Comic Book Dinosaurs Face Meteoric Market Shift
Comic book stores lost a record US $85 million, while digital downloads surpassed US $100 million in sales for the first time.
In late June, ICv2 and Comichron released their annual collaborative analysis of industry-wide yearly comic book sales1 for 2020. Despite a headline hyping that âComics and graphic novel sales hit new highâ, thereâs a bit more analysis left in the data. Independent comic book creators, small publishers, and local comics shop owners arenât just getting a view of their competitive landscape, theyâre also confronted with some harsh truths.
Last yearâs industry-wide comic book sales matter because they highlight alarming shifts in the industry.
Comic books have become a low-growth industry, and overall market demand trended down during a period of social isolation.
Demand for digital comics has been significant over the past year.
Local comics shops canât survive on comic books alone anymore.
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Comic book market growth halved in a time when it should have increased significantly. Despite significant growth of digital downloads and book channels, a healthy increase in graphic novel sales, and a customer base with more disposable income and time than ever before, the comic book marketâs growth rate was just below 6% in 2020. Thatâs nearly half the growth rate of 2019, which was 10% that year.
Sales from comic book stores (here called âlocal comics shopsâ) declined for the second year in a row. With a loss of US $85 million, itâs the most significant drop in local comics shop sales to date. Book channels like Scholastic, bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, and digital download platforms like Comixology appear to have made up for these lost sales even as each of those channels experienced much stronger individual growth of their own.
Additionally, comic book sales from other channels are growing. Comichron implies that this is driven by crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, noting the latter experienced a 60% increase in comic book funding in 2020.
Digital downloads surpassed US $100 million in sales for the first time. Revenue from digital downloads climbed 178%, increasing to US $160 million from US $90 million the previous year. This is in stark contrast to pre-pandemic statements of influential industry professionals which downplayed the demand for digital comic books.
Graphic novels continue to outpace other comic book formats, earning nearly twice the revenue of all other comic book formats combined. In 2020, revenue from graphic novels grew to US $835 million versus US $285 million for single-issue comic books. Single-issue comic book revenue fell from US $355 million the previous year, a drop of nearly 20%. Single-issue comic book sales had been stagnant prior to last year, while graphic novel sales have increased an average of 13% year over year since at least 2017.
The outlook for the comic book industry is marginally positive, but far from great. The increase in digital downloads and shortfall in local comics shop sales comes at a very unique time. Lockdowns of commercial spaces caused by the coronavirus pandemic kept North American comic book buyers out of stores. But it also gave many people a lot more free time at home too, explaining the shift to digital downloads.
Digital comic book downloads are here to stay regardless of whether theyâll continue to see growth or return to their pre-pandemic support level. Just like digital downloads of music. Just like digital downloads of movies and television. And yes, just like eBooks.
Future-thinking creators and artists may wish to consider tailoring their comic panels for the most common mobile and tablet screen ratios, or those sizes recommended by comic book apps like Comixology. Alternatively, they may consider re-cropping existing artwork to create an entirely organic experience for mobile platforms that is separate and distinct from the printed issue.
The coronavirus pandemic serves as another explanation for the growth acceleration experienced by book channels. Lockdowns funneled customers to e-commerce platforms. This meant that a local comics shop that didnât have a website and a method of delivery was already at a crippling disadvantage in the modern marketplace.
In areas with limited lockdowns, larger brick and mortar bookstores like Barnes and Noble likely had an easier time complying with pandemic-related regulations. As a one-stop-shop for more than just one type of merchandise, large stores may have lured time-pressed and socially anxious comic book customers away from their local comics shop as well.
In order to compete effectively, local comics shop owners must rethink what they sell. Shops that sell manga, miniatures, collectables, print artwork, tabletop roleplaying games, and comic book art supplies in addition to comic books are more likely to thrive. Savvy owners have already begun to diversify their inventory.
Store owners may also wish to explore the idea of bringing their stores closer to movie theatres as the economy continues to reopen. In the case of theatres like CinĂ©ma Scotiabank MontrĂ©al, retail kiosk space is leasable inside the theatre itself. There, comic book sellers are able to take advantage of the foot traffic and customer interest generated by movies based on comic books. Additionally, they are put in front of a potential market thatâs already excited about the ideas and characters in the comic books and in a mindset to spend money.Â
Larger publishers like Marvel, DC, and Image may even want to give thought to creating store franchises. This would make their brands more visible, give them greater control over how their products are marketed and sold, and eliminate in-store competition for customer attention from other publishers. It worked for LEGO, it worked for Apple, and it worked for sneaker brands like Sketchers. Thereâs no reason why it shouldnât work for the big three comic book publishers, too.
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Graphic novels and trade paperbacks are empowering consumers to experience the content more conveniently. They allow consumers to read comics in whole or in part at their leisure. By contrast, single-issue comic book periodicals limit consumers to the pace of the content producers. This follows a market trend toward âbingeableâ content and may explain some of the success of manga which is typically sold in collected volumes.
Continuing with graphic novel purchasing trends, there is likely a value proposition at play, too. The average graphic novel price seems to still hover around US $15-$20 and averages about 200 pages. Contrast that with the 30-page standard single-issue comic book which sold for US $5 in 2020. Consumers may feel that theyâre getting a better bargain in both content and price by purchasing graphic novels over single-issue comics.Â
Itâs clear that the industry standards which have guided comic book creation, publishing, and traditional points of sale are no longer satisfying the desires of the modern market. Of course, no amount of revised presentation or modern sales strategies will save a poorly edited comic with reused artwork and an incoherent or boring story. But thatâs a topic for another article.
Griepp & Miller. âComics and graphic novel sales hit new high in pandemic yearâ, Chomichron, https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales/industrywide/2020-industrywide.html. Accessed 13 Jul 2021.