To make my life easier, I'm reprinting (and updating) some of my comic book industry essays from my now-defunct Opinion Page (which, seriously, was an early attempt at a blog).
When I first wrote this entry, I was pretty naive about the way comics work behind the scenes. I'm still quite naive, but at least now I know that there is a lot I don't know. And I believe I got some facts very wrong in the following article, including how well Archie sells. I also think it wouldn't be nearly as easy as I make it out to be for Marvel or DC to break into the grocery "digest" scene, nor as cheap to reprint older stories. I do, however, still think it's a good idea.
a stupid little rant by Laura Gjovaag
Have you heard of Archie Comics? Chances are good that you don't even see them in your regular comic book store. But almost every title from Archie consistently sells as many or more copies than almost any single title DC or Marvel puts out.
Why?
Because Archie doesn't concentrate solely on the Direct Market.
Archie sells comics to children. Because they know that children want and will buy their books, they focus on the places children are likely to be: in the supermarket, with their moms. Archie doesn't hide the majority of their books away in dark little comic shops that no mother in her right mind would set foot in. They display their wares proudly, in places where the money is spent freely and a comic book to appease a child is only one tiny purchase.
The direct market is killing the comic book industry. That isn't news. Every person who sells comics for a living or buys comics as a primary hobby understands that the industry is slowly dying, failing to attract new readers like it used to. A lot of adults out there aren't really aware that comic books are still made. They remember the Golden and Silver ages, when it wasn't a bad thing for kids to read comics, but there are new toys out there, video games and cheap movies... and comic books seem like a thing of the past.
So why don't Marvel and DC do something about it? Why don't they start selling comics in the grocery stores?
Well, they do. They just don't do it right. They put a small portion of their books out in a handful of stores. They don't market to the kids... they don't market to the moms who will buy comics. As a result, those sales are pretty weak, especially if you compare them to Archie's success.
What is the Direct Market?
Chances are you buy your comics in one of two ways. The most likely way is that you have a favorite comic book shop, which you visit on a regular basis to pick up your favorite books. If you are a sophisticated comic shopper, you probably have a pull list at the shop, and you might even order your books two months ahead of time through Previews magazine. The other likely way is that you get your comics through the mail, via a subscription, either direct from the publisher or through a reseller.
If you are buying your comics that way, you are buying through the Direct Market.
Basically, what happened was this... Back in the Golden and Silver ages of comics, years ago, comic books were mainly sold via "news stand". Various stores (grocery stores, five and dimes, drug stores) got shipments of comics which they put out on wire racks and sold as one tiny part of their massive inventory. Books that didn't sell were shipped back to the publishers for a refund. From the publisher's perspective, that was the big problem with news stand distribution. The refund they had to give for unsold books. From a fan's perspective, the problem was unreliability. They might not always get the books they wanted.
So when some of the early fans got old enough to run businesses, they started shops that sold mostly comic books. They didn't return unsold books because back issues could be stored more easily and sold later. This made it easier for the publishers to make a profit, and easier for fans to find the books. All of which probably saved comics in the short run: the birth of the direct market!
The problem with the direct market, though, is the failure to keep comics in the mainstream eyes. As the superhero comics became less and less visible in the stores, children stopped reading them. They became books written for fans only, that were sold through outlets that were run by fans (many of whom weren't businessmen), to fans and not kids. And as fans grew up and moved on, or got tired of the same plotlines used over and over, the audience started to shrink. And because the comic books no longer sold on the news stands, the audience didn't renew with new children.
How to Save the Industry...
Now that all that has been said, there is a way to save the industry. Unfortunately for the fans, it would take a considerable bit of risk on the part of Marvel and DC, and possibly some losses for a time until they could build up the audience again. And they won't do that.
Marvel and DC both have tons of stories, already written and drawn, that will appeal to a young audience. What they need to do is put together reprint digests that will fit on grocery store checkout displays. Fans don't like the smaller digest size, it reduces the art and often looks shabbier. But children who are just learning to read don't mind so much. They just want something to read and look at. So if the publishers put out cheap reprint books in digest size and market them for children, with covers that appeal to parents, the industry could start to bring in a new generation.
There would be steps beyond that, like getting comic book stores to improve their appearance and reputation. But the first step is to bring in new readers, and to do it NOW. Because at the rate the audience is shrinking, we don't have time to mess around.
This column is copyright 1999 by Laura Gjovaag. February 1999
