The State of the Comic Book Industry
In this episode, we talk about the current state of the comic book industry. Covering such topics as: the rise of Manga, the failings of DC and Marvel to get comics properly distributed, asking just how well the industry does or doesn't know its audience, and the possible future of DC comics after the Discovery/ Time Warner merger.
00:00 James introduces the topic and turns the show over to Joe to start the conversation. We discuss the rise of Manga sales, why DC and Marvel are not growing like Manga, the current price point on comics, the endless universe wide events, and lament the fact that the comic industry is only using local comic stores to distribute comics while missing a larger market.
14:00 We start a conversation about Free Comic Book Day and question whether or not it actually helps sell comics.
21:00 Chris says he thinks the comic industry should figure out who their market is, how to reach them, and be more diverse in who they market to.
25:00 Chris asks: "would it be terrible if they stopped printing physical books?" This leads us to a discussion about the physical experience versus a digital one.
34:00 We talk about how the industry doesn't seem to make a coordinated effort to market these books to the current (or new) audience.
39:00 We talk about how Batman is the highest selling DC comics character and books miss an opportunity to have him be the gateway to introduce other characters.
47:00 We discuss what might happen to the publishing wing of DC after the Warner and Discovery merger; this leads to a talk about the recent problems with the relaunch of ComiXology.
56:00 We wrap things up with our recommendations and a talk about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
