Comic Books Should Call It Quits

[stevekenson]

I was thinking this morning: comic book publishers make the vast majority of their money off licensing (particularly to other media like films) and sales to the book trade of collections (trade paperbacks and things like the Essentials or Showcase reprints), plus now the release of back-issue collections on CDs (much like TV on DVD).

They should just stop publishing monthly books altogether: they're a dying market, rarely on-time anyway, and create a needless treadmill that demands X pages of story and art every month. Instead, when creators have a story to tell, have them tell it, either as a complete graphic novel (or series thereof) or a "short story" that can appear in a collection (or as a downloadable webcomic, or both). It was one thing when comics were printed on pulp paper "all in color for a dime!" but now that individual comics are going for around three bucks, it's time to pack it in, if you ask me (and anyone who knows me knows what a comic book-loving geek I am). Times are changing, time to change with them.

Comments

[mforbeck.livejournal.com]

The market's certainly moving that way, but the Big Two publishers have no incentive to change. With the comics, they get a certain amount of income, and then they get the gravy of the TPB. Without the monthlies, they wouldn't get the original shot of income, and the TPB prices would likely have to be much higher, costing them even more sales.

With the current model, they get to have their cake and eat it too. They get the hardcore junkies in every week, and they get the rest of us grabbing the TPBs when the collect the series that sell well. Initial monthlies numbers can also tell them whether or not it's worthwhile to collect any particular book or series.

Here's a thought: Asking comics publishers to quit doing monthlies is like asking RPG companies to quit printing supplements. To get off the treadmill and just produce great products. It sounds great in practice, but getting them (and their customers) to switch tracks can be difficult.

[princeofcairo.livejournal.com]

Here's a thought: Asking comics publishers to quit doing monthlies is like asking RPG companies to quit printing supplements.

Or at least, to quit printing "lines," and shifting to something like the Orpheus or Blue Rose model of "three books and out." (Although ironically, a company like Hero or SJG would have to shift models least under this new regime -- most of their books are effectively stand-alone anyhow.)

It sounds great in practice, but getting them (and their customers) to switch tracks can be difficult.

The difference being that periodical distribution systems work for periodical comic books, and demonstrably don't work for RPG lines. In an era when comic book sales are actually increasing, and RPG sales are falling through the floor, making the shift to the "TPB" model is actually far more urgent for RPGs than it is for comics.

And there are comic companies already that pretty much only produce TPBs, AIT/Planet Lar being the one that pops instantly to mind.