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Just look at those poor sales figures above. Silver Surfer is a refreshingly enjoyable comic by two top creators (Dan Slott and Michael Allred) but it sells less than a quarter of The Beano. Others are no better. Admittedly, sales will be down for a number of factors, including stories that have failed to engage enough people, or the high cover price, or readers who are simply waiting for the collected paperback editions. However, there's also the matter of comics piracy eating into potential sales. When a comic is selling close to its cancellation threshold number (less than 20,000), a few thousand illegal downloads are the difference between life or death for a comic.
It's no secret that I hate piracy, and I've argued against it several times on forums. I've heard all the excuses:
"I can't afford all the comics I need." (No one "needs" a comic. It's not food or clothing.)
"I wouldn't pay money for them anyway, so it makes no difference if I get them illegally." (Cobblers. If you're addicted to a comic, you'd buy it.)
"File sharing helps build an audience and then people will buy the ones they like." (Not really. It just encourages more piracy.)
"It's no different to loaning a mate a comic." (Totally different. Piracy is giving an unlimited number of "mates" that same comic, therefore damaging potential sales.)
The worst offenders are the ones who think they're being generous by "sharing" comics, as though it's pure altruism. They're in denial but all they're really doing is helping themselves while giving the comics industry a kick in the balls. It's not "sharing", it's stealing. The crime of piracy is copyright infringement; the illegal publication of work that they have no permission to publish and distribute.
Here's something else to bear in mind; when those Marvel comics are cancelled, the "pirates" aren't "sticking it to the Marvel corp" as some think they are. They're putting freelance writers, artists, colourists, letterers, out of work (or, at the very least, significantly diminishing their income). The "suits" at Marvel will survive. Some of its creators may not.
My message to those who persist in illegal downloads of the latest comics is this: grow up, stop playing at pirates, have some integrity, and show you're genuine comics fans by supporting the comics industry while it's still around.
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