in a comic storyline called Identity crisis there’s a rape that’s covered up by superheroes.
Sorry, but this stuff isn’t gonna sell with the moms, aunts, and grandmoms who give their kids money for comics and have control over what goes in and out of their homes. When they see books with graphic adult content like this, there’s no way they’re going to allow them into their homes.
If Comic books are to make a return to profitability content must be G-rated or PG at best. No nudity, no foul language, and no sexual content.
Get rid of the gory graphic violence. Rapes, mutilations, bloody murders are the norm in today’s comic books. It’s the kind of stuff that makes many people correlate comic books with antisocial and criminal behavior. Many comics today feature the kind of disturbing content that led to congressional hearings and Seduction of the Innocent back in the 50’s.
While violence has always been a part of superhero comics, today’s comics feature gory graphic violence reminiscent of EC comics horror titles back in the 1950’s. That stuff is inappropriate in a medium that’s supposed to be for the youngest of readers and a gateway to reading.
Make good guys good. Today’s superheroes are shades of gray, being neither good nor bad. While that type of complex character has its place in adult literature, it has no place in a comic book. Comic book heroes should have good moral character, promote good values and stand for what is fair and just. They’re role models for children and their behavior should be what we want children to act like when they grow up to be adults.
Make bad guys bad. Today’s bad guys are not bad, they’re just plain sick. The behavior of villains today borders on sociopathic. Bad guys in comics today just go too far, and their actions are just inappropriate content for children and young adults.
When it comes to the actions of characters in comic books good or bad Editorial has to draw a line in the sand. There’s a fine line between solid and sordid storytelling and it’s time comics went back to producing solid stories presented in good taste.
Stop the franchising of characters. It’s hard for Superman to stand out when there’s Superboy, Supergirl, Steel and a dozen other characters doing the exact same thing he does. It’s hard for the Hulk to stand out when there are red and green versions of him. Not everyone needs to be a superhero, nor does every supporting character need to be superpowered. The reader needs the civilian/supporting characters to identify with and relate to as much as the hero. More importantly, these civilian/supporting characters show the reader why a character like Superman and the Hulk are special and why they’re one of a kind.
Get rid of the multiple titles for one character. When a character makes multiple appearances in multiple titles it cheapens the value of that character and makes the reader to take them for granted. If a character has one title and makes sporadic appearances in a team book, then it makes them excited to pick up the next issue of the solo series next month.
Stop with the deaths/Coming back from the dead. At one time a death in comic books was a major event. When a character like Bucky died it had a deep and lasting impact on the reader. It gave readers an understanding that being a superhero was a dangerous job full of risks, and that heroes were brave people who were willing to sacrifice their own lives to do what was right.
Unfortunately over the past three decades death in comics has turned into a gimmick by desperate writers to spur sales during a slow period. Almost every character in comic books has died at least once, some twice. That has cheapened the impact of death in storytelling. Worse it’s prevented the growth and development of characters and prevented them from actualizing their potential.
The devaluation of death in comics has led to readers becoming apathetic and indifferent about what goes on in serialized comic books. It gives them no incentive to continue reading. Why should readers invest time and money in buying a comic where a character dies if they’re going to come back in six months, a year or even twenty years ago? If comics are to return to prominence, Dead characters should stay dead.
On the business side, I would focus on rebuilding the network of retailers who sell and distribute comic books. One of the reasons why comic books have had poor sales since 1993 is because close to 90 percent of the comic book stores have gone out of businesss. Worse, many of the outside retailers like CVS, Target, Supermarkets and mom and pop stores were burned by a direct market policy that make comic books unreturnable leaving them stuck with thousands of copies of worthless books in their storerooms. In an effort to get the retailers to start stocking comics again I would:
Offer to buy back old stock from non-comic retailers. As a gesture of goodwill to get retailers like drugstores and mom and pop stores stocking comics again, comic book publishers should offer to buy back all that unreturned comic stock from the 1990’s-current that’s rotting in stock rooms and on magazine racks. Many retailers were burned by the comic book speculator boom of the late 1980’s-1990’s and comic book publishers need to make an effort towards re-establishing a relationship with the thousands of stores across the country who were stuck with hundreds of thousands of copies of worthless comics that still haven’t sold to this day. Those thousands of copies (some of them 10-15 years old) should be credited at wholesale price to retailers in an effort to clear the shelves for new product.
Offer full returnability on all new print titles. In addition to buying back old stock for credit, comic book publishers must offer to take back product that doesn’t sell. This means if the titles don’t sell, the retailer can return them for credit on next month’s issues. Offering returnability on titles gives non-comic shop retailers like drugstores, grocery stores, supermarkets and big chain retailers like Target and Wal-mart a reason to stock print comics on their shelves. Long-term this increases the exposure of comic books in retail venues and allows younger customers like tweens and teens an opportunity to purchase them.
Offer retailers a more durable comic product with a longer shelf life. The 32-page comic book is becoming unsustainable as a product and not profitable as a business model. High printing costs, high retail prices, limited durability and a short shelf life will render the 32-page comic book obsolete in 5-7 years.
In order for American comic book publishers to compete in the 21st Century there is a need for a comic book medium that’s more durable, has a longer shelf life, is retailer friendly and a better value for consumers. Paperback digest Magazines like Naruto and Shonen Jump will be the future for the Amercian comic medium and the industry needs to start shifting its efforts towards publishing these new products now instead of later.
Offer optional a la carte ordering to non-comic retailers. Larger retailers like Wal-Mart, Target CVS, Rite Aid and Supermarkets mom and pop stores should be able to order titles that sell without having to carry other poor selling second and third-tier titles in the line. Most larger retailers would probably pick up books with more popular characters, but these titles would be in venues they weren’t in before.
Offer comic shops exclusive titles. Larger retailers will probably stock many of the more popular characters. However, second and third tier characters don’t sell well in traditional retail because they don’t have a large enough audience. For those titles, it would be more effective if they were sold exclusively in comic shops. Comic shop exclusive titles could give kids an incentive to visit a local comic book store for that title and search for others.
Offer free eComics. eBooks are a big market. But in order for the comic book industry to gain access to that market they have to establish their reputation for producing a quality product. The younger generation of readers may know a few superheroes, but they need a reason to CARE about them enough to read about their stories regularly. To build that reputation, comic publishers should start offering a free eComic or two to give readers an incentive to try the comics. If people like the sample, they’re more likely to try the product at the shop.
I was a big fan of comics since I was four years old and they were my gateway to reading and eventually becoming a novelist. It deeply saddens me that the industry is in this two-decade slump, and I’d love to do something to help save the medium for the next generation of readers. While my plans detailed here aren’t perfect, I feel it’s better than participating in the vicious cycle that continues to drive the industry into the death spiral it’s in right now. Nothing would bring me joy like seeing a young child reading a comic book again and finding the gateway to reading.
###
About The Author
Shawn
James
is the author of four paperbacks, two screenplays, and ten eBooks. He
is also a feature columnist for African-American social media site
Onixlink.com. A graduate of Monroe College he’s been writing for
over fifteen years.
Other titles by Shawn James on Smashwords:
All About Nikki-Three Episodes From the Fabulous First Season
Connect With Shawn Online:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/shawnsjames
LinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/shawnsjames9973
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shawnsjames
Discover Shawn James’ blog at: