While 2020 has been decidedly unkind to comic books, with the COVID-19 pandemic basically bringing the entire industry to a standstill, recently released data shows that 2019 was a banner year for the medium, with North American sales reaching a record high.
An estimated total of $1.21 billion worth of comics and graphic novels were sold in the US and Canada last year, an 11% uptick over 2018, which itself saw an $80 million rise in sales over 2017. The steady growth is being credited to an increased interest in graphic novels, particularly ones meant for younger audiences. But sales for traditional, periodical comic books also saw a 5% rise.
The numbers come from a joint estimate from comic book analytics sites ICv2 and Comichron. Sales of graphic novels reached approximately $765 million, while traditional, single issue comics were around $355 million. “Print comics sales had never before topped $1 billion in current dollars, and one has to go back to the boom of the early 1990s to find sales at or above that level when adjusted for inflation,” said Comichron's John Jackson Miller, one of the researchers behind the report.
However digital sales went down 10%. The 2018 report put digital sales numbers at $100 million, while this new report has that format at $90 million. Another interesting finding in the analysis is the fact that 2019 saw the first time that traditional book channel - chain bookstores, mass merchants, major online retailers, and Scholastic Book Fairs - topped regular comic shops in sales for the first time ever.
Unfortunately, the steady rise in sales is likely not to continue for 2020. Most stores were forced to close their doors to customers amid virus fears, and when Diamond Comics Distributors - the largest distributor of comic books in the world - announced it was halting new deliveries, any stores that were still operational were left with no fresh content and empty new release shelves. Milton Griepp of ICV2, who worked on the study alongside Miller, noted, "Demand for comics content remains high,” Griepp noted, “and retailers have been finding inventive ways to fill that demand.” Many retailers have turned to eBay and social media to keep fans engaged and stocked with reading material, but it's been an uphill battle for many.
And Diamond's hiatus was far from the only major drawback the industry has seen on account of the pandemic. Majortrade events - most notably San Diego Comic Con, which is now going to be held online - were forced to delay or just flat out cancel. And with the success of comic book movies likely driving viewers to their local book stores, it's possible the impact could be long-lasting. With Hollywood mostly still effectively shut down, and with the future of theater-going experiences largely unknown, it's possible that may also have an impact, with fewer new readers being first introduced to these characters on film. Only time will tell how long-lasting an impact the virus will have on the comic book world, but for right now, fans have something to celebrate.
Source: ICv2 and Comichron
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