Holy Comeback!

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 4, 2001 | by Gerald Mizejewski

Comic books are enjoying a resurgence in popularity as fans trade online.

Does anyone still care about comic books in the 21st century? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. Just look at all the recent movies spawned from assorted superheroes and evildoers. Visit the Websites devoted to the fluctuations in value of Batman No. 2. Listen to bookstore owners tout the popularity of trade paperbacks.

"There's never been a time period where you've had so many good, quality books with good stories and good art," says Jonathan Cohen, manager of the Beyond Comics stores in the Washington area. "This is the right year to jump back into investing."

Surely, the hobby hit some hard times in recent years, and the buying public these days has plenty of other distractions. But well-written story lines, lavish artwork and the Internet are keeping these pulp periodicals relevant.

Comics, by and large, still are 22 pages long, but they aren't printed on thin newsprintlike paper anymore with that ink that smudges when rubbed. The pictures are clearer, mostly created on the computer, some of the reasons they now cost about $3.

Characters and story lines are more grown-up nowadays, too. There are alternative comics and real-life comics that explore contemporary events, such as the Kosovo conflict. In general, capes and fights have given way to jeans and leather.

But looking at a list of the most-stocked comics in stores this spring, it appears not too much has changed in a generation. Ultimate X-Men No. 5 is the leader, with more than 101,000 orders, according to Comicon.com. Spider-Man, Green Arrow, Batman and The Fantastic Four also make the top 25.

Comics are wildly popular in Europe as well, where they are considered an art form. In Japan, books are three to five times thicker and are the most popular form of literature.

In the United States, comics still are considered a juvenile medium. "Only in America do we look down on it as children's literature," says Joel Pollack, owner of comic-book outlets in Washington. This may change, however, now that Michael Chabon's fictional account of the early days of comic publishing, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, has won a Pulitzer prize.

Comic-book collecting reached its zenith in the early 1990s as would-be investors scrambled to grab up new issues with potential. Print runs reached into the millions. Comic books became a "junk-bond speculation business," says Pollack.

Then, like a precursor of e-business, the comic-book industry crashed. In the mid- and late nineties, comics producers did little to invigorate readers, whose average age crept up into the 20s. Meanwhile, computers, video games and high-tech gadgets ate up entertainment dollars.

This year, however, enthusiasts are excited about the stepped-up efforts by DC Comics and Marvel Comics to freshen old titles -- two of the best-selling comics are updates on X-Men and Spider-Man -- and bring in professionals such as screenwriter Kevin Smith, who now creates GreenArrow. A shrunken industry means that only the best artists and writers are employed. Titles such as Planetary and Authority are luring readers by content alone.

Older readers are taking to trade paperbacks, neatly bound copies of an entire series. They cost more -- from $7.95 to $16.95 -- but can be shelved on a bookcase. Forthcoming movies about Spider-Man and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy are stirring buzz, as is The Planet of the Apes remake and The X-Men movie franchise.

Simultaneously, titles such as Scooby-Doo and Power Puff Girls cater to the younger crowd weaning themselves off Pokemon. Archie comics and Japanese titles are still popular with this demographic. College-age youths are taking comics to school with them.

Meanwhile, the same technology that steals readers from the hobby is also helping to stimulate it. Through Websites such as eBay.com and Wizard world.com, collectors can interact with their brethren worldwide.

Wizardworld.com is more than a marketplace. It is a price guide and massive database of more than 130,000 comics. Visitors to the site can type in a specific issue of a specific comic and learn the current book value. Collectors "can now keep track of what they own," Wizardworld.com Chief Executive Officer Gareb Shamus says. "They can buy and sell, like a stock portfolio."

The Internet has become a medium for reading comics, too, through a method called "tooncasting." Steve Conley's strip, Astounding Space Thrills, available only online, can be accessed via 500 Websites or via e-mail lists. "It's seen half a million times a month," says Conley, who makes money by selling ad space in a corner of the strip.

Conley imagines a future in which America Online, owner of DC Comics, puts a button on its home page connecting readers to Superman comic strips. In the near future, he sees interest in comic books picking up steadily.

"I think it's in a pretty healthy place right now," he says. "I think people still care about them."