Petter and then JB (reiterating his long-held view) are right on the money - if there is any valid answer to what went wrong within the comics industry since the dawn of the direct market.Then Keith Thomas handily sums up all of the "lesser arguments" made above JB's post. Fans succumbing to "all of the above", in my estimation, are mostly to "blame" for everything else.

I weaned myself off of the direct shops a few years ago and really only stop in occasionally for select items. I primarily focus on back issues (silver & bronze age). With eBay, mail order services, conventions and online scans, there are sufficient options available to enjoy newer comics.

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Seems unlikely. By shifting almost entirely into the DSM, the Companies made a decision to cut off that portion of the audience that did not have free and easy access to the shops. In other words, since the Shops were not like the newsstands, bookstores, corner groceries, drugstores, etc, that traditionally carried comics and were to be found in many and varied locations thru-out towns and cities, it became a fairly major undertaking to go to a Shop and buy comics (not to mention forcing potential new readers into having to make the conscious decision to do so, thereby almost completely eliminating the impulse buy that used to be how most people got started reading comics), so the regular clientelle became those who could make the trip easily and under their own steam. Which, in most cases, was not the original target audience, kids.

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Thats a bit like saying that amputating a gangrenous leg creates a problem by making it hard to walk. The CURRENT shape and state of the industry is a symptom, not the disease itself.

The Direct Market, definitely.  When it's not even your intent to appeal to hoardes of kids (because "they don't read comics"), then you can just publish vanity pieces...Ugh.

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In the broad view, probably not. The whole Industry is waiting for the impact of Marvel being bought by Disney to really show itself. Many -- including myself -- are of the opinion that the House of Mouse is likely to simply shut down the House of M. It's the properties/characters Disney wants, not a comic publishing company. If that happens -- Disney shutting down the publishing arm of Marvel -- the whole folded paper aspect of the industry should be effectively dead very soon after. DC and the smaller companies cannot support the DSM all by themselves.

First, I'm curious-- what is meant by nesstands? I've always assumed it meant any place other than a comic store that sells comics and not specifically newsstands found on the streets of major cities.

Is there any chance the newsstands didn't want comics? I remember comics being sold in 7-11 and Walmart as recently as the late 90s, after the "great implosion". An argument I've heard is that comics don't "pull their weight" for newsstand vendors as far as how much space they take up vs. how much money each unit is sold for.