What would you suggest be done to bring in new readers?

[charliehustle415]

While I do agree new distribution would be good. I disagree with it being Wal-Mart, Target, or any other grocery store. I simply don't think those stores want to dedicate space to monthly titles in their periodic section. Which is shrinking a lot over the years. 40 years ago, comics were in grocery stores. They went away for some reason. Now comics attached with toys, sure. And if they do, they will only want perhaps 4 comics a week.

Which this is simply my opinion.

That's true maybe comics with toys can be a run based thing.

For example for one year Marvel Legends will release Avengers series toys along with a comic, so in January it can be a toy of Cap with issue #1 of Avengers in Feb it can be Iron man with issue #2 so on and so forth.

This can possibly be a gateway into a comic shop or digital comics?

[Celtic1967]

Writing for the trade can make for good reading if done right (though this seems rare), but it can definitely serve as a barrier to new readers.
Also, bring back Marvel Adventures imprint and put issues on magazine stands or in toy aisles. Hasbro had a great idea when they packaged action figures with comic book reprints a few years back.

[charliehustle415]

Writing for the trade can make for good reading if done right (though this seems rare), but it can definitely serve as a barrier to new readers.
Also, bring back Marvel Adventures imprint and put issues on magazine stands or in toy aisles. Hasbro had a great idea when they packaged action figures with comic book reprints a few years back.

I think IDW is publishing Marvel Action right now.


But this is an interesting question because it is a tough ask.

I love comics and I hate going to comic book stores, I read my ongoings digitally and then I buy trades or omnis for my favorite runs.

So, if a fan who double dips does not like going to comic book stores then a new reader is even harder. I think if comic book stores were folded into book stores then I can see them grabbing new readers.

I know of a book that is like this; they have a full blown comic section with single issues, collected editions and even used books for sale. I think they also have a lending library as well for the uber famous runs.

[Digifiend]

While I do agree new distribution would be good. I disagree with it being Wal-Mart, Target, or any other grocery store. I simply don't think those stores want to dedicate space to monthly titles in their periodic section. Which is shrinking a lot over the years. 40 years ago, comics were in grocery stores. They went away for some reason. Now comics attached with toys, sure. And if they do, they will only want perhaps 4 comics a week.

Which this is simply my opinion.

In the UK, comics are still in supermarkets - but with the exception of the 82 year old Beano, which can sell on it's brand alone, most of the other kids mags always have some sort of toy attached. Shops don't want them without the toys, apparently.

[Triniking1234]

While I do agree new distribution would be good. I disagree with it being Wal-Mart, Target, or any other grocery store. I simply don't think those stores want to dedicate space to monthly titles in their periodic section. Which is shrinking a lot over the years. 40 years ago, comics were in grocery stores. They went away for some reason. Now comics attached with toys, sure. And if they do, they will only want perhaps 4 comics a week.

Which this is simply my opinion.

Apparently they were made non-returnable.

[Agent Z]

It’s funny how “Dirty Commies” still exist though.

Do they? They seem to have largely, if not completely disappeared from what I've seen.

[SuperiorIronman]

If I had any means of getting new readers I think the most obvious way of doing it is starting readers young with places they will naturally have access to these stories. Don't put them in places like Wal-mart or Target solely because kids will be your future readers and kids don't have a disposable income let alone an income to begin with. Parents are not going to easily drop 3-5 dollars on disposable entertainment every week or two but a toy is something the kid will have for awhile longer than a comic.

I'd say bring back the toy model with a figure having a reprint of an issue packed in with it. You could even make that a wave with 6 figures perhaps since most trades are roughly about 6 issues. So a kid collecting a whole wave will end up with a whole trade's worth of comics. Kids get attached to toys and the media they consume at a young age and so it'd be a good idea to start them young like that. You'd even have a basis for this with the MCU where a toy-line attached to a film or show will be based off something from the comics so you'd have something to pack in or include a voucher for a digital copy.
Alternatively a deal with McDonalds or Burger King could include short comics or codes for a comic they're promoting. So the parents when buying the kids meal get a voucher for a Black Widow comic or something.

Because super hero movies are so common Marvel could strike a deal with some theatre chains to move singles or trades of something that is in theatres in addition to the things they normally have during promotions like shirts or miniatures. If something was based off a certain Hulk comic you could go to the concession stand and pick up a single or trade to get some context. That could also be an ideal place to put something like a movie prelude comic.

Cereal promotions would also work with a code or comic being packed in.

[phantom1592]

I just saw a video by someone in the toy industry talking about 'Shut-up purchases.' Cheap little toys in the $1-$5 range that stores stock for parents to throw at whining kids while they're on a boring errand as a reward to 'shut up' the kids. I hadn't thought about it... but that's what comics used to be. Nobody went to the store to GET a comic... but while Mom was looking at shoes or we were waiting for a prescription to be filled or something else terribly boring, I could pick out a comic to take home. That or I could read them in the spinner racks while waiting and take home my favorite

That needs to come back. Things like Walmart and Target are ideal for things like that. My earliest comics were from racks like that and picking up a comic when I was old enough to run errands for my parents... i got a little extra for a comic for me.

That's what's needed. They need to be cheap enough that they can be a nuisance gift without people balking.... If that means cheaper paper, cheaper production, rookie artists... whatever it takes. But the prices on these books are unsustainable, and they need to be readily available where they aren't now. They need to be available for 'impulse buys'.

[skyvolt2000]

Apparently they were made non-returnable.

THIS. Stores want to be able to see those books leave the stands for new ones.

I am not sure how the Allegiance Arts does it but they put out comics at $5 at Wal-Mart.

4 books. Bass Reeves (about the black guy who inspired Lone Ranger) and Red Rooster are the main books I have seen SELL OUT.

Don't ask me how.

I simply don't think those stores want to dedicate space to monthly titles in their periodic section.

They have no issue with Archie digests. That depending on where you live sell out like crazy.

I think if comic book stores were folded into book stores then I can see them grabbing new readers.

One issue-how many book stores are around???
I live in an area where the nearest book stores (Barnes & Nobles & Half Price Books) are 13 miles away by car and there is no bus line. Now you have lost folks who ride the bus.
Nearest one of Barnes & Nobles or Half Price books from my area via bus-2 HOUR bus ride (with 1 or 2 transfers). 4 HOURS weekends.
The most active/popular bus route-ZERO book stores on the route. Of all the book stores-they are all on bus routes that make a bus ride LONGER.

You got to get them in places where folks can access with no restrictions.

I would say put them in the Disney store but they have so little space and my city (Dallas) has only 2.

[DrNewGod]

A good example of what can be done is Tom Taylor's Injustice Gods Among Us comics. Not so much for the content or premise but for how it was distributed.

Now here's the thing about these Injustice comics.
A) They are tie-in comics to a fighting game adaptation.
B) They were originally published digitally but on a weekly schedule. So you got a new comic per-week.
C) Each digital issue cost $0.99.
D) These digital comics were also designed with a widescreen two-panel grid. So each page had two widescreen panels (though obviously there were exceptions and you had splash pages too).

These Injustice comics tie-ins were meant to be disposable and forgettable and yet it was so popular and such a sales success that these tie-in comics lasted for some five years, it also became influential in a lot of respects (the Birds of Prey movie has Harley Quinn dressed in one of the costumes from the comics, and James Gunn said it also inspired his take on Suicide Squad). It also made Tom Taylor a name so-to-speak. These comics undoubtedly found a brand new audience and its events and happenings in-page was followed week-by-week.

The Injustice Comics had advantage in that a) It was able to get costs of single issues down. b) It was able to deliver serial storytelling with little interruptions, instead of waiting for a month, you got it next week, c) the storytelling and art layout was simple and distinct. As for the art style, Injustice Comics wasn't exactly cartoony, since the characters needed to resemble the 3D renders of the fighting game in some fashion so it looked realistic but it was also bright. The content could be extreme at times (a lot of violent and gruesome deaths in that story) but still it got an audience and kept it. So that shows that comics can enlarge readership.

I think the quickest way to get new readers involved with ongoing serial comics is a weekly schedule release. So stuff like the original 52 series (one issue per week for a full year), Hickman's HOXPOX (12 issues released weekly little over 2 months), Spencer's HUNTED (where issues and '.HU' followed weekly). That's how you keep interest. Obviously with demands of art and so on it will be difficult, so making weekly issues smaller in layout is another tactic. Despite brevity, Taylor's Injustice were dense and the micro-issues had a lot of stuff inside it.

I'm with Rev Jack. Step 1 is admitting new readers aren't going to pick up a comic unless it's part of an offering in a media they normally use. That also means the content has to be built around the game or toon, rather insisting the comic drive the show.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I'm with Rev Jack. Step 1 is admitting new readers aren't going to pick up a comic unless it's part of an offering in a media they normally use. That also means the content has to be built around the game or toon, rather insisting the comic drive the show.

You know when the Ultimate Spider-Man video game came out, originally Bendis and others promoted the game as being part of the continuity of the comics. Now that didn't pan out because the final game made some changes and eventually Bendis re-adapted and reused the material for a story arc in USM specific to the 1610 continuity.

But that was something at the time. People who read USM got interested in the game, people who played the game got interested in the comics. Ultimately the game was decent and not too special so it didn't score a big windfall but it was a novel idea at the time.

[Cap808]

I've been reading Marvel comics for 40+ years now. This question struck a chord with me. Let me step out of my comfort zone and away from my devotion to my favorite characters, for the moment. If I were a serious business man, I might try a massive reboot.

Maybe something along the Ultimate Marvel concept, where they gave new readers a 'jumping on' point so they wouldn't have to worry about decades of character history. However, this is where I think it gets dicey. In order to develop the proper synergy with toys, video games, etc., you might need to take the full plunge and where Marvel still had it's 'regular' universe to fall back on during the days of their Ultimate comics, maybe this time destroy the 616 as we know it altogether, and make ALL readers start at ground zero with a true next 'generation' of Marvel stories and characters. Of course, we'd still have the X-Men, Avengers, etc., but maybe with little membership tweaks, storyline tweaks, and most likely character tweaks? Just my two cents, but it did make me realize that they're already doing legacy characters as it is.

Now I'm going to put my custom Richard Rider Nova shirt back on, sit on my rocking chair, and go back and re-read how Peter Gyrich changed the Avengers forever by changing their membership to 7 Avengers of his choosing.

[Killerbee911]

-Netflix 8.99, X-box game pass 9.99, Disney plus combo 12.99, Crunchyroll 7.99, etc

-2 new comics about 10 dollars

You can see the issue, even with Marvel Unlimited and Comixology unlimited around they fail because you can't get the new comics. But issue is simply other forms arguably of more entertainment exist for cheaper and the industry aka the Big 2 aren't built to make money in this world. And a lot of people will suffer in transition to them trying to making money in that style think music industry transition disc to streaming.

What is the fix? Floppies sold as a part of a monthly subscription plan and physical books sold in trades/graphic novels

And yes it means every bad thing you are thinking creators will get way less and Marvel/DC will make way less for period of time. When they can monetize that model to make a profit then industry will start to grow but this will never happen because they currently make too much in spite of lack of big growth. I don't blame the creators,big companies and comic shop all profit more from current system.

Light at end of the tunnel DC is moving closer to something like this but the real all star is Webtoon as soon as the English big creators figure out how to monetize themselves with it or make their own version then the industry is getting somewhere. But the future should look closer to Webtoon which is that comics are cheap form of entertainment that new readers can easily pick up.

[cranger]

The issue is way bigger than any one suggestion is going to seem worth trying, but I think they really need to reevaluate their lines. Too many titles, too many superheroes. My kids will read graphic novels and the occasional comic, but they want to read things they are interested in. Interpretations of novels, tie ins to video games, etc. Just because Marvel and DC have hundreds of characters in their stable that have had varying degrees of appeal of the decades, none of that matters. Figure out what comics sell to kids, don't just dumb down versions of comics the publishers think their parents want to read.

I would say put them in the Disney store but they have so little space and my city (Dallas) has only 2.

My city has multiple book stores and no Disney Store, but it does not have to be one or the other. If they got comics back out there, the book stores should definitely be part of the plan.

[babyblob]

-Netflix 8.99, X-box game pass 9.99, Disney plus combo 12.99, Crunchyroll 7.99, etc

-2 new comics about 10 dollars

You can see the issue, even with Marvel Unlimited and Comixology unlimited around they fail because you can't get the new comics.

I would love to see a tiered service for Marvel Unlimited. Like basic for the older comics like now. And an option for a price with like 2 new titles of their choice, another price for like 4 or 5 new titles etc.. for a subscription with new comics like a couple weeks after they are released or something. That would be great for people who cant get to comic shops. Or who want to try a new title out and dont want to spend 5 bucks to see if they like it.

One thing I would like to see is a way to buy comics digitally and have them saved to you computer. Like every site I have seen you can but them online but you can only read them on that site or with the internet. That bugs the Hell out of me. I think there would be more online sales if people got to own the book they buy and not rent it.