Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
However, if I am correctly informed, comics are a tiny fraction of the US book market. Comic and graphic novel revenues around $375 million in 2007; in comparison, the US book market is around $35 billion per year.
As such, it probably doesn't make much economic sense to really push devices just for the sake of accommodating comics, especially since the screens are typically 1/2 the size of a US comic. Similarly, given the screen sizes, lack of color options, and small numbers of ebook reading devices out there, it doesn't make much sense to a comic publisher to adapt their product to the current crop of readers. In the short term, tablets may offer better options for US comics if the screens are large enough.
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True, the comic market only makes a very small percentage of the US book market, but I think it mainly has to do with accessibility. There are plenty of bookstore located throughout the states, and while some do carry a small section stocked with comics and graphic novels, most comic readers buy from dedicated comic stores. Those stores also represent the only true places people can get a good selection of comics (especially small or independent titles) and they are few and far between. Even mid-sized cities have 1 or 2 comic shops.
If comics were available on the scale of books they would represent a significant market and attract new clientele (another problem with comic availability). That's why I think it's a great idea for comic publishers to explore eComics. It opens it to the masses without having to locate and shop at (a sometimes pretentious and imposing place I might add) comic stores.
But large screened, color readers are a must. Without them it's a rather moot debate.