DC comics ceases to be a credible competitor to Marvel

[thwhtGuardian]

Did Marvel's market share shrink a lot? I remember when Marvel was like over 50 sometimes. It's pretty close, actually.

Not for a long time, in the 80's Marvel was thought to be at 70% but there was no real hard data then. They fell pretty quick in the early 90's and by the time the early 2000's they were second place to DC with things being nearly exactly the opposite of what they are now with DC in the mid 30's and Marvel hovering in the mid 20's, but then in the mid-2000's Marvel took off and DC hasn't been on top since.

[golgi]

Not for a long time, in the 80's Marvel was thought to be at 70% but there was no real hard data then. They fell pretty quick in the early 90's and by the time the early 2000's they were second place to DC with things being nearly exactly the opposite of what they are now with DC in the mid 30's and Marvel hovering in the mid 20's, but then in the mid-2000's Marvel took off and DC hasn't been on top since.

What about the 70's and 60's?

[Hoodj]

I just feel that the problem doesn't sit with the characters themselves. It's the publishing model that's failing them.

As for Superman? Well, Superman is about hope, inspiration and a sense of wonder. It's no wonder he is no longer popular because people in general don't have much of those three attributes anymore. The world is too cynical, jaded and paranoid.

Oh god this excuse again, when you you Suoes fanboys get it, Superman concept of lighthearted heroism and wholesome morals arent what is keeping the guy down, its becauae hes competing with a market that takea these concepts from him and put them with other heroes that are more interesting and less generic than Supes, like Spider-Man, Optimus Prime, and tons of Shonen Hero titles. Superman in comparison is too damn plain whire bread and a boring character in comparison.

[married guy]

I think DC ceased to be competition to Marvel 40 years ago.
The 70's were a golden age for Marvel Comics and DC were left in their dust.
Stan made sure he out there front & centre, giving lectures to university students across America.
This was when Marvel surged in front of DC - not just in sales, but the artwork & writing was a lot stronger.
They managed to tap into a movement that the old guard at DC simply missed.
I get the impression now that DC know they can't outsell Marvel and have been working with a business model to different standards.

[thwhtGuardian]

I think DC ceased to be competition to Marvel 40 years ago.
The 70's were a golden age for Marvel Comics and DC were left in their dust.
Stan made sure he out there front & centre, giving lectures to university students across America.
This was when Marvel surged in front of DC - not just in sales, but the artwork & writing was a lot stronger.
They managed to tap into a movement that the old guard at DC simply missed.
I get the impression now that DC know they can't outsell Marvel and have been working with a business model to different standards.

It's just objectively false, except for a few brief times they've both effectively split the market share and are within 5-10% of each other. That's not failing to compete by any stretch of the word.

Darkhorse, Boom, IDW, sure they're not competition for Marvel as the gap in their market share is huge, but the same isn't true for DC.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Is it time to close shop on this thread?

I think Captain Nostalgia has admitted defeat since he hasn't posted anything else here for a few days.

I like to think of it more as a stalemate

(I can't prove that the 100 samples from comichub are extensive enough to validate the top 50 comic stats for February, but I am sure that if DC was still on Diamond Distributors the comichron stats wouldn't be that different)


That and this is one of those posts were people seem to have to have the last word....so it keeps going and going, lol.

Honestly I am more concerned about the collapse in sales for anything that is not tied to Batman....

(it would be akin to just having Spiderman titles sell over at Marvel, but they have a wide diversity of titles in the top 50 from the Hulk to Thor to X-Men ect)

[married guy]

It's just objectively false, except for a few brief times they've both effectively split the market share and are within 5-10% of each other. That's not failing to compete by any stretch of the word.

Darkhorse, Boom, IDW, sure they're not competition for Marvel as the gap in their market share is huge, but the same isn't true for DC.

How is it false????
DC Comics was THE biggest game in town until the Marvel boom in the 70's.
Once Marvel overtook DC in sales, I'm hard pressed to remember a time where they relented top spot for more than a month or two.
Now, if your opposition has remained consistently above you in both units and dollars - how is it competition?
And that's just looking at the publishing division!
The live action offerings from each is further slanted in Marvel's direction (both TV and film).

Now I haven't bought a Marvel title consistently since Ben Reilly first returned, and I recognise that my brand of choice isn't the market top dog.

[Snoop Dogg]

if marvel is so great, why don't they own the doom patrol, or anyone as cool as the dom patrol

[MajorHoy]

Is it time to close shop on this thread?

I think Captain Nostalgia has admitted defeat since he hasn't posted anything else here for a few days.

I like to think of it more as a stalemate

(I can't prove that the 100 samples from comichub are extensive enough to validate the top 50 comic stats for February, but I am sure that if DC was still on Diamond Distributors the comichron stats wouldn't be that different)


That and this is one of those posts were people seem to have to have the last word....so it keeps going and going, lol.

Honestly I am more concerned about the collapse in sales for anything that is not tied to Batman....

(it would be akin to just having Spiderman titles sell over at Marvel, but they have a wide diversity of titles in the top 50 from the Hulk to Thor to X-Men ect)

. . . glutton for punishment . . .

[D.Z]

if marvel is so great, why don't they own the doom patrol, or anyone as cool as the dom patrol

They got the X-Men who make more money.

[captchuck]

The X-men don't just make more money, they are an entire line of comics. There is no doubt that Marvel outsells DC Comics. We'll see what happens after "The Death of Justice League," but I suspect that if DC doesn't play it right, they could end up as nothing but the publisher of Batman comics in a short amount of time. Superman will just be a logo on T-Shirts sold at county fairs.

[Captain Nostalgia]

. . . glutton for punishment . . .

Lol, I'm good.

Admittedly I created the thread two spice things up on the CBR forum, because I missed the old shoot em out wild west days of the DC comic Message forums....and I got it in droves (10 pages in less than one week, lol)

I do genuinely believe that DC comics is no longer competing with Marvel in regards to the monthly top 10 to 20 comics like they use to. (For whatever reason, titles outside of Batman can't get the traction they use to)

but if the mods want to wrap it up, it's all good, I've moved on, cheers.

[skyvolt2000]

if marvel is so great, why don't they own the doom patrol, or anyone as cool as the dom patrol

Because as we have seen when a change of ownership happens mess can happen as well.

See Malibu Comics. If Marvel had did it's job right those guys would be around instead of limbo because of some former owner. to.

See Xero.

https://www.***************.com/how-...t-movie-2022-3

Priest has been upfront about his complicated relationship with the comics industry in the past. When it comes to "Xerø," he thinks the book was resented at the time in the DC editorial department because of the deal DC made with Priest to create the book, and because it tackled controversial themes of race.

Priest struck a deal with DC where the full rights to "Xerø" would revert to him if DC didn't publish new material for a certain amount of time. In 2016, Priest finally made the request to have full ownership of the character, and DC obliged.

18 years they couldn't do anything with this guy and Priest got his rights back and now has a movie in the works.



If Marvel got Doom Patrol what would happen? Malibu 2.0? DC getting the rights back in 18 years

[Vakanai]

Lol, I'm good.

Admittedly I created the thread two spice things up on the CBR forum,

Aka, a troll. Nothing but a troll.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

How is it false????
DC Comics was THE biggest game in town until the Marvel boom in the 70's.
Once Marvel overtook DC in sales, I'm hard pressed to remember a time where they relented top spot for more than a month or two.
Now, if your opposition has remained consistently above you in both units and dollars - how is it competition?
And that's just looking at the publishing division!
The live action offerings from each is further slanted in Marvel's direction (both TV and film).

Now I haven't bought a Marvel title consistently since Ben Reilly first returned, and I recognise that my brand of choice isn't the market top dog.

Dude. He just told you why what you said is false. Just because a company is number one in any given industry doesn't mean that it doesn't have competition. In order to have "no competition," Marvel would have to have either a literal or virtual monopoly on the comic book industry. And, given the fact that DC and Marvel, for several decades, have maintained near equal shares of the market means that Marvel, well, does not have a monopoly on the comic book market..because DC's got another sizable chunk of it and is therefore competing with Marvel. That's just basic fact.