Sunday, September 25, 2011

Digital Horizons: Bringing the Mountain to Mohammed

A few examples this week of comic book publishers bringing the mountain to Mohammed, digitally:

Graphicly a new comic book app on Facebook, which I think is a pretty cool idea. As the linked article points out, people spend a lot of time on Facebook anyway.

This week DC announced two TV tie-series, Fringe and Burn Notice, each of which will be offered only in digital format. Another case of bringing the mountain to Mohammed, as the target audience for these books doesn't necessarily go to the comic book shop, but certainly spends time online (who doesn't?).

Finally, publisher SLG has announced that they will no longer print monthly titles but will release them digitally instead. Even more so than with big publishers like DC and Marvel, I see digital as the future of independent comics--these publishers can't depend on the comic shop crowd to keep them alive, so again it makes most sense for them to bring their comics to the web, where potential readers can find them more easily. It seems there's precedent for digital monthlies increasing the sales of graphic novels, too, so this strengthens the industry overall. Also, I like SLG's digital price point, $0.99, as that allows for more of the mountain to get to Mohammed, who's used to spending that much for music downloads so three bucks is kind of steep.

2 comments:

  1. .

    And here I thought you were going to tell me whether or not to read The 99.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, you should read it. (Not that I've read it, but it has buzz so it must be good, right?)

    ReplyDelete