Comic Book Publishers, Faced With Flagging Sales, Look To Streaming (nytimes.com)

Comic book publishers are facing a growing crisis: Flagging interest from readers and competition from digital entertainment are dragging down sales. Hoping to reverse the trend, publishers are creating their own digital platforms to directly connect with readers and encourage more engagement from fans. From a report: One of the biggest direct-to-consumer efforts is DC Universe, a platform from DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Studios that will offer streaming content, including original and classic TV series. DC Universe is "a huge opportunity" that offers "ultimate creative control," said Jim Lee, a co-publisher of DC Entertainment. "It allows you to look at wider adaptations of the source material."

[...] The Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel Entertainment, said last year that it would create a streaming platform that would include Marvel movies like "The Avengers" and "Guardians of the Galaxy." Smaller comic book publishers are testing their own direct-to-consumer platforms. Image Comics, the publisher of popular titles like The Walking Dead and Saga, started a direct-to-consumer platform in 2015 to sell comic book subscriptions and apparel.

Comments

How about remove SJW crap

[Anonymous Coward]

Hrm, seems like they could just stop pumping it full of SJW propaganda and sales would come back

Re:How about remove SJW crap

[Presence Eternal]

You sound entirely reasonable, but I disagree with your point on not reading. The fact of the matter is we've seen very self-righteous and pervasive commentaries claiming that not reading/watching IS a sign of bigotry. Remember all the stuff written about choosing to not go see Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Wrinkle in Time, and others.

Preceding that you may recall there was a huge mass of articles released in tandem claiming that it was time to do away with the identity of "gamer." I think there is at least some credence to the idea there is a systemic and concerted attack on a lot of geek culture. It might actually be an interesting thing to investigate. It'd take a strong constitution to deal with the filth that populates both extremes of the debate though.

Re:How about remove SJW crap

[samdu]

No, it wasn't a spinoff. Riri Williams, the young black teenage girl in question, literally replaced Tony Stark (whom they "killed" off) for years before they finally brought Stark back. The problems wasn't that they put Riri in the suit. The problem was that Riri was/is a TERRIBLE character. A terrible character that was part of Marvel's purposeful attempt to replace all of the classic characters with "diverse" characters, regardless of whether it made sense, was well written, or anything else that matters in fiction. The only thing that mattered were the characters' surface traits. I remember, back in the day, when Rhodey replaced Tony as Iron Man. It was a well written arc. It made complete sense based on what came before it. And Rhodey was/is a great character that had been built up over time. This had absolutely none of those things. So, while a certain loud group of people have shouted down (or tried) anyone who took issue with the direction Marvel took as being Nazis, fascists, homophobes, sexists, and racists, that characterization is without merit. Are there some of those people peppered in? Certainly. Because there are some of those people peppered into all groups. But there was/is a real, non-discriminatory criticism of Marvel's direction. And yeah, no one is forcing anyone to buy anything. Which is exactly why so many have stopped doing so. Thus, this article. And the swing and a miss by the industry to try to explain why sales are flagging.

Re:How about remove SJW crap

[serviscope_minor]

Remember all the stuff written about choosing to not go see Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Wrinkle in Time, and others.

No. I've never even heard "Wrinkle in Time", let alone read any commentary on it. Ghostbusters, I seem to recall got very lukewarm reviews, though I did see it.

I think there is at least some credence to the idea there is a systemic and concerted attack on a lot of geek culture.

Welcome to the big leagues, boyo!

Here's the thing: it's not a systematic attack. Previously geek culture was basically a rather niche things, which means no one outside the niche cared about it, or had any desire to comment on it. Now it's about the most mainstream of mainstream culture.

This means you have the full weight of all of the critics (and others) bearing down on it. And it will continue ot do so just like more or less everything else in the main stream. It is not a systematic attack, it's part of the burden of being popular. Critics tend to exist in the mainstream, subcultures tend to be pretty much critic free.

Not all of the criticism will be fair, not all of it you will agree with. Some of it you might strongly dislike (but kind of know it is true anyway).

But this is life in the mainstream. Deal with it.

Re:How about remove SJW crap

[djinn6]

Yes, we'll "deal with it". Many of us "geeks" couldn't give one fuck about what other people think of us. Heck, we didn't care when other kids ostracized of us. And if daily harassment didn't stop us from liking what we like, what's a few click-bait opinion articles going to do?

As for gamer culture, it's pretty clear the real gamers have already won. Steam announced that they're no longer going to try to police content and no amount of SJW screeching will put that genie back in the bottle.

Price, content

[harvey the nerd]

Prices are a little high, even allowing for inflation.

Content, thin mags where much content is hmmm to ugh.

Re:Price, content

[Jason1729]

I logged in to say just this. In 1961 in the middle of the golden age of comics, a comic cost 10 cents and federal minimum wage was $1.15. (11.5 comics per hour).

In 2018, the cover price of a DC comic (regular, plain old, non-special edition) is $3.99 and minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (less than 2 comics per hour). They are absurdly expensive today.

Not to mention that I can buy an AAA video game a couple of year old on steam for the price of a few comics and get a heck of a lot more entertainment value for it. Comics today are about the worst rip-off possible in the entertainment industry.

Here's an idea that just might work

[Opportunist]

Produce what sells and not what some loudmouths that never bought comic books (and never will) demand.

Yes, it is actually that easy.

Re:OUTED

[ITRambo]

SJW's are a very pushy minority. The market is telling them to dial it back. I hope all of the entertainment industry realizes that they need to appeal to the morals and ethos of their customer, or lose the customers.

Um... by your own admission the indiegogo

[rsilvergun]

was successful. The comic is widely available.

What you're referring to seems to stem from an article Buzz Feed ran here complaining that people who pushed for more diversity in comics were being trolled, harassed and threatened. Because everyone in the media likes to boil stuff down to a controversy they called the phenomenon "comicsgate".

Pushes for diversity in comics have been going on since the mid-90s boom times. You can't pin the drop in sales on that because it's a nearly 25 year old movement in the industry. The goal isn't to be "SJW" it's to expand readership beyond young teen boys. Girls in particular are a desirable target demographic because, well, they read a lot more than boys (seriously, look it up, or ask yourself what the biggest hit books are and take a look at how they appeal to girls).

The industry's flagging not because of diversity, it's flagging because the entire US economy's in the crapper for everyone but the top 10% or so and those people are busy enjoying their wealth instead of reading comics (the occasional Sultan in Dubai aside). The nerd economy in particular is hurting because of outsourcing and in-sourcing (e.g. H1-Bs). Comic book publishers have lost their last remaining base. They lost the kids to video games and now they've lost the nerds to, well, supply side economics.

TL;DR, it's the economy stoopid (TM)

Re:Um... by your own admission the indiegogo

[samdu]

You've managed to point out the lunacy of the SJW movement and its lack of necessity all in the same post, attempting to disprove either. You are absolutely correct in that comics have been diverse (actually, it goes back WAY past the 90s). The problem is that SJWs saw and see the medium as wildly homogeneous and lacking any diversity. So they felt the had to do something about it. What they did was replace classic characters Iron Man (to a black, female teenager), Hulk (to a young asian guy), Thor (to a female), Captain America (to a black man), Ice Man (well, not replaced physically, but they made a character that had been straight since the 60s into a gay man), etc... etc... And even worse, they did it willy-nilly and badly. Stories ceased to matter. All that mattered was representation and making sure to poke straight white dudes in the eye at every opportunity on social media. The people that were buying comics before this upheaval spanned several generations who, mostly, never had a problem with a black woman leading the X-Men or a black man taking up the mantle of Iron Man. That these self-same people are rebelling at what Marvel is doing now should speak volumes. And it is. It's just that SJWs don't comprehend what they're hearing because they started from a flawed premise.

You expand a market by bringing in new people. NOT by kicking your existing market out and trying to replace it with a market that doesn't yet exist. Comics tried the latter. It's failing miserably.

Re:OUTED

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut the fuck up you white racists, Superman is now a proud black transsexual and you all can fucking eat it.

Re:3 Top Reasons

[SolemnLord]

1: They keep pissing off their established fan bases with needless changes, reboots, and retcons to appease the Butthurt Brigade.

Continuity is a mess at the best of times, crossovers universally suck, and having to understand a byzantine layer of backstory doesn't draw in new readers. Ignoring that constant growing readership (which is what the big two's shareholders are undoubtedly demanding) is a fool's game, established fanbases die. Either literally or they drift off. New readers are a necessity to keep comics alive, never mind thriving. The movies and TV shows are immensely popular, but not turning into monthly readers despite people loving the characters.

Endless crises on infinite earths are eyerolling and infuriating, I totally agree. Trying to manage literally decades of continuity is also untenable. Long-term serialization is both awesome and slowly rotting away comics' strongest characters. I doubt there's a good solution available at all.

2: Comics are just too freakin' expensive per issue for the amount and quality of content you get.

Agreed. Personally I think getting rid of Diamond would help. Not directly or immediately, but ditching that fucking cancerous system would help out retailers and make publishers more immediately responsible to their customers which in turn would, at least, bring back realistic capitalist supply-and-demand. That's just a pet wish of mine, though.

3: The barrier to entry is so low now that previously ignored but still decent talent can punch their own meal ticket. Unfortunately, that allows for a lot more total and utter shit to flood the pool. But that is less important than the ability to go it your own.

Is this a strike against it? You honestly seem to be arguing both ways here. Lower barrier to entry means more opportunities for new blood. Yeah, there'll be dreck, but let's not pretend that lots of established players aren't shit or that there's no absolutely exquisite new talent on the scene. New writers and artists mean new stories and new readers. All that matters then is getting the best stories into everybody's hands.

It's not really a movement

[rsilvergun]

it's a small group of women running out of community colleges. It's blown out of proportion by right wing media out to make a boogie man (boogie woman?) to distract you from economic issues like wages declining as productivity raises.

Even in as much as there's anyone seriously advocating for diversity they're doing it purely for economic reasons, usually either to reach new audiences for media they're selling or trying to bring in more workers to their businesses to drive down wages (re: silicon valley).

Always, always, always follow the money.

Re:For me, price

[ConceptJunkie]

Yeah, I quit collecting comics (mostly Marvel) around 1992. They were too expensive for the value you got, and there were too many forced, artificial ways of driving sales without adding value (crossover stories that went on for dozens of issues, but went nowhere). When you're selling a product designed for kiddies and a professional thinks they're too expensive, you're doing something wrong.

I miss comics, but everything I've seen and read about the industry since then makes me glad I quit.

Re:OUTED

[Ol Olsoc]

Wow - that was a strange post to have marked as a troll. Le't see if I can explain this situation in a manner that won't trigger anyone.

Let us say that a group of people want 21st century politics brought into say, Star Wars movies or comic books.

Let's say that want character's sexual identity to be a focus, perhaps more female and less male characters, Okay, so after discussions, the creators of the movies put people in place that will promote your agenda. This will be a radical shift, and will dismiss what the traditional audience wishes to see, which in these cases is obviously escapist entertainment with a good story line.

So here is the most important part - if people with a political agenda succeed in turning away the traditional customers, then the people with that political agenda must become the new customers. Which is what I believe ITRambo is saying.

We saw a huge fan revolt with Star Wars - Solo. And the weird Disney response was it was the fault of White males. https://www.tigerdroppings.com... Original article was on Forbes - they provide link but Forbes won't let me in.

Aside from the blatant racism (white) and Sexism (males) it was failure to see the forest for the agenda.

Point is - if you want your comic books and sci-fi movies to be politically correct, sensitive to who the characters like to have sex with - and display it - and socially inclusive, making these films about otherworld characters reflect 21st century shortcomings........

You have to go to the movies and You have to buy the comic books, and You have to buy the action figures that the people You kicked off the train used to do. You own it now - so spend that money or you won't own it long.

And seriously, if you feel you have to mark this little bit of good advice as troll, it only indicates that you can't take telling. Support your causes, not just complain.

I'm sorry to put out ...

[Qbertino]

... a bit of an anti-US rant but could you guys across the pond FINALLY PLEASE stop equating your frigging super-hero-comic-trash for "comics in general"? It is very annoying and it doesn't help that your keep repeating it.

Franco Belgian / European comics - and Japanese / Asian comics - are doing excellent and the market for high quality grown up stuff is ever growing with small publishers popping up left, right and center all the time. I have to actively limit my time at the comic store these days lest I leave all my income there. In the last 3 decades the quality of available material has grown way beyond anything available in the US at measurable scale and it's safe to conclude that anyone living in the US probably has a very very limited view of what comics and grafic novels are and can be. ... So once again:
Super hero comics are not comics in general. They are a very small fraction of comic genres in general and the quality of the material and the ever repetitive shite pulp publishers like Marvel and DC put out is bound to lead people getting fed up. This is no big surprise to anyone with a non-US perspective on comics. That US superhero trash doesn't sell anymore is actually a healthy reaction.

Re:OUTED

[AmiMoJo]

But that was the one that was about a straight white male... Surely if diversity was the problem then the other three new-era films would have flopped and Solo would have been a huge success.

Maybe it's just not a very good film, or we have reached Star Wars saturation point.

Re:SJW Mafia Tactics

[Ol Olsoc]

Really, that 'white male lead is the problem' meme started as fucking joke in progressive circles. I was there, I saw the first appearance of it, and I had to chuckle, as I just knew the screams of rage that would cause from the knuckle-dragging basement dwellers.

As you just went on to prove. Thank you.

Problem is, every time the far left gets caught in some racist and sexist moment. it automagically becomes a joke

But allow this knuckle dragger to go on here.

We live in an age where one's commentary lives forever once on the internet.

It is not remotely difficult to find examples of people claiming that white men are the problem a simple DDG search or Google search will provide examples - try it

Huff Post White Men Of Academia Have An ‘Objectivity’ Problem https://www.huffingtonpost.com...

White males are a problem population, according to Saida Grundy of Boston U. https://www.thenewamerican.com...

https://www.damemagazine.com/2...

Here's one that is an interesting read https://www.huffingtonpost.com... Authored by a woman of African descent, it is both racist and has a kernal of truth in it.

I'm bored now - you want any more do the work yourself.

Are there people that are considered "white" who are obvious racists? Oh hell yes. And history is littered with their crimes.

But yes Virginia, there are people of all races and creeds and political affiliations that are racist. "white" is considered a race. Men are considered a sex. Unless you are referring to medical issues that might affect one group over another like the issues fair skinned people have in tropical sunny environments to issues faced by people with dark pigmentation face with Vitamin D shortage in northern environments, referring to angry white men is the same as referring to angry black men.

And y'all can deny you are racist just as well as the guy who likes to dress in bedsheets and burn crosses on the lawns of people they have identified by race.

tl;dr version: The far left shouldn't make jokes that look and read exactly how they feel. If you make a "joke" that reads exactly how people who are serious racists write, you'll have to forgive people who look at your "joke" and believe you mean the same.

Wrong.

[Qbertino]

don't worry... the SJW thought police will come after Japanese and European comics soon.

No they won't. Because unlike marvel/DC pulp Eurocomics are so diverse it will make even the most progressive social issue proponents head spin. In fact, if there is any media genre that is proactively progressive it's Eurocomics and perhaps some modern high quality manga. Female heroes in abundance. And unlike prude USians teen sex, sex in general, naked people, handycapped heroes and other stuff too, without *anybody* doing wee-wee in their panties because of it. ... OMG you have so little of an idea it would blow your mind. Gung Ho has sexual and power abuse as a friggin sideplot!