Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, HRL

Report: 63% Of Comics Bought By Men, 37% By Women

ICv2 has reported from the New York Comic Con Insider Sessions it sponsored at the recent show, and specifically on Kristen McLean of NPD BookScan's break down of modern comic book buying demographics.

You can read the full report here, with charts and everything, but it has some strong conclusions.

Bookstore comics sales are growing while comic store sales are not — if it continues, bookstore sales will outperform comic stores in three years.

63% of comics and graphic novels overall are purchased by men, 37% by women.

However, in comic book stores, that rises to 72% male, and an older audience. Online is between the two. While still a sizeable gender difference, it does make comments like this recent viral post feel odd:

And leaves more room for, well, The Simpsons.

Also, while the US demographic is currently 61% white, 18% Latino, 13% black, 5% Asian, the entire comics market is 69% white, 12% Latino, 10% African-American and 8% Asian and the comic shop demographic is 71% white, 13% Latino, 14% black and 5% Asian (over 100% by rounding). So, whiter than the rest of America, but just as black, with fewer Latino customers. And the greater Asian demographic in bookstores is potentially down to a greater amount of manga in bookstores.

She also noted differences for individual genres, overall superhero comics skewing 78% male and 50% under 30 with manga being 56% males and 76% under 30. And female superhero buyers skew younger than male.

Oh, and there are comic book sales bumps above expected population in both Portland, Maine and in Portland, Oregon — anywhere called Portland, basically — as well as Jacksonville, Florida. Which should change its name to Portland, Florida, clearly. Maybe more comic book publishers would get confused and move there.

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