Thread by @CEdwardSellner

I'm trying something different for #comicsgate #comicgate & I hope it helps shed some light, an attempt to bring context, bear w/ me. /1

This will be a longer thread, & I may or may not respond to comments because I plan to stay focused on the topics to get through it. /2

I plan to talk about the comic BUSINESS, INDUSTRY and MARKET because a lot of what we see now is impacted by the dynamics of that. /3

First, some history, & context. 1938 & Action Comics debut is seen as the beginning of the modern comic industry & super-heroes (Superman)/4

The industry boomed, cheap entertainment people desperately needed with growing world threats. Escapism, but socially relevant as well. /5

Also much less competition for the expense. Comics were easy to get, easy to afford, could be taken with you, enjoyed over & over. /6

While escapist, they were also rooted in the world of the time. Nazis, saboteurs, corruption, domestic violence, all were topics. /7

This led to fast growing market Super-Hero dominant & the Golden Age of comics. Copies sold hundreds of thousands, but again... /8

this was in no small part due to their mainstream distribution & format. Print was it, newspapers, magazines, comics all common. /9

By 1949, most of the market folded due to changing tastes, horror & crime comics became the big thing, most Super-Heroes were cancelled. /10

It was the first major shift in the market based on changing demographics & consumer interests, & reflected in what was published. /11

By 1955, most horror and crime books were canceled because of oversight & public outcry, deemed too violent & gory for kids... /12

who were the primary market consumers for comics. This was the first time outside forces through pressure forced comics to adapt. /13

1956 - Julius Schwartz revived some of the old classic heroes, but in new incarnations to appeal to the changing audience, The Silver Age/14

Characters were updated/replaced to broaden their appeal to a changing audience who lost interest a decade ago, & it worked. /15

This began a long tradition of updating characters (ie brands) in order to keep them viable in a changing marketplace. The Silver Age- /16

versions are the ones most adults today grew up with, but are far different than their Golden Age counterparts. Done due to market needs./17

Marvel then debuted many of their iconic characters which expanded the market tremendously in the early '60's & taking the lead. /18

Notably, a huge part of Marvel's success was rooting it's characters & stories in the real world: cities, to social & personal issues. /19

By 1970 Kirby left Marvel, Silver Age was seen as over, & a host of new creators who would shape the medium for the next decades debuted./20

Comics became even more rooted in real world issues, more topical, often pointedly so. Turmoil in USA led to commentary in comics. /21

The market diversified in content, maturity levels, & styles. Realism was reflected in art & story far more & tough issues tackled. /21

Drugs, racism, social evils, corruption, violence domestic & international all became common elements in stories & w/ characters. /22

Market grew incredibly strong, print was still big, less competition for cover price, etc. Comics as an art form was gaining respect. /23

1980 the Direct Market was born & comic shops began to open across the country - changing everything forever, for good and bad. /24

Good - direct distribution meant savings to publishers, more content options, more sell-throughs, more targeted marketing. /24

Retailers boomed with the switch as well, existing fanbase for their goods, as they became the only source for sales, fans flowed in. /25

This also changed the nature of content allowing a more diverse comics market as well. Newsstand comics fought for VERY limited space. /26

Now whole stores carried comics, they NEEDED more content, so more titles, smaller selling titles were viable. This also led to... /27

the growth of the indy market - new publishers, new creators, new characters, etc. that could crack the Direct Market NOT newsstand. /28

I can't stress how vital this was to the evolution of the industry, it would not have happened without the Direct Market, period. BUT... /29

It also had unintended consequences. Some of which the market still suffers from today, & some which have led to our current woes. /30

As comics transitioned TO comic shops and OUT of everywhere else - the casual/new fans entering began to drop off... drastically. /31

Specialty stores, by definition, cater to established fans who enter to seek out their product of choice. I discovered comics in 7-11... /32

I doubt I ever would have had I not. This was reality, fewer new fans getting into comics because of a casual/impulse buy elsewhere. /33

Comic shops found themselves depending on an existing fanbase, that shrank (loss of interest, money issues) faster than grew. /34

Retailers were also in challenging straits because of rules of this direct market. Non-returnability, projected sales, etc. /35

Add to that a boom in alternative forms of entertainment. TV to cable, hundreds of channels, ramped up films, games, etc. All cut sales. /36

However, the BIGGEST damage came in the 90's, & is the result of a lot of these sales figures folks throw out - Speculator Market. /37

Because the market had done so well, Speculator/Collectors began seeing potential for comics as investment. Old issues were selling high./38

Folks now figured, buy a hot #1, or special cover, not to read, but as an investment. The Speculator Boom swept in & changed sales. /39

Certain comics sold through the roof (#1's, new series, top characters, fancy editions), others continued to stay flat or drop. Why? /40

Speculators were buying those comics by the dozen thinking they'd get rich off them. Worse, publishers and retailers played along. /41

We began to see more and more reboots, relaunches, variant covers, etc. all to boost sales. But then the Speculators bubble burst... /42

Reality set in that EVERYONE who ever wanted copies of 'hot books' bought them as well. Their investments fizzled & they wizened up. /43

This led to an implosion in the market, lots of retailers & publishers disappeared in the chaos, there was a purge across the board. /44

The Direct Market still has not fully recovered from this period & then other market forces developed that didn't help: Digital/Online. /45

Book stores began getting back to selling comics, but more focused on trades & OGN's as opposed to floppies. Online venues as well. /46

Sales skyrocketed there, quickly becoming the fastest growing format/genre in book store sales for years. Online sales as well. /47

Then came the Digital Revolution. Comics were there when the internet boomed. Webcomics became a thing, a new portal for new creators. /48

Digital sales started WAY before ipads & Comixology, but these became the foundation for a new wave of creators & titles first. /49

Bigger publishers shunned digital. Many thought it wouldn't grow, also pressure to not undercut the Direct Market kept them out. /50

Retailers spoke out against digital comics, hoping they would fail fast, because they knew growth meant more loss of sales for them. /50

Then came digital devices & specialized digital distribution sources for comics & big publishers could no longer resist the temptation. /51

Individual creators showed signs of doing well, digital comics gained audiences, creators fans, & saw growth. Then the iPad / smartphone /52

created a natural in for new fans of all stripes. The fastest growth in digital sales were not regular fans, but new fans, new customers./53

They became the new easy in, new casual/impulse buy: convenient, cheap, easy to access. So, publishers stormed the digital gates. /54

In less than a decade, most publishers have seen digital sales go from 0 to 12-14% of TOTAL sales - market wise, for a new format... /55

that's mindboggling. At the same time, they also saw book & trade sales growing far faster & more regular than floppy sales. /56

A lot of the loss of floppy sales also coincided with a general shift in print - smaller, disposeable print sales started failing. /57

This impacted magazines & every periodical including comics. As demand went up for higher quality paper, high quality printing - costs^^/58

Cover prices then went up & increases made them less competitive against other entertainment now ALSO more available, like movies & TV./59

Meanwhile, the existing fanbase of comics continued to shrink, but this new influx of new readers wanting content in other formats grew. /60

As technology continues to become more commonplace, & younger fans are more inclined to digital, or bigger servings of titles this... /61

impacts publisher strategies. They have to adapt. It's also meant DM retailers have had to adapt. Many have & do well. Others? NSM /62

Some retailers do outreach, special events, bring new fans in, cater to interests & educate buyers. They see strong sales growth. /63

Success in films have also led to a strong boost in comic fans & sales. Publishers, even when they may have changes in the book... /64

respond with specials tied more to the film, showing classic characters, repackage storylines films based on, etc. Good retailers know.../65

& respond to this with targeted marketing & sales. Digital libraries now contain hundreds of issues new fans can enjoy & access easily. /66

Which brings us to our current market. Comics market overall is growing & has steadily for over a decade. DM market has been up&down. /67

Book, online, digital sales stronger growth. Book market has also bred new publishing competition that outperforms the DM in sales./68

Scholastic was top OGN publisher 2016, why? Because they were a book publisher with strong distribution that made quality books for the /69

fastest growing niche of the book market, including books aimed at a more diverse, younger, & often female audience. Smart & successful. /70

Comic publishers who spent decades on newstands (now dying) & specialty shops (now suffering) are playing catch up, & HAVE TO to grow. /71

So, they are looking at market demographics not just for their existing sales, but similar sales in similar markets to compete./72

This is a LOT of the shifting dynamic you see in the comics market, books aimed at other audience publishers WANT to capture & doing so./73

Is every attempt a success? No, never is, BUT you are seeing experimentation in order to find what does work & what does not./74

I'm taking a break, will read some comments, & then talk about some of those strategies & reasons for them from a business angle. Peace!

BTW - Disclaimer, I'm not going to get sucked into arguments on fine points, nor a bunch of requests for 'proof.' You want to learn more...

do the research, you'll find this, for the level of detail it has, to be accurate. I'm on Twitter, not in front of a judge.

Questions however are welcome. Hope I did not scare those off.

Few more to add, here is a good link with several charts showing sales. Keep in mind, these are from Diamond only. comichron.com/vitalstatistic…

Note DM sales overall fluctuate a LOT but have generally grown in both units & dollars (more in dollars with price hikes). But scroll down/2

Trade sales have seen the overall largest growth since mid-90's showing this shifting trend even in the DM. Also note the dive in floppy/3

sales in the 90's that was the Speculator Market bubble blowing up. Ugly time in the industry, many thought it would be it's death./4