Can Comic Books Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Check out the rack of Supergirl comics in this photo!

Phrasing!

But it is nice to see the comics of Melissa's version prominently displayed.

Oops!

Oh, I didn't even think of that (mis)interpretation of my comment!

Really

Oops!

Oh, I didn;t even think of that (mis)interpretation of my comment!

Really

The odds are not favorable. Diamond Distributors, which controls an overwhelming part of he distribution business, has said it is not paying its suppliers immediately. If they go under, a lot of comic book stores are in difficult shape, because they will have no books to sell, not to mantion that many of them will likely go out of business soon

"The odds are not favorable. Diamond Distributors, which controls an overwhelming part of he distribution business, has said it is not paying its suppliers immediately. If they go under, a lot of comic book stores are in difficult shape, because they will have no books to sell, not to mantion that many of them will likely go out of business soon["

Yes, it's very different now that it when I was a kid in the 60s. Back then, I didn't know of any stores that just sold comics. (There may have been a few in places like Greenwich Village In New York, though.) But every candy store, luncheonette, and even some grocery stores sold them.

Nowadays, Barnes and Noble booksellers have a limited stock of comics and graphic novels. That's the only place I know of, outside of actual comics stores, to buy DC and Marvel.

As for myself, I switched from print to digital comics not too long after I switched from CDs and vinyl records to digital.....

It depends on how long the shutdown goes. I think they will survive, in one way or another. But the local shops will be the ones to suffer most. DC and Marvel may get hit hard, down the line. But who knows. Once things start rolling again, customers may be lining up.

I do think, however, that the industry will be changed after this. Diamond owns a monopoly on comics distribution. After shutting down, and as a result, forcibly shutting down publishers and comic shops, I think the comic companies may be looking at distributors outside of Diamond. Diamond single-handedly shut down the comic book industry. That's too much power in one cog of the machine.

To answer the question: In terms physical sales, probably not. In terms of digital views or sharing, probably.

Print media of all types (comics, newspapers, magazines, etc.) are rapidly disappearing but they tend to live on in digital form. Physical print (e.g. books) might not completely go away, but like vinyl LPs (records, for us older folks), they will be more of a small niche demand for the foreseeable future.