Traditional Comic books are dying

[clearspira]

Speaking of Netflix or Prime, I wonder if the future of comic books could be in a ''Netflix for comics'' whereby you pay a subscription to read the entire line for that month? There could also be a ''Netflix for comics Plus'' that could include back-issues and trades and whatnot. Just a thought.

[TGLS]

OK, let's bring some actual figures in here. From Comichron (https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html)


The comics industry has seen a steady increase in market size since 1997, where it floated around $300 million, to today where it has increased to about $1 billion (I am using North America as a bellwether for the whole industry). Unit sales too, have remained relatively steady over the 1997 to 2018 data (the average yearly sales for the top 300 since 1997 have been 79.1 million, while 2018 77.48 million, the five year period from 2015 to 2018 was on average 83.67 million). While some complain about rising prices, prices for the top 300 have remained consistent or lower than inflation relative to 1997 prices, here's a chart:

Code: Select all

Year|Price|Price by Inflation from 1997
----|-----|----------------------------
1997|2.62 |2.62
2002|3.07 |2.93
2007|3.27 |3.38
2012|3.54 |3.74
2017|3.91 |4.00
2018|4.00 |4.09

In other words, the comics industry seems to be doing just as well as it did in 1997. Any recent changes have had minor if any effect.

[clearspira]

OK, let's bring some actual figures in here. From Comichron (https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html)


The comics industry has seen a steady increase in market size since 1997, where it floated around $300 million, to today where it has increased to about $1 billion (I am using North America as a bellwether for the whole industry). Unit sales too, have remained relatively steady over the 1997 to 2018 data (the average yearly sales for the top 300 since 1997 have been 79.1 million, while 2018 77.48 million, the five year period from 2015 to 2018 was on average 83.67 million). While some complain about rising prices, prices for the top 300 have remained consistent or lower than inflation relative to 1997 prices, here's a chart:

Code: Select all

Year|Price|Price by Inflation from 1997
----|-----|----------------------------
1997|2.62 |2.62
2002|3.07 |2.93
2007|3.27 |3.38
2012|3.54 |3.74
2017|3.91 |4.00
2018|4.00 |4.09

In other words, the comics industry seems to be doing just as well as it did in 1997. Any recent changes have had minor if any effect.

I don't know what you were looking at on Comichron because this is what I see: (we'll go with 1997 as that is the year you picked)

Its figures for June 2019 puts 4 comics with sales above 100,000 sales.
Its figures for June 1997 puts 11 comics with sales above 100,000 sales.

Figures for the top 300 for 2008 puts average of 77.48 copies sold per month.
Figures for the top 300 for 1997 puts average of 100.32 million copies sold per month.

Clear drop.

[TGLS]

OK, let's bring some actual figures in here. From Comichron (https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html)


The comics industry has seen a steady increase in market size since 1997, where it floated around $300 million, to today where it has increased to about $1 billion (I am using North America as a bellwether for the whole industry). Unit sales too, have remained relatively steady over the 1997 to 2018 data (the average yearly sales for the top 300 since 1997 have been 79.1 million, while 2018 77.48 million, the five year period from 2015 to 2018 was on average 83.67 million). While some complain about rising prices, prices for the top 300 have remained consistent or lower than inflation relative to 1997 prices, here's a chart:

Code: Select all

Year|Price|Price by Inflation from 1997
----|-----|----------------------------
1997|2.62 |2.62
2002|3.07 |2.93
2007|3.27 |3.38
2012|3.54 |3.74
2017|3.91 |4.00
2018|4.00 |4.09

In other words, the comics industry seems to be doing just as well as it did in 1997. Any recent changes have had minor if any effect.

I don't know what you were looking at on Comichron because this is what I see: (we'll go with 1997 as that is the year you picked)

Its figures for June 2019 puts 4 comics with sales above 100,000 sales.
Its figures for June 1997 puts 11 comics with sales above 100,000 sales.

Figures for the top 300 for 2008 puts average of 77.48 copies sold per month.
Figures for the top 300 for 1997 puts average of 100.32 million copies sold per month.

Clear drop.

I was looking at https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html. Total size of the market (in dollars) has more than tripled since 1997. On average, the last couple years are consistent with the 1997-2018 average sales (1997's total unit sales was much higher than pretty much every year.)

[ProfessorDetective]

Speaking of Netflix or Prime, I wonder if the future of comic books could be in a ''Netflix for comics'' whereby you pay a subscription to read the entire line for that month? There could also be a ''Netflix for comics Plus'' that could include back-issues and trades and whatnot. Just a thought.

Doesn't the DC Universe service have that?

And I think Marvel has a... Yes! Marvel Unlimited! marvel.com/comics/unlimited

And, of course, there is Comixology Unlimited, if you aren't on the Amazon boycott wagon. https://www.comixology.com/unlimited

[Madner Kami]

I was looking at https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html. Total size of the market (in dollars) has more than tripled since 1997. On average, the last couple years are consistent with the 1997-2018 average sales (1997's total unit sales was much higher than pretty much every year.)

You can't more than tripple your revenue while selling almost the same amount of units with almost the same prize. There's something really off about your figures.

[TGLS]

I was looking at https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html. Total size of the market (in dollars) has more than tripled since 1997. On average, the last couple years are consistent with the 1997-2018 average sales (1997's total unit sales was much higher than pretty much every year.)

You can't more than tripple your revenue while selling almost the same amount of units with almost the same prize. There's something really off about your figures.

I'm estimating the number of units sold based on the sales of the top 300 comics (because it lacks total unit sales figures). The growing market size (without a large price increase) while the units sold in the top three hundred suggests that the comics outside the top three hundred are selling much better than they did 20 years ago.

[ProfessorDetective]

I was looking at https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html. Total size of the market (in dollars) has more than tripled since 1997. On average, the last couple years are consistent with the 1997-2018 average sales (1997's total unit sales was much higher than pretty much every year.)

You can't more than tripple your revenue while selling almost the same amount of units with almost the same prize. There's something really off about your figures.

I'm estimating the number of units sold based on the sales of the top 300 comics (because it lacks total unit sales figures). The growing market size (without a large price increase) while the units sold in the top three hundred suggests that the comics outside the top three hundred are selling much better than they did 20 years ago.

Dumb question, but these numbers account for inflation, right? '97 to '19 inflation markup is just short of 60%, for the record.

[TGLS]

Dumb question, but these numbers account for inflation, right? '97 to '19 inflation markup is just short of 60%, for the record.

I'm assuming not, but in either case $995 mil is so much larger than $310 mil that even adjusting to 2018 dollars wouldn't make too much of a difference. On the other hand, if the prices are adjusted for inflation, then that would make a meaningful difference.

[ProfessorDetective]

Dumb question, but these numbers account for inflation, right? '97 to '19 inflation markup is just short of 60%, for the record.

I'm assuming not, but in either case $995 mil is so much larger than $310 mil that even adjusting to 2018 dollars wouldn't make too much of a difference. On the other hand, if the prices are adjusted for inflation, then that would make a meaningful difference.

Let's use a reasonably stable metric: Action Comics!

Issue #736 of June '97 (ref: https://www.comixology.com/Action-Comics-1938-2011-736/digital-comic/458849) had a sticker price of $1.95.

While Issue #1013 of June '19 (ref: https://www.comixology.com/Action-Comics-2016-1013/digital-comic/784532) has a sticker price of... $3.99? Only a $2.00 increase? Huh.