![]() ![]() “We’ve pulled the string tight all around,” he said.Įlsewhere, there were layoffs at Devil’s Due Publishing Inc., based in Chicago and Los Angeles, and the failure of Virgin Comics. of Milwaukie, Ore., is hunkering down as a precaution, scaling back its budget, hiring, travel and trade show plans, Publisher Mike Richardson said. Some publishers, facing a rise in returns and a glut of competitors, are trimming their release schedules. In November, Marvel Chairman Morton Handel cited the beleaguered economy when he predicted only lackluster performance this year. Sales figures in broader comics categories, including magazines and trade paperbacks, nonetheless increased in the January-through-November period, though just 0.5% more than a year earlier, said John Jackson Miller, a Comics Chronicles researcher.Īt Marvel, for example, the publishing sector said its sales and earnings were below year-earlier levels in each quarter of 2008, dragged down by higher artist and writer expenses and the rising cost of paper. For February through November of 2008, the amount of top comic books sold to shops was lower than the same period in 2007, according to online research group Comics Chronicles. But the number sold to merchants is dropping. There are no statistics available for comic books sold to customers. “That’s a big reason why we’re seeing more traffic.”īut even after a year stuffed with blockbuster films based on comic books, growth in all sectors is stalling. “If you want to read a series, there could be anywhere from three titles to 50, so it could be a very expensive experience,” said Albert Johnson, a collection development manager at the library. At the Los Angeles Public Library, thrifty fans turned comics into a hot item at the checkout counter last summer. There’s still an appetite for fantasy - experts said the comics market has been resilient, weathering the wilting economy better than other forms of media.
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