Ghosts of Comics’ Past

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Columns
Ghost of Comics’ Past: 2000

By | Aug 24, 2020 | Columns

Multiversity’s history column returns to examine pivotal events from the year 2000. We start with a basic overview of the state of the industry before taking a closer look at Gorilla Comics, CrossGen, and Ultimate Marvel. Overview The comic industry was in recession in 2000. Total US sales for the year were a paltry $265 […]

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Columns
Ghosts of Comics’ Past: August in Comics History – An Early Superheroine, a Racial Slur, and Misty

By | Aug 3, 2020 | Columns

It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for Multiversity’s history column. This installment will look at the first costumed superheroine, a racial misunderstanding put to good use, and an effort to make comics appeal to young girls. August 1940 I’ve been writing this column for almost two years now, and I’ve […]

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Columns
Ghosts of Comics’ Past: 1990

By | Jul 20, 2020 | Columns

Multiversity’s history column is back with an overview of the comic industry circa 1990. The overall market In 1990, the direct market was made up of about 1000 individual shops. Although they were vastly outnumbered by newsstand outlets like grocery stores and gas stations, these specialty stores represented almost 85% of comics sold. While the […]

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Columns
Ghosts of Comics’ Past: 1980

By | Jun 15, 2020 | Columns

Multiversity’s history column returns with a variety of items from 1980, including a review of the direct market, the back issue market, and the effects of the growing independent comic scene. Growth of the Direct Market Following some legal decisions in 1979, the Direct Market was growing faster than ever. There were about 3000 comic […]

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Columns
Ghosts of Comics’ Past: 1970

By | May 18, 2020 | Columns

I’m taking a slightly different approach to today’s column. Instead of looking at various events from several different years, I’m going to focus on events from a single year: 1970. By 1970, DC and Marvel were the undisputed top publishers in the comic industry, and the gap between them and third place was wide enough […]

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Columns
Ghosts of Comics’ Past: April in Comic History – Radio coverage, Xanadu, Fumetti, and April Fools gone wrong

By | Apr 6, 2020 | Columns

Multiversity’s column on comic history is back for another April-themed edition. Misleading radio coverage! DC’s first direct market exclusive! Marvel fumetti! Plus, an April Fool’s joke in such bad taste, it’s only discussed in vague terms! April 1942 Since 1940, opinion pieces about comic books were mostly negative, and mostly of the generational divide genre […]

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