You've probably seen articles done on this very topic before, some say
one thing, another says another thing, but if you really get down to it,
the problem CAN be definitively pinpointed. First, let's examine the
industry. You've got three major publishers, some slightly smaller,
but still large, publishers, and alot of small press outfits. For the
most part, and I stress the most part, the small press outfits focus on
good writing, good art, and that's about it. They know they won't sell
anywhere close to as many copies of their title as any title put out by
one of the bigger publishers, so the focus HAS to be on good art and
writing, or else they can be sure their effort will amount to nothing.
You'll still see some variant covers, and other such gimmicks, but it's
not anywhere near as prevelent as with the three major publishers, and
with that, I've adressed problem #1. Gimmicks.
Variant covers, extravagent T&A, and frequent crossovers. Why are these
problems? They're problems because over time, they've increased the
industry's reliance on the speculators. And for those of you unfamiliar
with the word, speculators are people who only buy comics based on what
they think they might be worth in the future, not for pure enjoyment.
For example, we can look at Darkchylde, published by Image Comics.
Virtually every issue of Darkchylde has at least one, and often times
two, three, and even four variants. The reason for this? The reason
is simple. The sales numbers have obviously shown that the Darkchylde
readership is a market segment that will buy multiple copies of the same
comic, even if the only difference is the cover art, and so more money
is made by making lots of variants, than if they didn't make so many.
Recently though, someone made the argument with me that in actuality it
isn't speculators, but completists that are the problem. Collectors
today just want to have every issue of a comic they collect, even if
the only difference is cover art. I feel as though that argument could
hold true if not for one fact. The proportions for variant covers for
ANY comic are almost always NOT equal. That is, if Comic "x" has 4
variants for issue #1, there are fewer copies made of variant a, than
of b, c, and d, making a rarer, and therefore more sought after.
If this variant mania was simply being fueled by completists, then
the companies would make all the variants in equal proportions, and
folks wouldn't pay outrageous prices for rarer variants. Variant mania
has been going strong within the comics industry for quite some time now,
with no end in sight. And it is my opinion that the industry's survival
is now very much contingent upon the speculators. If the speculators
stopped buying comics tommorow, I think the very medium could be in jeopardy.
It would be nice if the industry could get new readers that don't want
gimmicks, but want to read and collect comics because they truly enjoy them.
If that can be accomplished, I think the comics medium will have a long,
and bright future ahead of it.
If not, then the quality of the comics we read could deteriorate to the
point that the vast preponderance of the books on the stand are total
fluff, with no content whatsoever. Some might say that the majority
of comics today are fluff, but I feel as though there's plenty of
high quality books out there. Either way, this trend of variants,
crossovers, and other gimmicks needs to end, for the sake of our
industry, and for the credibility of our medium.
What's Wrong With The Comic Industry Today?