It appears that I was not the only person who was thinking about the state of comic cons. Rob Salkowitz at ICV2 also has an overview of the con scene, and he noted something I did as well, a rather shocking skeet by Tim Seeley from C2E2:
https://bsky.app/profile/hackintimseeley.bsky.social/post/3miatyi3dqk2g
C2E2 observations from a creator who as tabled at literally every single one: – super strong sales on Friday,diminishing Sat & Sun, meaning the hardcore fans gave way to casual attendees. 2. We seemed to serve every demographic equally save one which was completely absent- teenage boys. This is notable in that I was selling Inglorious X-Force which was traditionally a teen boy book.
Given that the comic book format is generally thought to have been INVENTED for teen boys, this is a shockign statement that will stop you dead in your track. (And god help the comments on this post.)
Salkowitz confirms that he saw the same demographic gap at ECCC.
There is stuff for young boys and girls, for teenage and YA girls, for adult men and women, and for nonbinary fans of all ages, all of whom were well-represented. But the teenage guys? Despite a fair amount of videogame, superhero, wrestling and other dude-oriented content, they were pretty thin on the ground.
Given that the current big comics hits – Absolute DC. Marvel Ultimates. Transformers. DC-Marvel crossovers – would seem to be teen boy friendly, why this lack? Salkowitz writes:
Whereas older men held on to the fan and collecting habits they had as kids, the Millennial generation of young male fans didn’t have the same interests or attachments. The strategy of treating Millennial teen guys as “older male collectors in training” no longer worked, but no one noticed because girls and women more than made up the difference in numbers.
Unfortunately, the generational transition from Millennials to Gen Z was accompanied by some really toxic gender discourse in the wider world that has polarized many young men, especially in fandom, against “feminized” spaces. This is the cultural manifestation of a pattern that sociologists have noted in the workplace, academia and elsewhere, stemming from the tendency of men to devalue activities they no longer control.
I can’t say that I’ve noted the Teen Boy Gap myself. NYCC is full of a very young crowd of all genders and I didn’t really notice it at WonderCon, but thinking about it….maybe? And a few anecdotes suggested that this really is a thing.
Reilly Brown: Man, I’ve been saying for a while that American comics need to do more to reach out to that demographic. Every time I bring it up, even (maybe especially) around those who talk the most about expanding the audience, I get a look like “why would we want to reach out to THOSE PEOPLE?”
Kiel Phegley: Can’t recall the last time I read an American teen-oriented comic book that had a romantic, straight male lead. Our business just gave it up. Meanwhile, have you read Chainsaw Man? Because it’s not popular with middle school boys just because of the gore. He’s a lovesick incel! Our mistake.
Again, a very small data point. It does seem ludicrous to think that in an industry still very much preoccupied with superheroes and “Shonen” manga whose very title means “Made for boys” we might have a boy gap. But we are at an unpleasant cultural time when young men are spending a lot of time watching hatefully misogynist youtubers and podcasters, hitting their faces with hammers, and otherwise exploring the “Manosphere.” And comic cons, which pridethemselves on an egalitarian ethos, don’t seem to be part of that. In a way, in the past comics shops were safe spaces for boys. As spaces become more mixed, some males find them less and less inviting. They just can’t hang.
Before we totally sound the alarm bells, it would be wise to check out an anime show. I only go to Anime NYC, but the gender balance is pretty even and these shows skew very, very young. Lads are cosplaying and cavorting in fine fettle at these events.
Is this part of the flood of toxic masculinity that we’re seeing? Or just a couple of social media posts?
One more WonderCon link while we’re talking cons: Longtime blogger and Author Matt Maxwell has a thoughtful and lengthy piece on the show: FULL BLEED: IN BLACK WAS A COLOR BLACK WAS YOUR COLOR
I had a good time at the show this year, though I was only down for a day. I’m not sure how I’d have stretched it into two or three unless I was running a table (which I did at artist’s alley and even a regular old booth in the SF W-C days) or on a bunch of panels (I’ve been on… one at this show). There was lots of stuff to see. Even some deals to be had if you turned over rocks and went to the really very quiet comics back issue corner of the show. At least on Friday. It could very well have been much more busy on Saturday and Sunday.
The issues that the show faces come from a variety of different angles. Some are much more easily addressed than others. I’m not privy to convention operations and what it takes for the organization to decide what is a success and what isn’t.
I’ve been saying this for awhile: there’s no western adventure comics for “boys”. If you left Spider-Verse, and were looking for a comic that scratched that itch, it doesn’t exist. Thats why stuff like One Piece, MHA, and Chainsaw Man take off.
in 2026, American Comics NEEDS their own Image Revolution. Where’s our Spawn? Hell, where’s our Invincible? Give the kids THEIR OWN stuff. Even stuff like Radiant Black is written for Millenials/Gen X.
Thanks for the shout-out, Heidi.
I will note that anecdotally, most of the indie artists (who only sometimes offered comics) were majority women making material for a like audience. Which I found interesting. And yes I should have included that in my piece.
Uh, exuberantbriefly is Matt Maxwell. What the hell.
I think this post sums up why teenage boys are avoiding cons.
“THOSE PEOPLE”
“Sociologists”
“devalue activities they no longer control”
“He’s a lovesick incel!”
“They just can’t hang.”
Even their absence is somehow a “flood of toxic masculinity that we’re seeing”
Teenage boys are a lot of things but they aren’t complete idiots.
Probably hooked on porn.
In a way, I feel like we’re seeing something similar to the comics industry of 20-25 years ago, when the question was “Where are all the women and kids?” There’s probably a lot to learn from back then.
I’m a substitute teacher, and if there’s anything I see in different schools that unites boys across demographic lines, it’s shonen manga and anime. I’ve seen kids swapping volumes of One Piece, watching their favorite Naruto fights during downtime, covering their chromebooks with Demon Slayer stickers, etc. And as a fan of shonen manga myself, it’s easy to see why. These are stories about struggle, perseverance, honor, comradery, rivalry, and longing–or rather, the classic unofficial Shonen Jump motto of Friendship, Effort, and Victory. If anything, they’re really scratching the same itch as a movie like Rocky–a dedicated underdog pushing himself to the limit with the help of his friends to achieve something significant.
And on that note, here’s a question I’ve had for over twenty years: where are all the sports comics? Or rather: why are there more Japanese comics about American football than there are American comics? I’ve often thought that American comics are too wrapped up in nerd culture, with fewer options outside genre fiction. Part of what helped shoujo manga succeed was just making more options available. There’s really no reason that a topic like sports, that so many adolescents have powerful feelings for, should be sidelined.
Gee, I wonder why boys aren’t into comics anymore.
“It’s because of toxic masculinity online”
Oh, and here I was thinking it was because of what has been done to the hobby.
“Nope, just toxic masculinity”
Care to elaborate? Is it in part because it’s too expensive now?
Because if so, why doesn’t it apparently affect girls of the same generation?
I can’t imagine supposed role models like Andrew Tate boasting they don’t read not being an issue.
Nanon, I thought about your post a lot. For a week. And you make a good point. At first I felt sympathy, but then I remembered that as a woman who is interested in traditionally “male” hobbies, I’ve been scrutinized every minute of the day for years. And women in general are publicly analyzed for their intellect, their speech, their looks, the way they dress….everything really. It’s no fun to be criticized for everything you do, and it’s great to be able to set up a system where that doesn’t happen.
Unfortunately what with omnipresent social media EVERYONE is getting scrutinized/citicized for everything they do. And it’s not a healthy system for anyone.
@Heidi
“women in general are publicly analyzed for their intellect, their speech, their looks, the way they dress….everything really.”
So… just like a man then ?
I’ll gladly switch with you for the day.
Would you like to swap places?
Not sure you would see much improvement. Everyone in client-facing positions is objectified these days. I’m in France so it may be slightly more subtle, but just as hurtful I’m afraid.
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