Welcome to Ink & Imagination, brought to you by Those Two Geeks.

In the early 1990s, comics weren’t just stories, they were investments. Collectors, speculators, and even casual fans flooded comic shops, convinced that every #1 issue or shiny foil cover would be the next Action Comics #1. Publishers like Marvel, DC, and the newly formed Image Comics were happy to feed the frenzy; releasing endless variant covers, holographic editions, and “limited” collector’s runs printed by the millions.

For a brief, chaotic moment, the industry boomed. Comic shops opened on every corner, and first issues sold in the millions. But it was a bubble waiting to burst.

Music by Nicholas Panek from Pixabay

Ink & Imagination 006: Boom, Bust, and Bagged in Plastic: The Comic Book Speculator Crash of the 1990s

March 26, 2008, the launch of Graphic Policy. Born out of an interest in doing some more creative writing than what was allowed at work, the site began as a look at comic books, especially of those with political themes. Most importantly, the site was founded on three ideas:

    Transparency – the site would disclose all conflicting relationships, and most importantly disclose when materials were provided to the site for free from publishers, studios, etc., so that you the readers could make an informed decision.
    Open – the site is open to anyone to contribute. We want to provide a safe place for people to add their voice to the comics community and a platform to do so.
    Progressive – this site prides itself on being progressive. Both when it comes to inclusion of individuals (see #2), but also ideas, not just here but in the industry as a whole. We don’t tolerate harassment, bigotry, shaming, or bullying of any sort, as we feel the safer individuals feel to express their ideas, and the greater the diversity of those doing so, the better the industry is.

The site has morphed over the years from its “political roots,” to generally covering the comic industry with previews, reviews, interviews, and general convention coverage. It then morphed again digging into industry demographics, and becoming the leader for that information. In August 2011, the website went to the airwaves to launch Graphic Policy Radio which has aired ever since and then a second podcast Those Two Geeks among numerous other specialty podcasts. The site has evolved into what you see today to cover not just comics, but also movies, television, games, fashion, and technology, while keeping its “geek” roots.

Ink & Imagination 006: Boom, Bust, and Bagged in Plastic: The Comic Book Speculator Crash of the 1990s

GraphicPolicy