Can Comic Books Rebound?

The American comic book industry is in rough shape.

Sales are down, fans are unhappy and at a time when comic book characters are enjoying unprecedented multimedia success, the books that spawned them are practically on life support.

There are various drivers of the fragile state of the industry, especially content. The industry is mired in a period of making books that appeal to no actual audience.

That’s cyclical, to some extent. Eventually, the large conglomerates and venture capital investors that own more and more of the comic book publishers will demand that they stop making product no one wants to buy. But American companies also have done a poor job of positioning their offerings to attract and retain readers. The environment suggests a real danger of a significant retrenchment in the vein of industry implosions in the late 1970s or mid-1990s. Rumors about DC have become especially rampant recently, painting a gloomy picture of the future.

Below are some suggestions publishers could employ to help spur a recovery. These are specific to Marvel and DC, whose fortunes affect all other comic publishers in the North American market, though some may be of relevance to smaller companies, too.

Shrink the Output