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The Business Of Comic Books

Comic books are big business and can be very lucrative. Many companies make a substantial return on the trade of comics. Small business can also do well with retail outlets, memberships, art work and graphics, licensing and ancillary products.

Comic book enthusiasts can be an eager and avid market. Comic book collecting is a specialised area for those with the knowledge of the most sought after and valuable of comic books. It is still possible to make a purchase of a collector comic book at a very low price or even pick them up for free, if you know what you are looking for. Then the collector comics can be marketed at a substantial mark-up to the collector community.

Comics have long held a fascination for children and adults alike. There are more than a hundred comic book companies and then there are many that are now defunct. The explosion rate of comic book companies is quite amazing. So is the rush to distribute, produce and advertise them.

Companies try to find that one special character or characters that would have instant appeal with the masses. But there are companies that are underground and not looking to cater to the masses but to a completely different, specialty section of the comic book society.

If the character in such comics is accepted then they can go on to become mainstream comics. Here the character of the story is one with whom the public can relate to and is believable enough for people to like. This is important because the survival of the comic book is dependent on the acceptance of the characters and the plot structure by the targeted readers. If the opposite happens where the readers are not able to relate to the character and activities, then the comic book fades into oblivion.

There is a lot of work involved in making a comic book and if the readers dont accept it then its a whole lot of effort wasted. If there is no perseverance and dedication towards getting out a good piece of work then the readers are not going to pay any attention to the work.

This non acceptance is evident from the list of defunct comic book companies that one can trace. But then failure is to be expected, especially in the heavily competitive business world. There is a comprehensive list of these defunct companies available and the reasons for why they are defunct are easy to see.

Paid readership is very essential for the survival of any comic book company. Paid readership means sustained readership which is essential for the company to move on. The age old economic theory of supply and demand holds true for comic books.

At present the two very popular and probably the largest among comic book companies today are Marvel comics and DC comics. Of course there are a lot of independent companies too.

Gaining credibility is difficult and once the company in question does get a foothold they are able to increase their repertoire of characters and take another step into the market.

Its the comic figures that represent the company. Marvel has a lot more of villains and cosmic heroes than DC who is its main competition, and DC has an entire troupe of characters from outer space.

But in this world of comic books there is another player and they are those who use licensed figures like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars to name a few.

Dark Horse is the third largest comic company and it belongs to this genre. In the world of comic books, using characters that are long established on TV is a common feature and the market for these characters is already there so there is relatively less to do in terms of promotion of the comic.

Some classic series and movies have been adapted into comic characters, as have comic characters been developed into movie characters. Movies such as the Superman series and Batman, have given a great surge to the comic book market.

Bringing a new character to life via comic books can be potentially very lucrative, but also needs to be very strategic. Obviously it needs to me marketed correctly. The comic book market for action adventures is different to the market for space adventures for example, and different again to the comics for the pre-teen market.

Research is important before commencing any business venture, and the comic book enthusiast will certainly enjoy the research of favourite comic books, but will also require research into the more mundane but very necessary business aspects.

At a local level, research any comic book outlets in your city and, in particular, information on the most popular and best selling comics. For additional information, contact major comic book publishing houses for their publications list. And continue to enjoy the realm of comic books.