Saw the following report on Comics Alliance:
The digital comics market expanded hugely in 2011, accounting for $25 million in sales — three times more than in 2010. ICv2 credits the strong performance to the DC Comics relaunch, the standardization of same-day digital delivery, and to the proliferation and diversification of devices on which to read digital comics such as the iPad and various Android products.
At ICv2’s Comics and Digital Conference in 2010, CEO Milton Griepp presented his annual white paper preview — detailing the overall sales and trends in the comic and graphic novel industry — which suggested that 2011 would be a strong year for digital. “[Digital comics are] the fastest-growing part of the comics business,” said Griepp at the time. The digital market was $500,000 market in 2009, $8 million in 2010, and made a massive jump to $25 million last year.
In addition to the above factors, ICv2 noted that comiXology’s partnering with traditional retailers also contributed to the growth of the digital market in 2011.
Presently accounting for just a single-digit sliver of the overal comics and graphic novel business (including sales beyond the direct market), digital sales are expected to take a solid 10% chunk out of 2012.
Skitch Commentary: As you guys probably have read in my reviews, columns, etc, I am a huge fan of digital comics. In fact, I have bought over 700 digital comics since July of last year. DC going same-day digital on most of their books, and Marvel starting to go in that direction have really helped in that effort. Other companies like IDW and Image have also made heavy pushes towards digital this year. For someone with limited storage space, no nearby comic shops, and a love of comics, digital comics has really been a brilliant invention.
I also have enjoyed Justice League Beyond, which is available in digital before the print copy. There have been a few experiments in that direction (including Smallville Season 11), and I hope that Marvel and DC start to consider going this way for some of their books that might not be top sellers. I really think some of the smaller market books could benefit this way without all the overhead of print costs.
I do still feel that the digital market is overpriced at times, and I do want to see many more digital collections available on more platforms, but the digital comics market has taken huge steps in the last year. Definitely enjoying them from a reader and reviewer perspective (so easy to clip panels for my columns).
