5 Reasons Marvel Comics Are Failing

House of Bad Ideas.

Marvel Smashed
Marvel

Over the last 17 years, Marvel Comics had risen from bankruptcy to reclaim its spot on top of the comic book industry. It all looked good, with sales and reactions both on the rise. But then recently, however, Marvel has fallen back into some habits that caused them to hit bottom in the first place: failing to attract new readers, a never-ending series of crossovers, retcons and reboots...

It goes without saying that comics often revisit the past, but sometimes they revise that history. That's the kind of luxury you get when you have the money monster of Disney providing the ultimate safety net. No fear of bankruptcy this time.

With that safety net though, it can all get a little safe. It can all get a little repetitive. It can all get a little stale. And rather problematically, readers can only stick with a product for so long until they grow tired of something that's no longer any good.

And despite the incredible successes of Marvel on the big screen, and the increased visibility of comics in the mainstream, that doesn't mean that one of the industry's biggest pillars is crumbling in its current state...

5. Direct Market Does Not Lead To New Readers

Marvel Smashed
20th Century Fox

Comic Shops pre-order based on what they know will sell to their customers, and as an inevitable result, many new books that would appeal to new demographics won't be ordered in large numbers by those shops.

A new series debut will always draw large orders from the comic shops, especially comics that draw mainstream attention due to the appeal to a new demographic readers.

Marvel's cancellation of "Silk" is a prime example of this. There was some media attention for this female version of Spider-Man, leading into the Spider-Verse crossover. Silk received her own series, and it was great, but as time went on, the hype of this character wore off and shops simply didn't see the need to order in a consistent number when they noticed that there are little to no new customers coming to buy.

Comic shops can't return their unsold books for refunds and have to adjust their orders accordingly. Soon enough, a comic like Silk disappears from the Marvel solicitations, likely meaning that it has been canceled. Comic Shops are the Direct Market to sell directly to customers that fit that special group of people that come in to buy comics on a regular basis and that rarely means new consistent readers.

Contributor
Contributor

A Samoan that watches too much wrestling, too many movies, reads too many comic books. I tell people that my favorite candy bar is "Whatchamacallit" just so they can be confused for a moment.