The Saving Comics Project

The comic book industry has been in a bad way for some now. It’s hard to imagine that the industry is falling on hard times considering that comic book films are major box office draws every single year, but unfortunately, comic book movies aren’t bringing in new readers. It’s clear that the industry has to make some changes if they hope to survive.

The Saving Comics Project is a research project that I am working on that analyzes the  problems that the industry faces today and possible remedies to these problems. This page will serve as a database for the various essays that I’ve written on the subject, and also links of importance.

I would like to note that none of these posts are absolutely definitive solutions. I’m not an industry insider, so I’m sure that I’m probably missing out on a lot, but I wanted to start this project to get people thinking about problems in the industry and possible solutions.

If you have something you’d like to contribute to the Saving Comics Project, please e-mail me at

Articles

Why the world needs a Superman – Comic books and their accessibility to new readers.

Interview with Bart Sears – Mr. Sears gives readers an overview of what it was like to work in each decade of the comic book industry from the 80’s to today.

Green Lantern issue 50 – Why I love comics so much.

Rationale for why comics need to be saved

The Direct Market of Distribution

Interview with Ron Marz – The writer discusses fandom and the controversies surrounding his run on the comic.

Sort of related

Who really cares about Heimdall? – Conservatives aren’t happy with the Thor movie.

Research

“Come in Alone” by Warren Ellis – a Comic Book Resources Column that was written ten years ago. Ellis mentions many of the same problems that persist today.

Comichron – The best site for gathering data on comic sales.

Sales Tumble – January sales keep falling year to year.