Is the comic book industry dying down or currently in a slump?

I used to be in publishing. Hang onto your collection. It takes a comic about 30 years to become valuable as a collectable. When adults get over 30 they want to by the comics they bought when they were kids.

Also comics are strongly affected by demographics. The comic book reading population is down right now. Child birth follows a curve like a sine wave and in another 10 years the comic book reading population will approximately double and the quality of both plot and art will get better as comic book publisher compete in a larger market.

It's hard to explain in a few words, but the birth rate varies at regular intervals, it bottoms out increases, tops out then decreases until it hits bottom and endlessly repeats the cycle.

It only makes sense for publishers invest in the product -- to pay for real good art and real good writers when the market reaches at a certain size. Right now the core comic book reading population, ages 6 to 14 is right at the bottom of the trough.

I realize there are collectors who are older, but publishers look at it from a gross numbers point of view. Populations increase and decrease in cycles and magazine pulbishing which includes comic books, follows those cycles.

Beleive me you'll be glad you did, it's when the cycle bottoms out everyone throws out their old comics because they think the industry is dying when in fact all that is happening is that is going through a cycle.

I don't know about you but I quit comics for quite awhile. I only started all over again last year because of the Marvel: Civil War. I was quite impressed with the grittiness that Marvel has adopted. I also started collected X-Men again and went to search for back issues to catch up on what I had missed. Other comics that I am glad I still collect are Top Cow Comic's Witchblade and The Darkness. The story and artwork have improved since the time I stopped. I have also completed my missing issues for them since the time I stopped.

As for DC, I have never really been a big fan but a friend of mine who collects DC comics has told me about some of the recent stories which are pretty good. Crisis of Infinite Earths and Green Lantern: The Sinestro War. I also heard that DC plans to kill off Batman. I believe this is a response to the death of Captain America from Marvel.

I collected for 23 years and i stopped for the same reasons.The art is horrendous,the manga/anime influence has ruined true comic book traditional art.

The main reason it is down because of the price of a book.Just like sports cards.

Kids should be the target audience and the price should reflect that.No one can afford to collect multiple titles like in decades before.Most collectors started off as kids buying a few spiderman or avengers comics and eventually began reading other titles.

The companies need to figure out a way to make the books cheaper and get them into the hands of kids.

Aside from price and demographics, Comics (and manga sold in the U.S. ) face competiton from other things aside other things that were not as prevalent beforesuch as more cartoons, video games, T.V. , electronic toys, movies.. etc...

Granted, there are a lot of cool stories that have come out that past several years, but as a long time reader, your chances of hitting a re-hashed story line is pretty good... and at $3 a pop that could be irritating...

Don't get me wrong ... I bought 70% of the comics for Civil war,the Infinite Crisis and Sinestro Corp story arcs.. Goes to show I still miss it once in a whie..

umm, what comics are you readiing? What artist are you looking at? Mike Mignola, Michael Turner, John Cassady, Greg Horn, Adam Hughs? The stories? The Thunderbolts, The Astonishing X-Men, Civil War, Hellboy, The New Avengers, World War Hulk, Runaways I mean what are you missing in plot lines. Joss Whedon stories are almost always fantastic.

Television is the reason for deteriotion of comic book industry but it has wide effects.

Children with reading habits turns to books and upgrades themselves on future. next generation with this tv habits will be non sensitive and ruthless types.

I think since 2004 things have picked up.

I enjoy about everything I read from then until now.

probably not, because manga is more popular right now