White Paper - Comic & Book Publishing

White Paper

Venturing into Comic &

Book Publishing

Table of Contents

Venturing into Comic and Book Publishing

Key Highlights, Outline / Executive Summary

Introduction

Comic Book Publishing - Scope & Limitations

Comics in Various Formats

Book Publishing - Scope & Limitations

Books in Various Formats

1. Background / Statement of Problem - Comic Books

1.1. Comic Book Publishing Advantages - Pros

1.2. Comic Book Publishing - Print & Digital

1.3. Comic Book Publishing in Japanese format - Manga

1.4. Comic Book Publishing Inherent Problems - Cons

1.4.1 Comic Book Publishing - Problems in Print & Digital

2. Background / Statement of Problem - Books

2.1. Book Publishing Advantages - Pros

2.2. Book Publishing - Print & Digital

2.3. Book Publishing Inherent Problems - Cons

2.3.1 Book Publishing - Problems in Print & Digital

3. Marketing, Advertising and Distribution - Comic Book

3.1. Comic Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Direct to Market

3.1.1 Comic Book Publishing - Publisher Costs (Typical)

3.2. Comic Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Indirect to Market

3.3. Comic Book Publishing Industry Distribution Model

4. Marketing, Advertising and Distribution - Book Publishing

4.1. Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Indirect to Market

4.2. Book Publishing Industry Distribution Model

5. Conclusion - Comic Book Publishing

5.1. Comic Book Publishing Characteristics

6. Conclusion - Book Publishing

6.1. Book Publishing Characteristics

References

Market Reports 

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Venturing into Comic & Book Publishing Key Highlights The wide availability of digital platforms has helped to lower the initial investment costs required for publishing when compared to traditional print media.

There is still demand for publishing comics and books in traditional print format even with digital formats widely available.

Strategically deliver exclusive content over print and digital formats.

Print industry in Comic and Book Publishing still dominate digital sales figures.

Global Print Industry Comic and Book Sales: US $XXX millions

Global Digital Industry Comic and Book Sales: US $XX millions

Releasing comic or books in digital format must be done through digital library apps.

Digital library apps offer some form of protection against illegal downloads and copyright issues as they are closed-loop digital ecosystems.

Outline / Executive Summary Digital formats are here to stay and Print Media isn’t dead. It is in finding the right balance in delivering content through either print or digital formats. Ideally if costs were not factored into the equation, distributing content through both print and digital formats is the best path forward strategically. Admittedly due to constraints in costs, digital medium still offers the lowest entry bar into the market of publishing but is not without inherent problems.

Introduction Mark Waid is an award-winning writer known for his work in the comic industry as a writer, penning titles for notable publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

Comics, just like books and newspapers is an industry synonymous with products deeply entrenched in print medium before the advent of digital platforms. An industry veteran, he is a good representation for the digital transformation of the Publishing industry and although hailing from one, he remains a strong advocate for digital comic books yet still pours his money into acquiring a popular comic book store and investing in a second.

Industry leading Publishers and start-ups the world over have long been paving the way to distribute their content over digital platforms all the while still ensuring their content on print remains and as one researcher argues, digital platforms are suffering from “the lack of a standard format for comic book publishing” (Whitehouse 2013, par. 22)1.

Comic Book Publishing - Scope & Limitations Comics have always provided a galaxy of infinite possibilities and presents an escape from the stresses of life into a world where the nomenclatures of fiction and non-fiction genres intersect and are intricately woven together. After all, literary great Arthur C. Clarke did brilliantly wrote, “Magic’s just science that we don’t understand yet”.

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Comics in Various Formats

Print Format: Hardcovers, Paperbacks

Digital Format: Digital Comics, Interactive Digital Comics, Ebooks, Digital Graphic

Novels

Comics do tend to predominantly present more of a fictitious subject matter but can also include non-fiction like documentaries. Temper expectations with achievable goals, scope of research within the following defined limitations.

Examining global industry publishing trends

Examining Japan as a case study representation for Asian markets

Excluding cost factor

Excluding present brand, Intellectual Property (IP) issues like country relevant market share

Book Publishing - Scope & Limitations We tend to equate books to education or to matters of vital importance and the exact definition of a book has been ever expanding.

Books in Various Formats Print Format:

Digital Format:

Hardcovers, Paperbacks, Magazines, Graphic Novels, Annual Reports, Business Documents

Ebooks, Interactive Ebooks, Audio Books, Digital Magazines, Digital Graphic Novels, Catalogues, Booklets, Digital Annual Reports, Busi

7 ness Documents (Konica Minolta 2020, 5)

Examining global industry publishing trends

Examining Japan as a case study representation for Asian markets

Excluding cost factor

Excluding present brand, Intellectual Property (IP) issues like country relevant market share.

1. Background / Statement of Problem - Comic Books Venturing into the Comic and Book Publishing industry can be a daunting task without any planning. This paper will explore the pros and cons of Comic and Book Publishing, Marketing, Distribution and Monetisation on print and digital mediums. Then following which present a hypothesis after consideration of available data and provide recommendations.

1.1. Comic Book Publishing Advantages - Pros

Comics used to be relegated to the fringes of what was considered to be mainstream publishing before being catapulted to international recognition with their big screen adaptation of various comic titles from Marvel and DC comics.

Intense public interest grew and in 2018, US and Canada markets recorded all comic related formats had a combined sales revenue of US$1.09 billion (Reid 2019, par. 1 ; Salkowitz 2019, par. 5)3,4. Reid stated this was a US$80 million increase from 2017 with Page 3 of 20

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sales attributed from 3 formats: Comics (Paperback), Graphic Novels (Hardcovers) and all other Digital formats (Reid, 2019, par. 3)3.

A panel of notable director level management from established publishers like IDW came to a consensus that the comic industry has been gaining incredible strides since the comic boom in the early 1990s. As publishers had the experience of riding out threats to their business model, especially so with the entry of social media, they ensured their business relevancy by adopting technology and embracing change.

(Salkowitz 2019, par. 5)4

1.2. Comic Book Publishing - Print & Digital

To avoid cannibalisation of their printed books through lower-priced Ebooks, publishers, digital platform creators and retail comic shops chose to view the prevalence of Ebooks as an “additive element�. Digital formats help to boost the overall sales of comics in any format and the impact of digital on print is balanced, as Whitehouse concluded in his research.

The potential revenue forecasts for the North American market for comic consumption has even climbed and soared over the years and as print sales dropped, digital sales grew, thereby negating those losses. This can perhaps be partly attributed to the arrival of digital platforms like ComiXology, Thrillbent and Madefire (Whitehouse 2013, par.

12)1. Due to a dearth in an industry wide accepted digital format, these digital library apps have their own close-loop system in place. So in the future should these digital libraries dissolve or fail for whatever reason, in most instances, content purchased through such platforms are stuck with the app and the digital comics cannot be transPage 4 of 20

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ferred out from the library into one’s own storage. There are some advantages to comics in print as well as advantages to comics in digital formats.

The panelists have also shared that as new fans to comics come unto the scene and are introduced to the huge IP of comics, they start becoming collectors themselves, desiring to own a physical copy of the IP. Digital seems to provide an entry gateway for new fans perhaps due to the prevalence of digital platforms in the market today. The higher resolution of digital screens on devices like tablets, mobile phones and digital smart TVs help to display comics with greater clarity and colour, increasing its appeal (Whitehouse 2013, par. 13)1.

Digital manga sales in Japan increasing by 30% in 2019 (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 13)6 and Comichron’s Miller estimating overall digital format sales north of US$75 million in 2012 (Miller 2013, par. 19)5. These figures are very conservative estimates because they do not include sales in closed-loop digital ecosystems.

(Salkowitz 2019, par. 5)4

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1.3. Comic Book Publishing in Japanese format - Manga

The Japanese market is the second largest comic market in the world outside of the US. Japanese researchers have indicated the year on year growth of Japanese manga and anime with the format gaining mainstream acceptance in Japanese culture and occupy primetime tv slots (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 7)6. The Japanese market is perhaps the only market in the world where publishers have largely stuck to their roots of separating print images from animation (moving images). Japanese manga do not typically involve interactive comics. However, the appeal of Japanese styled drawing and art associated with manga has found global acceptance across cultural lines. According to research gleaned, manga sales reported a 41% increase from comic stores and bookstores (Salkowitz 2019, par. 8)4.

1.4. Comic Book Publishing Inherent Problems - Cons

Comics due to their weekly or monthly releases tend to fall into a very familiar scenario that is, “been there, done that”. In order to keep readership up, publishers are often left with no alternative and either try to reinvent the wheel or fall back to other titles. Overly saturated market resulting in innovative reinventions all the time resulting in new formats of visual storytelling like interactive “slideshow” style comics that combine moving elements, impactful text animations, sound effects, resulting in an almost video-like, animation motion comic.

1.4.1 Comic Book Publishing - Problems in Print & Digital

(1) Comic publishing still shows a positive market outlook in major markets, US, UK and Japan.

(2) Relies heavily on single issue releases and therefore have to sell comics by volume.

(3) Publishing comics in print may result in it being distributed to comic shops and bookstores creating ‘niche’ enclaves that mainstream readers may not be receptive to and ending up with limited sales.

(4) Distribution of printed comics are bound by the number of stores and locations they are distributed to and footfall traffic of the store.

(5) Publications released through digital formats must be managed by a digital rights management system like the one deployed by YouTube to safeguard the IP of content creators. Either that or run into the risk of illegal downloads and piracy.

(6) Digital comics distributed through comic library apps tend to be closed-loop digital ecosystems.

2. Background / Statement of Problem - Books Venturing into book publishing also faces similar challenges faced in the comic book publishing industry. This paper will examine the pros and cons of each in both print and digital formats then present a hypothesis after consideration of available data and provide recommendations.

2.1. Book Publishing Advantages - Pros

Books whether they exist in print or digital formats are still the primary ways information is conveyed and carried. But the definition of books and what constitutes as a book has been slowly redefined with the increasing ease of access to a library in the palm of Page 6 of 20

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(Konica Minolta 2020, 8)6 one’s hand through mobile phone e-readers and Amazon’s Kindle device. Books have not escaped the digital transformation in society and with the use of specific AIs, some apps like Blinkist are even able to highlight the main points of a novel, summarise and present it to users in a 15min read, equivalent to reading an entire book. Books are still the primary means to convey critical information and the outlook for publishing books in any type of genre still outpaces all other formats (Konica Minolta 2020, 8)7.

2.2. Book Publishing - Print & Digital

Book publishers have long been utilising technology to allow their assets and past book catalogues to be available to readers in digital formats. Book printing used to be carried out by using offset printing presses. A cost effective mass printing method if large quantities were ordered using the same moulds but unfeasible and expensive when it came to short run prints in smaller quantities.

But with digital printing using inkjet printing systems, it is now possible to print in smaller quantities and still achieve cost savings when compared to offset printing. Digital printing has (Masnick and Beadon 2018, 26)9 probably been one of the contributing factors as to the resurgence of printed books in a digital era where other forms of books but in various digital formats requires some basic level of technical competence, an attribute that can be a hurdle or an enPage 7 of 20

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U.S. Book Market Share by book format Source: Association of American Publishers5

U.S. E-Book Sales In millions of units

U.S. Audio Book Sales Revenue In billions of dollars

Source: Nielsen3

Source: Audio Publishers Association4

The Copia Institute // The Sky is Rising 2019

27

(Masnick and Beadon 2018, 27)9

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abler, depending on circumstances. Printed books on the other hand is familiar to everyone and doesn’t require any electronic devices to operate. According to market research commissioned by Konica Minolta, the sale of printed books in the UK and other EU markets record competition because of Ebooks but the pace isn’t significant enough to overtake printed books (Konica Minolta 2020, 2)7 this data also correlates with the US market with sales more skewered towards printed books though sales through digital formats like Ebooks, Audio Books and others recorded significant sales as well. In digital formats, Ebook sales were leading the pack and outpacing other digital formats (Watson 2018, par. 4)8.

In Asia, taking the Japanese market as a sample case study, Ebook and digital format sales were also increasing but were not increasing at a pace that would outpace printed formats. Rather, by examining the trend, if one were to combine the sales of printed and digital formats, although sales figures showed an overall downward trend of printed formats, data derived from book sales in all formats were still recording a positive outlook (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 13)6.

2.3. Book Publishing Inherent Problems - Cons

Book publishing has largely stuck to its roots in that despite the onslaught of digital formats, regardless of the genre, book publishing has avoided new innovative trends such as those seen in the comic book publishing industry. That may be a hurdle to its rebranding or serve as an enabler depending on the market the book is distributed to.

There isn’t any noticeable re-inventive storytelling trend observed in the book publishing industry.

2.3.1 Book Publishing - Problems in Print & Digital

(1) Largely relies heavily on one-time print on demand titles.

(2) Publishing books in print also faces the same problems as printed comic books. Printed books are still distributed to bookstores and department stores.

(3) Distribution of printed books are also bound by the number of stores and locations they are distributed to and footfall traffic of the store.

(4) Ebooks also face copyright issues, illegal redistribution often for free has resulted in publishers choosing to only distribute Ebooks via mainstream digital platforms like Amazon.

(5) Books released in any digital format through library apps like Amazon also tend to be closed-loop digital ecosystems.

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Asia, Japan

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3. Marketing, Advertising and Distribution - Comic Book Before developing a marketing plan, it is crucial to decide on the type of publishing format as the type of publishing medium will determine the marketing and advertising channels, methods, platform exclusive advertising avenues and public engagement options or if the comic or book will be licensed to an external partner and the partner will bear all marketing and advertising costs or if the company will be absorbing these costs or a hybrid model will be pursued. But before these aspects can be examined, one has to look at the unique marketing models in the comic and book publishing industry.

3.1. Comic Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Direct to Market

As mentioned in section 1.3.1., the comic book industry utilises a unique marketing model that is know as a “Direct to Market” model. What this generally means is that the publisher, will follow is that after the books are ready for final print, they will be sent to the printer for print with the publisher bearing the printing costs including number of comic books to print. Then, working with distributers who will likely take a percentage of the cut, the comic books are pre-sold to retail chains and independent comic stores.

Whether or not the book stores are able to sell the printed comic books is entirely their responsibility as unsold books cannot be returned back to the publisher or distributer.

Sales figures tabulated for the entire market is determined after the publisher sells these books to the book stores and not at the consumer level.

Comic book publishers will sometimes announce upcoming limited print run comics to drive up demand from the consumer end resulting in more popular stores having the financial means to pre-purchase more stocks from the publisher. This unique model has been adopted partly due to old comic books being collected by readers earning actual resale value at the consumer end, further driving up the demand for comic book runs.

This demand is even more apparent when one takes into account that comic books have traditionally been released through different sets or series, for example (a content marketing strategy) the “Ultimate X-men” series, detailing a unique retelling of the Xmen story and art style within that self contained series. Consumers who collect comic books are then compelled to purchase the entire series that may sometimes span hundreds of individual issues with the number of pages and cost for each issue pre-determined by the publisher.

In order to drive up even more demand for a particular series, publishers sometimes release a “Graphic Novel” equivalent by combining several individually earlier released comic books into one volume and selling it, usually in a hardcover format. It is not apparent when and if a series will see a “Graphic Novel” release. Cost wise, it may be cheaper for the consumer though publishers have gotten creative in their marketing by including unique artwork released in these Graphic Novels to drive up sales.

This marketing model seems to be adopted in direct to market model adopted by most comic book publishers though there is a lack of research if every market model has adopted this approach or if hybrid models are in practice in other markets. European market models also tend to follow this approach though in some EU countries, this also differs.

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3.1.1 Comic Book Publishing - Publisher Costs (Typical)

Due to the extensive cost of producing a comic book, publishers tend to hire an in-house production team and thereby avoiding the hefty royalty cost sharing model adopted by book publishers. In-house staff working under direct employment of the publishing house tend to sign away any royalty rights in return for a steady monthly salary. This model is the most commonly followed model unless the publisher decides to hire an external well known writer who works independently from the publisher and then will likely demand a share of the sales profit. Production costs go up for digital and interactive comics.

(1) Writer(s) costs

(2) Editorial costs

(3) Illustrator(s) costs

(4) Pencilling(s) costs

(5) Colouring(s) costs

(6) Digital production costs

3.2. Comic Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Indirect to Market

In Asia, in an extensive media research study commissioned by Media Innovation Lab, the Japanese manga industry doesn’t follow the direct to market model (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 5)6. It follows most indirect to market models in that independent publishers cooperate, build partnerships and form business contracts with other companies like distributers, logistics and retailers in the publishing supply chain. But for the Japanese manga industry, mangas are first published comic book formats before they are produced in demand known as “serialisation” (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 20)6.

Manga artists also tend to play both roles of writer and artist with the comics released on a weekly basis, drawing royalties as payment. For successful mangas in Japan, these publishers also tend to form a cooperative in that stakeholders in the supply chain cooperate for a particular brand (Media Innovation Lab 2019, 7)6 as successful mangas are always turned into animation or even live feature adaptation full length Hollywood movies on the silver screen.

Cooperative Model in Japan

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This cooperative feature seems to be a uniquely Japanese model as Manga and Anime is a cultural norm in Japan and is considered as a mainstream form of entertainment. A lot of popular Japanese manga “brands” have also received support from the Japanese Government due to its cultural significance of incorporating Japanese culture, traditions and beliefs into its storytelling, transcending far above any western styled comic models. This cooperative feature has also allowed countless merchandising and licensing for certain global appeal “brands” like “Naruto Shippuden” that has persisted not only in Japan but has been translated into countless languages and has existed for over 20 years since 1997 by its creator, Masashi Kishimoto, who is also both the series’ writer and artist. The series is still ongoing as of the year 2020 though Kishimoto only maintains executive control from afar, much like the Star Wars franchise.

As for other Asian markets like in the Korean or Chinese markets, their marketing models also tend to follow indirect to market models without the cooperative feature of Japanese models. However, other companies have noticed the trend and in recent years have began similar attempts modelling after the Japanese model but in very early stages.

3.3. Comic Book Publishing Industry Distribution Model

As for distribution, larger distributors tend to have prior contracts with either retail chains or independent stores thereby removing independent distributors from the picture. These larger distributors are also able to distribute stocks quicker and faster to stores have more warehouse storage space or may even be either a sub department of the publisher or the retailer. Distributors have also utilised E-Commerce and may have prior exclusive contracts with the publisher to sell the printed comic books via the convenience of the online store. Publishers tend to avoid the selling part due to the immense costs of maintaining the online store or retail stores. Publishers usually liaise with Distributors for logistics and distribution of their comic books to retail or independent book stores.

Depending on different markets a product is released into, key distributors also differ.

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Manga Sales in Japan

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4. Marketing, Advertising and Distribution - Book Publishing The book industry is still a largely Indirect to Market model, similar to the Indirect to Market model mentioned in 3.2. with Publishers working with independent Authors, Literary Agents, Printers, Wholesale Distributors, Logistics, Book Stores. They are all independent stakeholders with books produced primarily in a Print on Demand model.

4.1. Book Publishing Industry Marketing Model - Indirect to Market

This model is no different from the Direct to Market model in comic book publishing except for one difference. Books are produced and printed through digital printing, primarily on a Print on Demand model. That means publishers estimate through various means an approximated amount of books to print, bearing all printing costs and then following which, engage a distributor with access to popular retail book stores or independent book stores to distribute the printed books. However, unlike comic books, book stores do not operate on the Direct to Market model and if books are not sold after a certain agreed time frame, these books are then returned back to the publisher.

Depending on markets and distributors, books are ordered by a customer through the book store or directly with the publisher or distributor with full upfront payment made by the customer before the book is officially released. This allows fewer overprint orders since books are only printed base on demand and supply.

For small orders or consignment orders, book stores agree to carry books from the publisher or author and get a percentage cut profit for each book sale. The cost for printing and distribution is on the onus of the publisher or author and only when a book is sold will a percentage of the profit be channeled back to the publisher or author. For consignment orders, book stores tend to take a 40% cut off the retail price of the printed book. This allows book stores to not pay anything if a book is unsold and the risk is entirely taken by the publisher.

The content marketing strategy mentioned in 3.1. doesn’t typically apply to newly launched books unless specific negotiation contracts have been established with Publishers as publishers tend to want to avoid any unwanted costs with unknown authors or new publications even if publications are from reputable brands as books are different products from say toy production since royalties aren’t involved. Publishers dealing with a known brand do tend to only release a new publication from a known brand in a limited production quantity and in a small run to determine the initial market response.

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4.2. Book Publishing Industry Distribution Model

As book Authors are largely working freelance since royalty models typically do not work when the Author is employed full-time by the Publisher. There are exceptions to the norm but this is usually the way the book publishing industry works. Authors are usually managed by Literary Agents who are responsible for the Author’s career, negotiating fees with Publishers and Editors. Publishers then pay the rights to publish the book to the Author and then liaise with Distributors to distribute these books to retail Book Stores and Independent Book Stores. Book Publishers typically do not receive unsolicited manuscripts from unknown Authors and usually only exclusively liaise and work directly with Literary Agents.

Book Publishers also tend to follow the same approach when publishing in digital format, preferring to only make the book available through leading digital library apps like Amazon Kindle. Once the company account for the publisher is setup on Amazon, the publisher will then be able to sell the Ebooks on Amazon.

(Watson 2018, 1-9)8

(Watson 2019, 1-5)8

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5. Conclusion - Comic Book Publishing In the Comic Book Publishing Industry, the recorded figures derived from research reports have indicated unique trends when it comes to publishing comic books through a printed format or, publishing comic books in digital format. Digital comics tend to be released exclusively only through digital library apps since it oers copyright protection.

As of 2020, globally, the leading and largest digital comic library still belongs to Marvel and DC Comics with other independent digital comic library apps ComiXology, Thrillbent and Madefire (Whitehouse 2013, par. 3)1. This paper concludes that there are unique advantages to releasing comic books in printed format as well as in digital format although but globally, printed comic book sales still dwarf digital comic book sales (Miller 2013, par. 19 ; Diamond Comic Distributors 2018, par. 6)5,2.

5.1. Comic Book Publishing Characteristics

(1) US Comic Market Size in 2018 recorded US$1.09 billion, from all formats (Diamond Comic Distributers 2018, par. 6)2.

(2) A well accepted entertainment format.

(3) Has a large demographic of readership from adults to children.

(4) Primarily visual form of storytelling, lesser use of words.

(5) Traditionally fictional based genres but non-fiction genres are gaining recognition and acceptance.

(6) Suitable for either print or digital formats.

(7) Comics publishing in print depends on the targeted country and market. Western and Asian publishers dier.

(8) Demand in print still overshadows digital formats.

(9) Direct to Market model or Indirect to Market model.

(10) Digital Library apps: ComiXology, Thrillbent and Madefire

(11) Digital formats are largely released through digital library apps to avoid illegal downloads due to their closed-loop digital ecosystem libraries (Whitehouse 2013, par. 3 ; Salkowitz 2019, 1)1,4.

 

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6. Conclusion - Book Publishing In the Book Publishing industry, the recorded figures derived from research reports for the 3 leading markets of the US, UK and Japan, overall printed book sales still lead the global market trend in publishing with printed book sales dwarfing global Ebook sales by a huge proportion (Masnick and Beadon 2019, 27 ; Watson 2018, 8 ; Konica Minolta 2020, 2 ; Media Innovation Lab 2019, 13)9,8,7,6. This paper concludes that for the Book Publishing industry, print media is still the leading publishing format even in the age of digital platforms. There are definitely difficulties that are inherent in any publishing format but if going by statistics alone, in Book Publishing, releasing a book in print media has a better outlook than releasing an Ebook in digital media but to allow publishing to also be available on both print and digital media formats at the same time.

6.1. Book Publishing Characteristics

(1) Book publishing worldwide still shows a positive market outlook in major markets, US, UK and Japan.

(2) Fiction and non-fiction sales were still reflecting positive trends in both genres. Different markets, different publishers.

(3) Large demographic of readership from adults to children.

(4) Suitable for print or digital formats.

(5) Significant print format market size still dwarfs digital format in key markets - US, UK and Japan.

(6) Print on Demand Market model (Indirect to Market model).

(7) Publishers have often made both print and digital copies available to counter digital trends.

(8) Digital publishing largest retailer is Amazon (Atanasovski 2018, 9-10 ; Masnick and Beadon 2019, 27)10,9.

(9) Digital publishing in Ebook format should be released through Amazon’s Kindle app to avoid illegal downloads due to their closed-loop digital ecosystem libraries.

(10) Digital Library apps: Amazon Kindle account can be shared and used with up to 6 registered devices. All 6 registered devices have full access to user’s credit card information.

(Masnick and Beadon 2019, 29)9 Page 18 of 20

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References - Market Reports attached 1. Kendall Whitehouse, “Can Digital and Print Peacefully Coexist in the World of Comic Books”, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania (Oct 10 2013).

6. Media Innovation Lab, “Information Media Trends in Japan”, (2019).

7. Konica Minolta, “The Short Run and On Demand Publishing Opportunity”, (2020).

8. Amy Watson, “E-Books Statistics & Facts”, (2018) , Amy Watson, “US Book Industry - Statistics & Facts”, (2019).

9. Michael Masnick and Leigh Beadon, “A Detailed Look at the State of the Entertainment Industry”, (2019).

10. Peter Atanasovski, “Digital Publishing: eBooks Statistics Indicate Growing Popularity”, (2018).

References from Websites 2. Diamond Comic Publishers, “Yearly Comic Sales”, (2018), https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html

3. Calvin Reid, “2018 North American Comics Sales Rise to $1.09 Billion”, Publishers Weekly (May 03 2019): https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/ industry-news/comics/article/79954-2018-north-american-comics-sales-rise-to1-09-billion.html

4. Rob Salkowitz, “Surprising New Data Shows Comic Readers Are Leaving Superheroes Behind”, Forbes (Oct 8 2019): https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2019/10/08/surprising-new-data-shows-comic-readers-are-leavingsuperheroes-behind/#7577f86e4d68

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5. John Jackson Miller, “Overall Print Comics Market Topped $700 million in 2012”, Comichron (Feb 17, 2013): https://blog.comichron.com/2013/02/overallprint-comics-market-topped-700.html

Citation Style Chicago Manual of Style

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