Catching Up! The Change in the Comic Book Industry

It has been some time since I wrote on this blog. I have had a lot of things going on and hope to be more regular now that some of those other things are out of the way. Time passes by so quickly!

So here is what has been going on and what I have planned. We have been posting a few items on our E-Bay store and we are currently working to redesign our website which is very time consuming. The current items are not big ticket items but they are some nice items that can compliment a collection. I hope to put some more interesting issues on auction especially some from the 70's. I have always liked the issues from that era. The art changed and became grittier with guys like Neal Adams, Frank Miller, and others at the helm. Of course, Jack Kirby art is still classic!

Comics today are much different in appearance and in cost. We have also seen a change in the industry as it grows with the introduction of successful films and the "business" side of the industry showing its face. DC for some time has been owned by Time Warner and now Marvel is owned by Disney. As for the independent titles, Image, Dark Horse and others, it will remain to be seen what will become of them. The demands from fans for more independent titles is loud and clear but the love of the classic characters and the financial power of the 2 giants demonstrates how difficult it is for independent artists and writers to venture out on their own. CrossGen Comics showed promise but could not last. Image has struggled as well, or at least they appear to have done so. Jim Lee selling Wildstorm titles to DC a few years back did some harm to Image and others, like Erik Larsen, were not afraid to speak out against it.

For now, it seems the movies are bringing in a whole new generation of fans. These are fans of the characters and of the films but not necessarily fans of comic books. As most of us know the comic book universe sometimes is different than that of the big screen and there is somewhat of a dividing line between the fan bases of both. That does not mean that there are not crossovers. I love Iron Man, Transformers, X-Men, Superman and others but I am a comic book fan first and foremost, not matter how much I love the movies. Yet, there are those who love the movies but have never read a comic book in their life. Personally, I think it is sad because they miss out on the decades of history that have gone in to make a 2 hour film.

It is clear that the industry is changing and growing. I hope to continue to be a part of it.