5 Reasons Marvel Comics Are Failing

5. Direct Market Does Not Lead To New Readers

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.