“The economy!” It’s the start of many complaints and conversations that really kicked off in early 2020. First covid, then unemployment, and then supply chain issues. Giant leaps in inflation and interest rates, stirred whispers of the dreaded “R” word: recession. But you don’t live in a cave (unless you’re Batman, then lucky you) and you’re not here for an economics lesson, so I’ll get to the point: Through all this, comics sales surged in a time when most people held tight to their purse strings.
But why? And the question on everyone’s mind: Will it continue?
Comics Came to the Rescue
Covid hit and free time became abundant. But sources of entertainment became scarce along with jobs and disposable income. But our need for pursuits of pleasure remained, if not magnified. We couldn’t go to the movies, nor afford to, and Hollywood halted filming, so there was nothing to stream. Our heroes went into hiding on the screen, but their stories in comics and graphic novels remained. So did online shopping.
Suddenly $9.00 for three hours of entertainment in a theater vanished, but for $4.00, you had several hours of time with your favorite heroes and villains and that was something most people could still afford.
Supply chain issues followed, so “new” wasn’t happening, but used inventory was still out there on the internet. Online auctions took hold and brick and mortar auction houses discovered that with a worldwide clientele, they were making much more money online, rather than with in-person auctions. And one of the more popular items to bid for were comics. Collectors had a stockpile to sell, and it became a source of income from other collectors to buy and for new readers to enjoy.
The Spectacle of Speculation
If you are a collector, you know about ‘spec’ comics, short for ‘speculation.’ These are issues or a character series that fans and collectors debate and speculate which will be the next hottest collectible and the price on said comics goes up.
During the pandemic, fans had a lot of extra time to speculate with friends or in online groups, driving interest in a variety of genres of the comic world. News that leaks from Hollywood is a main source of speculation. And producers were still creating behind closed doors.
One example was when everyone was stoked for the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in 2022, but when it got delayed to 2023, sales for Ultimate Fallout #4 (the issue where lead character, Miles Morales makes his first appearance in the series) went through the roof! According to Comic Book Invest a copy went from an expected $100 for a raw copy, to $300! When Hollywood came to a halt, the future of superhero movies was all speculation.
The Diversity Dive
Comic collections and sales had been gaining momentum since the 1990’s and were ripe to take over as the most popular collectible before the pandemic. So why the sudden interest? The answer is diversity.
The end of the 20th Century saw the introduction of Manga to the United States, attracting a whole new demographic to the medium of graphic novels. According to Rutgers, in 2018, Manga outsold the dominating Marvel and D.C. comics for the first time.
This overtaking of the tried and true opened the doors to variety, ushering innovative approaches to comics with a style for everyone, creating a rise in new studios and in Indie (Independent) publications. Characters, stories, and artistic design are now as various as the growing number of people reading them. Diversity is of course, attracting a larger readership.
Future Fortunes
To get an idea of just how much attention comics are getting, look to Grand View Research. Between 2019 and 2022, sales in comics grew by an astounding 70%! It was a seller’s market. However, it has taken a bit of a dip and the projected growth rate is 10.5% annually all the way to 2030. If you didn’t make bank on your collection during its peak, there is still a future of fun and benefits to be had in the industry.
“Right now, it’s a buyer’s market,” said Craig Hansen, owner of Cadence Comics and Collectibles in the antiquing district of Clinton, Tennessee. Prices are the lowest they’ve been since 2017. “My read on the situation?” he said. “If you’re trying to make a business out of it, right now the bread and butter comes from people buying just slightly above average comics at $3 to $8 a piece.” It can quickly add up to a fan spending hundreds.
Comics are here to stay and only grow in value, so investing now is a great idea. Join the speculation conversation, keep your ear to the Hollywood ground, and your collection diversified. All over the globe, a new fan is born every minute when they discover a genre that speaks to and represents them as they escape into that other world between the pages.
Featured Image credit: MITLRproductions @ Flickr under CC BY 2.0
