Part 9/14:
Critics argue this approach risks further alienating fans who prefer classic characters and traditional storytelling. The industry’s recent emphasis on social messaging appears to be part of a broader strategy by corporate leadership to reinvent comics as tools of social change, often at the expense of sales longevity.
The State of Industry Data and Transparency
A significant challenge in assessing the industry’s health lies in the opacity of sales data. Historically, diamond distribution provided transparent figures, but with DC transitioning away from that system, accurate sales figures are harder to verify.