Welcome to Comic Books

About Comic Book Companies

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.

UPDATED With Top 300 Charts: January 2012 Comic Book Sales

Updated Feb. 6th with the Top 300 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Sales chart (below) with sales indexes.

Heroes of the comic-book world come to Tate's

This is just one of the classic comic-book covers that will be on display at Proof of Heroes. ( Bear and Bird Gallery/Courtesy / January 20 , 2012 ) What would you look like as a comic book superhero? Find out this weekend.

Get ready for "Saturday Night Live": the comic book

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Live, from Vancouver, it's "COMICS: Saturday Night Live," a 24-page history of the long-running show in comic book form. The comic book comes from Vancouver-based Bluewater Productions, which has also produced pop culture comic books on "Glee," the Three Stooges, Jon Stewart, Steve Jobs, Tina Fey, Gabrielle Giffords, Taylor Swift and "Hunger Games" author Suzanne ...

An evolving shaper of worlds

Visual artist James Jean projects his unique dreamscapes onto various boards and canvases, using ink, oil, water color, or acrylic paints to shape his fantasy-oriented imagery.

Comics' Retailers Thrilled About BEFORE WATCHMEN

Although most comic creators are questioning DC's decision to publish a Watchmen prequel, comic book retailers are thrilled."I'm excited!" said Mike Wellman, owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, Calif. "Both as a reader and as a peddler of comic books, this can only be interesting - and profitable."Overall, these comics will come and go and make a lot of money," Wellman added."This is ...