ICv2 White Paper 2022: Understanding Rapid Change in the Comics Market, and in Market Data

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ICv2 covers the categories that drive pop culture
• Hobby games—TCGs, RPGs, miniatures, board and card games
• Comics, graphic novels, manga
• Showbiz and merchandise tied to geek culture properties
By Milton Griepp: MGriepp@ICv2.com
©2022 GCO, LLC. Do not reprint without permission.

On the web: ICv2.com

Via email: ICv2 Daily Insider

In print: Internal Correspondence

ICv2 Pro: For Serious Users and Supporters

Comics in North America
Supply Chains in Flux
October 2022

Today’s Topics
• Comics and graphic novel market overview
• Comics supply chains – 1970-present
• Supply chains today
• Sales in 2022
• An exciting announcement!

How We Build Our Model
• NPD BookScan Book Channel POS Data
– Subtract ComicHub data to avoid double-counting
– Delete titles miscategorized as graphic novels
– Account for book channel retailers not tracked by NPD, Canada
• Estimate for book fairs
• Estimates for crowdfunding and newsstand
• Comic store channel estimates built from trend analysis
based on ComicHub POS data and past market size
estimates from Diamond Comic Distributors analysis

2021 – Comics Blow Up
• Comics and graphic novel
sales hit $2.075 billion
• Up 62% from $1.27 billion
in 2020
• Covid-related changes
provided massive stimulus

Book Channel Booms
Comic Stores Grow Too
• Book channel up 81% vs.
2020, doubled since 2019
• Comic store channel up
34% since 2019
• Book channel now two-
thirds larger than comic
store channel

Graphic Novel Format
• Graphic novels up 76%
• Comics up 23% since 2019
• Graphic novels now
nearly three-quarters of
business

Manga Exploded in 2021
2020 Category
% Share
2021 Growth
Rate
2021 Category
% Share
Author 17% 45% 15%
Manga 30% 134% 43%
Superhero 21% 25% 16%
Kids 32% 37% 27%
Graphic Novel Sales By Content Category • Manga up 134% in 2021
• Superheroes grew
slowest (up 25%)
• Manga, kids now total
70% of graphic novels

Manga Sales Exploded in 2021
• Manga sales hit $550
million in 2021
• Biggest constraint
on sales – supply
chain problems

Comics Supply Chain, ca. 1970

Comics Direct Market, 1973+

Comics Direct Market, 2021+

Graphic Novels, 1990s

Graphic Novels, 2000s+

Digital Comics, 2000s+

Webtoons/Webcomics, 2000s+

Webtoons to Books, 2020s

Crowdfunding, 2010s+

Supply Chains Today
• Direct market - biggest changes in 25 years.
• Retailers dealing with more suppliers than ever
before
• Book mass changes the shape of space
– Book channel dominates publishing decisions
– Book distribution dominating distribution of book-format
products, with growing share of comic store channel
– And now growing share of comics to comic stores

Supply Chains Today
• Covid-related supply chain disruptions remain
– Periodical schedules slipping, especially Marvel
– Reprints difficult
– Manga shortages
• Both demand- and supply-driven disruptions
• Little prospect for improvement until sometime
next year at best

Supply Chains Today
• More new comics created for digital consumption
than any other initial format
– Digital first comics from major publishers, including
Marvel, DC, Amazon
– Comics on social media
– Comics on webtoon/webcomic platforms
– Comics on creator websites/Patreons/blogs
• Web-first comics now key source of new print
material, and growing rapidly

Sales in 2022
• Comic stores generally reporting increasing sales
– Few big hits in periodicals
– Aftermarket sales remain strong, although not as hot as
Covid era
– New customers from Covid era continue to buy
• Graphic novels, kids graphic novels, manga

Sales in 2022
• Book channel driven by manga
– Manga still growing, over 2021
• Streaming, other media, webtoons driving non-
manga sales
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Last Ronin a
crossover hit

Holiday Prospects
• Challenges profound – inflation hitting disposable
income.
• Comic stores bullish despite challenges
– Escaping into comics
– Covid reading patterns holding
– Not a category that historically has been hurt by macro-
economic conditions

ICv2 White Paper 2022: Understanding Rapid Change in the Comics Market, and in Market Data

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ICv2 White Paper 2022: Understanding Rapid Change in the Comics Market, and in Market Data