2018 was not one of the greatest years for Comic Publishers, nor most Retailers … much of the self-defeating tactics of large publishers to extract maximum revenue out of a small and unrepresentative group of hardcore collectors; falling costs of digital back issues via subscription services and sales, making it less necessary for readers to follow every series in real time; and general headwinds facing many small, urban-based businesses, such as rising rents and labor costs, which put a pinch on their ability to order extra copies … In the comic book Direct Market, orders from the distributor are usually non-returnable, which puts huge pressure on retailers to not over-order titles that might not be salable (prices for recent back issues of most comics are near zero), but not under-order on titles that might end up being sleeper hits. This, in and of itself, is what creates price escalation when I book does get hot, and is the bedrock these days of the Spec Market … Even small miscalculations can be the difference between a good month and catastrophe.
Comic stores, which draw most of their customers from adult superhero fans and, increasingly, speculation customers who hear about this and that on-line, are missing out on the biggest trend in comics over the last few years: graphic novels for kids, teens and young readers. Dav Pilkey’s kid-oriented Dog Man series has sold over half a million copies in the book channel in a single month. But most comic shop owners - unless they have young kids themselves - have never heard of it, or don’t consider it “comics” in ways that would appeal to their existing customers.
Comic shops are losing their share of the market for trade collections and graphic novels to other outlets like book stores and Amazon / eBay … in fact, many Trades can be had on eBay for ridiculously low prices … granted, they may be “gently used”, but if all you want to do is read it, who cares …??
To make matters worse, one comic publisher that had a blockbuster year in 2018 doesn’t distribute to comic stores at all … That would be Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform that enables creators to raise funds to publish their work independently and sell it directly to supporters.
Kickstarter has been a godsend to independent comic creators and small presses for years, successful comic-based Kickstarters raised $15.3 million in 2018, up from around $12M each of the last three years and by far the highest amount since platform metrics became available in 2011. Although that may sound like peanuts in the scope of the entire Market, it’s still a 25% jump in a key metric year-over-year, numbers that any other publisher in the space would kill for.
The comic publishing industry, including trade books, periodicals and digital, does about $1 billion annually, according to industry estimates. But it’s the medium of origin for the properties that power multi-billion dollar entertainment franchises across multiple screens, and characters who account for tens of billions of dollars of licensing revenue across apparel, toys, games and other merchandise.
Although, as a Shop Owner, I hold out hope that the Future will be brighter, I don’t know what it takes to make it so … the continued escalation of the Cover Price to an average of $3.99 - $4.99 is a further wedge that disuades younger folks from coming into the fold …
What does all this mean to the Spec side of things … ?? Well, lower print runs and a hardcore base of customers both physical and on-line could prove to be somewhat lucrative … although the long term staying power of a hot Book-Of-The-Week is always questionable … and, unfortunately, sometimes ends up a Pyramid Scheme … that usually ends up, at some point, driving those at the bottom of the Pyramid away, eventually …
Shops need to promote Comics as a fun medium … the idea that each and every new comic is immediately sealed away in a Mylar does not promote the idea of actually enjoying the book …
In the meantime, I will continue to slog along … I gave up being Bill Gates many, many years ago …
Uncle Willie
)
