![]() ![]() Women 17 – 26 have risen to comprise over 20% of ComiXology’s users, and that’s certain to rise after Amazon’s acquisition. Marvel's Black Widow Strikes comic is one of many that appeals to a female demographic. ComiXology already pushes the latest “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” or “Amazing Spider-Man 2” tie-ins to their loyal customer base now Amazon’s marketing muscle can exponentially increase such exposure. Placement of key titles on the website’s front page and through Kindle can be seen as the digital equivalent of the world’s most popular newsstand a reach no comic retailer can hope to match. ![]() It’s safe to say Amazon fully intends to pump the numbers. As the perceived value of digital products has increased among young adults, sales have more than tripled since ComiXology’s launch year, with the firm grossing $70 million in 2012. The app went on to become Apple’s top-grossing non-game iPad app from 2011 to 2013, with well over 200 million comics downloaded to date. Launching in July 2007, the comiXology app sealed deals with Marvel, DC, and dozens of other publishers to sell downloadable digital versions of both archived and recent comic books and graphic novels. Today, a single distributor, Diamond, accounts for the vast majority of comic sales, with the average Marvel or DC superhero comic selling between 35,000 and 45,000 copies. ![]() Direct sales of non-returnable comics shifted the publishers’ attention to specialty comic shops, and the industry let the newsstands slowly dry up. While the vast majority of comic books were sold on newsstands from the mid- to late 20 th century, boasting circulations of several hundred thousand and sometimes surpassing a million copies per issue, that all changed in the 1980s and ‘90s. The acquisition has vast implications for the future of the comic book industry, from big publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, to independent creators, to the small but ardent network of 2,500 comic book retail stores across America. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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