Welcome to Comic Books

About Comic Book Companies

Comic Books are big business and can be very lucrative. Many companies make a substantial return on the trade of Comics. Small business can also do well with retail outlets, memberships, graphics, licensing and ancillary products. /p>

Comic have long held a fascination for children and adults alike. There are more than a hundred comic book companies and then there are those which are defunct too. The explosion rate of comic book companies is quite amazing. So is the rush to distribute, produce and advertise them. Companies try to find that one character or characters that would have instant appeal with the masses. But you do have companies that are underground and not looking to cater to the masses but to a completely different section of the society.

If the character in such comics is accepted then they go on to become mainstream comics. Here the character of the story is one with whom the public can relate too and is believable enough for people to like. This is important because the survival of the comic book is dependent on the acceptance by the targeted readers. If the opposite happens where the readers are not able to relate to the character and activities then the comic book fades into oblivion. There is a lot of work involved in making a comic book and if the readers don't accept it then it's a whole lot of effort wasted. If there is no perseverance and dedication towards getting out a good piece of work then the readers are not going to pay any attention to your work.

This non acceptance is evident from the list of defunct comic book companies that one can see. But then failure is to be expected especially in the heavily competitive business world. There is a comprehensive list of these defunct companies available and the reasons for why they are defunct are easy to see.

Paid readership is very essential for the survival of any comic book company. Paid readership means sustained readership which is essential for the company to move on. The age old economic theory of supply and demand holds true for comic books. At present the two very popular and probably the largest among comic book companies today are Marvel comics and DC comics. Of course there are a lot of independent companies too.

Gaining credibility is difficult and once the company in question does get a foothold they are able to increase their repertoire of characters and take another step into the market. It's the comic figures that represent the company. Marvel has a lot more of villains and cosmic heroes than DC who is its main competition and DC has an entire troupe of characters from outer space.

But in this world of comic books there is another player and they are those who use licensed figures like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars to name a few. Dark Horse is the third largest comic company and it belongs to this genre. In the world of comic books, using characters that are long established on TV is a common feature and the market for these characters is already there so there is relatively less to do in terms of promotion of the comic.

COMICS 4:05 p.m. - Comic books tie in to upcoming film (Pacific Daily News)

4:05 p.m. - “I Fuetsan I Tao Tao,” the pocket comic book series, is now available in Guam and Saipan.

Comic books and trading cards: big money, big fun (Anderson Independent-Mail)

Approximately 70 comic book and sports trading card collectors and enthusiasts converged at the Knights Inn on North Main Street in Anderson Saturday for the Anderson Sports Card and Comic Book Show.

Comic flop (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

Frank Miller's "The Spirit" is based on a comic series I'd never heard of, even though I read comics avidly throughout my teen years. After this film, I can't imagine that sales of the books will spike, though the degradation of the comic's name is guaranteed.

Word Balloons: Best comic books of 2008 were super (The Oklahoman)

Periodical comic books are still staples of comic-book stores and the origination point for many great storylines. While Marvel and DC Comics dominate the sales charts for comic books, they aren’t the only ones publishing great material. The following are the top 10 periodical comic book series of 2008:1. "Action Comics.” Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank took Superman to new heights in ...

Uclick brings comic relief to Apple iPhone and iPod touch (Macworld UK)

Uclick has revealed an all-new mobile Web application for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch at the Macworld Conference & Expo event in San Francisco. By navigating to www.uclick.com on the iPhone and iPod touch, the Safari browser now displays the Uclick archive of 400,000 comic strips, single-panel comics and editorial cartoons.