Without paper, no books. Without books, no supply chain. And without a supply chain, there’s no source of the revenue China needs to clean up the printing industry and make its way to a sustainable model.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the proverbial canary in the mineshaft for Chinese book buyers who are facing list prices nearly double that of the sixth book in the series.
As Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Publishing, (wryly?) understates, kids these days just aren’t finding “that spinner rack of comic books sitting in the local five-and-dime any more” (cut to kids all over the world reading and re-reading that last sentence in abject confusion. Blank stares are misted with tears of non-comprehension).
So Marvel is going to post old versions of classic comics online to be viewed but not downloaded. Subscribers will have access to a number of backlist issues simply by paying a monthly fee.
BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, industry associations, literary agents, media, and libraries across the country.
