Hi all. Just wanted to share with you this clip from Comic Drake's YouTube channel. It's entitled "Comics Need Saving: Manga's Winning Secrets:"
Comic Drake mentions a number of reasons why Marvel and DC are not getting new readers. Some reasons include:
1) Vast histories of many comics
2) Lack of marketing to non-comic book readers
3) The outdated and expensive single issue model
4) A need to move towards digital services
As frustrated as I was towards Comic Drake's points, I agreed with many of them. Here are my random thoughts on that:
-I definitely feel the need for American comics to follow the manga model. As a teacher, I see so many of my students reading manga. They collect the physical volumes and read comics on Webtoon or some other digital site. That frustrates me because American comics, Marvel, DC, and tons of other companies, have so many wonderful titles and stories that rival My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, or Attack on Titan. At the remaining Barnes and Nobles stores in my area, young people crowd around the manga shelves while their backs are turned to the American comic ones.
I don't blame them. As Comic Drake mentions, $5.00 for one single issue of Batman vs. $7.00 for a Shonen Jump anthology or a multi-chapter manga volume. There is so much more value in the latter. It sucks, I know. The beauty of comics is that sometimes the best stories have just been one-shots. Action Comics #775 and G.I. Joe #21 come to mind. However, could such stories be part of a larger volume?
- I think there should be a greater shift to digital. In the last decade or so, I have moved completely to purchasing digital comics. I'll freely admit, I'm behind the curve since I still use Comixology and Marvel and DC have better services. Still, not needing to store and care for hundreds of issues is so convenient as I have all of my issues and TPB's available on my smart devices.
- Publishing comics as larger volumes and TPB's would help the creators of these books. I think a lot of us remember the #comicsbrokeme stories that came out earlier this summer.
https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/ian-...-broke-me.html
Aside from inequitable pay rates, what struck me were the deadlines for producing a single issue. Staying up 37 hours straight to get an issue out on time? Creators being hospitalized? I think shifting towards large volumes and TPB's would provide more time for these creators to catch up with comic production. A product doesn't have to be churned out every month.
Okay, apologies for the randomness and incoherence of my post. If I'm misinformed about anything, then I accept being corrected. Still, I would like to hear your thoughts.
How do we save comics?