Comic Book Companies

The genre of the comic book culture has many ardent fans. The readership proves that true. In that venue, the proliferation of comic book companies is astonishing. There are over one hundred comic book companies and many more that are defunct. The competitions to produce, advertise and distribute comic books are daunting. Each company tries to produce a character or characters that appeal to the masses. There are exceptions to that.

There are underground comic book companies that cater to a different segment of society. Sometimes they lead to mainstream because one or more of their characters gains acceptance. The mainstream comic book companies like to create characters that exhibit abilities that the public enjoys. Oftentimes it works. The hero of the story is believable enough that it gains acceptance. The acceptance is crucial for the comic book company to survive the harsh struggle it has to endure.

In other circumstances, the hero or villain does not relate to the readership and it quickly fizzles into obscurity. It is a painful process to the company, or the individual, that does not fulfill its perceived duty to the readership. All the painstaking work that goes into developing the whole spectrum of a comic book company is intimidating. The creation of a hero into an actual comic book denotes time, effort and a great deal of persistence. If the persistence is not enough, the reader will never have the pleasure of seeing your creation into fruition.

The list of defunct comic book companies suggests that many people have tried taking the plunge into creating a comic book company and failed. Unfortunately, failure is a realistic expectation in any business venture, especially the comic book world.

When you think of comic book companies, the two biggest and most popular are the DC comics and Marvel comics. Likewise, there are many independent comic book companies. Each one are vying for you to sustain their existence, and for your hard earned money. The latter one is understandable. A comic book company cannot survive without paid readership. The more circulation, the greater the money. Supply and demand. The law of economics. All of those maxims hold true.
Once the comic book company gains credence, their ability to construct more characters enhance their share of the market. The comic book figures are a representation of the comic book company. Marvel comics contain more cosmic powered heroes and villains than its main competition. DC has a horde of figures that originate from outside the confines of earth, but do not possess nearly the power levels of Marvel.

Other comic book companies, such as Dark Horse comics, use licensed merchandising figures such as Star Wars and Buffy the vampire slayer. Since Dark Horse comics is the third largest of the comic book companies, it must work. Using established characters from television and the movies was a natural extension of the comic book world. The popularity of the characters was well known so the market was already in place.

A comprehensive list of current and defunct comic book companies is easy enough to obtain. The reasons behind the success and failure are another matter. Some of the reasons expounded in this article should make them more lucid.