Note: This recaps and focuses on the Comic-Con 2011 panel Is The Comic Book Doomed? hosted by Douglas Wolk that ran in my overly long "Biggest Stories, Moments and Observations post."
While major comic companies delve into multiplatform business models, prohibitive print costs and declining sales may limit some mom and pop publishers to digital-only storefronts.
At least that was the point made by one prominent industry professional who was part of a group discussing the future of printed periodicals during the ominously dubbed "Is The Comic Book Doomed?" panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.
The answer to the panel's overarching question was an emphatic "no." Comics will be around for a while in a number of formats. But more specifically, the question that day was what is the state of the monthly comic book?
Popular comics writer Mark Waid ("Daredevil," "The Traveler") set the tone for a spirited back-and-forth between himself and other panel members when he admitted he would hesitate to independently launch a print comic today despite his considerable fan following.
"I know what they would cost to print and I would lose my shirt," Waid said.
The panel moderated by Douglas Wolk included Comics Professional Retail Organization executive director Amanda Emmert, Laura Hudson editor of Comics Alliance, Cartoon Books publisher Vijaya Iyer ("Bone") and Waid.
Waid said he believed monthly periodicals will be healthy for the big two for quite a while because they have the deep pockets needed to put enough of their product out there and not take a staggering loss.
Iyer estimated costs of about 40 cents an issue on a print run of 3,000 for "Bone" when she and husband Jeff Smith launched the successful series years ago.
Waid said the costs today per issue to print are at least double those from the "Bone" example (80 cents per issue).
The panel considered what kind of sales numbers would be enough to make a comic a hit. The recent example of John Layman's "Chew" from Image comics was cited. "Chew" hit the direct market and had significant sales numbers (averaging more than 10,000 copies) in its first few issues of its debut two years ago.
Now, the imaginative comic about a federal agent who gets psychic clues from what he eats appears to be THE success story many comic publishers want to emulate.
Some smaller publishers considered average sales of 7,000 to 8,000 copies of an individual comic to be a solid run, said Emmert. And she defended the notion that a dip in monthly comics sales means the end.
"I feel like it's a redefinition of perspective," she said "Did sales go down because of the economy and things like that? Well yeah, things are down but does that necessarily point to doom?"
Emmert said it's still about making a great comic and getting out there and working hard to push a publication for some time to build an audience.
Waid says the path for a new publisher and small publisher is a tougher road nowadays.
"I think your chances were much better breaking even twenty years ago," he said.
For Cartoon Books, the costs of publishing a monthly book is pretty much subsidized by sales and that readers enjoy them, said Iyer. However, she did admit "we actually do make our money on the trade books."
Listen to the entire "Is the Comic Book Doomed?" Panel here.
As a side note: In the Digital Disruption: Comics, Webcomics, and the Business Model of the Future panel later that afternoon featuring Mark Waid and Scott Kurtz (creator of the popular web comic "PvP"), the "Daredevil" writer said he was planning to announce a digital comics venture of his own in coming months.
ABOVE: "Bone," one of the most successful comic book series from an independent publisher (Cartoon Books), celebrates its 20th anniversary.
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