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         Although lacking in popularity for years, the mid-50sthrough early 60s brought back a resurgence of thesuperheroes. This in itself was not bad, especially since Ilike superheroes. But as the publishers wanted to cash inon this rebirth, all other genres within the comic bookindustry started to fade. The romance comics, the westerns,the hard-boiled detectives, the war comics and sciencefiction comics all started to pass by the wayside. Thesuperhero was being driven by the market forces, whichbecame to exist in the US comic book industry. Suppliersand consumers alike developed an obsessive preoccupationwith superheroes, which ultimately became a detriment tothe medium as a whole. By catering too much to the limitedmarket of superhero lovers, a much broader audience becameneglected. One analogy presented in the past was thatsuperheroes are like really good desert. We all likedesert, but who can eat it all the time?

         Another concern with this market saturation was theaesthetic merits under the weight of the superherolongevity itself. This was not necessarily the fault of thegenre itself, but of the market upholding its lone cashcow. The very nature of art of storytelling within thesuperhero arena, was greatly affected. We all have learnedfrom the time we were young, the fundamental elements ofstorytelling. There is the beginning, a middle and an end.The telling of superheroes defies these fundamentals. Thereis a beginning, a continuous middle and NO end. The mostobvious (and arguably most drama killing) story tellingconvention is that a leading superhero character can notdie, at least, not for long.

         Where is the sense of suspense in knowing the peril of thesuperhero against the super villain, will not last forlong. Knowing that to sustain the market popularity, thehero must return issue after issue. While thrilling, itbecomes and unconscious exercise in waiting to see how ourhero survives. This does not command the drama as that of acharacter whose outcome you are uncertain of for any givenissue. This leaves no ending to an otherwise great storyline, and thus a paradox. How could our superherocharacters continue, as we would have them, if they weretruly to die?

         Cognitive psychology has demonstrated that memory retentionis stronger with beginnings and endings. We wonder then,how can a story be memorable if there is no ending? It canbe theorized, that to keep comic books good, and thisincludes super heroes, they have to ultimately come to anend. It has been quoted before that all good things mustcome to an end. Would this help to keep the comic bookindustry on a more successful track? This can now only beto the speculation of each of us as individuals. Thinkabout what your opinion is.

         One of the easiest mistakes to spot in the comic bookindustry, but the hardest to avoid, was the creation of theDirect Sales Market. This was intended so dealers couldpurchase direct from the publishers, for a lower cost andin bulk. This in turn would allow the dealers to make theirown profits. Not a bad idea. Isn't this howwholesale/retail transactions operate? Apparently though,this became the only method of distribution and eliminatedmass venues and comic books were only sold through smallisolated venues. What do you think would happen if TimeMagazine, for instance, took itself off the newsstands andsold only through these small outlets?

         Imagine, although pure profits for the publishers, turninga mass publication into a niche market publication. Whowould deliberately do this? Who would be that crazy? Well,apparently the comic book industry did. Over 70 odd yearsthey had managed to always make the wrong decision, bylooking at the shortest-term results and throwing every egginto that basket.

         And if all this is not enough, the final mistake made bythe industry was to shift from Product to Personality. Thisentailed the move toward selling who was doing the bookinstead of what the book was all about. While a few brightlights in the comic book writing field shined and some overthe short term prospered, can an industry in general,continue to be successful? If none but the most well knowand successful writers can prosper, what would become ofthe bulk of the comic book genre, if this attitudepersists? Many otherwise excellent magazines may go downthe proverbially flaming tubes. Do keep this in mind.

         Can the comic book industry be saved? Very possibly, butwhen the individuals in charge of the saving are as eageras ever to make the same mistakes all over again, what willthe outcome be? They don't even appear to be cleaver enoughto make new mistakes.

         Dave Gieber is the owner and editor of a website builtaround one of his childhood passions. Learn the basicessentials to comic book collecting success with thisfree 5-day course: Comic Book Industry Superheroes