A new mainstream
A new mainstream |
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Page 3 of 23  Cover, Swamp Thing (DC Comics, 1982). Art: Tom Yeates. Another collectable title about a superhero cum swamp monster. More than this, after the slump of the 1970s, the fan shops offered unique commercial advantages for publishers, and this presented a way for comics to move forward. Distributors found that by supplying the shops directly, they could cut costs, because unlike the newsagent network, there would be no returns. Publishers would send flyers to shops promoting their forthcoming comics, which would then be ordered in specific numbers on a sale-or-keep basis. This 'direct sales' system thus stabilized print runs, reduced waste and increased efficiency for everyone. It also completely bypassed the newsagents. As this market reorientation happened, so new publishers were founded, eager to take advantage. Companies like Pacific, First and Eclipse conceded that they could not compete with the might of Marvel and DC Comics on the newsstands, but recognized that they could still make profits by concentrating solely on the fan shops. So, they began to put out their own superhero comics, and to carve out their own piece of pie. Indeed, by offering to pay royalties to creators, they were able to attract some major names away from the big two: this was a major step forward for creators' rights, and eventually the entire industry had to follow suit.2 In this way the shops became the main focus for comics publishing activity, with a majority of the premier companies, American and British, producing titles that sold solely through this market. In spite of the new competition, it was Marvel that scored the biggest early hit. They published what was to become the ultimate fan comic in the form of a revamped X-Men. The new direction for the title had been initiated in 1975, before the shop network had properly been established, but through the 1980s the fans were the ones who ensured its market dominance. The revamp involved adding new mutants to the X-roster, with 'Wolverine', 'Nightcrawler', 'Storm', and others replacing three of the five originals ('Angel', 'Iceman', and 'Marvel Girl'). The new team garnered a fresh following, and added zip to an old formula: 'Wolverine' became especially popular, a werewolf-type character who enjoyed killing with the huge metal claws that issued from his wrists, and was eventually given his own title.  Cover to X Men (Marvel Comics, 1975). Art: John Buscema. An engagingly complex tale about a group of 'mutant' superheroes whose powers are as much a curse as a blessing, and who exist in a morally ambiguous world. Originally a Lee/Kirby title from the 1960s, it was revamped in the mid 1970s and became the biggest-selling comic of all time: at one point Marvel estimated that X-Men and related titles alone outsold the combined output of any other comics publisher. |