Last September, DC Comics relaunched its entire superhero line of comic books with 52 monthly titles that aimed to grab new readers with easily accessible stories featuring the company’s most popular characters. Their goal was to take the lead in the industry away from long-time frontrunner Marvel Comics, and to that extent, they succeeded. The playing field is now level, with the two major players in comics now on virtually equally footing month to month, with DC holding on to the lead in individual comics sold over the last six months.

However, the results from the Nielson polling done around the successful relaunch are in, and they are fairly staggering. 93% of those “New 52” readers were male, and only 2% of those readers were under the age of 18. DC absolutely managed to wrangle the bulk of the comic reading populous, but they failed to capture the attention of the two demographics essential to the industry’s future: women and children.

The answer may lie in Digital Comics, which have been undergoing their own revolution over the last year, with virtually all of the major comic publishers moving towards simultaneous publishing in stores and online with applications like Comixology, Graphic.ly, and Panelfly. The trouble is that so far these applications have also been directed more towards the comic reading population rather than the world at large, and at children in particular.

Clever application of digital comics could be the key to solving both the lack of young readers, and the lack of female readers (at least in the long run). Both DC and Marvel publish comics directed at younger readers, but those readers still need to know where their local comic shop is, or they need to seek out digital comic book readers to get their hands on a comic. Even the biggest fans of popular superhero cartoons and movies would have difficulty getting their hands on the comics they would love to read, if they got the chance.

Marvel, owned by Disney, has the best platform for addressing this. By getting young boys and girls excited by the numerous superhero cartoons targeted at both markets, they could create a platform online, perhaps building off of the success of websites like their own ClubPenguin.com, and provide kids with the comics they want directly. DC Comics has a strong relationship with Cartoon Network, and they could launch a comic reading platform in relation to that company’s website. The best, and least likely option would be having the two companies team up with other youth-friendly publishers like Archie and BOOM! Studios to build a platform together mirroring the creation of Hulu.

By presenting cartoons, games, and comics as a part of one big superhero package to BOTH boys and girls, the industry could ensure its footing in the coming decades, and reverse the downward trend in readership once and for all.

–James Tynion IV (@JamesTheFourth)

Creative Writer at Socialistic