How will the coronavirus affect comics?

[classicgmer]

It's probably unrealistic and not going to happen but if they switch to digital for however long it is CBR should modify their rules on posting spoilers. Make sure people mark their threads digital release or something.


I and i imagine plenty of other folks have no interest in reading my stuff digitally and truth be told i have enough other hobbies (a huge backlog of videogames, watchin wrasslin) to where not getting to read new comics for a while isn't going to phase me all that much.

[protege]

It's probably unrealistic and not going to happen but if they switch to digital for however long it is CBR should modify their rules on posting spoilers. Make sure people mark their threads digital release or something.


I and i imagine plenty of other folks have no interest in reading my stuff digitally and truth be told i have enough other hobbies (a huge backlog of videogames, watchin wrasslin) to where not getting to read new comics for a while isn't going to phase me all that much.

Same here; like I said elsewhere, if I had to go digital, I’d probably stick to marvel and drop dc. But what’s this I hear about comixology being six months behind?

[Snoop Dogg]

Retailers are the bulk of profit and their relationship with the publishers is a key part of this industry, so making moves against them when they're struggling with a pandemic for a sliver of digital sales while also still paying to maintain the constant production of new books and inevitably causing a piracy spike sounds extremely dumb, so of course they will do it!

[Seren]

If comixology unlimited is like Marvel Unlimited then they post comics to that service 6 months after it comes out. But it's only for the unlimited service.

[Frontier]

Retailers are the bulk of profit and their relationship with the publishers is a key part of this industry, so making moves against them when they're struggling with a pandemic for a sliver of digital sales while also still paying to maintain the constant production of new books and inevitably causing a piracy spike sounds extremely dumb, so of course they will do it!

They might not have much of a choice in this situation if they still want to keep releasing content at the rate things are going.

[Prof. Warren]

They might not have much of a choice in this situation if they still want to keep releasing content at the rate things are going.

I think they will take a slight pause if need be. Neither DC nor Marvel wants to throw retailers under the bus.

That would be an incredibly dumb, short-sighted, shoot yourself in the foot move.

New books could be coming out again by end of April. Who knows?

Marvel and DC certainly don't have to make a panic move and keep putting new books out on digital just to maintain a publishing schedule.

They can wait until physical books are available again and stores are open. If it situation is so dire that it looks like nothing will resume again for months, then there's bigger problems to worry about than comics. But I think we're looking at least a creeping back to normalcy in four to five weeks.

But, of course, the situation is fluid so we'll see.

Obviously many shops will not be able to weather this storm but let's just hope for the best.

[Drops Of Venus]

Marvel experimented with some digital first comics (such as with Jessica Jones). I don't get the impression it hit the numbers Marvel was hoping for.

They also experimented that during a completely different time where people weren’t flocking to direct-to-consumers platforms due to the CoronaCrisis. I mean, we have governments literally asking Netflix to stop HD streamings because it might crash the internet. Digital is at its most valuable right now, so if Marvel tried something like that again this time, it’s entirely possible they would get different results.

Look, the last time the comics industry faced such a big, terrifying crisis was probably the 90s, which completely changed the industry as people knew it and led to the Diamond monopoly. I’m not saying the same kind of crisis is gonna happen right now for sure, but it’s an example of how things CAN radically change during desperate times, so I’m not ruling anything out either.

[H-E-D]

Comic shops are the only thing that keeps American comic books in the format we know them. The twenty page monthly. You take away that physical product and you’re going to see a move away from that form. Like those Infinite Comics they tried around Marvel NOW.

[Reviresco]

Retailers are the bulk of profit and their relationship with the publishers is a key part of this industry, so making moves against them when they're struggling with a pandemic for a sliver of digital sales while also still paying to maintain the constant production of new books and inevitably causing a piracy spike sounds extremely dumb, so of course they will do it!

LOL! This is basically what I said to friend I was talking to on the phone today.

[Reviresco]

Amazon aren't even restocking most stuff (either sold directly or "fulfilled by Amazon"). Once anything which isn't on the priority list you mention sells out - like TPBs - it'll stay sold out for who-knows-how-long.

Thank you. That's what I was trying to say.

[Reviresco]

This is a no-win situation. They screw over shops by doing digital first, or screw over readers by delaying stuff until the virus is over.

I don't think readers are getting screwed over by having to wait to read their comics. It's not like the readers are losing income / their jobs by having to wait. If they actually stop publishing for a month or longer, it's the creators and staff who will be screwed over. Unless the publishers pay them to keep working, without any books being sold.

[Drops Of Venus]

Comic shops are the only thing that keeps American comic books in the format we know them. The twenty page monthly. You take away that physical product and you’re going to see a move away from that form. Like those Infinite Comics they tried around Marvel NOW.

I’m sure that would be the case, as evidenced by the aforementioned Marvel Digital Originals initiative from a while back. It had a different format of publication; we got 3 months of issues with double the pages (so basically the equivalent of 6 issues), but each for the same price of a floppy. Then the book went on a small hiatus, and came back with 3 more issues. Later on these arcs would arrive physically in the format of trades. I’d honestly be ok with more books being published like that or in a similar manner.

[Digifiend]

They can wait until physical books are available again and stores are open. If it situation is so dire that it looks like nothing will resume again for months, then there's bigger problems to worry about than comics. But I think we're looking at least a creeping back to normalcy in four to five weeks.

It won't be fixed in just a few weeks, all indications are we're not even at the peak yet. We're looking at two to three months before things start getting back to normal.

[Ferro]

well this is all upsetting but at the same time perhaps some positive change will come from this?

[Prof. Warren]

It won't be fixed in just a few weeks, all indications are we're not even at the peak yet. We're looking at two to three months before things start getting back to normal.

Well, I said "creeping back" so I think some things will start to resume, if not a return to full operations. It will indeed be awhile before this is truly "fixed."

However, I also think - and worry - that Trump will become impatient and demand things move faster than they should just to keep the economy from completely tanking.

But we'll see. As much as I hate to have them on hold, comics are a small potatoes concern right now.