Not to evaluate every mass-media reference to trends in the comics market — much less places that do unsigned snippets about Madonna, video games, and American Idol like gossip-and-fad-chaser Radar Online — but its latest “exclusive” revelation on “The End of Comic Books” cobbles together a couple of data points and leaps wildly into the … Read more
With the Watchmen movie coming up, the number of public inquiries involving it has increased — many asking the simple question of why it’s such an important comics work. The simple answer, “read it,” works for some; others look for a little more context — particularly students working on term papers! The Comics Chronicles is … Read more
Comics sales in the first month of January reverted to historical “dead quarter” form, sinking 9% in overall dollars and in Top 300 dollars — and shaving a chilling 17% off Top 300 Unit Sales. This, despite sales of the Barack Obama Amazing Spider-Man #583, which as expected came in at almost 353,000 copies across … Read more
What’s the best-selling comic book in the last dozen years? What’s the worst-selling top-seller? There’s a reference for that now — as the Comichron “book of records,” long-delayed, is finally beginning on site, with the Diamond Era Records page now online. Covering April 1997 to present, it’s a first step — and it includes, beyond … Read more
Still running more numbers on January 2009 — my process takes a few extra steps — but it is looking like the predicted losses will be reflected in the final data. Now is a good time, then, to take another look at Dead Quarters past, and what the typical January performances are. The dropoffs from … Read more
I spoke recently to the reporter for the Northwest Herald, a suburban Chicago paper, for her piece on the local comics scene, recently posted. The reporter interviewed Al Armstrong of Al n’ Ann’s Collectibles in McHenry on surviving in the recession. “We’re established, and we’ve got a really solid customer base,” Armstrong said. “I don’t … Read more