Originally Posted by
Grunty
From what i recall digital sales related to the super hero comcis of the big two (Marvel and DC) are actualy still relative difficult to obtain because they aren't as published as the direct market sales. So it's equal difficult to actualy judge their sales, both in numbers and impact on continuation or cancelation of titles. However the analysis of comic sales which try to include the digital sales and trades often come to the conclusion that the digital market is still relative niche at least for the mentioned two publishers.
A major problem often pointed out is the accessibility problem for a casual audience. Because the digital sales market is relative obscure and difficult to get pointed towards, while the classic super hero comics are often not currated in a way that makes them easy to get into. Especialy with the massive backlog of old comics, many which to casualy interested may feel like necessary readings, will also scaring away those who try, thanks to the price point even at digital. Made worse when there is no flatrate style option for most of them ala a real comic version of Netflix.
Meanwhile the new comics published, what ever digital or physical, are still mainly designed to appeal to the longterm readers and collectors who are relative static in numbers and buying power. It's the later group which is also the one the big two are most depending on, which is the reason the physical sales numbers are still the primary indicators for the financial success of a series.
Meanwhile those of the former who switch to digital do not really bring in an extra market as much as they just split the numbers up.
This is however again about the comics of the big two of course, i can't say as much about the indie market. Though i saw pieces about them doing better on the digital market currently thanks to the continuity independence of their works, which gives them the same advantage as many japanese comic series (an easy to find starting point) when it comes to accessibility, albeit likely not the price.
So in the end, unless i missed some critical informations in the past, while it would be nice to think that a series these days could do better digital than physical and not get canceled when the physical numbers are at a low, the actualy data (as difficult as it is to obtain it) so far points towards the digital market still being relative unimportant to the big two publishers financial gains. Thanks in part to their lacking effort to reform their distribution towards a more digital friendly or beneficial system, improve accessibility to their old and new comics alike for a casual audience and still primarily creating their comics for a physical collectors market, with a constant focus on relaunch, high prices, alternate covers and big events.
An audience which is both aging and relative static in number, while trying to enforce a culture that makes entry for casual readers difficult.
There is the reason why the major fandom for the properties of the big two is concentrated in the movies, cartoons, video games and toys, while the comics from which the properties originate are static or worse declining.
As much as we might wish for more people to enjoy what we enjoy, or the new writers to want to expand their works towards a new audience, the entry is still too difficult and therefor not profiting from a digital market. So when physical sales data indicates a series is doomed, it tends to be doomed unless someone in charge demands continuation at a loss.