The opinions expressed in the Editor’s Rant! Are the opinions of the writer and not necessarily the opinions of the other members of the Original Comic Creator’s Club. Any questions or responses to this article please post in the club. There used to be more comic buyers. Heck, there were more comic buyers 6 years ago! But I’m talking about way back, like in the 1940’s. I have no concrete figures, but from what I’ve heard and read, the readership for comics numbered in the millions! This is pretty substantial for the comics scene in North America. The comic industry in Japan apparently caters to millions of readers; it’s still a healthy & prosperous industry there.
So what’s wrong with the comics scene in North America?
Is it one reason? The prices are too high? The story/overall quality has dropped? Maybe comics aren’t widely available enough to potential new readers: most comics are only available in comic stores, so you’d only find comic if you were purposefully looking for them. The only comics found in bookstores are usually the TPBs (Trade Paperback Collections). Or maybe it’s a combination of all these factors, and more.
I’m beginning to wonder if comic publishing schedules should be changed. In Japan, comics (called Manga) are published in huge weekly or monthly anthologies, hundreds of pages long in some cases. Here, comics are published individually, usually on a monthly or less frequent schedule, containing about 22 pages of story & art. A complaint I’ve heard about comics are that they don’t tell enough story per issue; not enough “bang for your buck”. The comics anthologies provide sheer volume that dwarfs most comics here.
Price/Format: Another complaint about comics: that they’re too expensive. This is definitely an opinion I’ve expressed, personally. Look at how comics have skyrocketed in price recently: in the last 6 years, comics have increased in price by about 150%! Of course, part of the reason for the increase is rising production/printing costs. Colouring has become more sophisticated since computer colouring was introduced, and the paper quality needs to be higher in accordance to take advantage of the new colouring. Again, looking at the Japanese model of comics production, their comics are mostly printed in black & white on low-grade newsprint. While it’s nice to have a comic that doesn’t tear like tissue in your hands, these added costs are surely passed onto the readers in the cover price.
Publishing schedules: A lot of comics from the large companies, like Marvel or DC, stick to a strict monthly schedule. These companies also offer only a limited variety of subject matter; focusing mainly on super-heroes. But when we talk about the artistry of comics, or their artistic creative potential, can or should a schedule be placed on that? Deadlines for comics production are more rigid for novelists, but more flexible than TV production schedules. Looking at the comics scene in Europe, schedules seem much looser, and like in Japan, comics are also released in anthologies (though not in the volume of manga anthologies). By having a more relaxed publishing schedule, it may give the artist(s) more freedom to create the best work they’re capable of. But like all entertainment mediums, there will be a majority of “pop-culture” material, with only a small number of works having true artistic or literary impact. This is the same for comics as it is for TV, books, movies, music, etc. But the monthly deadline usually only hinders the artistic potential of comics. The comics industry IS a business, so schedules are necessary. But maybe we should examine the format/schedules of comic production; the monthly schedules have been around for many decades after all. Time to use a North American example: the comic DANGER GIRL, by J. Scott Campbell, is published very infrequently. In fact, the comic has missed several deadlines. Fans grumble, but when an issue of Danger Girl does come out, it still sells extremely well; a top seller. Now however you feel personally about Danger Girl is not really the point. I’m just using it as an example of a popular comic. Now, this brings me to another point I’ve heard about regarding comics: people say that they’d rather have a really good comic that comes out less frequently, that a mediocre comic that is published regularly. The sales of Danger Girl and other top-selling comics that are published irregularly seem to confirm this. The downside of a lax or infrequent publishing schedule is that it doesn’t help new readers “jump on board” a title. Will Danger Girl & other titles with similar publishing schedules have readerships that level off or steadily decrease in a few years?
Another argument about comics: that they need to have better writing, need to be more diverse. Sure, this is true. I’ve heard it & said it more that a few times, so I don’t need to get into that here. But what about all the diverse titles that are being published right now? Distribution & availability are crucial factors. It’s not possible to walk into any store and see ALL the comics released each month. Stores can only stock a relative few of all the titles produced; their ordering is based on comics they know are good sellers. The Diamond Distributor catalogue, PREVIEWS, is the only way to find out about most of the titles available each month. Most comics listed in Previews are only given a 1inch image of the cover, and about 1 or 2 inch description of the story. And Previews is so large that you’d have to spend an hour to look through it all. It’s no wonder that so many good comics are missed.
The aftermath of the “distributor wars”: A few years ago, Marvel Comics started their own distributing company exclusively for their own comics. This touched off a “war” between all the other comics distributing companies, each trying to sign other comic companies to exclusive deals. Diamond Distributing clearly won the “war”, signing almost all the other major companies to exclusive contracts. This basically killed all the other distributors, leaving Diamond with a virtual monopoly that only increased when Marvel folded their own distributing company & rejoined Diamond. The lack of competition for Diamond and the lack of distributing outlets was highly detrimental to the small comic companies & self-publishers. Thus, fewer comics available to offer varied & eclectic subject matter. I know that I used to collect a wider variety of comics than I do now, but most of the comics I used to collect (I used to collect a lot of B&W small press titles) have been cancelled.
I’ve been trying to understand the reasons for the decline in the comics industry for years. I’ve seen comics “booms” & “busts”, and my instincts tell me that it’s all part of a cycle; and the cycle will once again swing round to a time of prosperity for comics. But the exact reasons for the shrinking readership still elude me, as they do everyone else. The ever-expanding computer gaming and Internet market may have an impact; taking away from comics. We have to shift the focus to the material being produced, and the readership we aim to capture in comics: diversity is needed for both!
Later
~Don