Comments on: Marvel Releases Iron Man Annual Online, In Print Same Day

By: Digital Copies Through Your Comic Retailer? Witchblade Experiments » Comics Worth Reading

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:51:14 +0000

[...] the buyer to download the same thing he just bought online through Wowio. So this adds a wrinkle to “day-and-date” simultaneous release — you can only get one if you shell out for the [...]

By: Tokyopop Releases Hetalia Digitally a Month Before Print » Manga Worth Reading

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:45:39 +0000

[...] been debate about the timing of digital releases, with superhero comic companies getting press for putting one or two of their publications online [...]

By: How Is Graphic.Ly Doing? How About Longbox? A Survey of Digital Comic Distributors » Comics Worth Reading

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:25:24 +0000

[...] For the basics planned for the app, you can read this interview with Rantz Hoseley, product creator, from last year. I think Longbox made what publishers see as a big mistake: first targeting Mac and PC desktops, when the hot digital comic market is handhelds, especially the iPad and iPhone. That’s because people on handhelds are willing to pay for content, while people on the web or desktops don’t. So publishers are eager to open up a potential revenue stream, although they won’t risk the old familiar sales outlets. [...]

By: Dirk Deppey

Dirk Deppey — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:38:16 +0000

Although given how little we pay, the confusion is understandable,

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:13:31 +0000

Greg, gracious, that was so long ago I’d forgetten. They do pay, and so did PiQ and Comicology and the various other defunct periodicals I contributed to. But I was referring to this site online, of course.

By: Bill Williams

Bill Williams — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:50:42 +0000

Crack dealers and Joe Konrath have proved the validity of the ‘first one is free’ approach.

I’ll be testing that with a free bundle of short stories later this year. The hope is that happy readers will buy the novel.

By: Greg McElhatton

Greg McElhatton — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:43:54 +0000

“But then, I give my writing away for free and have for the past 18 years.”

I’d always assumed that Comics Journal paid its writers. Another illusion shattered, I suppose.

By: William George

William George — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:54:04 +0000

Current state of the print market = Rising floodwaters.

Comic publishers = People rushing for higher ground.

Direct market = The 50 kg. lead weights they’ve tried around their neck.

By: Suzene

Suzene — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:03:22 +0000

And, really, I think I’d have to be a very isolated reader if it took me actually getting to a physical shop to hear about the price disparity. Information travels fast these days.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:48:39 +0000

Isn’t it ironic? Marvel’s goofy pricing strategy is safest if customers *aren’t* converted to buying print, when they’re telling retailers that that’s what they’re trying to do.

By: Suzene

Suzene — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:34:43 +0000

I sincerely hope this is just a bungled experiment. If I started buying comics digitally, then one day made my way to a shop to pick up the paper version for whatever reason and found that I’d been charged more for downloads than for the physical copy, I wouldn’t start buying print, I’d just feel ripped off.

By: James Schee

James Schee — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:18:19 +0000

Is there a reason they can’t have ads in digital comics? I use Hulu a lot and every 15 minutes there is a 45 second ad. In order to keep costs down I wouldn’t mind an ad every 5th page?

Right now charging more for digital seems kind of dumb to me anyway. Which I say as one of those pepople who’d like to shop digitally.

Of course I also think that a long term digital strategy is going to take a change in the entire format of comics. 22 pages formatted the exact way paper comics are will only go so far. (paging Scott Mccloud:))

By: Bill Williams

Bill Williams — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:20:40 +0000

One of the things that I did to combat that apathy was to give away over 1000 digital downloads on FCBD this year. It has helped increase the numbers on our sponsored downloads through WOWIO.

The spread of better .pdf readers is widening the customer base as well.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:22:01 +0000

Nick, that’s fascinating, but the award voters are a very limited paying audience and not at all what we’re talking about here.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:20:10 +0000

If Marvel works like DC, they don’t sell ad placements per title but across the line (so they have a higher impression count). So Marvel could make that up with ads on the website.

Bill, thank you, apathy is the word I was looking for.

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:12:05 +0000

"Of course, neither is DC’s unwillingness to do ANYTHING with online comics. Marvel at least is trying, with additional experiments mentioned as coming later to refine their approach." See, I find this statement amusing, given that for the 2010 Hugo Voters Packet, DC has made the entirety of their nominated works available (Fables and Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader), while Marvel only provided a *link* to a *sample* of their comic. In this case, at least, DC is trying a heck of a lot more than Marvel. I know, I know, I'm shocked too. In any case, this does mean it's slightly unfair to say DC isn't doing ANYTHING.

By: Bill Williams

Bill Williams — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:53:21 +0000

When you’re trying to crack the market and sell comics, your biggest problem is apathy. There are a few people that have been able to overcome that inertia, but they did it by building a cult-like following. That takes time which is sometimes better spent meeting deadlines.

By: Mark Cook

Mark Cook — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:41:55 +0000

Marvel’s costs might be lower online, but there isn’t any advertising in the online version either. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes for them though.