As we’ve reported in the past, the economic recession has hit media and publishing companies hard, with hundreds of layoffs and corporate restructuring at standbys like Warner Bros., MTV, and Random House.
While it’s only going to get worse, with even the most optimistic economists thinking an upswing won’t be possible until at least the latter half of 2009, comic shops have surprisingly weathered the storm pretty well.
According to ICv2, comic shop store counts are only down 2.5%, with overall Diamond Sales down 3%. Of course, the article adds, next month will really be a key point to see the full effects of the economic downturn, as some retailers may decide to make a “clean break” and close up shop as 2009 begins.
Why is this the case, you might wonder. In my opinion, it has to do with the fact that comics already had their meltdown, just over a decade ago. And just as the comic book companies had to be frugal with their numbers and their hiring, I think this trickled down to the retailers, as well.
Because comics are no longer an “investor’s market,” I think retailers have had to be much more careful with their purchasing and their sales, and with fans having typically propped up the comparatively-cheap comics industry during most recessions, it makes sense why the layoffs and closings aren’t matching those of newspapers, publishing houses, or Wall Street.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
The comics retailers are already careful recession or not.
The job is one if you mistake you cant return the product.
They are in a war economy all the time.
December 19th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Boozer makes a good point.
And my local shop hasn’t seen any major loss in business, just lower than normal sales that coincide with delays on the big name books.
Truth be told, Hurricane Ike hurt the shop more because one of the stores had to be shut down for three months for renovation and all the pull lists had to move to another store, resulting in people either not picking up product during that time, lack of walk-in traffic the closed store provided, and people not going to the other stores as often resulting in less sales.
But Texas is just better than any other state. Tokyo drift that, suckas.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Comics as we know them first appeared during the Great Depression (well, at the tail end), as did Batman and Superman. They were cheap affordable entertainment that boasted really high sales and huge readership as comics were traded around. All in color for a dime.
The current price of comics is way above inflation (it would be $1.50 an issue, a price long in the past, and add on the fact that modern comics are about half the page count of 1938). And the speculator’s market is gone. Why not drop back to cheaper paper and bring the costs down a bit? Comics are a discretionary purchase, and one that at least I have realized doesn’t give bang for the buck in individual issue format. I’m sure I’m not alone on this.
Personally, I’d be willing to go for a Shonen Jump style Marvel or DC magazine (yep, black and white even) with stories about different characters by different creative teams under a single cover. Heck, Batman works great in black and white when inked correctly.
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