Comic Sales

[nite-owl]

Does anyone know any websites that'll show the sales of comics in the past five years?

 

[Metallx]

THE BEAT » Sales Charts, ICv2 - ICv2's Top 300 Comics & Top 100 GN's Index

Both are very good sites to get a real detail look at the market. Apparently, October has seen the most sales in dollars since 1997. So perhaps comics are recession proof afterall. I hope so.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I doubt it. Maybe at the $2.99 standard price they might've been, but the recession plus the coming jump to $3.99 as the standard price for most comics is going to hit them eventually, I'm sure. Comics aren't that indispensable, even to hardcore fans like us.

 

[Metallx]

Comics do offer a level of escapeism that people may need when everything else seems to be falling apart. Add that with the higher visibility from movies and the trend looks very positive.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Right, but measure that against all the other means of escapism--especially video games, which tend to target the exact same demographic as comics--and I doubt comics will be able to compete unless you're a super-hardcore comic nerd. Most people would choose video games over comics if they can only indulge in one form of escapism. $50 for a game that'll occupy your time for months or $50's worth of comics that you'll read and be done with in an hour or two? I'd choose the latter, but I'm one of those super-hardcore comic nerds.

 

[Addendum]

I'd buy a game for 50 bucks, and 50 bucks worth in TPB

 

[Metallx]

Comics are our mythology and I doubt they will have truly be replaced. They may need to adapt. The industry could shrink to only a few iconic characters, but comics will always maintain an audience.