Will There Ever Be Another BOOM In Comics?

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The Pals:
Sean: / seanssoapbox
Tyler: @TheTylerOlson on X, Threads, BlueSky, and Instagram
Cale: Carrier Pigeon or Sending Stone
Marco: / mrmarcoanimoto

[@braintissuepaper2528]

Part of the problem is, the comic industry does not advertise to anyone other than those who are already buying comic books. When is the last time you have seen an advertisement outside of the pages of a comic or at a comic shop? It’s hard to reach a new audience if you don’t let them know what is available. Sure you have all these movies and cartoons that are being pumped out, but they aren’t capitalizing on that popularity by saying “Hey! You like what you see? Why not pick up the latest issue and continue the adventure?”

[@TheComicsPals]

You're completely and totally right. For what it's worth, DC Comics have been advertised over the last couple of weeks during a wrestling show called AEW Dynamite on TBS. The channel is owned by WB Discovery who of course own DC, so it's in-house promotion, but still, that's being seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

[@atomichound1868]

It’s a bizarro moment when Cale is the ray of hope. 😊Could there be a boom? I suppose. Do I want there to be? I care less about that than I used to. Much like Sean, I don’t think we need one to save the industry and I kind of like our niche place in the larger world. Love these videos and discussion, guys!

[@TheComicsPals]

Yeah, as much as I certainly want to see everyone working in comics prosper, I appreciate comics as they are, and I wonder how things would change to accommodate such a boom.

[@franalations]

Walking dead is what brought me into comics in the 2010s stayed buying weekly for a few years. By the mid to late 2010s I’d buy books from time to time. Been buying weekly again since free comic book day this year. I definitely think there could be a boom. All it takes is a new idea compelling enough to bring new readers in.

[@TheComicsPals]

Do you think that idea has to come from Marvel or DC?

[@yashileakduth928]

Jeph loeb and Jim lee back on the main batman title next year. 😃It's gonna be big.

[@TheComicsPals]

I'm so hyped if it's true.

[@HeroicAge616]

I’m going to be the contrarian here and go further than Sean. I’ll never understand why comic fans lust after a sales boom, they don’t see any of the profits, and none of the creators will either judging by how they were treated pre-crash. With a massive influx of new readers the tightknit communities we have would dissolve and comics would become impersonal like gaming. And if you thought ComicsGate was bad, wait until there’s serious money to be made in grifting channels. Moreover, everytime there’s been a comics boom the quality of the stories has nosedived, because editorial becomes obsessed with hitting quarterly sales goals. On top of that, continuity would have to be steamrolled to keep the books new reader friendly. I would like comic stores to be better off financially, but a massive influx of new readers? No thanks. Creative booms like the 2010s Second Image Revolution are much healthier for the industry and fandom and bring in small groups of new audiences.

[@TheComicsPals]

Yeah, I largely agree with this. The only thing that I can think of that would be great for us is if there is more money to be made in comics it might attract higher tier creators to work in the industry, at the big 2, more frequently.

[@braedenwalker6414]

Facts

[@Mark-gq8ei]

Comics are both are in a boom period and we’re at the start of a new golden age. It’s just it’s in the children’s market. I’m a professional children’s comic creator - on the front lines, the enthusiasm is MASSIVE. That’s only going to win erase as education has started to see the value in them. Traditional publishing (I.e. not Direct Market) now needs to figure out how to keep those enthusiastic kids reading. But regarding the DM: It is dying - weaker sales propped up by a ridiculous amount of variants does not paint a good picture. But the direct market was doomed to die from the minute it started - it’s basically built into the business model.

[@spiralstorm616]

I agree with Tyler. I don't see any kind of sales boom soon. Creativity seems to be booming but a sales boom seems bleak. I see that mostly as financial reasonings for a lot of people. I dont see a creativity boom for the big 2 as more as i would see the indie comic scene

[@BrianLCS]

I'm not sure comics will, unless the companies change the way the distribute the books. I wonder if younger shopper go to stores / malls these day or just shop online. So even moving books back to other retail space may not be effective.

[@TheComicsPals]

I don't think there's a world where comics can move back into the larger retail picture for a variety of reasons, but that is a major factor.

[@gmcmullins3251]

Yes things ebb and flow, what goes around comes around. It's when there is good art and good writers, Claremont and Jim Lee. It's when a group of good creators all get together. They have to stay together. Because comics went through boom and bust through the decades. That 90s boom gained momentum. I think the comics boom never went away, it dispersed because marvel couldn't contain all those main guys. All those xmen titles were going strong and had a lot of momentum. It takes momentum and it finally hits a high note, if they high note can be sustained, then it'll be lasting.

[@danjtrudeau]

I'd love to be wrong, but I don't think the potential market is there for a "boom." In fact, I'd say that's the case for most markets. A specific TV show, musician, movie, comic book series, etc. can have a boom, but I don't know that an industry will again. Like Sean mentioned, I do think the comics market can grow and get healthier, just like what's happened with wrestling. I wouldn't call that a boom either, but it's a great time to be a wrestling fan. Besides, booms aren't good in the long term. They're always followed by a bust.

[@PaulSmith-io4rt]

I want there to be a boom for comic books but as Marco said this media is still looked down on and no matter how good the quality of the comic you say to someone “hey this is fantastic want to give it a look” once they see it is a comic book it is instantly dismissed and you are judged as being either odd or and I hate this term “simple” Yes I am talking from experience unfortunately.

[@Lunapink93]

Personally I don’t think A boom can happen because comics aren’t exactly A new experience. Anime had really only two booms, first in the late 80s early 90s when it was new to those outside of Japan& during Covid. K-pop boom happened when Gangnam Style played on American radio and then again with BTS . Or Pokémon boom in the 90s and again 2016 with Pokemon Go! A boom imo can’t really happen twice unless outside uncontrollable factors come into play.

[@TheComicsPals]

I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see comics rise in popularity, but I agree that a boom is unlikely for a variety of factors.

[@comicsjoe0409]

The only way i can see comics getting another Boom is through Pop culture some how. And idk if that would work cuz if it would then the MCU thats based off Comics would have done it. Butni would sa the omnibus boom did happen during the Pandemic

[@TheComicsPals]

That’s a big part of it for me too; if it hasn’t happened yet while awareness of comic book characters is higher than ever, what WOULD cause it?

[@mikestotaldragonchannel3743]

No i don't believe so. We were talking at my LCS and I said that I believe you could drop books to $1.99 cover price and you still wouldn't bring anymore ppl in than you do right now.

[@TheComicsPals]

Why do you believe that?

[@mikestotaldragonchannel3743]

@@TheComicsPals the interest isn't there. There's so many ways to experience Superheroes now that wasn't available during the 90s boom. Video games,movies,cosplay, YT summary videos. These days I don't need to buy a Batman comic to experience his adventures. If comics didn't bring the masses into stores during the height of the MCU, then I can't think of anything that will.

[@gevdarg]

​@@mikestotaldragonchannel3743But it's also the fact that comics were available more places as well. People get interested in comics if they're priced right and in the right place.

[@markanderson7236]

The MCU doesn’t really push people to read the comics, especially when you have no clue what some of the movies are even based on-like "Ant-Man and the Wasp" for example. Meanwhile, James Gunn shouts out the comics behind his DC movies and actually boosts their sales. Dude might be onto something, and it could get others to follow suit. ​@@mikestotaldragonchannel3743

[@IzzysIssues]

I appreciate the different facets you guys approached, such as other media and the general concept of superheroes. I believe it is possible and even likely in our lifetime, but probably not "just around the corner". As it has been said, cultural familiarity of superheroes has boomed in recent years and that has generated a lot of related media. Unfortunately the talk of "superhero fatigue" feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy at times as the ever-present echo chamber of certain parts of the internet perpetuate it. However due to the fact that nostalgia is such a big industry coupled with the increasing online chatter about folks being tired of digital media (or at least digital text media) I think those could overlap in a few years to result in another resurgence

[@SarcasticEnchilada]

I think they could, they just need to be more accessible, like they could bring back Comixology or something similar

[@TheComicsPals]

While Comixology was great, the total sales in a given year for digital comics has never (to my knowledge) exceeded about 10% of overall comics sales. That’s a pretty big indicator of what the market wants and it’s not good for digital.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

there are strategies to drop the price of books (floppies) that aren't being used and floppies can still be sold while also selling graphic novels of manga format for those who like that format. Better comic book shops are needed! Shawn hit the nail on the head. THINGS THAT ARE IN THE WAY!!! The industry is probably at its best talent wise (independent books) but there are road blocks that are, you might as well say "in the way" because most of them are known but no one is taking them up so comics can take off.

[@TheComicsPals]

What are those strategies?

[@discover6396]

I'm on the west coast and i hardly ever hear anyone say 'floppies'. In all actuality, I've only heard one other person say that in all of the years I've been collecting. Is this vernacular to a certain region?