Why kids quit comics

[E-Man]

Comic shops are hard to find. Wal-marts are everywhere. It makes sense to have your product to where it's easily accessible to people.

 

[Drakon]

Even better if you put them with the magazines by the registers.

 

[E-Man]

Even better if you put them with the magazines by the registers.

Correctamundo! Kids are impressionable, and I think the more they see comics the more they'd want them. That's pretty much the secret to marketing anyway. When you see something alot, you have more chances to be interested in it. Kids love anything that they see alot, so if they saw comics every time they're waiting on mommy at the cash register, then before you know it they'll be like, "Oooooh I want Batman mommy."

 

[Chris Wallace]

Only problem is they're likely to get mangled.

 

[E-Man]

I don't think most kids would care if they're mangled. I didn't when I was a kid. My comics were all tore up and stuff. I did get to a point to where I started caring, but when I was under 10 I really was just into getting into the issue.

 

[Drakon]

Yeah, and if they're damaged at the store, there's a better chance of them being bought, just because the parents will be like "I'll buy this if you give me a discount"

 

[Canadian Rider]

Kids become teens who find out about video games and movies and tuition and cars ... who become adults who have mortgages ... sad really. The best comics available are out in the last few years and people have no idea what they are missing.

Great stories ... awesome art ... It has never been a better time to love the artform and it is slowly going by the wayside ...

 

[E-Man]

What's keeping comics companies from being in stores beyond comic shops? I'm not too keen on comic publishing, so I would like to know why they aren't in grocery stores anymore. Some people around the web with their own indie stuff seem to have a little beef with Diamond, and I wonder where that stems from.

 

[Canadian Rider]

Most stores buy their books from distribution companies. I used to sell books for a living.

Comics are a huge pain in the arse so no one wants to deal with them. They get a krinkle and they are junk. It's a major issue for the company to sell them and merchandise them ... not to mention trying to choose which to sell and to get them racked up and switched out in a timely manner is a nightmare ...

Bookstores like the graphic novels but the actual comics on a monthly basis are facing the same issues as the grocery store, convenience store etc. ...

Plus the companies that distribute the comics have to make money and there aren't great margins working through the new wholesalers who sell to the convenience trade ...

Sucks to be a 20 page flimsy comic in other words ...

 

[E-Man]

Most stores buy their books from distribution companies. I used to sell books for a living.

Comics are a huge pain in the arse so no one wants to deal with them. They get a krinkle and they are junk. It's a major issue for the company to sell them and merchandise them ... not to mention trying to choose which to sell and to get them racked up and switched out in a timely manner is a nightmare ...

Bookstores like the graphic novels but the actual comics on a monthly basis are facing the same issues as the grocery store, convenience store etc. ...

Plus the companies that distribute the comics have to make money and there aren't great margins working throught the new wholesalers who sell to the convenience trade ...

Sucks to be a 20 page flimsy comic in other words ...

Thanks for the insight. It makes sense what you're saying. I've heard it proposed before by fans that going with nothing but trades every few months might bring new readers in. I don't know exactly how that would work, but I will say that I'm certain that trades are the key to gaining new readers. I got back into comics with trades, and I've gotten some friends into comics with trades as well.

I know it would be extremely hard to not publish monthly comics though. Comics have been published as singles issues for over 70 years now, so I know that single issues won't go away. Nor should they go away. The big thing seems to be getting the industry to have it's cake, and eat it too. I think the system of trades along with individual issues works almost perfectly now. Almost everything relevant in the comics world is in TPB form, so there is that channel for new readers to enter. The thing would be to get the new readers realizing how good it is to read the trades. When I say new readers now, I'm thinking more along the lines of 12-17 year olds. The kids under the age of 12 don't seem to be interested in trades. I think the key to getting them is getting in front of their faces with the product, while the 12-17 year old new readers gain access through trades. There's got to be a way to market to these people without going bankrupt. I'm thinking having celebs do it is one way, but then there's the kids.

Maybe the comic companies should hire people to lobby for the inclusion of comics in public schools at the Pre K-5th grade level. It could be a win win situation, and I think Marvel/DC could pull it off right with the right mouthpiece. If they work the angle of getting kids more interested in reading, parents might pick up the torch and run with it. The right mouthpiece could also silence parental concerns over graphic imagery.

 

[Max Shrek]

"Why kids quit comics"?

Simple answer. Comics aren't made for kids (anymore). They're made for old fanboys who want characters who croaked the 1970s back.

 

[Chris Wallace]

There's truth in that, too.

 

[Canadian Rider]

Thanks for the insight.

I know it would be extremely hard to not publish monthly comics though. Comics have been published as singles issues for over 70 years now, so I know that single issues won't go away. Nor should they go away. The big thing seems to be getting the industry to have it's cake, and eat it too.

Maybe the comic companies should hire people to lobby for the inclusion of comics in public schools at the Pre K-5th grade level. It could be a win win situation, and I think Marvel/DC could pull it off right with the right mouthpiece. If they work the angle of getting kids more interested in reading, parents might pick up the torch and run with it. The right mouthpiece could also silence parental concerns over graphic imagery.

"Why kids quit comics"?

Simple answer. Comics aren't made for kids (anymore). They're made for old fanboys who want characters who croaked the 1970s back.

There's truth in that, too.

Glad to share E-man. I was frustrated too until I understood the industry better.

Comics as a medium have been evolving and changing. They are more expensive proportionally than ever before so they are a luxury for some people in a way they never were. Mom (and maybe dad?) can't afford to buy them for young kids like they used to. They need to pay the mortgage or rent and for food.

The monthly comics are where the advertising revenue is generated that allows the material to be created in the first place, so without them you wouldn't have trades.

The average age of comic readers has been rising as the younger/newer generations have been raised on Television and Video games.

You have obese children who can't read. Reading and literacy rates continue to drop and most parents aren't concerned enough about it.

If things continue the way they are going, the only place comics will be sold is retirement homes ...

 

[Canadian Rider]

Oh ... and Marvel tried the literacy movement in the '80s and '90s. They are just too expensive for most school boards for the same reason as supermarkets. They are just not durable enough.

 

[Chris Wallace]

I don't think the comic "magazines" that are sold in supermarkets really help, either. They get lost in the shuffle, sandwiched between Nick Jr's or buried behind the latest Jonas Brothers mag.

 

[Canadian Rider]

I don't think the comic "magazines" that are sold in supermarkets really help, either. They get lost in the shuffle, sandwiched between Nick Jr's or buried behind the latest Jonas Brothers mag.

Indeed. The format of the comic itself is it's greatest obstacle to overcome.

 

[E-Man]

Oh ... and Marvel tried the literacy movement in the '80s and '90s. They are just too expensive for most school boards for the same reason as supermarkets. They are just not durable enough.

Well there goes my idea. I wish I could be a mouthpiece to a new movement, but I have serious hate with politics. I love public speaking, but I don't think I could ever do politics without flipping out.

I don't think the comic "magazines" that are sold in supermarkets really help, either. They get lost in the shuffle, sandwiched between Nick Jr's or buried behind the latest Jonas Brothers mag.

Damn those Jonas Brothers!

 

[CConn]

I still say the major problem lies in what the comic book companies are doing to get new readership (which, mainly, is nothing). In an age of movies and video games and TV shows, it's undeniable that it's becoming harder and harder to get people to read, but yet the book industry is still surviving. Harry Potter and Twilight and Star Wars books are still flying off the bookstore shelves, being purchased by the exact same 12-25 crowd the comic industry wants to grab so desperately.

No, despite what they may say, despite what the fans defending them may say, comic book publishers - DC and Marvel - do absolutely nothing to grab new readers. At the present, they appear wholly content with their shrinking fanbase of +18 year old collectors who end up paying 4 and 5 dollars for comics that - if marketed properly - could be sold for much less.

I won't be presumptuous enough to say that I have the answer to solving the problem of decreasing readership; maybe it is getting more comics onto supermarket shelves and in the book sections at Target and Wal-Mart; maybe its a bigger media campaign, to push the good stories and good writers that really need to be enjoyed by the masses; maybe it's exploring different ways of presenting comics - such as in TPBs, digests and the like; maybe it's making them available digitally on iTunes or something like that...I don't know.

But if I could do it, I'd be at least trying to to come up with new, unqiue efforts to reignite the popularity of comics. Get it out there that comics aren't just for geeky teenagers, get it out there that it's just as important form of media as books and movies. With all of the successful superhero and comic book movies out there, it's obvious there's public interest, someone just needs to make the most of it, because it's just sad that facebook can get 87 million Americans to go on and READ for 4 hours a day, and a comic book that doesn't feature Superman or Batman struggles to keep 50,000 people reading for 25 minutes once a month.

Comics as a medium have been evolving and changing. They are more expensive proportionally than ever before so they are a luxury for some people in a way they never were. Mom (and maybe dad?) can't afford to buy them for young kids like they used to. They need to pay the mortgage or rent and for food.

I kinda disagree with that.

While that's very true in Canada, it's certainly not the case in a lot of parts of the US. I work in retail, and where I live sell $200 dollar cameras, and Wii games by the dozen to parents for their children on a daily basis.

Granted, even when I visit the poorer areas around here (even one of the most dangerous cities in the country), the fine residents are attired in their finest hip-hop clothing, professional sports team gear, and jewelry that would make heiresses jealous. Granted they can't afford a car, or a decent place to live, but they have their look.

If there's one thing every class of Americans never have a problem with, it's wasting money on stupid things.

 

[Da_Lycan]

So they'd probably get more kids if comics could be picked up at Wal-Mart?

Well wal-mart sells manga and manga outsells american comics so maybe it would help.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Damn those Jonas Brothers!

Do you really need a reason to say that?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well wal-mart sells manga and manga outsells american comics so maybe it would help.

Wow really? Is that a norm? The Wal-Marts that I've been to don't sell full volumes of manga. They sell those Japanese-like magazines with Manga chapters, but I don't think I've seen one seen full manga

 

[Da_Lycan]

Well the one by my house sells full Naruto and Bleach volumes and those sell like gangbusters. Dont know if its just mine.

 

[Chris Wallace]

My stepson LOVES manga (to watch & draw, anyway) but has little to no interest in American comics. He'll watch the movies & sometimes a cartoon. But the only comic I ever got him to read was Ant Unleashed.

 

[E-Man]

My stepson LOVES manga (to watch & draw, anyway) but has little to no interest in American comics. He'll watch the movies & sometimes a cartoon. But the only comic I ever got him to read was Ant Unleashed.

Why do I have a feeling it's because Ant has a big booty?

 

[Chris Wallace]

Why do I have a feeling it's because Ant has a big booty?

You know why you have that feeling.