Are People Still Into Comic Books?
Our Planet Comic Con Recap and the Larger Existential Question
“I’m not really into comic books,” said a man that was browsing my booth with his girlfriend at Planet Comic Con in Kansas City this weekend.
“Then why are we even here?” his girlfriend asked rather quizzically back to him.
“I just thought it would be fun to check out.”
And with that a perfect summary on the evolution of Comic Cons and comic fandom in general. Sure, everyone who attends these shows love the characters. They're all fans of the movies. But do they want to read comics? I'm beginning to wonder myself.
Now this isn't a “Comics are Dying” article. Far from it! I had an extremely positive Sunday at Planet Comic Con where all the comic book buyers/readers came out of the woodwork to try my titles. (I even received a text message from one of the buyers who gushed over Sire: Origins and is looking for more!)
But the industry is certainly evolving. How readers are discovering new comics has moved from the local comic book store to digital and social media. And I can't help but think back to when The Sire first came out and how hungry folks were to try new comic books, new ideas, new superheroes. We also had publications like Wizard and Comics Buyers Guide that helped capture our fandom and inspired us to read new books even more.
And don't get me wrong, there are plenty of folks I've met in the past five years that do indeed want new comics. They're just aren't as many as there were five years ago. If that exchange I had at Planet Comic Con were the exception and not the ever growing rule, I wouldn't be writing this.
"I'm just not into comics." It's a phrase I'm encountering far too frequently these days.
What do you think? Are you a creator who feels the same or is it just me? Are you a reader whose community has gone away? Send me your thoughts in the comment section.
DO NOT DO THIS!
Last week, I promised a copy of our featured panel at Planet Comic Con, so here it is: The Top Ten ‘NOTS’ To Running a Kickstarter
I can’t say the room was as crowded as the presenter before me, but it was definitely filled with a lot of folks hungry to tackle Kickstarter successfully. One gentleman had successfully launched three campaigns already and was looking for ways to do it better. Another woman, a novelist, was looking to get herself and her books off the ground. Overall, a fun and satisfying educational panel for all!
And now, without further ado… please click below and download a copy of our presentation. I will warn you it’s full of talking points rather than dense copy, but I’m sure it can help you in some way. If not - message me! Send me a note or a comment here and I’ll be happy to answer your Qs.
NEXT WEEK: Spider-Man: Reign. Kaare Andrews dives deep into his most famous Spider-Man saga! See you in seven!