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Elayne Riggs points out that today is National Comics Day. I have idea why I am still so fascinated by the comics industry. I worked for a comics distributor (running their warehouse floor) and a comic retailer (managing a store owned by that same distributor) during the 90's speculation bubble. I don't even really like comics. I have only one Sandman trade paperback in my house, and I bought that for my wife. Somewhere in my folk's place, buried in with all the rest of the junk I could not take to Memphis and promised to be back for real soon, is a bagged copy of the Death of Superman (DC had a line of shirts out at the time with the legend "where were you when Superman died?" I was in Gary - unloading the freakin' body), and I think maybe one or two Cerbus collections (C'mon - an aardvark with a sword and a critique of British politics - what's not to like?).
Frankly, I didn't like too many of the comic realtors I met, either. When a thirty year old man wants to have a discussion with you about the sex lives of the X-men, that's a problem - and it happened far too frequently for comfort. I also wasn't comfortable with the overt sexism I saw in far too many books and shops.
Still, I am fascinated with the industry. Jim Henley, oddly enough, caught my eye with his posts on the comics industry. There are some very talented artists and writers working in it, and I knew people - both on the retail and creative side - who got creamed when the bubble burst. That's part of it, I suppose. Part of it, I guess, is my fascination with the process of creating art. Part of it, probably, are the parallels between comics and a form of literature I truly do enjoy - speculative fiction. Both are ghettoized in literary circles (comics to a greater degree, I think) and both have their die-hards who recoil in horror when someone from inside the ghetto tries to expand the walls (in sf, it's some of the hard science fiction junkies, in comics, it's some of the superhero fanboys).
Part of if it is probably that it's just such a weird little industry. It sells books that are tens of pages long for (when I was in the business) about a buck and quarter to two fifty (for the really fancy covers) at a time when novels in the hundreds of pages sold for about three to six bucks, animated videos sold for around ten bucks, and video games for around twenty. It is constantly surrounded by sharks, in the form of speculators looking for the Next Big Investment, and its main distribution channel is little specialty shops run largely by people with no business sense and little desire to expand their markets but a burning passion for the medium. Its main publishers are run by people whose business acumen and public relations skills generally make the RIAA seem good by comparison. It treats its talent horribly, and yet they never seem to leave the industry. There is a core of readers, talent, and small business people that are just consumed with the desire to see their favorite medium succeed, and that's always a compelling situation.
There isn't really any point to this. I am not going to urge buying comics from your local shop on anyone. I am certainly not going to suddenly rush out and buy the latest Superman. I am just a little bit surprise by how much attention I still pay to it. I guess, despite my misgivings about the industry and some of its conventions and practices, I hope that the people with passion find thatsuch passion is enough to keep the system running for them.
FYI, the cheapest books are around $2.50 now, and up to $5.95 or more for "fancy" books.
--Kynn
Crikey, it's been a while since I bought anything but trade paperbacks... 2.50 to 5.95!!!! Jeebus.
The speculation bubble drove me out of the comic shops as well. Around here they were pushing good indy stuff - Cerebus, Thieves & Kings, Dessert Peach, even Love & Rockets - off the shelfs to make more room for the umpteen foil covered covers of New Improved Extra Spicy X-Men #1 and Uber Excellent Kickass Groovy X-Men #1 and Interstellar Munchkin Lovin' Hyper X-Men #1 and ...
Last time I was in the shop I remarked that anything marketed as a collector's item was almost certain never to be such a thing. About a dozen geeks with stacks of Titanium Embossed Indefatigable Spiderman #1 grasped in their quivering arms looked at me like I was from Mars.
Oh well, I'm still holding on to my signed Love & Rockets #5 and my near-mint copy of What If #27 (first Frank Miller comic... ever). Some day the market for real collectables will return.
I oughta check the prices on all those Chris Claremont X-Men books I've got as well....
Posted by: Harry TuttleKynn
Jeez -5.95???? I just bought the paperback of American Gods for 7.95 or so. Man.
Posted by: kevinOne thing to take a look at in terms of the comic industry if you've been away for a while is the whole graphic novel in bookstores thing.
The massive popularity of manga (take a look in Waldenbooks), seems to be having an effect. Various indy companies like Oni Press are now starting to release 200-page B&W GNs in bookstores for about $10 each, and it seems like they may be doing well.
Must of the superhero and specialty shops seems to remain the same, but this new phonomenon in bookstores is a pretty big break...
I've also seen some local comic shops (like Modern Myths in Northampton, MA) who are less like a traditional comic shop and more like a specialty bookstore with bookcases full of GNs, sorted into various categories like Family, Superheros, Manga, etc... It is well lit and seems like a place that families would have no trouble going to. IMO, this is the future of things and something talked about in more detail in this article:
http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=571
Shawn
Shawn
Actually, the grpahic novel section is how I found the Sandman collection for my wife. I noticed it in passing, and picked it up on whim because I thought she would enjoy it.
Interesting lok at comics retailing. Thanks for the link.
Posted by: kevinI have a BA in Sequential Art, belileve it or not. I've only recently started buying comics again, and then only because of Neil Gaiman's 1602 (even if you aren't a Marvelite, you should check it out). In college I was heavy into the indy comics scene, with Fantagraphics and Oni and all that. Mostly now though I just read the graphic novels because, well, who wants to read twenty pages of a story and then wait 30 days to get o the next chapter? And at 2.50 a pop, you'll end up paying 30 bucks or more for the whole thing when you could wait a few more months and buy the collection for half the price.
Personally I thinkt he comics industry is in a far more dire situation then they are letting on. Marvelis solvent only because of their movies. I read somewhere (forgot where so no source) that they are actually loosing money on the comics but make up so mucvh more in the movies and tie ins that they view the comics basically as advertising, and thus an exceptable loss.
But there is still some great indy stuff out there. You jus have to hunt for it. Much like the Book publishing industry.
Posted by: JorgeActually Jorge, Marvel does make money publishing (they publish the figures, but I'm too lazy to bother checking the archives of http://www.tcj.com/journalista/ looking for the figures). You're thinking of DC Comics, which--according to ex-Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, and current EIC Joe Quesada-- isn't under pressure to make money, because DC's parent Time-Warner views them as an R&D lab for new properties. I've always been pretty skeptical about that theory though.
Posted by: Goodman
