Comics Archive

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Marvel’s Push Into Digital Comics

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on May 31, 2012Posted in: Comics, Technology

Rob Salkowitz for Fast Company:

Augmented reality might be the most overblown trend on the digital radar right now, and that’s saying a lot. Do we really need to wave our smartphones and tablets over every object in the physical world to find some gimmicky Easter egg or unlock some cheesy video clip? Does it add anything to the story to strip a page down to its pencils or see Iron Man come flying off the page onto the screen of your iPad? How soon till that gets old, even for a teenage male? Five times? Ten?

Bingo. I’ve been reading “Avengers vs X-Men” with the Marvel AR app and it gets old pretty fast. There’s only about 4-5 times you can use the AR functionality and even then, about 80% of the “content” is just panels stripped to pencils. Yes, it’s hard work producing a comic, but *yawn*.

It is nice that Marvel is thinking of ways to add value to their content, but AR is probably a novelty at best, especially considering that you have to hold your phone over the comic, which is kinda like attending a live concert and watching it through your phone camera. How about we work on making a Spotify equivalent for comics, first? Now, that would be something truly valuable.

Marvel Announces Big Digital Comics Push, But Will It Fly? | Fast Company.

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Working At Marvel Is Apparently Shitty

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on May 14, 2012Posted in: Comics

From The Beat:

It gets downright messy. Marvel’s new offices have only one restroom for each gender. In a company of hundreds of people. The post-lunch hour piddle line is said to be especially long and people actually stagger their lunches so as not to wait in it. There’s a human resources staff of one for the whole company. Review copies? You’ve got to be kidding. Editors have to purchase copies of the books they worked on.

God, that’s depressing to read. It’s just sad to see a place called the “House of Ideas” to be such morale deflating misery factory. Makes one wonder how many great ideas are being stifled by penny pinching.

Warren Ellis had a great tweet about this last week given the success of “The Avengers” movie:

via Marvel layoffs: The cheapskate is coming from inside the House of Ideas!  | The Beat.

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Joss Whedon Thanks His Fans

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on May 10, 2012Posted in: Comics, Movies

I can think of few other directors today who engender a similar amount of fan passion that Mr. Whedon does. The fact that he took the time to write a sincerely grateful, yet humorously self-deprecating post to his biggest fans after the biggest domestic movie opening weekend of all time speaks volumes to why he’s so beloved.

Joss Whedon interviewing himself:

RDA: What do you feel is the greatest achievement of “the Avoiders”?

JW: Getting “mewling quim” out there to the masses. Also, Hulk.

For the record, I had to look up what “mewling quim” means and when I did I could do nothing but smile and give Joss a mental high five.

Well played, sir. Well played.

via Whedonesque.com.

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Marvel’s Free Digital Copy Bundle With Physical Comics

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on March 9, 2012Posted in: Comics, Technology

David Gabriel, Marvel SVP of Sales:

We’ve seen a tremendous response to the digital codes in Avenging Spider-Man, our Season One graphic novels and the Ultimate Comics line. The positive reactions from both retailers and fans make it clear that including these codes with our books drives customers into comic stores on a repeated basis.

Awesome move on Marvel’s part. With every $3.99 physical comic purchase, you get a digital version via the Marvel Comics App on Android or iOS. Leave it to a comics company to pave the way for a languishing publishing industry.

via Comic Book Resources.

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The First Seven Pages Of Avengers Vs. X-Men

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 12, 2012Posted in: Comics

It sounds like something that should get comics fans wet with excitement, but Marvel’s upcoming super event, “Avengers Vs. X-men,” rubs me the wrong way from the get go. Maybe it’s because I’m not a kid anymore and not “in the demo” for superhero comics, but the thought of reading the comic book equivalent of mashing two action figures together to “fight” doesn’t sound too appealing to me.

The whole story just feels to me like a shameless pandering project set to capitalize on the upcoming release of The Avengers movie in May. Reading the first seven pages of the first issue didn’t change that viewpoint.

Read the preview of ‘Avengers Vs. X-Men on Comics Alliance

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Gotham City Imposters

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 10, 2012Posted in: Comics, Video Games

Earlier this week, I wrote down some impressions from playing the Gotham City Imposters open beta for ComicsAlliance (read them if you are so inclined). After playing a little bit of the final version, I haven’t changed my opinion much. I’m a little disappointed that there aren’t any other gametypes other than Fumigation, Psych Warfare, and Team Deathmatch. I was hoping for some other really creative gametypes to complement them, but perhaps Monolith decided to just focus on getting the three that they had right. All three are fun and substantial, so at least there aren’t “filler” gametypes that no one will ever play.

There’s a couple of other differences that I noticed right off the bat. The first is the addition of many (I’m talking 100+) microtransaction pieces. They’re all vanity-related and don’t affect gameplay, but there’s a few pieces of flair that are only obtainable via extra purchases. This may or may not annoy you, but I personally don’t mind.

The other big difference is the addition of a single player challenge mode, which tasks players with moving around each of the 5 levels using the glider, grapple, and skates. You can earn up to three different medals on three tiers of challenges which also award you XP. It’s an elegant way of incorporating a “training” mode where players can learn how to maneuver around using the gadgets while also giving an incentive to spend time there rather than learning on the fly. I dig it.

At $15, I still think the game deserves a good, long look if you’re into team-based shooters with oodles of unlockables. It’s almost as robust as the multiplayer components for full retail games, but at a fraction of the cost.

Gotham City Impostors Beta Impressions on ComicsAlliance

Download Gotham City Imposters on Xbox Live (It’s also available on the Playstation Network for PS3 and Steam if you own a PC)

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Avengers vs. X-Men Digital Strategy

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 6, 2011Posted in: Comics

Brian Truitt, USA Today:

Each of the 12 Avengers vs. X-Men issues will be available in comics shops and digitally on the same day beginning in April, with each print issue including a free copy for download on the Marvel app.

Perhaps it should be the other way around as well. Buy a digital version, get a coupon for a print one too. It’s easier to obtain a digital copy, especially for new or casual comics fans who may never have even thought about visiting a comics store. Give them a reason to go to the store and explore other books.

via Marvel event reaches ‘critical mass’ – USATODAY.com.

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The Avengers Theatrical Trailer

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on October 11, 2011Posted in: Comics, Movies

F. and Yes.

I see what they did there by setting the trailer to Nine Inch Nails’ “We’re In This Together.” (because they’re a team of super heroes.)

I’m a little disappointed that we don’t get a glimpse of Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill even though she isn’t a “name” actor like the rest of the star studded lineup, but what can you do. I’m also talking myself into ScarJo as Black Widow. Probably because she doesn’t speak at all in the trailer.  I don’t want to set expectations too high, but based on this trailer and Joss Whedon’s track record, I think we might all have good reason to geek out next May – comics fan or not.

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comiXology Announces Digital Storefront for Brick and Mortar Comic Shops – ComicsAlliance

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 1, 2011Posted in: Comics

The problem with this is that many comic shops don’t actually have a significant web presence, much less a full online retailing solution. These are the stores that stand the most to lose if the brick and mortar comics retailing apocalypse happens.

That being said, I’d be more than willing to support my local comic book store if they were a part of this initiative. There needs to be a way to combine both paper and digital comics sales in a sensible way for the consumer. I sure as hell ain’t going to pay a premium for a la carte digital comics.

“By having a ComiXology-powered store and reader integrated with our existing new and back-issue comics website, we will provide our customers with even more access to the comics they love while increasing their loyalty to us,” said Chris Powell, General Manager and CRO of myccomicshop.com. “Having seen comiXology’s Retailer Tools and Pull List services, we trust comiXology’s technology to help us thrive in a market where customers are interested in both print and digital comics. ComiXology will help us provide the one-stop shopping that customers are looking for. Digital comics can be a great tool for reaching out to new or lapsed customers, and retailers should not be afraid of this new format. Instead, they should look for ways to make the digital format complement their existing print business.”

Read more: comiXology Announces Digital Storefront for Brick and Mortar Comic Shops – ComicsAlliance | Comics culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews.

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Mark Millar’s Concern With Digital Comics

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on January 14, 2011Posted in: Comics

Some interesting points about selling digital comics:

1/ Apple take 30% right off the bat.
2/ In the case of Wanted, Comixology then splits 50/50 with the publisher.
3/ Then the publisher pays the agent and creative team out of the remaining cash depending on their deal.

Even if you don’t go through Apple, Comixology’s percentage looks to be pretty high as well. I’m not sure what printing and distribution costs are on paper comics, but I’d be surprised if they were as high as Apple and Comixology’s.

Mark Millar:

In hard numbers, the digital comic is normally half the price of the paper comic, but you have just as many percentages to pay out as a creative team to an electronic distributor and publisher. So effectively the creative team is getting half as much money. For creators, this isn’t great and for comic stores this is awful. I don’t mind paying thirty percent to a local store where my friends work and the guys care about the product. But do I want this money going to Apple?

Millar makes some great points about the finances situation, but let’s keep in mind that right now most of the comics sold digitally were released months and years ago. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most of the current digital comics sales are gravy on top for everyone involved.  Put another way, the paper comics have already had their sales run with or without the existence of digital comics.

The real issue comes with how to deal with day and date book releases. There’s still a sizable audience of potential comics readers that have no interest or ability to buy paper comics. How are these people going to be served without being cast aside?

As someone who likes owning the paper books, I still feel a hybrid paper/digital solution is what I would like the best. I want to own the best books for my personal library, while also enjoying the convenience of digital delivery for when I don’t have time to get out to the store.

However, shelling out the same cover price as a paper comic for a digital one just doesn’t sit well with me. Like in the music industry, consumers want all-you-can-eat subscriptions. There’s books that I would want to try out, but with comics being $3.99 or more these days, it’s too hard to justify buying many of them on a whim. We need to have a compromise between the readers, retailers, and creators that leaves everyone happy.

Read: MY BIG CONCERN WITH COMIC DOWNLOADS – Millarworld.tv Forums.

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