Pumpkin spice products on shelves

For twenty-one years, from 2002 to 2022, the US comic book market and pumpkin spice products on shelves grew together at r = 0.9637. The theory that superhero fans are disproportionately attracted to seasonal spice blends has no supporting evidence and considerable cultural plausibility—both hobbies involve collecting things nobody needs, spending more than planned, and defending one's choices with unreasonable passion. The MCU and the PSL are the twin pillars of 21st-century American consumer culture, and the data confirms what the marketing departments already knew: the same person buys both.

The comic book and graphic novel market grew from roughly $300 million to over $2 billion between 2002 and 2022, driven by the MCU, manga adoption, and digital distribution through platforms like ComiXology. Pumpkin spice products expanded from one Starbucks latte to thousands of SKUs. Both are consumer culture growth stories across 21 years, driven by media franchise expansion and flavor trend proliferation, respectively.

Twenty-one years of cultural market growth in two consumer categories will produce a strong correlation. The comic book and the pumpkin spice latte share a consumer culture and an era, which is all the correlation needs.