Is the Hobby at an all time low?

[saberhagen]

Originally Posted by Tbolt

This hobby, as we know it, is really not that old. There is no reason to think it has some built in immunity. Heck, Comic's are hanging by a thread and that's a much older hobby for the masses. I'm not saying it's at an all time low because it's still bigger than the early days but I would say that it has already peaked.

Comics are not hanging on by a thread. A big chunk of this came from graphic novels (manga % unknown) but single issues were also up over 50% last year. Total sales are higher than at any point in history, even inflation-adjusted against the 90's or 50's.

[Phoenixblazes]

Everyone’s definition of rich is different, as for many it’s relative to oneself. To some only earning over $100-200K may be considered rich, whereas to others it could be significantly higher than that into the millions; and then of course you have inherit differences between countries as well.

[Gothamite]

Originally Posted by Phoenixblazes

Everyone's definition of rich is different, as for many it's relative to oneself. To some only earning over $100-200K may be considered rich, whereas to others it could be significantly higher than that into the millions; and then of course you have inherit differences between countries as well.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by saberhagen

Comics are not hanging on by a thread. A big chunk of this came from graphic novels (manga % unknown) but single issues were also up over 50% last year. Total sales are higher than at any point in history, even inflation-adjusted against the 90's or 50's.

I found that surprising, as you always hear about the yearly earnings from the comic arms of the various holding companies not being worth it to them if it wasn’t for one important aspect. That being the intellectual properties of the numerous characters and stories.

[Phoenixblazes]

And everyone’s disposable income or discretionary funds are different. As it’s not only dependant on one’s income, but by their personal circumstances.

Those married, those with children, those without either, mortgages, life styles and of course if they live well within their means; as you don’t always have to live in the largest property that you can barely afford.

For example you have those who hate debt and pay off their mortgages as fast as possible at the expense of their current life styles in order to be debt free.

[saberhagen]

Originally Posted by Phoenixblazes

I found that surprising, as you always hear about the yearly earnings from the comic arms of the various holding companies not being worth it to them if it wasn?t for one important aspect. That being the intellectual properties of the numerous characters and stories.

The IP thing is true, these sales aren't making the difference for Time-Warner's bottom line, but that's about the mega conglomerates rather than the comics industry. 30 Rock was only kind of joking.

[Peedi]

The low part of the hobby right now is not getting the characters I want while they continue to rehash Harleys, sub par Batmans, weird Wolverines, Hulks from that one storyline, an armory?s worth of MCU Iron Man Maquettes, non definitive Jokers and my favorite character, Spider-Man, who even I have enough of in the standard blue and red.

[Gothamite]

Originally Posted by Peedi

The low part of the hobby right now is not getting the characters I want while they continue to rehash Harleys, sub par Batmans, weird Wolverines, Hulks from that one storyline, an armory?s worth of MCU Iron Man Maquettes, non definitive Jokers and my favorite character, Spider-Man, who even I have enough of in the standard blue and red.

It's too bad if people are only waiting for companies like Sideshow and XM to do a deep dive on characters as Diamond has been going pretty deep into Marvel. I just wish they had kept the DC license longer.

[Markhatestoys]

Originally Posted by saberhagen

Comics are not hanging on by a thread. A big chunk of this came from graphic novels (manga % unknown) but single issues were also up over 50% last year. Total sales are higher than at any point in history, even inflation-adjusted against the 90's or 50's.

Are you talking total sales as reflected in gross dollars, or in number of books sold? Because in the 1950's comics were a dime apiece and now they're at least four bucks, often five.

100,000 copies sold of an individual comic issue is cause for celebration these days. Decades ago those were cancellation numbers.

The customer base for comics has shrunk considerably and worse than that it has changed--from wave after wave of kids 4-10 years old, constantly bringing in fresh new generations of readers, to, these days, adult collectors who are often more interested in the books as collectible objects than stories. Any comic reader from the 1940's - 1970's would have thought buying multiple variant covers with the same story inside was crazy.

[saberhagen]

Originally Posted by Markhatestoys

Are you talking total sales as reflected in gross dollars, or in number of books sold? Because in the 1950's comics were a dime apiece and now they're at least four bucks, often five.

100,000 copies sold of an individual comic issue is cause for celebration these days. Decades ago those were cancellation numbers.

The customer base for comics has shrunk considerably and worse than that it has changed--from wave after wave of kids 4-10 years old, constantly bringing in fresh new generations of readers, to, these days, adult collectors who are often more interested in the books as collectible objects than stories. Any comic reader from the 1940's - 1970's would have thought buying multiple variant covers with the same story inside was crazy.

The chart is in dollars. Complaining about the price increases has been a thing since they jumped to 15 cents.

But the change from kids grabbing cheaply printed spinner rack material to today's high quality paper and lightyears better art explains the price difference. It's not gouging, the product is considerably improved for a largely older audience.

The fresh generations thing is a bit misleading. There's a reason that Captain Marvel had the top selling single issue for like 40 years: TV snagged that audience and never let go until (adult) speculators stepped in during the 90's.