Michael, you are wrong about a few of your facts.

There was as much variety (or more) 25 years ago as today. Go back 50 years and there were entire walls at every newsstand filled with comics of every type imaginable. One didn't have to dig through a thick catalog in search of a romance, horror or western comic; you just had to walk to the corner.

The general audience is shrinking at such a rate that the bigger companies are struggling to make sufficient return on comics to even justify continuing publication. In fact, after coming out of bankruptcy, Marvel briefly considered stopping the publication of new comics altogether and focusing on their licensing. The talent have made some progress in royalties, etc. but there are far fewer jobs open. A handful of popular talent aside, It's harder than ever to earn a living as a comic storyteller. Some of the biggest names from 15 years ago, can't find work today.

The direct sales market has created an environment not unlike the web where virtually anything of any quality can get published. Personally, I don't see this as a good thing. If you removed the top 5 publishers from previews, I would challenge you to find a monthly comic that isn't simply a vanity project (i.e. published at a loss to the publisher).

The availability of trade paperbacks is wonderful to an extent but then there's the problem of those who "wait for the trade" and let's not even get started on the creators who "write for the trade". Both of these mentalities have hurt comics in the long run, by deflecting new readers from sampling comics.

So to answer your subject question: Yes, the comic market is in bad shape. Perhaps the lowest point in its history.

I purchase multiple copies of ACTION COMICS now and hand them out to friends and relatives in an effort to try and get NEW readers.

Matthew Hansel
matthewphansel@mac.com