July 2014 is the most profitable month ever in comic book history, and comics are only getting bigger

With the success of movies like 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' and more ways to buy comics than ever before, the industry is growing rapidly.

Before "Guardians of the Galaxy" was announced as Marvel's latest upcoming blockbuster action flick, only the most diehard comic book fans knew who Rocket Raccoon was.

The gun-toting, wise-cracking, two-foot-tall superhero seemed to be out of place in a universe filled with the likes of Spider-Man, the Hulk, and Captain America. The character was almost a complete unknown compared with the household-name reputation enjoyed by many of Marvel's characters.

But in the weeks before the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy," the hype surrounding the movie propelled the anthropomorphic raccoon superhero into history, with "Rocket Raccoon #1" topping sales charts in what has been estimated to be the most profitable month in comic book history.

According to the Escapist, the issue was a huge success, selling over 300,000 copies in July, a very large figure for the industry. But Rocket Raccoon wasn't the only success story for the month.

According to The Beat, July's profits beat previously held records to become what may have been the most profitable month in comic book history, at least according to monthly records recorded since 1997. Customers bought comics in some form or another worth a total of $53.63 million this July, beating October 2013's record by more than $3 million.

The month's huge profits are only part of an overall trend of growth in recent years.

Last year, sales of comics and graphic novels generated $870 million, according to Publisher's Weekly, the largest amount for the industry since 1993. And the profits show no signs of dropping anytime soon.

With millions going to see movies like "The Avengers," "The Dark Knight," and "Iron Man," interest in comics has steadily increased over the past several years. The success of "Rocket Raccoon #1," for instance, owes a great deal to the hype for Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy."

With blockbuster after blockbuster making superheroes an increasingly mainstream part of pop culture, comic book stores are seeing more and more interest from newcomers in increasingly obscure characters.

“The 300th book [on bestseller lists] used to sell 1,000 comics, now it sells 5,000 copies,” says Milton Griepp, an expert on sales in the comic books industry, according to Publishers Weekly.

Comic book publishers have realized the potential profits a growing base of readers has to offer. 

"It's very important that we honor our tradition and, in doing so, our long-term fans, but also have an eye on the future to make sure we are always up with the times,"  said Axel Alonso, editor in chief of Marvel Comics, according to CBS.

Keeping an eye on the future, comic book publishers are embracing technology in every way they can. Digital versions of comic books are up 260 percent in the last three years, according to CBS. Marvel and DC, the two largest comic book publishers in the industry, provide electronic services to view comics on smart phones and tablets.

The rise of digital versions of comics, some even with music and sound effects, have not hindered print sales. In fact, they've helped sales go up.

"The thing about digital comics is that they are super portable, so you kind of always have access to your library," said Jim Lee, DC Comics co-publisher, according to CBS. "But there's something very charming about the print books themselves and ... people collect them."

Marvel recently released an augmented reality app that encourages the purchase of conventional print comics as well. By placing their smart phone or tablet over certain issues, readers can unlock various digital extras associated with that particular comic, striking a balance between new and old that some industries have had trouble finding.

"We view [the digital world] as the new newsstand to find new fans," said Alonso, according to CBS. "Moving into the digital arena is to take advantage of the technology and tools to continue telling a comic book story ... just on a different platform."

With movie blockbusters, rising sales, and the embrace of the latest technology, the future has never looked brighter for the comic book industry.

Weston Williams is a Monitor contributor.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to July 2014 is the most profitable month ever in comic book history, and comics are only getting bigger
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2014/0813/July-2014-is-the-most-profitable-month-ever-in-comic-book-history-and-comics-are-only-getting-bigger
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe