Overview of the U.S. Comic Book & Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010
Until the last few years, the comic industry, particularly the graphic novel segment, has been a market largely untapped by traditional book publishers. However, a growing number have come to embrace the industry, with both publishers and retailers realizing this diverse market offers significant and numerous opportunities.
Overview of the U.S. Comic Book and Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010 looks to make breaking into this field far easier, while bringing in-depth, exclusive analysis for those already experiencing what the industry has to offer. Catering to each audience, this report offers publishers and retailers with in-depth explorations of each unique sub-segment: comic books, graphic novels and manga. It also contains Simba’s trademark bestseller data that tracks the growth of graphic novels over the past five years.
Companies looking to enter or expand in this market will need a deep understanding of the range of comic industry buying habits and a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape to be successful. This report does both, outlining detailed demographic information on the range of comic readers, comparing their age, gender, income and more to both the general population and book buyers. Overview of the U.S. Comic Book and Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010 is also a guide for:
Overview of the U.S. Comic Book and Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010 looks to make breaking into this field far easier, while bringing in-depth, exclusive analysis for those already experiencing what the industry has to offer. Catering to each audience, this report offers publishers and retailers with in-depth explorations of each unique sub-segment: comic books, graphic novels and manga. It also contains Simba’s trademark bestseller data that tracks the growth of graphic novels over the past five years.
Companies looking to enter or expand in this market will need a deep understanding of the range of comic industry buying habits and a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape to be successful. This report does both, outlining detailed demographic information on the range of comic readers, comparing their age, gender, income and more to both the general population and book buyers. Overview of the U.S. Comic Book and Graphic Novel Market 2009-2010 is also a guide for:
- Publishers of any size considering entering the market who want to know more about the present opportunities and challenges in this hot segment
- Larger publishers who have begun to penetrate the graphic novel market but require a better sense of consumer purchasing trends and an accurate growth outlook for the next several years
- Retailers who are serving the graphic novel market today—or who are evaluating whether they should enter the market—but who need greater insight into how to properly manage a graphic novel section
- And more
- Breakdown of bestselling publishers and titles by both total dollar and unit sales, with several bestseller breakdowns offering a dynamic view of the industry.
- Detailed listings of the top 10 publishers by revenue for each segment of the comic industry, including comic book, graphic novel and manga.
- In-depth discussions of the industry’s ongoing struggles, including rising prices, distribution troubles and the move to digital platforms.
- Top publisher profiles offering everything needed for a thorough business examination: estimated revenues, key executive listings, bestseller listings, overview of consumer operations and more.
- Industry forecasts, including individual projections for the comic book, graphic novel and manga segments.
- Methodology
- CHAPTER 1: ”WHAT A STORY” THE WHO, WHAT AND WHERE OF THE INDUSTRY
- Introduction
- The Markets
- The Direct Market
- The Mass Market
- The Audience
- Gender, Age and Race
- Education Level
- Employment Status
- Table 1.1: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Gender
- Table 1.2: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Age Bracket
- Table 1.3: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Race
- Table 1.4: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Education Level
- Table 1.5: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Employment Status
- Table 1.6: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Household Income
- Table 1.7: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) by Marital Status
- CHAPTER 2: ”I HAVE MY ISSUES” WHY COMIC BOOKS’ BEST DAYS MAY BE BEHIND THEM
- Introduction
- Bestsellers
- Bestselling Issues
- Bestselling Ongoing Series
- Bestselling Limited Series
- Bestselling Stand Alone Issues
- Comic Book Sales Trends
- Table 2.1: Top Comic Book Publishers in the Direct Market, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.2: Top 20 Bestselling Comic Issues in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.3: Top 20 Bestselling Comic Issues in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.4: Top 20 Bestselling Ongoing Comic Series in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.5: Top 20 Bestselling Comic Series in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.6: Top 20 Bestselling Limited Comic Series in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.7: Top 20 Bestselling Limited Comic Series in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.8: Top 20 Bestselling Stand Alone Comic Issues in the Direct Market
- Table 2.9: Comic Book Sales in the Direct Market, By the Month, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.10: Comic Book Sales in the Direct Market, By Six-Month Intervals, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 2.11: Comic Book Sales in the Direct Market, July 2008-June 2010
- CHAPTER 3: ”HEADLINE MATERIAL” GRAPHIC NOVEL, THE INDUSTRY’S GEM
- Introduction
- Bestsellers
- Bestselling Publishers
- Bestselling Market Titles
- Bestselling Original Graphic Novels
- Bestselling Compilations
- Graphic Novels Sales Trends
- Table 3.1: Top 10 Trade Book Categories by Consolidated Ranking, 2005-2009
- Table 3.2: Top Graphic Novel Publishers in the Direct Market, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.3: Top Bestselling Graphic Novels in the Mass Market, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.4: Mass Market Graphic Novel Sales Trends, 2005-2009
- Table 3.5: Top 20 Bestselling Original Graphic Novels in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.6: Top 20 Bestselling Original Graphic Novels in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.7: Top 20 Bestselling Compilations in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.8: Top 20 Bestselling Compilations in the Direct Market, by Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June2010
- Table 3.9: Comic Purchasing Population (U.S. Adults) Book Purchasing Habits
- Table 3.10: Graphic Novel Sales in the Direct Market by the Month, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.11: Graphic Novel Sales in the Direct Market by Six-Month Intervals, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 3.12: Graphic Novel Sales in the Direct Market, July 2008-June 2010
- CHAPTER 4: ”WOBBLY FLOORS” MANGA’S BURST BUBBLE
- Introduction
- Bestsellers
- Bestselling Publishers
- Bestselling Mass Market Titles
- Bestselling Volumes
- Bestselling Ongoing Series
- Bestselling Limited Series
- Bestselling Stand-Alone Volumes
- Manga Sales Trends
- Table 4.1: Top Manga Publishers in the Direct Market, July 2008-June2010
- Table 4.2: Top Bestselling Manga Volumes in the Mass Market, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.3: Top 20 Bestselling Manga Volumes in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.4: Top 20 Bestselling Manga Volumes in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.5: Top 20 Bestselling Ongoing Manga Series in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.6: Top 20 Bestselling Ongoing Manga Series in the in the Direct Market, By Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.7: Top 20 Bestselling Limited Manga Series in the Direct Market, By Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.8: Top 20 Bestselling Limited Manga Series in the Direct Market, by Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June2010
- Table 4.9: Top 20 Bestselling Stand-Alone Manga Volumes in the Direct Market, by Total Quantity Sold, July 2008-June2010
- Table 4.10: Top 20 Bestselling Stand-Alone Manga Volumes in the Direct Market, by Total Estimated Dollar Sales, July 2008-June2010
- Table 4.11: Manga Sales in the Direct Market by Six-Month Intervals, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.12: Manga Sales in the Direct Market by the Month, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 4.13: Manga Sales in the Direct Market, July 2008-June 2010
- CHAPTER 5: ”SETTING UP A NEW LIFE” OBSTACLES, TRENDS AND THE DIGITAL PUBLISHING REALM
- Introduction
- Surging Costs and Prices
- The Incredibly Shrinking Audience
- People Aren’t Going to The Movies Either
- Too Many Books Not Enough Value
- A Distribution Monopoly
- Going Digital: Opportunities for Publishers and Pirates
- Table 5.1: Average Price Top 300 Bestsellers, July 2008-June 2010
- Table 5.2: Effects of Editorial Events on Unit Sales
- Table 5.3: Effects of Select Movies on Unit Sales of Pivotal Titles
- Table 5.4: The Dark Tower Series (Marvel) Unit Sales
- Table 5.5: Poll: What are Your Digital Comics Buying Habits Today?
- CHAPTER 6: FORECAST AND CONCLUSIONS
- Introduction
- Comic Books
- Graphic Novels
- Manga
- Recommendations
- “Like No One Else” Profiles of Leading Publishers
- Dark Horse Comics
- DC Entertainment, Inc.
- Digital Manga, Inc.
- IDW Publishing
- Image Comics, Inc.
- Marvel Entertainment, LLC
- Random House, Inc.
- Tokyopop Group
- Viz Media, LLC