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Underground > Comic Books >

Hypothetical Situation

  
 
moriarty
06:35 / 02.01.04
In reopening my blog, I've decided to look into one aspect of the current debate going on in the comics community on the future of the Direct Market. Almost no one in the comics community denies that the number of Direct Market comic readers is dwindling, however, the reason(s) for this decline and what can be done about it are always up for debate. In an essay for Journalista, Dirk Deppey pins the future of the Direct Market on the customers. Basically, he says that retailers are financially unable to stock their shelves with a wider variety of material without a demand for it. Without this variety, most attempts to entice new readers into shops will be met with failure. Typical catch-22. Therefore, if the current customers of the Direct Market wish to see it's survival, they should purchase more titles that appeal to people that have no interest in superheroes. This will in turn encourage the retailers to order the same or similar titles, thereby allowing them to have alternate material with little to no risk.

Obviously, there are those opposed to this line of thinking, as I'm sure many of you are. One of the more prominent comic bloggers, Neilalien, details where he agrees and disagrees with this solution. The area I find most interesting is one he touches on, which is “Journalista's right: they created the market they want- and they're not apologizing for it, all the way to oblivion if that's where it's headed.”

As I said, most people are in agreement that the Direct Market will continue to slide downward into non-existence if nothing is done. In fact, it may already be too late. Considering that almost the entirety of my comic purchases would not be affected by the demise of the Direct Market, I'm not trying to pass judgement one way or another. However, I am intrigued by the idea that comic book fans may be helping along their own extinction.

Therefore, I would like to ask a question.

Hypothetical situation. You are told that within a decade the Direct Market will cease to exist. Marvel and DC will fold, and their characters will exist solely in other mediums, if at all. You are given a guarantee that the Direct Market and your favourite Marvel or DC titles will survive, but only if a portion of your superhero comic book allowance is put toward non-superhero titles. What do you do, and if you agree to change your purchasing habits, how large a portion would you be willing to invest?

I realize that this is a rather simplified situation. What I'm getting at is, if this were true (and again, I realize that in the real world it's not at all this simple and that there is no guarantee that it would work) would you be willing to change your spending habits to ensure your favourite titles' survival, or would you rather go out without compromise, reading what you want without making any concessions, even if that means the future termination of whatever superhero titles you may read.

Though I'm most interested in any answers concerning my hypothetical question, this being Barbelith, I expect and encourage any thoughts on the topic as a whole.

Thanks.
 
 
MFreitas
08:46 / 02.01.04
Well, people are wrong! The direct marketing is actually growing. Stuart Moore recently wrote an excellent article where he provided actual industry numbers. The lowest point ever was January'97, with a global comicbook sales of 13 million USD. During last year, we've had an average total of 18 million USD, with a peak of about 21 million in october, I believe. And we're only talking comicbooks, which means no trade paperbacks accounted for. And I hope I won't have to explain that paperback sales are growing exponentially.
 
 
sleazenation
11:07 / 02.01.04
surely most of those who read either journalista or barbelith *already* buy comics from all varieties of comic publisher?

or am i in the minority here?
 
 
moriarty
16:05 / 02.01.04
Thanks for responding, both of you. If you can find the time, would it be any trouble to ask either of you to answer the question? Thanks.

Mfreitas, I would suggest posting such gems as that Stuart Moore article whenever you reference such things in the future, not only to lend weight to your argument, but because in this case it is a genuinely interesting piece. Looking at the Numbers and Moore's follow-up. I especially like the comments on the bookstore market in the follow-up, which reflects my own experiences in that trade. Scroll down for further debate on his interpretation of the current marketplace.

Again, I don't have a personal stake in the survival of the Direct Market, so I haven't done as much research as to the validity of all the Doomsday talk as I maybe should have. Still, considering the near-monopolies that exist within the Direct Market, it may not take much more than one or two companies going under to severly damage, cripple, or destroy the market completely.

Sleaze, I'm not encouraging this practice. I'm simply asking what, if anything, someone might do to keep the Direct Market afloat assuming that it is in danger of extinction. I don't necessarily agree with the tactic, or at least I don't think it's nearly enough to successfully get new blood into the shops. I just like the idea of posing a What If. Of the people who have responded (in other areas onlin and in real life) there is a feeling that they wouldn't go out of their way to save the industry by buying books outside of their regular habits, which is a perfectly valid response.

Finally, it doesn't matter how many non-superhero comics you already do or do not buy as the question asks if you would be willing to devote "a portion of your superhero comic book allowance", no matter how small or large that amount already is.
 
 
Simplist
16:21 / 02.01.04
Short answer, the vast majority of people (me included, since that was your specific question) are not going to go out of their way to spend money on things they don't want for the sake of some hypothetical long-term benefit to the industry.

That said, my own comics-buying trajectory over the last year or so may suggest the only way such a thing could work: My former superhero comic purchases have been almost entirely replaced by manga. Not out of any conscious decision to "buy non-superhero comics" or anything of the sort--rather, with so much of the stuff suddenly becoming available I just started buying the occasional recommended volume to check it out, got sucked into a few series, then others, and at a certain point realized my impulse-buying of superhero titles had pretty much ceased in favor of more and more manga, my scifi/fantasy/action/adventure jones being well-satisfied thereby.

Now, the way this could savethecomicbookindustry(tm) is fairly obvious: If enough superhero readers followed a similiar trajectory, even partially, comic shops could begin to carry a much larger selection of manga than the average Barnes & Noble does (the largest manga selection in a comic shop in my area is still only three-fourths the size of B&N's), thereby pulling in all those oft-discussed "younger readers" who currently buy 300,000 copies a month of Shonen Jump from big chain bookstores (not to mention all the [young, female] shoujo readers, etc.), and who presently may not even be aware there's such a thing as a specialty comic shop. If the average manga reader moved to the direct market, the market could what, double? triple? in size (current stores making lots more $$, new stores opening), and DC and Marvel would be quite safe for the forseeable future, as any loss in initial readership to manga would be offset by the acquisition (via hypothetical new stores and more heavily-trafficked old ones) of new readers.

So a better strategy (better than "consciously buy comics you don't want to savetheindustry", which no one's going to do anyway) would be a more subtle one, namely "hey, if you like scifi/fantasy/action/adventure comics in the form of superheroes, you should really check out [x, y, z manga titles]". Same effect ultimately, but much more likely to actually work.
 
 
Krug
16:35 / 02.01.04
I follow writers not characters or companies.
 
 
moriarty
17:01 / 02.01.04
Funf, did you post your response in the wrong thread by mistake?

I realize completely that my initial post is a silly scenerio, though I do hope it will provoke some thought. I'm just trying to gauge how far current Direct Market customers would go to save the industry. Would they enjoy the hell out of the next decade without making any compromises, and would they have any regrets for their decision afterwards? Or would they be willing to consciously try something different (not necessarily something that they don't like, though that is a possiblity) to prevent such an event from occuring? Do they feel a responsibility to the industry, if even to just keep those titles they enjoy in publication, or would they be willing to let the Direct Market stand or fall on its own and move on to other things?

This is just the kind of discussion I don't see when this topic comes up in other venues. Judging by the responses so far, even in a clear-cut, either/or, direct action, fictional scenerio, there is a good chance that consumers would let the Direct Market fall rather then make compromises, which does not bode well for any real world problems that may occur.
 
 
sleazenation
13:11 / 03.01.04
lots of interesting stuff here (which probably means i won't get round to commenting on everything I want to).

on the idea of having a 'superhero budget' seems strange to me - I tend to pick up what i think looks interesting. i understand that the point of framing the question in such terms is to introduce some element of sacrifice, but it seems an odd way to put it. It also seems to imply a preconcieved notion that to 'save the industry' readers might have to stop buying comics they enjoy, a thesis that i'm not sure i agree with.

I'm also not certain that A) saving the direct market is desirable B)how anyone attempting to save the direct market would successfully go about it.

My bottom line on buying a comic is do i enjoy it.
There are a variety of ways to enjoy a comic, but i don't think I'd be particularly willing to spend money on comics i am not enjoying.
 
 
fluid_state
05:59 / 04.01.04
Damn good question. I already go out of my way to buy things that my habit/taste/budget don't allow for (about twice a month, as I go to the comic store weekly, I'll grab something on a whim. Bad for my bankbook, good for visitors who don't share my bias in comics). I'm wondering if I could consistently buy an Archie comic along with every issue of 100 Bullets. That is, I'm curious if I could buy something I know I have no interest in, if only to maintain the titles I do like. Chances are, I'd get too pissed off at an industry that couldn't come up with a better business model than that, and I'd just let my love of comics rest (and perhaps die). Much lamented, and it would probably take about a year and a sizeable chunk of my paycheck, but there's only so long you can support mismanagement.

Well timed question, too. Today, I was driving by the convienience store I used to buy comics at. They don't sell comics there anymore (they stopped, perhaps coincidentally, when I moved out of town), but for years, they were my only source. Got the "Death in the Family" TPB there. Maybe the death of the Direct market is just a new beginning for a more accessible age. I'd have been blessed indeed if that store had access to, say, Zot! when I was 15 (which is a comic that SHOULD have been sold in a convienience store, to kids of all ages).
 
  
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