Class 6: Economics and Media:

Lessons from Reinventing Comics

Example: NewspapersMajor medium of the modern eraEarly roots in community and political

activism – activist elements squeezed out to appeal to mainstream audiences

Newspapers as a threatened or dying breed – why?

Coping with change, or not?What replaces this void?

Rise and Fall of the HitMass media having trouble maintaining mass

market dominationNSYNC as last “hit”? Still some life in “hit”

model – e.g., products spun off Michael Jackson’s death, John Lennon 70th anniversary album – but these are retro

Even “mass” hits aren’t as massive as before

The Long TailNew media - digital distribution is no

longer a zero-sum gamePotential for equal access to all sorts of

media productNiches and word of mouth drive content

sales and productionResult - a lot of potential niche success

stories, but less “hits”

AdaptationMass media has already begun to adopt to

this - e.g., creating content aimed at specific audiences, going for quality vs. quantity

Examples?Mass “hit” model not dead -

American/Canadian Idol example

Reinventing Comics12 basic concepts, 4 sectionsComics as ArtIndustry and AudienceCreator/Audience DiversityEffect of Digitization

Reinventing Comics (1): Creation as ArtComics as LiteratureComics as ArtCreators’ Rights

Comics as Literature/ArtComics can be both literature and art if

properly doneMany of you have already discovered this in

writing the paperSix steps in UC – building a foundation for

something more than surface understanding as driving force

Comics as LiteratureFocus on complex narrative More complex than simple serialized strip or

simple webcomic - a full story from beginning to end (or a serialized strip that takes months/years to tell story…)

Comics as ArtComics as visual narrative – complexity of

narrative extends to areaJapanese influence - a range of interesting

non-action transitions directly supporting artistic storytelling

Creators’ RightsLike other media, similar battles between

creators/publishers (examples?)Creator concerns for ownership and control,

fair share of profitIncreasing interest in maintaining fair access

and compensation for talent – away from studio work for hire models

Challenges?

Reinventing Comics (2): Industry and AudienceIndustry InnovationPublic Perception Institutional Scrutiny

Innovation in IndustryCreators’ rights require innovation in

industry model - and sometimes drive itSimple model of “getting into the business” -

photocopy a drawing and sell it yourself - trite but true - but it’s more complicated in practice

Steps in Traditional PublishingAuthorPublisherAccountingMarketingPrintingDistributionWarehousingRetailTransportation among above

Creation and Distribution…Many will sacrifice control over non-creative

tasks to gain broader marketOften a good idea – but can be a trap – why?

Public PerceptionComics as kid-lit – what effect does

stereotype have?Traditional model of production creates

vicious cycle around stereotype – perception of comics as kid lit influences what is and is not produced which reinforces perception

Comics and CensorshipUS history - tainted by censors who

lamented the debasement of culture, perversion of youth - pretty much everything

Ironically, drove comics underground where they became even more debased (e.g., R. Crumb and other alt comics of 60s)

Driven by perception - if comics were seen as valued art, would this happen?

Reinventing Comics (3): Audience/Creator DiversityGender BalanceMinority RepresentationDiversity of Genre

Comics and GenderTraditionally creators and audience were

male - leading to particular stereotypes of both genders

Creators have been female - but still expected to follow expectations of audience

To what effect?Alternatives?

Minority ComicsStereotypical audience, and many creators -

white, male, straight, Christian, young, physically able, middle class

Similar to gender issues – stereotype can be hard to break through

To what effect?Alternatives?

Diversity of GenreSuperhero domination of shelf space via

perception, creation and audience - a vicious cycle

Non-traditional graphic novels - breaks through ideas of what a comic “must be”

Required breaking through comic store as core distribution channel

Next week…More on economics and application to comics