The state of the industry.
What’s that? I haven’t told you that all the cool kids are bookmarking the Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon’s new(ish) source for comics industry news and reviews? Oh. Sorry about that. I meant to, that’s for damn sure. Anyway, today he links to this Ninth Art diatribe on the current industry practice of relaunching struggling titles with a brand new issue number one, with an eye towards those last few folks left in the world who’ll buy any goddamn comicbook on the shelves, so long as it’s got a number one on the cover. —And I know I’ve told you before that no matter how badly the industry might be doing, the state of the art in comics has never been better, and I know that we’re in the midst of a long and painfully drawn-out shift from periodical pamphlets sold on a non-returnable basis through a tightly knit network of specialty shops to bound books and web-based content sold through a mix of venues yet to be determined, and I know the numbers you’re about to see reach back to the dim ’n’ misty newsstand days, when Spider-man tussled on a regular basis with Look and TV Guide, but hey—every now and then a little perspective slapped upside the head like a cold fish doesn’t hurt:
Everyone knows that the market is much smaller, but it’s worth throwing in a historical comparison to flag up the scale: when X-Men was cancelled in 1970, the final issue contained an editorial explaining that “the plain truth is that the magazine’s sales don’t warrant our continuing the title. We feel that the artists and writers involved can better devote their time to other projects, other characters.” Two inches below, the Statement of Ownership appears, revealing that the previous issue had a total paid circulation of 199,571. Dipping below 200,000 was disastrous in those days. Today, Identity Crisis is considered a hit with sales in the region of 125,000, and Fallen Angel hovers around the 10,000 mark. No wonder the publishers are more interested in licensing.
I mean, sometimes the state of the art just isn’t enough, as Spurgeon’s eulogy for the late lamented Highwater Books will tell you.
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