Number cruncher John Jackson Miller looks at Diamond’s yearend figures and concludes that in 2008, the industry moved sideways:
Now, to 2008: As noted, the industry didn’t so much grow or slip as move sideways. Top 300 Comics Unit and Dollar Sales were down 5% and 3% respectively, and the top 100 trades were up 4%. The overall figure is up 1.5% in my aggregated month-by month calculations, a process explained here (along with the caveats it entails).
That would make this the eighth straight year with an overall increase, but I am approaching this observation with some caution given statements out of Diamond that sales were off last year — three different sources there have stated sales declined slightly, with one referring to a 4% drop.
There’s a lot more to digest at Jackson’s site, but we’re too shell-shocked this week to absorb the numbers.
One thing that has emerged from a number of conversations we’ve had over the last few days: In 2008, comics slipped only a few percentage points, but this year, publishers expect to slip a little bit more. It’s just that margin that is killing everyone.
Marvel had 119 items in the top 300. Flood the market much? Last time this happened, the big crash happened shortly thereafter. Crash this year or next, and there is no coming back from that one. It will be the end of the comics industry, and Marvel’s flooding the market will be a major cause.
Comments are closed.