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SWOT On BOOM! Studios

  • Writer: Marisa Negron
    Marisa Negron
  • Dec 13, 2022
  • 9 min read

Updated: Dec 11, 2023

Analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of comic publisher BOOM! Studios


Introduction and Background


According to their website’s about page, BOOM! Studios, or simply BOOM!, was founded by Ross Richie in 2005 to create comic books and graphic novels for all audiences (BOOM! Studios). Despite some rough times, BOOM! is quickly gaining traction. A 2019 article by Chase Magnett at comicbook.com using figures by Comichron, the world’s largest comic book sales database, concludes that in comparison to other creator-owned graphic novel publishers, BOOM! “suffered the highest attrition rates amongst its series with many losing more than 50% of sales after the first issue and more than 20% after the second” (“The State of Creator-Owned Comics in the Direct Market, para. 13). However, the publisher swiftly began to turn things around. Although the 2021 sales data has yet to be finalized, Comichron reports that when including the sales of cover variants, BOOM! ’s House of Slaughter #1 was the year’s bestseller, outselling King Spawn #1 from competitor Image Comics by a single case (“2021 Comic Book Sales to Comic Shops,” para.13). In almost no time, BOOM! went from producing series that often fell off by the second issue to making bestsellers. 


Strengths


In the blog post “Will BOOM! Be to the 2020s What Image Comics Was to the 2010s,” by Matt Reads Comics, the author speculates what may have prompted BOOM! ’s rising popularity. Matt attributes much of Image’s success in the 2010s to producing the works of well-known Marvel and DC writers, such as  East of West by Fantastic Four writer Jonathan Hickman and Lazarus by Batman series writer Greg Rucka (para. 4). Both series and several others by other well-established Marvel and DC authors at Image have gone on to gain critical acclaim. Matt suggests that BOOM! is now learning from Image’s model. Some of the publisher’s most successful series to date include Something Is Killing the Children and House of Slaughter by Batman writer James Tynion IV and The Immortal Hulk writer Al Ewing’s We Only Find Them when They’re Dead. Clearly, already well-established comic book writers generate success, and BOOM! has caught on to this fact. 

Aside from the types of authors they are now publishing, which they may have learned from their competitor, BOOM! also has its unique strength as a graphic novels publisher. An interview with Al Ewing for the podcast Off Panel revealed that BOOM! helps more on the editorial and marketing end, but at Image, those responsibilities fall onto the creators, forcing them to run what is essentially their own small business. Ewing also states that with We Only Dead Find Them When They’re Dead being his first creator-owned venture, BOOM! ’s publishing model was more appealing than Image’s (Harper, 1:29:21-1:30:30). For creators new to the creator-owned model or want to take more of a backseat in the publishing process, BOOM! appears to be more accessible than its close competitor. 


Weaknesses


Despite its recent success and frequent comparisons, BOOM! Studios has yet to earn the same reputation as Image. Their lack of standing in the industry may be due to age, as its start in 2005 makes the publisher thirteen years younger than Image and one of the youngest of the top creator-owned graphic novels publishers. However, BOOM! ’s lacking reputation may also stem from their comfort level. Before his release of  The Department of Truth with Image, James Tynion IV stated, “I don’t know that there’s another company that exists that would let me do what I plan to do with this series. The subject matter is a bit too dangerous, a bit too wild (“19: The Department of Final Order Cut-Offs,” 2020). Image has a reputation as a publisher that fosters more creative freedom, evident by its series that often push the envelope, most notably the ever-controversial Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. In a 2014 interview with Saga illustrator Fiona Staples states that Image has “what we feel is the best creator-owned deal in the business. It’s owned entirely by Brian and myself, and that’s given us a lot of freedom to make the book that we want to make” (The Comicbook Archive, 1:49-1:54). Staples’s 2014 comment echoes a similar message as that of Tynion, showing that Image has a long-standing reputation as a publisher willing to give any story a chance. Today, depending on the project, James Tynion IV bounces back and forth between BOOM! and Image, which may also speak to this weakness. BOOM!’s biggest weakness appears to be that they are either unwilling or have yet to publish series that take more creative risks.


Opportunities 


Graphic novels are currently experiencing a huge boom. A report by Publisher’s Weekly shows that comic and graphic novel sales in North America generated a little over two billion dollars in revenue, a 62% jump from the previous year, these record highs mainly being driven by manga sales (Milliot, 2022). BOOM! unlike competitor Dark Horse, the English publisher of many well-known manga titles, such as Gantz and Neon Genesis Evangelion, does not currently own any manga titles. A report on the anime market by California-based market research company Grand View Research shows that the US anime market size already stands at over $1.6 billion and is expected to grow exponentially at an annual growth rate of 9.7% through 2030 (“Anime Market Size, Share & Growth Report, 2022-2030,” fig.1). With audiences so hungry for anime and manga content, it appears that BOOM! only stands to gain by hopping onto this trend and acquiring manga series. Additionally, numerous popular manga series that English audiences want still need translations. For example, the best-selling manga Gintama went on at VIZ Media for only twenty-three volumes before being dropped (Manry, 2011). Today, the hit series, which finished with seventy-seven volumes and an anime with over two hundred episodes, has yet to be picked back up to complete its English translation. At this point in its growth, there is always room for more English manga, an opening for BOOM! to grow its audience. 

In addition to the growing popularity of manga, the literature community’s perspective on graphic novels is changing. An article by CTD Summer Leapfrog Coordinator Leslie Morrison explains that graphic novels are being read more often in a classroom setting, arguing that “when students learn to read graphic novels with an analytical eye, depth and complexity are added to the reading process” (“The Research Behind Graphic Novel and Young Learners,” 2017). Teachers are always looking to improve their curriculum and keep their students’ attention, and graphic novels may be a great way to accomplish both. Not only have they become useful educational tools, but graphic novels fans also long to see the medium taken seriously as an art form. For example, earlier this year, creators and readers of the popular comic self-publishing platform Webtoon criticized the company for running an ad calling comics “literature’s fun side-hustle.” Even though comics and graphic novels have raised their ranks in the literature world, they still have a long way to go before they are held in the same regard as traditional literature. An opportunity for BOOM! could be to have an imprint focused on producing and promoting educational graphic novels.  


Threats


One of the biggest threats to the comic and graphic novel industry in recent times was the COVID-19 pandemic. An article by Graeme McMillan at The Hollywood Reporter explains that at the beginning of the pandemic, Diamond Comics Distributors, which distributes comics for all the major comic publishers, including DC, Marvel, Image, and even BOOM! announced it would not accept any new product for distribution (“New Comics Delayed Across Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Concerns,” para.1). Shutdowns already hindered people’s ability to go to a comic book store, and the hold on product distribution further slowed down the industry until stores were allowed to reopen. While it may seem like the reasonable conclusion to draw would be to turn to digital, this is not as easy at it may sound. In 2015, Publisher’s Weekly reported that one of the comic book industry’s biggest challenges is the digital monopoly Amazon and their comic platform Comixology have on the industry, estimating that the retail giant had over 80% of all digital comic sales at that time (Allen, 2015). With Amazon’s hold on the publishing industry, it is likely that these numbers have not changed much. As the threat of covid spikes and new pandemics looms over us all, it is hard to say where the graphic novels industry will land should we find ourselves back in a situation like March 2020. The monopoly on digital comic sales further complicates the game for publishers should the industry face the worst again. 


Part Two- Opportunities Further Explained


With the growing popularity of manga, I believe that BOOM! should capitalize on this massive market by producing manga series. Before closing in 2011, the LA-based company TOKYOPOP was the largest English-language manga producer. An article by Sheldon Pearce at Vice explains that TOKYOPOP helped hit record highs during its time for manga sales in the US, keeping the authenticity of the original work while taking on titles that could be palpable for an American audience. Pearce explains, “[o]ver the course of a few years, the publisher created a distinct production style, selecting titles that bridged the gap between Western and Eastern cultures—series like Samurai Champloo, which re-imagines Edo-era Japan through a hip-hop lens; or Priest, a Korean manhwa that follows a Christianity-based narrative through the Old West.” TOKYOPOP also produced original work in the manga style (“The Resurrection of TOKYOPOP, America’s Most Influential Manga Company,” para. 4). I think BOOM! Studios could learn a lot from this company, especially now that the manga market has grown exponentially since the height of TOKYOPOP’s success. As previously stated, so many popular manga have gone untranslated, so there is a market for a publisher to scoop up the titles that competitors have not yet taken. In addition, unlike Dark Horse or VIZ Media, which only produce English translations of existing manga, I believe BOOM! should try their hand at publishing original manga. I think bridging the gap between manga aesthetics and a Western audience will be easier than carefully selecting existing manga that might be appealing to a North American audience, as TOKYOPOP already did in the early 2000s. Due to its current popularity, adding manga titles all but guarantees to grow BOOM!’s audience by tapping into existing English-speaking manga fans currently being underserved and delivering fresh content to manga readers should they begin making their own manga series.

Additionally, I suggest that they look into an educational imprint. In my research, I have come to the conclusion that there are very few graphic novel publishers or imprints that have a strong focus on producing educational or non-fiction content. I grew up reading graphic novel memoirs in high school, where I first learned my love for the medium. I think graphic novels have great potential in an academic setting, especially for memoirs. For example, though they are about the same event, there is a different feeling and understanding induced by reading The Diary of Anne Frank versus reading and following along the visuals of Maus. In fact, The Diary of Anne Frank was adapted into a graphic novel format with Ruth Franklin at The New York Times raving, “This graphic adaptation is so engaging and effective that it’s easy to imagine it replacing the ‘Diary’ in classrooms and among younger readers (“Anne Frank’s Diary, in Graphic Format, Reveals Its Humor,” para. 6). However, as evidenced by the Webtoon controversy, comics and graphic novels are still not taken seriously as an educational medium. In my experience as a graphic novel reader and creator, I believe that having a rising publisher like BOOM! continue to push the issue that graphic novels can have literary value, could make the publisher a pioneer, and bring in more like-minded individuals to their side. 

Furthermore, as BOOM! intends to content for all audiences, adding an educational or non-fiction specific imprint could help them fully realize this mission, especially as many of their current titles appear to fall into the same genre and mature demographic. It could also expand its reach to attract educators, parents, or those simply not interested in fiction graphic novels.  


Works Cited


“2021 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops.” Comichron, 

“About.” BOOM! Studios, https://www.boom-studios.com/about/. 

Allen, Todd. “Four Risk Factors Facing the Comics Industry in 2015.” PublishersWeekly.com, 2 

Sept. 2015, 

-risk-factors-facing-the-comics-industry-in-2015.html. 

“Anime Market Size, Share & Growth Report, 2022-2030.” Anime Market Size, Share & Growth 

Franklin, Ruth. “Anne Frank's Diary, in Graphic Form, Reveals Its Humor.” The New York 

Times, The New York Times, 9 Jan. 2019, 

veals-its-humor.html. 

Harper, David, host. “Off the Panel.” The Pendulum with Al Ewing, episode 265, 27 July 2020, 

Magnett, Chase. “The State of Creator-Owned Comics in The Direct Market.” 

Manry, Gia. “Viz Confirms Gintama Manga 23 Is Final N. American Volume (Updated).” 

Anime News Network, 14 Apr. 2011, 

manga-23-as-final-volume.

Matt. Matt Reads Comics, 29 Sept. 2020, 

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McMillan, Graeme. “New Comics Delayed across Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Concerns.” 

The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2020, 

refuses-new-product-publishers-1286064/. 

Milliot, Jim. “Comics/Graphic Novel Sales Jumped 62% in 2021.” PublishersWeekly.com, 1 July 

2022, 

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0the%20report%2C%20sales,over%202021%2C%20to%20%24705%20million.

Morrison, Leslie. “The Research Behind Graphic Novels and Young Learners.” Northwestern 

Center for Talent Development, 13 Apr. 2017, 

rs.

Pearce, Sheldon. “The Resurrection of Tokyopop, America's Most Influential Manga Company.” 

VICE, 27 Dec. 2015, 

uential-manga-publishing-company-111. 

The Comic Archive, director. YouTube, YouTube, 25 Feb. 2015,

Tynion, James. “19: The Department of Final Order Cut-Offs.” 19: The Department of Final 

Order Cut-Offs, The Empire of the Tiny Onion, 7 Sept. 2020, 






 
 
 

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