DECLINING READERSHIP OR DECLINING BUYERSHIP:: PART I
At Heidi McDonald’s “The Beat”, her crack team of analyzers go over the monthly estimated order numbers from all the publishers selling through the “direct market” (known to you and me as Comic Book Stores). I enjoy the articles for what they are: Educated guesses about trends of what comic shops have bought. These numbers don’t catch the actual sell through at the stores, mail subscriptions or newsstand sales[1] (such as 7-11s or Border’s or whatever).
The best selling titles for March of 2010 topped out at around 135,000 for DC and 113,000 at Marvel. This got me thinking about comic sales, and why they seem to be so, so low. Interest and awareness of comic characters is higher than I can ever recall, so why the low numbers? Have trade paperback sales eaten into monthly circulation? Is the overall impenetrability of the major titles discouraging to new readers? Is $4 too much for a ten minute read? Do people download them for free? Is print media DOA? Let’s look at historical comic sales trends before we use Heroesonline to save the comics industry!
With some internet digging, here are some comic sales factoids (courtesy of The Comics Chronicles), gleaned from the Postal Service Statement of Ownership and Circulation, which used to be run once a year in the back of most comics:
In 1960, the best selling comic was Uncle Scrooge, moving on average 1,040,000 copies per month. Superman topped out at around 810,000 copies.
Batman’s television debut in 1966 saw his eponymous title rocket to the number one spot with nearly 900,000 copies sold on average. Marvel’s best selling title was Amazing Spider-Man at number 16, which turned about 340,000 issues, edged out by the Catholic Guild’s Treasure Chest by over 8000 units!
1969 saw Marvel finally break into the top 10, with Spidey’s circulation at around 372,000, Superman’s near 511,000, and Archie taking number one with 515,000 comics sold.
The 1970s saw a dramatic decline in comic sales, marked by numerous price hikes, from 15¢ in 1969 to 40¢ by 1979. In order to make more money, both major companies started to up their output. In order to bolster sales and beat out Marvel, who had finally surged ahead in the ’70s, DC increased their line dramatically in the famous “DC Explosion”. This was followed by the infamous “DC Implosion” in 1978, leading to the sudden cancellation of 20 titles. Over the next ten years, the newsstand market steadily declined to the point of effective nonexistence.
Concurrent to this, comic sales rebounded, primarily through the direct market of specialty comic book stores. Things seemed good for the next 15 years, until the the speculators market of the 90s. What followed was an industry-wide implosion that we’re still dealing with the effects of today. We’ll get to that over the weekend, as well as how digital distribution just might be the new “newsstand”!
[1] From their inception in the 1930s through the 1980s, a comic’s print run was was significantly higher then it is today, up to 100% of the eventual sell-through. Newsstand distribution allowed for the return of unsold items, where a vendor would “strip” the cover from the book and send it back to the distributor for refund or credit. Cancellation of titles seems to have occurred when they fell below that 50%-ish sell-through.
The shoes were–of course– Keds’ Red Ball Jets and I bet a pair of those are worth more today than a ’60s comic, but good luck finding a pair in better than Fine Condition. mine were a tad ripe!
Phil wrote: “Interest and awareness of comic characters is higher than I can ever recall, so why the low numbers?”
Here is my guess– the quantity (and certainly) the quality of the Superhero cartoons found on Cartoon Network. When Anya was in second or third grade, a fair number of the kids were watching Teen Titans, Legion and the X-Men and from what I gleaned– hardly any of them read any comics. If I ran into their parents, I’d tell them about Heroes; but for all practical purposes both parent and child only knew the Titans and the Legion as TV shows and nothing else.
Back in the day when your shoeless commentator was watching Batman, Mr. Terrific, Captain Nice and the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure on the TV, I would see issues of Batman, Aquaman and even Mr. Terrific (in the JLA/JSA team-ups) on the stands at the grocery store, at the Drug store and at the Barber shop.
Perhaps I am simplifying the problem and this is by no means scientific, but it seems as though Disney and Warner need to step up and make the actual comics an integral part of the viewing experience.
A 30 second ad– ON SALE NOW– might do wonders.
Just a thought.
Andy said: “issues…on the stands at the grocery store, at the Drug store and at the Barber shop.”
You must have read the mental draft of my next internet musing! Comics seem to work wonders as impulse buys, and I don’t know how many people impulsively ride out to the comics shop.
And, as an addendum, estimated sales during 1941 had Captain Marvel selling at around 1,400,000, with Superman, Batman, Captain America, Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch selling around a million copies per issue.
And those issues were usually read by more than one person!
Wow! Great article Phil! As usual, I’m impressed with your amount of knowledge on the subject…
And Andy, good point! A 30 second add WOULD do wonders. There are NO advertisements for comics anywhere but IN comics. But even if they were still sold EVERYWHERE, would they be an effective “impulse” buy at $2.99-$3.99 a pop, as they would have back in the day at $.35? My weekly list is pretty small now(that I no longer work at Heroes and have no good paying J.O.B.) It’d be a lot easier if they were still $.35!
The price point is an interesting issue. One other time on another forum a couple of years back someone compared the price of comic books to the price of time, life, etc. and found that comics had actually inflated less than the other periodicals. I think the Marvel Magazines (are those still publihsed?) that had 2-3 stories plus some additional material for ~7 bucks were a great Idea. Really I think the biggest problem with modern comics is the format. 22pages of story in a non standard size. Comics used to be the same size as time. time went bigger and thicker and raised the price. Comics went smaller and smaller. A big mistake. My 2 cents. A bit of a ramble, but there it is. Flame on! 🙂
Comics kept their .10 price point for years by getting smaller, until there was the modern average of 20-22 pages was reached in the 60s. I remember them going to 17 pages for a little while in the late 70s maybe, but then went right back up to 22 pages.
I really wonder how the loss of advertisements has affected the price points of comics. Anybody have any info on that?
Great job, Phil. And great discussion everybody else. A good lunch time read!
Great article, Phil. Looking forward to the next installment.
Andy, your comment about superhero cartoons on TV didn’t go exactly where I thought it was going but maybe it’s what you meant anyway. I think with cartoons as good as the ones on Cartoon Network and superhero movies finally able to do some justice to the comics there is not as much that comics can offer that these movies, TV and video games can’t replicate. Devoted comic readers like us know that’s not exactly true and that the active experience of reading a comic and using your imagination to do so can be more engaging that the more passive experience of watching it play out on TV but most people looking for quick thrills would not agree and opt for sitting back in their sofa and watching Iron Man blast off and blow out the speakers in their home theater.
remember the “continued on 3rd page”? That use to burn me up.
I used to love some of the ads. The Hostess ones and Mile High comics. I kept wanting to save enough for Giant size X-men 1. The movies are else worlds or “Ultimate”. An interesting interpretation of the spirit of the character. There is something special about reading comics. But I think there is something special to listening to the scratches and hisses on a LP record. Really excited about heroes con and if it can bring back that sense of wonder of when I went to my 1st con 25 years ago.
Take those ads back a few years.
Sell GRIT!
Join the Columbia Record Club; Get 9 LPs for 1.99
Sea Monkeys (The dad Sea Monkeys smoke a pipe, the Mom’s wear an apron!)
100 Plastic Soldiers just 2.99; recreate Anzio in your sandbox
X-Ray Specs
And then of course the great, great great Marvel Bullpen Bulletins with Stan’s Soapbox and the Marvel Checklist.
That checklist made me want every marvel comic:
Still on Sale: Marvel Collector’s Item #9 Mighty Marvel Western #12
AWESOME!!!!!
Andy-My Sea Monkeys didn’t come with a pipe OR an apron…In fact, they came DEAD. I was scarred for life. Thank you for helping me remember such a painful chapter of my wasted youth.
Sorry if you are feeling low– why don’t you treat yourself to a seven foot long Polaris Nuclear Sub. Ii has a periscope that really works and missiles that actually fire! And….it’s only $6.99!!!!! Once you’ve gotten your parents permission and waited the 3-6 months for delivery, your first missile target can be the PO Box of those responsible for sending you dead sea monkeys!! Ah Closure!