How Are We Going To Save The Comic Industry? Flashpoint Buttons!

Marc Alan Fishman

Marc Alan Fishman is a graphic designer, digital artist, writer, and most importantly a native born Chicagoan. When he's not making websites, drawing and writing for his indie company Unshaven Comics, or rooting for the Bears... he's a dedicated husband and father. When you're not enjoying his column here on ComicMix, feel free to catch his comic book reviews weekly at MichaelDavisWorld, and check out his books and cartoons at Unshaven Comics.

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6 Responses

  1. Kyle Gnepper says:

    As someone who has most of thos rings and a bunch of those buttons from conventions, I don’t know if I can say anything. Then again, I got most of those free or with comic I already bought, items like this have never convinced me to buy a book I wasn’t already planning to buy.

    My personal thought is for each publisher to organize events like Free Comic book day. With all the hype behind the death of Johnny Storm, imagine if Marvel was organizing events all over the country as a kind of Wake for the fallen FF member the month after his death for the weekend of the next issue?

    The Superman story going on right now has had set backs, but I’d be curious to see what kind of turnouts/ sales bumps comic shop in the towns he’s gon through have had, and imagine what kind of improvements they might see with big name support/ involvment.

  2. ComicAcademy says:

    DC will probably argue that they’re trying to help retailers by keeping the price of their comics at $2.99. They had a decent online marketing campaign for that initiative, so couldn’t they have spent the button money on some ‘Support your local retailer’ adverts? I don’t think that’s part of their long-term plan.

    The major publishers are seriously increasing their online comics libraries, and I expect they will soon start publishing ‘digital-only’ titles involving major characters. One day they will find it no longer financially-viable to publish hard copies of their books.

    Retailers are likely to stock more titles from independent publishers and self-publishers. Comic shops will become more like specialist bookshops offering a wider range of indie titles and a more involved, enriching buying experience than ‘point and click’. It could be a win-win for both comic shops and smaller publishers if they work on initiatives to support each other over the crux point of the next 5-10 years.

    Well, that’s my two cents worth!

    Phil Hampton

    The Comic Academy

  3. Sam Goody says:

    Hey, comic retailers, maybe you can open a record store. I hear they are the next big thing.

    • That’s so helpful.

      • Sam Goody says:

        I was making a point. If you’re a comic retailer and you’re waiting for DC to ‘save’ you, you’re going to be out of luck. Did the music industry save Sam Goody or any of the other record stores? Is the book publishing industry jumping in to save Borders? In general, print is dying off and moving to digital. Comics, as a part of print, are going to move too. Sure, print comics will still be available (probably in the form of trades), but a few plastic rings or metal pins aren’t going to stop the transition. If you’re a comic book retailer, I hope you can see the writing on the wall…

  1. February 18, 2011

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