>DC and Marvel make up 70% of the market
>Image takes another 10%
>That leaves at least 17 other publishers fighting over the remaining 20%
How did things get into this state and more importantly how do these other publishers even stay in business?
>>84394115
Dark Horse is pretty popular because it publishes 90% of the art books for video games and comics. They're really more aimed towards video games and cartoon spin-off comics / art books as their main selling point. I haven't heard of the rest before (australian so probs dont have 90% of the market here) but thats my sole reason as to how Dark Horse still kicks around these days.
Cause their books are fucking expensive in other countries.
Try getting some IDW stuff like turtles or transformers for less than 50-60€. Or Hellboy Library Editions from Dark Horse. Germany here.
Like I'm talking Hardcovers and collected issues. Not TPB and stuff. In central europe you easily get ripped off. Literally 50% cheaper in US for example.
>>84394115
it came like that because everyone likes their superhero funny books and will buy them no matter how shitty they get. few will buy outside of that genre
>>84394149
OK but who the fuck is keeping Zenoscope in business?
>>84394115
USA is pretty big and also you have to get in account:
Internet/Amazon/overseas sales in other countries like Canada,UK or European contries, hell even South America countries.
>>84394149
see up here.
>>84394202
Don't know, maybe with variant cover and cheescake covers.
>>84394127
also this besides conan, anthology, classic comcis, aliens universe,etc...
>>84394115
>How did things get into this state
Comics Code
I love superhero comics as much as the next guy but it was probably the worst thing to happen to the American comic book industry.
>>84394115
Market share is irrelevant. Sales are what matters. 1% in the 40s was worth more than 20% today.
>>84394202
I can see a certain kind of goth teen (and aging goth geek) getting hooked up Zenoscope.
>>84394115
uh it used to be DC and Marvel make up 99% of the market. things are good right now, man.
>>84395604
Still bitter over this
Limited availability + niche that blossomed over time into a monolithic entity + the general decline in sales of print media + the stigma against both 2D and ANY kind of visual media that isn't live action in America.
It's insane how afraid people are of trying things that don't have real people or "realistic" artwork in America.
>>84394202
Alice in wonderland is pretty good desu
>>84395618
You should be, they hosed a whole medium just to make a few bucks in the short term
>>84395595
In the mid 90s the big 2 made up about 50% of the market. Things are comparatively really shitty right now.
Which is why big 2 fans push the meme that the 90s were the comic dark ages.
>>84394202
The real question is how the hell is Antarctic Press still in business?
>>84397430
They sure as fuck were for Marvel. They had so many fucking terrible books and fucked their best stuff hard.
>>84397430
>Which is why big 2 fans push the meme that the 90s were the comic dark ages.
You're a fucking moron if you think the 90s weren't. Just because there was a better diversity of publishers in the 90s doesn't mean that it wasn't an awful time.
>>84394115
What is the current ranking?
I remember Valiant going up in the ranking last month.
>>84394510
This. Market share distributions like this are pretty common actually. You often see a Zipf's law type distribution.
>>84397586
For capeshit and the stability of the market, sure, but there's plenty of good stuff that came out of the 90's.
>>84395595
>99%
stop making shit up
>>84397624
DC was actually incredible in the 90's though so I wouldn't say all capes were crap in that decade.
>>84397586
I can think of many great comics to come out of the 90s, just because they were bad for the big two doesn't mean everyone was creatively dead.
>>84397641
I wouldn't go so far as to say incredible, especially with franchises like Superman and the like, but they did better than Marvel and Image in the 90's in terms of writing quality.
>>84397430
>We will never be free of the meme that "Dark Ages" means a period of artistic regression/ignorance rather than a period where record keeping was scarce and therefore we are mostly in the dark as to what happened.
It'd be the Dark Age of comics if we don't know what the fuck was coming out back then, who was making it, etc.
There's nothing wrong with 90's comics.
>>84397671
Yeah there was a lot of good stuff:
The Sandman (started in the 80's but mostly 90's)
Wally West Flash
Kyle Green Lantern
Batman senpai stuff like Legends of the Dark Knight and Dixon writing Robin and Nightwing
David Aquaman
start of Johns JSA
Sandman Mystery Theatre
Ostrander Spectre/Martian Manhunter
Power of Shazam
So much good DC 90's stuff.
