Fun Market Insights: Is the comic industry self-sustainable?

Add the gaming industry in general and you got it.
I... guess the two industries are interconnected?

Yes, there are comics (don't forget books) that later get adapted into multimedia projects/franchises , like MARVEL and DC.

But at the same time, the projects that can't continue through TV, movies and games, maybe projects explaining separate adventures get turned into comics - like Regular Show, Adventure Time, the Toonami T.I.Es, Sly Cooper, Geronimo Stilton and Marc Brown's Arthur. The last two examples didn't start from comics but they still have TV series adaptations that have spin-off adventures.

It probably goes this way vice versa but I can't find examples of those.

This is interesting to think about, because a comic can be like a pilot/test run project to see what you're going for in a multimedia franchise.

Unfortunately, today's creators do have that mind set. And i understand why, they 've seen a lot of comics being adapted to other mediums and comics are a good doorway for so many creators that everyone tries to explore it.
What everyone keeps forgetting is, for that to happen, first your comic needs to be good (and you need to have great connections to later get deals for other mediums).

We should be focusing on making the best comics ever, and if that happens, it might get picked up for the rest of the stuff.

They've always been connected to a degree. But with the way large studios and corporations are collapsing and buying each other, I wouldn't depend on anyone walking in with a big check anytime soon.

I think the problem is more creators set goals without smaller achievable steps in mind and without a realistic picture of their position. In reality, not everyone can get a movie, but everyone, naturally, thinks they are THE ONE. Even if you do the actual work it takes to get seen, put yourself in the right place at the right time in front of the right people, you still might not have a story that people are interested in. There are so many punitive factors that go into "getting an anime" or "getting a film" that can make or break you.

Additionally, too many people see the anime or movie as the end of all ends, the goal of all goals. When, most likely to get to that point, you'll lose a large majority of the control over your series. Are you willing to sell it off to some film-maker who will do most likely and interpretation and not a 1:1 adaptation? I hope so, otherwise, you'll be hard pressed to find someone wanting to pick it up.

Thirdly, not every comic or manga makes a good film. They aren't interchangable, and sometimes the tech needed to tell the story well doesn't exist, or isn't to the producer's satisfaction (so they'll need to make it or wait for it to be made). Looking at you, James Cameron. >n>

Lastly, some of us just don't care about anime or film adaptations. Would it be neat? Sure. But I'm not going to stake my person self worth, the worthiness of my manga, and my career on getting an anime. I don't really watch anime, and I'm not a movie person to begin with, so I likely wouldn't even watch my own show. Frankly, I'd be terrified to watch it, because even for series that aren't mine, I'm a purist and want producers to stick to the source material. IMHO unless the mangaka is ok with the changes, it's an insult to change it. And usually, the mangaka don't get to have input into the show! That would drive me up a wall.

I think in general, too many people are looking for the anime and film, and aren't giving their manga the love and care that it needs/deserves. They are too focused on the silver screen and can't focus on the pages in front of them to make it exist as a STELLAR story "on paper/canvas/digital" to make it worth noticing to put it into film. Manga is its own unique medium, and if you don't enjoy THAT process first, and embrace it and master it first, you'll never make it the distance to get an anime/film. Manga and comics are a medium worthy of respect on its own. It shouldn't just be a means to an end.

@Karumtoo-Rexo: That's an interesting point! But if a series/movie/game can't continue on the big or small screen and is continued through comics only, wouldn't that be a downgrade of sorts, especially in terms of revenue? Although, I think that could depend on the notoriety of the title.

@Nimesh: I totally agree! I feel like many creators create comics without ever having read one.

@cmc: That's true and kinda scary. I feel like the market is really going through some changes recently in terms of content.

@ArtCrumbs: Lots of interesting points with which I agree!

1. It's true that even successful titles can take years before getting an adaptation (ex: Invincible, Vinland Saga, Tower of God), and successful Webtoons such as Unordinary still don't have adaptations. So, it could take longer for us indies to get an adaptation, at least one that pleases us.

2. Totally agree, I wouldn't want what happened to God of High School and Promised Neverland to happen to my manga, but then I believe that Robert Kirkman was able to have his say in the adaptation of The Walking Dead. That's the best deal!

3. Well, I think everything could be well-adapted with today's tool you must just find the right lane (Movie, TV Series, Animation, Game). Especially when you see that Netflix was able to create a decent live-action of One Piece.

4. I get your point but I definitely would watch my own show especially if I wasn't part of the creative process.

I agree that we should focus on our manga/comics and our audiences before anything, if people like it everything will come along in time.

@Karumtoo-Rexo: That's an interesting point! But if a series/movie/game can't continue on the big or small screen and is continued through comics only, wouldn't that be a downgrade of sorts, especially in terms of revenue? Although, I think that could depend on the notoriety of the title.

@Copoki I think my problem with this im general, is society expects the anime or film. While wr have the tech to do a good job, most times it doesn't turn out well. I don't like One Piece (couldnt finish volume 1) so I can't speak on the accuracy of it. However, I make a manga because that's the medium I want to see my stuff in. If I get am anime, I better get a say in who does it, but usually, we as creators don't get that say historically. And rarely are the anime adaptations good as well.

If it can be done and stay accurate, I might let it happen. But also, it kind of insults me that people think "anime is automatically better as a consumer". I've had people tell me "I'll read it when you have an anime". Its like, i know you made the original story, but I'm too lazy to read it and don't care about your version. It just hurts to think that people don't value you and then when they do get to see your story, it's not in the medium you originally made it in. It's some adaptation that likely isnt accurate. Also

1. They probably won't read it. They'll watch the anime and assume that is canon regardless if it is accurate or not.

2. Having an anime doesn't mean the series is good, it means that creator is being exploited to make more money, as many times mangaka don't see a large portion of the revenue from that anime. That goes for movies too. The Demon Slayer mangaka has been ripped off over and over, especially with the movies!

Another example: InuYasha and FMA/B.

The InuYasha anime is abysmal. It's awful in terms of story. It changes the order of events, and doesn't even show much if any of the last 1/3 of the story. It tries to fit over 300 chapters into 27 episodes. It makes Kikyou look like a villain and Kagome a whiny child and InuYasha a cheating indecisive man-child.

The anime didnt even include or changed many bits of dialogue drastically. It didn't show much of how Kagome and Kikyou finally buried the hatchet and how much InuYasha still struggled after her final death and how Kagome -missed- her and admired her.

FMA was an entirely different storyline after a certain point. Changed character designs and which character was which humunculus. Abhorrent choices all because the mangaka "couldnt keep up".

FMAB set it straight and honored the original and did a pretty good job. Both anime and manga are good, which imho is rare.

Idk I'm just tired of the perception that "anime means it's a good / high quality story" when that's not the case. It means they thought it would be profitable. Something can make a lot of money and still be objectively bad and non-canon. Which as a creator, I would be gravely insulted if someone took my project, changed major things and used it to make money.

@Karumtoo-Rexo: That's interesting! I'll definitely look into the Gargoyle Comics case! Thanks! And I don't think we will find an example for a disreputable series although that'd be very interesting to see.

@ArtCrumbs: It's true that production companies or animation studios that change aspects of the manga often hurt the quality of the story, but anime and TV adaptations can be seen as promotional tools for the source material IMO as manga/comics often see a boost in sales after such adaptation. But obviously, you need a decent adaptation for that to happen.
Also, I think we need to separate "a high-quality story" and "a story that sells" as a high-quality story doesn't always sell and a story that sells isn't always high-quality.