Welcome back! Last time around we delved into the history of the bifurcation of the newsstand and direct markets for new comic books. This time we’re going to look at what makes newsstand editions much rarer and thereby much more expensive than direct comics.

A Caveat

First, though, a disclaimer. There is very little complete data on newsstand vs. direct sales for a single issue. Comichron is a fantastic site for sales data and it’s worth checking out the wide breadth of information they have available. For our purposes, though the data may not be complete, we are able to make some educated inferences based on anecdotal data.

Hopefully, someday soon the data will be complete, and we can more fully analyze it for some conclusions on an issue-by-issue basis. For now, let’s see where this anecdotal data can take us and what we can glean from it.

Direct vs. Newsstand Sales Percentages Over Time

To recap our previous piece on newsstand and direct edition comics, in 1979 Marvel made a big move to support the direct comic book market (e.g. the comic book shops) by spreading the wealth amongst Sea Gate’s sub-distributors and by printing comics exclusively for the direct market – comics without the bar codes.

Estimates from Jim Shooter, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief at the time, are that 94% of Marvel’s sales in 1979 were on the newsstands, while 6% were in comic book shops.

By 1982 the split was 80/20, and 1986 saw the point at which the two lines converged and passed like ships in the night – the last time 50% of sales were on the newsstands. From then, newsstand sales shrunk rapidly – by 1990 down to 15%, 1995 down to 10%, until we reach the 1% point in 2013 when Marvel stopped printing separate newsstand editions and ceased newsstand sales.

To be frank, even Marvel would admit that newsstand sales had gone the way of the dodo long before this point, and comics with newsstand barcodes were really only being sold in chain bookstores by the mid-2000s.

Survivability of Newsstand vs. Direct Editions

It would be a simple matter to say that, for example, 94% of comics produced by Marvel in 1979 were newsstand copies so 94% is what should still be around.

If only it was that simple; whether or not a comic survived either means of distribution becomes a tremendous key to determining value. Where the comics were headed and the people purchasing them became a deciding factor.

One of my first retail jobs was at a comic book shop. I began working there in the summer of 1982, just as the direct market was really heating up. Comics were delivered in boxes, carefully sorted through, and then placed in carefully designed racks so they wouldn’t fold over and create creases.

Collectors who came into the store to purchase comics handled them with great care. When they read them, they handled them in a way that would cause the least amount of damage. Comic books that didn’t sell were stored in boxes – sometimes bagged sometimes not – but again with great care.

In short, everything was done to preserve the comics in as pristine a condition as possible at the time. It’s no wonder that an estimated 90% of comics sold in the direct market in the 1980s survived.

Let’s compare that to newsstand comics.

These were delivered bundled together and tied with twine or string. Already the first dozen or so comics at the top and bottom of the stack were dropped down to no better than a very fine condition due to spine creases. There was no careful sorting; comics were stuffed into spinner racks or magazine stands as quickly as possible.

Comics were then rummaged through by customers, typically bending them to see what was behind the ones in front. Upon purchase, a comic book was read as one would read a newspaper, without a care as to preservation. Comic books were tossed around from friend to friend or shoved in a closet.

Some people wrote their names on them or scribbled doodles on them. I can testify to all of this. Here’s my copy of Avengers Annual #7 that I bought at a convenience store in 1977 before I knew any better.

Yes, I erased Thanos’ pupils and drew in three of my own for each eye. Man, I loved this comic – nearly to death!

So, it shouldn’t be a shock when I say that it’s estimated that only 10% of newsstand comic books from the 1980s survived. In short, they were read to death. Or worse, thrown out by mom when you went to college.

Survival Percentages for Newsstand vs. Direct Editions

We now know the estimated survivability of comics based on where they were sold and who purchased them. Now, let’s take a look at the estimated percentage of comics that could have survived at a given point in time. Starting in 1979, when 6% of comics were sold in comic shops and 90% of the direct editions survived, and 94% of comics were sold on newsstands and 10% of newsstand copies survived, we can infer that roughly a little more than one-third of all surviving copies are direct editions – or 36.5% - and roughly a little less than two-thirds of existing copies are newsstand editions – or 63.5%.

Compare that to 1982 when 80% of comics were sold on newsstands and 20% in the direct market. By this point, the likely survival percentages have nearly flipped.  69.2% of all surviving copies are direct editions versus 30.8% newsstand editions.

By 1985, the point at which newsstand and direct market sales were roughly even, 90% of surviving copies are direct editions and only 10% newsstand. The numbers decrease even further after that to the point where 1990s and 2000s newsstand editions can be considered rare or even scarce comics.

Sources

Besides Comichron, the Rare Comics blog by Benjamin Nobel is definitely worth a read. Some of it’s a tad dated. Still, it really is a treasure trove of information on comic book direct vs. newsstand distribution and survivability. I highly recommend it.

Next: Exceptions to the Rules, Condition as a Factor, and How This Relates to Graded Comics

We have our estimates of survivability. However, there are some exceptions to the survivability rules as we’ll get into in our next blog, where we’ll also discuss the condition of newsstand copies and what we can infer from CGC census data.

Want more 101 insight?

Do you collect or invest in newsstand editions? Let us know below.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.