The Crash of the Comic Book Industry

Comic books are a booming business right now, thanks to a plethora of top-notch super hero movies. But not that long ago, things were looking very bleak for the comic book industry. Publishers went bankrupt, Marvel and DC amassed massive debt, and the comic book market crashed. This is how it started.

The Mainstreaming of the Comic Book

In the late 80's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" launched as a television cartoon show. It was part of a push by the comic book series' new publisher Archie Comics, in a partnership with Mirage Studios, to turn a previously dark and gritty franchise into one that appealed to children.

It worked in a big way, resulting in a wave of merchandising that included toys, video games, trading cards, and comic books. Parents started to look into what it was that their children were going crazy over, and pretty soon a whole host of new customers were interested in an industry that for years had catered to teens and young adults. Comic books and their characters had suddenly gone mainstream.

Everyone Gets on Board

Seeing how successfully Archie Comics and Mirage Studios had turned a decidedly adult series of comic books into a kiddie craze, numerous comic book publishers wanted a piece of the business. New cartoon shows were launched based on the X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, WildCATS, and more.

All of this increased the visibility and name recognition of super heroes and in turn made many more people interested in the comic books they were based on. To help new customers feel like they were getting on at the start of something special and new, Marvel Comics started additional monthly series for Spider-Man and the X-Men with big name artists and writers at the helm.

Gold Rush

As comic books began to sell at incredible rates, publishers invested in new printing technologies to make glossier books and special covers. Thus began the era of gimmick covers. There were covers that folded out, covers in 3-D, holofoil covers, chrome covers, and embossed covers. This raised prices to previously-unforeseen levels and started a dangerous trend within the industry to print almost every first issue or event issue (i.e. 100^th issue, anniversary issue) with an expensive custom cover.

At the time that comics were becoming big business, Wizard, a comic price guide magazine, launched in comic shops and books stores. It took a previously niche hobby and boiled it down to what each issue was worth and what potential buyers should try to grab up.

The magazine enjoyed very healthy sales as it became the tool of choice for new comic book buyers to find their way through the market to the books of most value. People noticed how much old issues of long-running comic series were worth, and assumed first issues of new series would garner similar prices after a few years.

The Market Implodes

The problem was these comic book speculators did not want to wait thirty years to see huge profits. They bought up multiple copies of first issues and foil-covered comics and turned right around trying to sell them to other comic shops or through newspaper advertisements.

The comic book publishers took advantage of this, printing multiple versions of big name comics. Speculators bought them all up, expecting a quick turn around on what should have become rare comics. But so many copies were printed that everyone who wanted a copy or three had them, and no one was buying them months later.

It took several years for speculators to realize they weren't getting the returns on their investments that they thought they would. But by then comic companies had devalued their comics by printing too many and devalued their characters by putting them through attention-grabbing stunts for more publicity. These outlandish tactics included killing Superman and revealing that Spider-Man had been replaced by a clone years ago.

The Near-Death of the Industry

In the late 90's the comic book craze was dying down, thousands of people who were buying them just to collect and sell them back pulled out of the market. Many of the publishers that had started up when business was booming found themselves with very few people to sell to. Publisher like Topps, First, and Malibu had to close down, while the third largest publisher, Valiant, only lasted a few years more.

The remaining publishers ratcheted down their output, putting hundreds of freelance writers and artists out of work. The trading card business, one that had appeared with the mainstreaming of the comic book, practically disappeared.

For years, the comic book industry laid low, cancelling dozens of movie projects that had sprung up around the 90's and almost completely eradicating gimmick covers.

A Slow Recovery

Getting rid of expensive covers helped bring prices down to reasonable levels again. While the occasional crazy plot twist pops up in an effort to boost sales, publishers are more careful with their characters now.

When X-Men and Spider-Man became blockbuster movie franchises, the comics industry became mainstream again. But a public that had been once-burned by comic books did not bother to buy up massive amount of first issues.

In fact, buying comic books for their resale value has diminished so much that Wizard ceased production earlier this year. But the comic industry is thriving as never before. New fans have come by the thousands to buy the comic books that feature their favorite movie heroes.

The industry has learned its lesson it seemed, staying away from massive print runs and outlandish prices on gimmick covers. It is now a healthy, thriving industry that has a symbiotic relationship with movies, television, and video games once again. But this time the booming business is maintained through a careful and measured approach to giving value customers instead of making a quick dollar.