Here’s Rob McMonigal’s prescription for the comics industry:
“I think the biggest problem right now is that the industry is using the trade-and-singles system all wrong. Rather than increasing the singles price more and more for titles people are going to read in trade anyway, just trade a Batman or JLA or Spider-Man arc every 3 months or so, priced at $9.99 or $14.99 or even $19.99, depending on size. Use anthology comics for the smaller characters and if they do well, give them trades as well going forward. Then use single issues to try and bring readers to the trades. A Spider-Man one-shots only monthly, for instance. Same for Bats, Supes, and the rest. And get that thing everywhere—book stores, toy stores, convenience stores, and—and this one’s huge—drug stores. With a limited product ala ‘real’ magazines and Shojo Beat style anthologies, they just might get the reader base going back up again.
“Then use the trades for people once they’re hooked or for long-time readers like us. Putting out material meant for a trade in single issues just doesn’t make sense anymore.”