Barnes and Noble - your neighbourhood comic shop?

[Janson]

I think the days of printed media are slowly coming to an end. The industry trend would certainly suggest that. Look at the number of newspapers that have closed? Look at the established hobby magazines like Toyfare that have closed their doors? Most everything is geared to online viewing. Kids spend all their time on Facebook and texting. I'm afraid a comic book will only remain viable if placed online. Kindles are becoming all the rage for those who enjoy reading. It only makes sense that comics will move to that format. I also say this because these companies are publicly traded and their investors will expect them to stay current with the times. Think of the savings if printing and distribution costs are eliminated? That's massive. While that doesn't sound inviting for those of us who grew up on the printed art form, I am afraid that is status of today's industry. Sad but unavoidable. Comic books in their current form are comparable to what VHS is to Blu-ray - dated and no longer cost efficient. Online is the only way to keep them alive.

Yeah it is sad, comics where one of the few things that we where competely producing 100% in the States till the big 2 moved the printing to Canada a couple years ago. Eh, what tangible product do we still make here in the States anyway?

[Janson]

OK, so I'm reading the newest issue of Walking Dead last night, #84 and I swear I feel like Rick Grimes. (If your not reading Walking Dead every month your missing out on the finest book the comics industry puts out today. Don't wait for trade buy the floppies!)
Ok so if you aren't up to date stop reading this......spoiler alert.





---------------------------------------------------------
Rick and company are able to over power the zombie horde by working together with their smaller numbers. Alone and in somber reflection of the days events with his mortally wounded son Carl, Rick at Carl's bedside says,

"I can't believe it took me this long to realize this. After so long, being driven from one place to the next... I noticed, it was always PEOPLE-- that was the problem.
I can't believe I'm saying this... but the dead. They're A manageable threat?
I see the mistake I made wanting to run... not being willing to stand and fight...it cost Jesse and Ron their lives I have to live with that...
But I've seen what we can do with numbers. I've seen how we can organize plan... how if we do things right... if everyone does their part... we can survive anything.
This place is OURS , the fence, the houses...we can make this home. We've been lazy up until now. But that all changes. Today- this instant.
I see now what we can do, with enough people, with a strategy... we can make this place much more safe... secure.
We can set up roadblocks-- surround this place with a maze for the dead. Keeping them off the walls in significant numbers.
We can rebuild the walls, stronger, taller... make our community better than it ever was."

I know its just a story but man I think Kirkman might be using this as a metaphor for the comics community as a whole.
I know how you feel Rick, its not easy fight off the BnN zombie horde with one hand and a axe, kidding kidding.

[samurainoir]

You don't get any arguement from me there. Big 2 will be fine, DH and Image fine as well. But I don't just read books from these companies, am I the only one who picks up titles from Avatar, Boom!, Blue Water, Aardvark-Vanaheim, Archia, SLG, should I go on?

I read titles from all those companies, but let's face it, a majority of comic shops just aren't stocking titles from the indies in significant numbers these days unless you special order them.

Which is why I see comics shops surviving based on two models... the diversified bookstore model embraced by the Beguiling and Page 45 (and a few San Francisco comic shops I've been to, who's names escape me right now), or as limited edition collectibles once again with a very niche market. The Big Two do this with their variant covers, and you have other companies of varying sizes doing the same... including dynamite, IDW, Boom, and Avatar off the top of my head.

The problem with this is that to get these limited edition incentives, the store has to order piles and piles of comics that no one reads and just ends up in the quarter bins. We saw it happen with the Brightest Day Ring promotions... huge success for DC, but I just see the piles of the peripheral tie in comics all over the place unloved and unwanted. It's the serpeant eating it's own tail in the nineties all over again unless you truly are creating something that has much less supply than demand (and we're not just talking the news headline "event" blips like the death of so and so), and an actual readership for each copy purchased. Which goes at cross purposes of how a money-making comic company has functioned in the past couple of decades.

You know the situation is rather dire when Dave Sim has jumped on the Variant Cover, Limited Edition bandwagon just to sell enough copies of Glamourpuss to keep it going (but that's another discussion completely).



We should watch the ipap/android apps with a great deal of interest over the next year. The growth and profitability isn't quite there, but it took a while for the various internet models of comics (ie penny arcade etc) to find a groove as well. It's astonishing how many of the most successful free content guys made the jump to being able to cultivate an audience for their print incarnations, or that some managed to thrive with ad revenue (which is essentially how the old school comics did it). Meanwhile, Marvel and DC's internet initiatives have mostly been going down in flames (some that corporate infrastructure heavy however, would be difficult to find profitability).

[samurainoir]

Yeah it is sad, comics where one of the few things that we where competely producing 100% in the States till the big 2 moved the printing to Canada a couple years ago. Eh, what tangible product do we still make here in the States anyway?

I should point out with great Canadian pride, that I believe the Great White North had been handling comic book printing for much longer than that... a couple of decades at least?

With more typical Canadian humility I must also admit that Quebecor has also been in bankrupcy for the past few years. Which also added to industry strife and hardship.

[Janson]

Glamourpuss is amazing. I love the content, my girlfriend loves to cut them up when i'm done, damn FIT fashionista.

[ctc]

>While that doesn't sound inviting for those of us who grew up on the printed art form

I don't know if we'll ever see the complete death of the printed book. When it comes to comics, a lot of places follow the Cyberpunk model and put stuff up on print on demand sites. It's a direct way to get revenue from your project with little cost. Webcomics do this a lot, after creating enough of a backfile to warrant assembly of a book.

>The growth and profitability isn't quite there

Well.... I think it works like it did for the music industry: the profitability for a big company like Marvel isn't there yet, but for the little guys it's a godsend. You can get your stuff out there for little cost, and you can even have it produced in hardcopy by print in demand places for those who want. (Again, with little cost.) 'Course you're not gonna be able to quit your day job unless you're one of the lucky few who hits; but that's true of the old school comic industry too.

>the Great White North had been handling comic book printing for much longer than that... a couple of decades at least?

Oh yeah. I went to highschool with the son of the owner of Preney Print and Litho; and that was back in the early 80's.

Don C.

[Janson]

I should point out with great Canadian pride, that I believe the Great White North had been handling comic book printing for much longer than that... a couple of decades at least?

With more typical Canadian humility I must also admit that Quebecor has also been in bankrupcy for the past few years. Which also added to industry strife and hardship.

Just grabbed a copy of ETERNALS #1 from 2008 and it was printed in the USA. I can't speak for Canadian issues but our floppies where printed here until pretty recently.

[Janson]

Looks like you are right about Canada printing the Lion share of trades and Graphic Novels. First thing I checked was my BnN Marvel Milestone Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2(it was a gift) then my Essential Rampaing Hulk vol. 1 both printed in Canada. Damn Canadians stealing our printing, this is probably why I subconsciously hate trades.
JK, I love the Great White North.

[samurainoir]

Just grabbed a copy of ETERNALS #1 from 2008 and it was printed in the USA. I can't speak for Canadian issues but our floppies where printed here until pretty recently.

It's the same source for the most part I believe. Your floppies have Canadian cover prices on them underneath the US right? Keep in mind the Quebecor bankrupcy occurred in 2008. Grabbed a random stack issues I have lying around the office right now...

Batman Vs Predator #1 (DC) - 1991 "Printed in Canada"
Philip K Dick's Electric Ant #2 (Marvel) - 2010 "Printed in Canada"
George RR Martin's Fevre Dream (Avatar) - 2010 "Printed in Canada"
Robert E Howard's Kings of Night (Dark Horse) - 1990 "Printed in Canada"
Captain Action #1 (Moonstone) - 2008 "Printed in Canada"
Stainless Steel Rat #2 (Eagle Comics) - 1985 "Printed in Canada"
HedgeKnight #4 (Marvel) - 2008 "Printed in Canada"
Micronauts #1 (Image) - 2002 "Printed in Canada"
Kiss Psycho Circus #1 (Image) - 1997 "Printed in Canada"
Alien Worlds #1 (Eclipse) - 1985 "Printed in Canada"
Temporary Natives (Marvel/Epic) - 1990 "Printed in Canada"
American Splendor (DC/Vertigo) - 2008 "Printed in Canada"

exceptions...
RIP Brasher #1 (TSR) - 1990 "Printed in USA"
Adventures of Captain America #1 (Marvel) 1991 "Printed in the USA"

Dawn of the Dead #3 (IDW) - 2004 "Printed in Korea" (!)
Night of the Living Dead #3 (Dead Dog) - 2004 "Printed in Hong Kong"

Spiderman vs Wolverine #1 (Marvel) - 1987... no indication.


(wow... can you tell how badly I'm procrastinating from my deadline tomorrow? It's going to be a late night if I keep goofing off on the internet like this)

[samurainoir]

Damn Canadians stealing our printing, this is probably why I subconsciously hate trades.
JK, I love the Great White North.

Alas, Canada too Fits into the vastness of Mother Russia.