Comic Books

Product Audit and Analysis by Carl Jamilkowski

History
Comic strips date back to the middle ages Comic books, as we know them, introduced in the 1930s Comics books in the US are broken down into several eras:
Platinum Age Golden Age (c.1938 c.1950) Silver Age (1956 c.1970) Bronze Age (c.1970-c.1985) Modern Age (c.1985-Present)

Digital
First comic published online in 1985 on CompuServe Some distribution on CD-ROM in the 1990s Webcomics gained popularity in 2000s
In 2007, estimated 38,000 published

Internet has helped indie/self publishers

Connect with niche audiences Raise funds for projects (i.e. Kickstarter)

Digital Distribution
Marvel comics started offering digital subscriptions in 2007 comiXology and Graphicly have emerged as primary digital distributors across platforms (computers, phones, and tablets) Most content originates in print (manually scanned by distributor), not designed/optimized for digital

Piracy
Unauthorized digital distribution long existed Fast connections, plentiful storage, P2P tech and tablets have all led to gain traction Some view themselves as digital archivists

Trends
Print still has strong foothold Digital supplemental more likely in short term Few digital firsts today, but likely to grow