NYCC: ICv2 gives comic professionals a glance at the state of the comic book industry by the numbers.

When you say the word 'convention,' there are two very different pictures that can come to mind. The first, as far as Popverse is concerned, is the hall filled with thousands of fans in cosplay or with families, hoping to meet some of their favorite people in entertainment, witness the latest news firsthand, or collect exclusive merch. The other is a meeting of professionals within a specialized field looking to make connections with each other, get updates on the state of their industry, and prepare for the changes to come in a developing business landscape.

Most attendees may not realize this, but New York Comic Con is both. In years past, trade magazine publisher ICv2 has hosted an annual event at the convention every year to get professionals in the comic book industry up to speed on the latest state of the business and how to keep the direct market of comic book stores and the surging market of online retail in good health. The last 'ICv2 Insider' event was in 2019, but it’s finally found its way back to the River Pavilion in the Javits Center for 2022. The world has changed quite a lot since 2019, including the comic book industry, so there was plenty of ground to cover.

Seated between representatives from Forbes and Random House, we watched the lifeblood of the comic distribution industry applaud as ICv2 Chief Executive Officer Milton Griepp took the stage. Sponsorships by trading card distributor TCGPlayer, Kickstarts, and longtime ICv2 Insider partner Diamond Comics ensured that each would have time to say their piece and update us on their corners of the market.

Chedy Hampson, CEO of TCGPlayer, was the first to speak with an exciting announcement: starting this month, TCGPlayer will be rolling out tools for comic stores to order back issues of comic books to entire comic runs, in the name of better servicing the local comic shop consumer. Next year, TCGPlayer plans to expand those tools so retailers can order sports cards and video games. If there’s something a brick and mortar hobby store might be interested in stocking, TCGPlayer wants to have you covered.

Hampson turned the presentation back over to Milton Griepp, who gave us a PowerPoint presentation on the state of the industry.

ICv2’s State of the Industry

Here’s the headline: demand for comics is higher than ever, but thanks to recent global events, supply chains remain unreliable at every step of the process, from stock paper to moving trucks.

In 2021 alone, comic stores generated $2.1 billion in sales, a 6% growth rate over the previous year. Since the last ICv2 Insider talk in 2019, the comic industry has grown 33%.

The graphic novel format has been especially successful: up 76% since 2019, it now accounts for three