Tag: comic book market

How WE Will Prevent a Comic Book Market Bubble Burst

Aug. 16 Comic Book Collecting, News no comments

Is there a comic book market bubble? The comic book market has grown considerably in the last few years, and there is typically a burst when markets or types of products grow too fast. Should we be concerned?

The crowds at C2E2 would be much smaller after a comic book market decline. Let's make sure that does not ever happen.

The crowds at C2E2 would be much smaller after a comic book market decline. Let’s make sure that does not ever happen.

Traditional Market Bubble

Usually when we talk about a market bubble, we are talking about a market which has skyrocketed in recent years which is either new or saw unchecked exponential growth. The Beenie Baby market bubbled and burst because people simply realized the babies were not holding their value and were not a viable short-term or long-term investment. The sports card market bubble burst when production was much greater than demand and interested waned.

There Have Been Bursts in the Past

I will be the first to agree that a comic book market bubble is not impossible. We have seen near collapses of the entire industry a few times in the past when the bubbles burst. Overproduction, an unconditional push towards collectability, and drops in the importance of quality in exchange for quantity have all plagued the comic book market in the past. The problem was that these issues had gone unchecked and drove the market down.

Unchecked Changes are Now Impossible

There is a huge difference between today’s comic book market, and the comic book markets of the past. The Internet is something which can save the comic book market from a bubble burst. Sure, there were comic book industry magazines and fanzines in the past – but they could not compete with the speed or distribution of the Internet. In the old days of magazines and fanzines, a writer could write an article about an issue with the comic book industry – but it might takes months before it saw print, Even after it saw print, it might only be read by a few hundred people.

Today, a comic book market commentary can be out for the masses within minutes. Social media can be used to make the topic go viral and get thousands of fans riled up. Gone are the days when comic book shop talk is the fastest and most effective way to pass information about what is going on. Today, those discussions have gone online in article comment sections and forums.

Empowerment of Comic Book Store Owners, Fans, and Collectors

Comic book store owners, fans, and collectors have more of a voice today than they did even five or ten years ago. Store owners realize they can speak up, as do fans and collectors. This empowerment bore this site in particular. We have stated in the past that WonderWorldComics.com is a megaphone for your voice in the comic book industry because it is read by many movers and shakers in the industry and helps in a small way to keep the market in check.

Market Share Mentality

One other aspect which helps to keep comic book market in check is the continuing push in business to be so concerned about market share. While this was always a concern in business, the concern has grown more in the last few decades, and in the last ten years especially. The focus on driving market share forces publishing companies to take risks, but not to flood the market in any way. In a way, the market checks itself.

No Comic Book Market Bubble, But…

Since the days in which the publishers could work unchecked are over. Even though we might not have a comic book market bubble burst, we could easily have a decline. In fact, that decline could be pretty steep. Certain market issues such as the lack of communication from some companies, the push towards digital, the apparent dissing of collectors (which digital comics are since you can’t collect and sell them), the illegal downloading of comics, and other issues mentioned on this site could cause the market to decline. The items just mentioned in this paragraph are areas which this site has hounded on and we are still waiting for the comic book publishers to realize could hamper the market.

Moving Forward

We have to stay diligent. I love the comic book market and want to see it continue on for generations. The only way to ensure that is to make sure that every aspect of the market is checked by someone. We need to self-regulate it to make sure there is not a comic book market bubble burst ever. We all have to stay strong and remember that we have as much power as, if not more power than, the publishers.

Tags: , , , , ,

Who Are the Giant Books Best For?

Aug. 02 Comic Book Collecting, News no comments

For some reason, the comic book market is becoming inundated with giant books! They are taking over and have the chance of clogging shelves across the country! Who are these books best for??

WTF Certified

WTF Certified

What Are You Talking About?

There is a new omnibus for this comic, and a new “master collection” for that one. There is a new “complete collection” for this comics, and a new “giant-sized essential” for that one. From Chew to Villain Month, to Grimm Fairy Tales, the giant books with 500-1,400 pages are taking over.

Now for Tester Readers

Outside of the giant Villain Month book coming out by Christmas, the giant books don’t appear to be the best purchase for new readers. You know what you are getting into with the Villain Month book, but what about with comes you have not read yet? Let’s say you want to give a particular comic title a try. Let’s say all of your friends are saying that you are going to love it. You should fight the temptation are try it out with a few issues or with a smaller trade than investing $50-$150 off the start. If you drop all of that money and don’t like the comic, how many times are you going to drop a ton of money on one book in the future?

Not for New Readers

By new readers, I am talking about people who are just starting out in comics. They might be on their first trip or second trip to a comic book store. Dropping $100 or more for one book is a little silly to me. Many people will disagree on this with me, but hear me out for a second. If new readers drop $100 or more on a book and don’t like it, why would they come back to comics? A huge hit like this might discourage them in the future.

Who These Books are For

These books are perfect for readers who want to eliminate a hefty number of books from their collections. These are also for people who know a particular title and are comfortable with it. Would I purchase one of these giant books if it were for Batman? Probably. Would I purchase one of these books for a character I just began to follow? Probably not.

Interesting Future

These giant books are not going to go into huge production, so some might see a decent increase in value. Also, since they are so big, they are going to take excess damage over time. This could drive up the collector’s market on them. How many copies are going to look like they are in mint condition after two or three years? Very few.

Tags: , ,

Digital Death Part III: Digital Comics and Collecting

Mar. 21 Comic Book Collecting, News Comments Off on Digital Death Part III: Digital Comics and Collecting

My fellow comic book collectors – we are being devalued by Marvel and DC Comics in their push to increase sales of digital comics. Not only will digital comics eventually decrease the comic book market, the push for digital comics proves the Big 2 could care less about our passion for their products. How long will we stand for this [Censored] insolence? How long will we allow digital comics to survive?

The death of the comic book industry will be caused by digitally downloading comic books.

The death of the comic book industry will be caused by digitally downloading comic books.

How Easily Marvel and DC Comics Forget

There are two types of backs in which the comic book market has been built. Initially, it was built upon the backs of comic book readers who stood in line to pay a matter of cents for the newest issue of Action Comics. In my lifetime, the backs of comic book collectors were tapped as the Big 2 realized many of us were keeping boxes of comics to preserve them for the ages and that the values of back issues were climbing.

The Early [Censored] Ups

Marvel and DC Comics caused crashes in the past by trying to exploit either the reader’s market or the collector’s market. The comic book publishers [Censored] the market in the 1990s by trying to produce as many crappy titles as possible to exploit readers and put special covers on every issue in an attempt to exploit the collectors. Their greed made our favored market a [Censored] joke and the future was in jeopardy. Since the market is currently up in a big way, those greedy [Censored] are trying to figure out another way to exploit. They are looking for another back of support.

Who They are Going After

You could speculate about Marvel and DC Comics going after current readers with the push to digital comics, but you would be dead wrong. You know that [Censored] hipster douche you see sitting at Starbucks every morning who thinks the world should revolve around him? The world of comics is moving to revolve around him. Digital comics, Marvel AR, and whatever piece of [Censored] DC shovels out to compete with it, are all geared at the grab-a-trend hipster bastard who will drop money on the latest trend. The biggest problem with grab-a-trend hipsters is they do not stay around long. Wake the [Censored] Marvel and DC, we have been around for years and you are turning your backs on us!

This content is censored.

This content is censored.

What Will Happen

The issue of Spider-Man you have been keeping safe in order to pass on to your kids one day – it is going to be worthless if digital comics completely take over as everyone will have read it and there is no draw to hold the original. All that money you spent to have your comic graded will be lost as people scoff at physical comics as they will be passé. All of the time you spent collecting will have been wasted as people could give a [Censored] about your collection.

What Can We Do?

Don’t you think for a [Censored] minute that there is nothing you can do. Support your local comic book stores instead of digitally downloading comics. When Marvel and DC Comics tell you to check out the latest digital download, raise your voices and tell them to go [Censored] themselves. If you are sitting at a comic book convention panel, make sure your voice is heard. Tell other comic book collectors to do the same. The only way we can keep our collections valued, and keep ourselves valued by the Big 2, is to tell them that we are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it anymore!

Tags: , , , , , ,

DC Comics On Wrong Path Already This Year?

Mar. 14 Comics no comments

Bleeding Cool is reporting a rumor that DC Comics’ big September event will result in 16 titles being eliminated with four weekly titles which will feature the four main company “families.” Speculation is sure to run rampant in the upcoming months about which titles will get the axe, but this article is not meant to speculate. It is meant to poke DC Comics in the ribs a few times and maybe cause them to wake the [Censored] up and smell the [Censored] coffee.

This content is censored.

This content is censored.

WTF is DC Comics Doing Now?

According to the rumors in the report, the sixteen titles will be replaced by four weekly titles with one each revolving around the families in the Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Justice League lines. The issues will have revolving creative casts. To make room, DC Comics will eliminate 16 titles, mostly from the bottom of the barrel and some (potentially) from the middle of the barrel.

Let’s Do Math

If DC Comics is going to eliminate 16 titles and replace them with four weekly titles, what the Hell are we gonna call it? The Newer 40? Note we are subtracting 16 from 52 to equal 36. When we add 4 more titles, we arrive at 40. Some company execs might be reading this and execs often prove they don’t know [Censored] about math.

Gravitational Pull

Does DC Comics honestly believe people are going to want to fill their pulls with weekly comics? The story style and artwork will be different with each issue, so there is little for fans to latch onto outside of the characters involved. Comic book readers gravitate towards comics which have creators they like and have become familiar with. This was proven years ago by such teams as Stan Lee and Jack [Censored] Kirby! One week, a strong team might be placed on the comic and a horrible one the next.

Market Stability

You cannot secure a place in the market if your purchase rate is going to go up and down week after week. Wake up! The market needs stability right now – not more ups and downs. DC Comics (Marvel you should listen up too), do you remember the up and down spikes in the 1990s? What happened to the [Censored] market when people got tired of the purchasing spikes? I kinda remember a market which got inundated with [Censored] and schlock which can’t even sell in $0.25 boxes today. Don’t do that to the market again.

What DC Needs to Do

Instead of simply axing sixteen comics, figure the[Censored] out why those comics are failing and breathe new life into them. National Allied Publications was founded in 1934 and was later rebranded as DC Comics. In almost 80 [Censored] years, the company has not learned how to resurrect a comic? Instead of shifting around the lines, DC should be focusing on getting readers involved again in their comics. I spent my entire life as a Marvelite, but the New 52 has won me over with most of my weekly pulls coming from DC instead of Marvel. Hey DC, if you can win me over, you can win over anyone if you just [Censored] try hard enough.

My Hope

I hope the elimination of titles and the introduction of weekly revolving comics is a rumor. Of course, nothing has come out from DC as contradicting it, so I am stuck being [Censored] [Censored] off about DC Comics going in the wrong direction. I just hope the rumors are wrong and DC Comics does not drop the [Censored] ball again.

Tags: , , , , ,

Digital Death Part II: Dark Reason Behind Digital Comics

Mar. 12 Comic Book Collecting, News no comments

In Digital Death Part I: Illegally Downloading Comic Books, we discussed the dangers of downloading comics and the negative impacts on the publishing companies (especially the smaller ones), the distributors, and the comic book stores. In this installment, we will look at another side of digital comics and the negative impact on the market. We will look at the secret intent of digital comics which Marvel and DC don’t want you to think about and what this intent will lead to.

The death of the comic book industry will be caused by digitally downloading comic books.

The death of the comic book industry will be caused by digitally downloading comic books.

What If Digital Comics Took Over?

What if we all switched tomorrow to digital comics? Where would that leave the comic book stores and distributors like Diamond? There would not be a need for them in the end. There would not be a need for the printed pages since they were all digitally rendered. Marvel and DC would love to have the opportunity to cut out levels of distribution and eventually sell directly to the consumer. The Big 2 need their profits and if it means they would put over two thousand small businesses out of business, what do they care? What do they care if digital comics could cause for tens of thousands of people being added to the unemployment lines if they (Marvel and DC) can make more money?

Price and Cost of Digital Comics

Think about the profits Marvel and DC would gain if they did not have to give a piece of the action to the comic book stores and to the distributors. You might be saying “Well, the digital comics I have been buying are only $0.99. Marvel and DC can’t be making that much money.” Do you really think the Big 2 would leave the price of digital comics at $0.99 if the other levels of distribution were eliminated? Once the levels of distribution were eliminated, the price of the digital comics would go up to the price of printed versions, or higher.

Where Does this Leave Comixology?

Of course, Comixology and other digital distributors of comics are making some money now, but what is going to happen if Marvel and DC are able to eliminate physical distributors and comic book stores? Digital distributors would be next as the Big Two march towards complete domination of the market and sell the digital comics to you directly through their websites and apps.

Where Does this Leave Smaller Publishers?

Smaller publishers fight to get as much of the market as possible. Most of their push comes in the comic book stores as workers introduce you to titles from smaller companies you did not consider. Business also comes from Previews, which is published by Diamond. How long with Previews be around if Diamond was forced to go belly-up because of the domination of digital comics? The smaller companies would be casualties of the digital comics war between Marvel and DC.

Illegal Downloads

Again, we have to revert back to illegally downloading comics. With more digital comics out on the market, the downloaders would take their piece of the pie. The stage could be set for a battle where Marvel would have to team with DC to ensure the illegal downloaders did not completely kill the market. Funny, the Big Two would have to fight to keep the market they are killing alive.

Gone!

Gone would be the days of walking into a comic book store to peruse the shelves for new titles. Gone would be the discussions with comic book store workers about their suggestions. Gone would be the physical locations where you would go to talk about comics with other comic book fans. Gone would be the excitement of going through a long box at a store to see what hidden gems you can get for cheap.

Gone would be the experience of looking at a stack of new comics and trying to decide which to look at first. Gone would be the smell of a new comic and feeling the glossy pages on your fingers as you open it to see what the creators had in store. Gone would be the experience of reading a comic book…just so Marvel and DC could make a few extra dollars an issue.

The future of the industry is yours to decide. Will you stand there and do nothing like the Watcher, or will you jump in and say “I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!?”

Tags: , , , , , , ,