I was looking over the March comic sales on ICv2 this morning and I was stunned by the low sales. The #2 book was in the 70,000s. What is going on? The former cancelation line of 10,000 unites (for Marvel and DC) hit at #193. #300 only sold 4500 copies. These numbers seem really low.
So, anticipating much teeth gnashing and the proclamation that “print comics are dead” and the “Direct market (Comic Book stores) are outmoded and a thing of the past”, I started thinking about what is going on.
Sales in my store are stronger than ever. New comics account for 46% of my total sales. So why are comic sales seemingly dropping? Here are my thoughts.
1. Nothing right now to get excited about.
The #1 book had inflated numbers because of a Marvel promotion. If we exceed our orders of a certain issue, we got FF #1 for a higher than regular discount which let me order twice as many as I would have for the same cost. That is the #1 reason for its sales numbers.
The top DC books are Green Lantern book and Brightest Day, but no one can really jump into either of those books and be able to figure out what is going on. Both are very strong sellers and have been building an audience for a while, but it is not easy for me to say, “Here, try this” without giving a 15 minute getting up to speed talk. I am happy to Batman books up there. They have been good, but I am worried that there may be too much Batman right now and it may scare some people off.
But for the most part, there is no buzz book out. Fear Itself hasn’t been flying off the shelf yet (it hasn’t even sold as many copies as FF #1 for me yet, but its only been one week).
2. Re-launch burn out at Marvel.
I was surprised at how low the Avengers and X-books were on the list. (Uncanny #19, Avengers #8, Wolverine #28. These used to be Top of the list and all Top 10 books. So, I looked at my sales numbers since the launches of the new books and was amazed. I am comparing the current issue to #2. #1s have an artificial bump.
Avengers – Down 56%
New Avengers – Down 26%
Secret Avengers – Down 50%
X-Men – Down 58%
Wolverine – Down 39%
And this leads to an additional problem. Retailers have to order tighter. I can’t really prepare for these kinds of drops. Wolverine dropped 39% in 5 issues. I order based on the sales of the last issue (or the issue before that because I may only have a few days of sales data for the newest one). It doesn’t make sense to order less than the last issue sold. But now I have a lot left on the shelf. And that is money tied up in books that I could spend on other things. So I order tighter where I can. And that leads to less growth.
3. Digital
Is digital a factor in this? I am going to say yes, but not in the way the digital proponents want. I bet that, with the proliferation of iPads and iPad type devices, more people are reading digital comics. But I bet that most are not paid for. If digital sales were booming, you know that the publishers would be screaming this from the rooftops. But you don’t hear that. With these low numbers, you’d think someone would be shouting that they sell more downloads that print copies. But no one has said that yet. At least not of the bigger publishers and not that I have heard. And downloads of a free app is not the same as digital comic sales.
4. The Economy
Right now, its tough. People are cutting any book that they do not feel is worth the $3-$4 price. Value is very important. I have a customer here right now who is pissed that he wasted $6 on the JLA Annual. That is not good. He will be far less likely to take a chance on the next one shot. Too many books are marking time or filling shelf space rather than being important stories. This one is on the publishers. Make the books important. When I see creator carousels on Teen Titans and Supergirl, I know why the sales are dropping. While I am interested in Flashpoint, I doubt there will be very many customers who buy the mini series and all 16 mini series and one-shots. So I know going in that I am going to have a lot of unsold books. Which ones? No idea. This is a case where I would kill to have a preview copy of Flashpoint #1 and the first issue of each miniseries before placing my order. But, I understand they are afraid of letting the cat out of the bag early.
5. Number of outlets selling comics
How many comic book stores have closed in the last year? I bet that this has a big effect on overall sales. Heck, what about Borders? The last time I was in one (a long time ago, I have enough to read in the store) my local one carried comics. If they lost all of the Borders orders, that would be a pretty sizable drop in overall sales numbers.
So, is the comic market healthy right now? Probably not as healthy as I would like it to be, but don’t stick a fork in us just yet.
For me it’s mostly the economy. Marvel just doesn’t get it. Last year the “officially” raised their cover prices to $3.99. All during the 2nd worst economic downturn in the history of the US.
Marvel has lost most of my business. From their arrogance, greed and event fatigue. Enough is enough, stop killing characters off for a bump in sales.
That being said, I’ve tried a ton of new books from DC, Image and Dark Horse. And even some IDW books. And guess what, I liked them.
And one final thing that is taking a bite out of comics, is folks can illegally download comics. Either because they cost too much, and aren’t very good stories being told.
Just my 2 cents.