SIX-FACET MODEL OF THE PRODUCTION NEXUS:

A Comics Industry Case Study

Culturetendstochangeslowlyovertime,butoccasionally,thereisastructural
changethatleadstorapidtransformationsinacertainaspectofculturalexpression.
Thisrapidchangefrequentlyincludessixfacetsthatworktogethertointandem,
whichincludes:
1) Technology
Itprovidesthetoolsforpeopletobeabletocommunicateandexpressthemselves.
Thischangeinselfexpressionoftenleadstothesubversionofcurrentcultural
aesthetics,andalsoopensupnewopportunitiesinartandculture.
Inthepast,thecomicindustryhavealwaysbeenprimarilyaprintbasedindustry,but
nowadays,comicsarelesslikelytolooklikedigitalcomicsarerapidlysurpassingthe
printformat,anditmakessense,becauseitismoreconvenientanddoesntrequire
physicalspace.Asaresult,thesalesofcomicsarerapidlyshiftingfromthematerial
tothedigital,andthishasincreasednumberofcomicsales.
2) LawandRegulation
Lawsandregulationslayoutthegroundrulesonhowthefieldsofartandculture
willdevelop.Itshapestheindustrybyregulatingwhatcanandcannotbeproduced.
Italsodeterminesandconstraintsthewaythepublicmaylegallyconsumeaproduct.
Comicsareprotectedasanintellectualpropertyundercopyrightlaw.Unfortunately,
withthedigitisationofcomics,duplicatinganddownloadingcomicsillegallyhas
becomemucheasierandmoreubiquitous.Theindustryhastriedtocurbthisby
tighteningthesecurityofthedigitalcomics,butthishasbeenlargelyunsuccessful.

3) IndustryStructure
Theindustryusuallyconsistsof:
Manysmallcompetingfirmsthatproducediverseproducts
Afewbigfirmsthatmassproduceafewsimilar,standardisedproducts
Asystemofdivisionsthattargetnichemarketsplusmanysmallspecialty
services
Theindustryusedtobemonopolisedbyjusttwomaincompanies,MarvelandDC.
However,withtheadventofdigitalcomics,smallercompaniessuchasImage
ComicsandDarkHorsehavestartedtocatchupbecauseofthelowerproduction
costsofdigitalcomics.Selfpublishingwebcomicsalsobecamemorefeasible,oneof
thembeingthepopularXKCDhumorstrip.Thesmallerandmorenichecomicsare
quickertoadapttotheaudiencesdemands,whilethelargeronesareconstrainedby
marketing&standardisation

4) OrganisationalStructure
Industriesareusuallyorganisedin3ways:
Bureaucratic;withacleardivisionoflabour
Entrepreneurial;withnohierarchies&divisionoflabour
Variegated;alargefirmwithaflexiblecombinationofboth
ThelargecompaniessuchasMarvelandDChaveabureaucraticorganisation,while
smaller,independentartistswouldworkinamoreentrepreneurialstructure.
5) OccupationalCareers
Sincecultureisproducedthroughcontinuouscollectiveactivity,eachculturalfield
developsitsowncareersystem.
Careersareshapedinto:
topdownsocietalforcescreatesapatternofpredictablecareers
bottomupcompetitiveenvironmentthatfostersinnovation,inwhich
entrepreneursstartfromthemarginsofexistingprofessions
Intermsofcomics,itusedtobethatonlytheartistshiredbythetopdowncomic
companieswereabletogettheirworkpublished.Now,digitalpublishingand
webcomicsisallowingforamorediverserangeofartistsfromthebottomupto
showcasetheirtalentsandtelltheirstories.Ithasallowedformorenichemarketsto
growbecauseoftheincreaseintalentavailable.
6) Market
Marketsareconstructedbyproducerstounderstandtheconsumertastebyobserving
andinteractingwitheachother.Oncethemarkethassolidified,theythentailortheir
actionaccordingtothosetastes.
Marketsfunctionsin2ways:
Asprismsitrefractsprestigebyprovidinglegitimacyandcredibility
Asconduitsitreplicatessimilarproductsacrossvariousdiversemarkets
Becauseofthestandardizationofthemainstreamcomics,itstagnatesandbecomes
predictable,andsomestorylinesarereusedoverandoveragain.Independentcomics
allowsformorecreativestorylines.Wealsogetmorestoriesthatrepresentamore
accurate,diversegroupofpeople.Thiscreatesamarketthatmorecloselyresembles
theactualdiversedemographicofcomicreaders.
WorksCited: