Digital Horizons: Libraries, Vertigo, Marvel, IDW, and the New York Times

Apparently there was a panel at the New York Comic Con about digital comics and libraries. I want to know why I wasn't invited. C'mon, I have a blog about digital comics and a master of library science degree. Who better to lead that discussion? I'm offended and will henceforth boycott the New York Comic Con (not that I've ever gone before). Also, the article mentions Comixology as a digital comic provider that serves the library market. I haven't heard of this before and I wonder what kind of content they provide libraries--i.e. do libraries purchase single issues for their patrons to check out, or is there some kind of licensed package deal? Sadly, I don't see my local public library buying digital comics any time soon, as when I worked at the library five years ago trying to get them to embrace comic books as literature worth having in their collection was like trying to pull teeth. I can't imagine adding the digital aspect will make the art form seem any less ephemeral to them.

In the past couple of weeks both Marvel and IDW have announced deals with Comixology to release more of their digital content. My feelings about this news reflect my ongoing love/hate relationship with Comixology. On the one hand, I'm happy to know that when I get around to writing a Digiversity post here I'll have more options to choose from. On the other hand, I'm concerned by the prospect of Comixology's status as the primary source of digital comics being cemented even further. As I've said before, competition is necessary for the medium to grow, and I fear that if Comixology is the de facto monopoly when it comes to digital comics, they won't be forced to make improvements (and drop prices) in order to win customers.

Somehow I missed this in all the comics news that I read regularly, but Macworld notes that DC announced at the New York Comic Con that Vertigo titles will slowly be folded into the day-and-date digital release program. I've never gotten into any of the Vertigo titles I've tried out, but nonetheless I think it's cool. As with Marvel and IDW, more fodder for those future Digiversity posts.

The New York Times has an article about Barnes and Noble's boycott of DC titles in response to the Kindle Fire exclusive deal. This isn't really news anymore--I blogged about it two weeks ago--but I just think it's cool to see an article about my pet hobby in the New York Times. Kind of like seeing your ex-wife on Jeopardy. (Which, incidentally, also happened to me this past week.)

Comixology Win: Reading My Blog

It has become clear to me that the people at Comixology* are reading my blog. Last Tuesday I posted about how lame it is that they digitally published the first ten parts of "Grounded" but not the rest, and that the same with the Booster Gold tie-ins to Flashpoint. I also mentioned that it's nice that they've been consistently releasing one issue of Gotham City Sirens every week for several months now. So guess what happened yesterday? The rest of "Grounded" was released, and Booster Gold too. And, for the first time in quite a while, there was no issue of Gotham City Sirens.

So... If I complain about something, they will fix it, and if I praise them for something, they will stop doing it.

So... Isn't it totally lame that Comixology has four issues of the Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle run on Batman but not the whole run? It's absolutely ridiculous that they haven't digitized every single issue of Batman and Detective ever written by Grant and/or illustrated by Breyfogle. Gah! Get a life, Comixology.

And also... Isn't it awesome how new comics cost a full three bucks? Way to go, Comixology, keep it up!



...And now I will wait...



*It should be noted that when I say "Comixology**" I mean whoever it is that makes decisions about what shows up in Comixology's digital store. In the case of DC comics, it's most likely someone at DC's digital department, but those finer distinctions are beyond me.

**It might also be noted that the correct form is actually comiXology, but I've been doing it wrong since my first post and I'm not about to change now.

Comixology Fail #3: Organization

Disclaimer the first: I have never used any of Comixology's mobile applications, only their web application. So my complaints are purely based on that limited experience. If their mobile applications are far superior to the web application, though, then consider that another fail. I'm sure I'm not their only customer who reads primarily on my laptop, so they need to put as much energy into making the PC customer's experience great as they presumably do the iPad customer's.

Disclaimer the second: I am about to talk about what I don't like about the organization options (hint: there aren't any) in the My Comics section of Comixology's web application, but there are in fact many things I do like. I like the visual display, for example, with a cover and logo for each series. I like that a little icon tells me how many issues in each series I own. I like that they recently stopped (for the most part) referring to series by volume number (e.g. Aquaman, Volume 13) and started referring to them by date range (e.g. Aquaman (2008-2009)). The date range is more meaningful than a volume number, especially now that DC has started all their series over with a new volume (I imagine this was the impetus for the change--Aquaman, Volume 14, is much less appealing to new readers than Aquaman (2011- )).

Now that we got all that positive crap out of the way, let's get to the purpose of all blogging, the rant: I hate hate hate that I have no control over how my comics are organized in my digital comics library. It's nice that the series are sorted by title, but what if I want to sort by date? By writer or artist? By character? By publisher, at the very least? I can't do any of this. I'd also like a way to link storylines that cross over from one series to another--the crossover is, after all, a staple of comics.

And why not playlists? I want to be able to group together pre-Flashpoint comics and post-Flashpoint comics. I want to be able to make a list of my favorites. I want to be able to group comics I'm reading just for fun and others I'm reading to review later and others I'm reading to expand my horizons. In short, I want to choose how my comics are organized, and Comixology doesn't let me do that.

But really what I want is to figure out why on earth Green Lantern: Mosaic #1, the first issue in a 1992 series featuring John Stewart, is listed as part of the "series" Parallax: Emerald Night, which is in reality a one-shot from 1996 featuring the death of Hal Jordan. Really?

Waiting for War -OR- How I Failed to Beat the System

Right about the time I started getting interested in digital comics this past spring, I noticed that new issues of all three Green Lantern series were being published digitally pretty regularly, about a month after print. These were series that I'd been trade-waiting anyway, so it made sense to switch to digital with them. Except I'd already pre-ordered the next Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps trades, so I needed to wait until those came out before I could start buying the subsequent issues digitally. While I waited, I started buying Emerald Warriors digitally since I hadn't pre-ordered any trades for that series yet. Then my Corps trade arrived in the mail, and I caught up with all the following Corps issues digitally, so that I was up to the "War of the Green Lanterns" prelude issues in both Corps and Emerald Warriors. I expected the Green Lantern: Brightest Day trade to arrive in June, which was also when the Green Lantern film would be in theaters, so I was kind of hoping there would be a half-off sale where I could get all the "War of the Green Lanterns" issues for a buck each.

So I waited.

The week the film was released Comixology did have a half-off "Green Lantern 101" sale, but it didn't include any issues as recent as the "War" storyline. My trade of Green Lantern: Brightest Day arrived, so now I was caught up to where I could start reading "War." But what if I bought all eleven or twelve issues of the storyline for two bucks a piece, only to find a week later that Comixology had a "War of the Green Lanterns" sale, just like they had a "Blackest Night" sale last year? I'd have wasted twelve bucks. I can't do that!

So I waited some more.

Then I started thinking maybe they were waiting until the War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath issues had been released, so they could include those in the big sale.

So I waited.

But those have now been in print for a while, and have yet to show up on Comixology, let alone be included in any such sale. And then I thought, maybe they'll put the "War of the Green Lanterns" storyline on sale right before the New 52's Green Lantern 1 comes out, you know, so readers can get caught up on the most recent history.

And so I waited.

But now the weekend before Green Lantern 1's release has come and gone, and instead of a "War of the Green Lanterns" sale, they had yet another "Batman 101" sale. Sigh.

So what do I do now? Obviously I have to read "War of the Green Lanterns" before I read Green Lantern 1. But I just know that the week I finally break down and buy the issues at two bucks a piece, they'll go on sale that weekend for half-price. Not to mention the fact that the Aftermath issues are still unavailable digitally, so I wouldn't be completely caught up anyway. So you know what? I'm going to boycott Green Lantern (and Corps and New Guardians) until Comixology has a "War of the Green Lanterns" sale. The hardcover collection goes on sale in November, and if I recall correctly, they had the "Blackest Night" digital sale around the time the collections came out. By then the New 52 debuts will be over a month old and so I'll save a few more dollars.

And so I will wait.

You will see, Comixology, I can be more stubborn than you. I will win this war.

Digital Horizons: Digital Comics Everywhere!

In digital comics news this week:

• Comixology came in at #2 of the week's top-grossing iPad apps, which I guess is pretty cool. Sounds like the Marvel and DC apps did pretty well too. 
• CBR spoke with Archie CEO Jon Goldwater about digital comics and he was all like, "Yeah, we were doing same-day digital before it was cool." Okay, not really, but that's what I would have said if I were him.
• CBR also spoke with Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson and he was like, "We do digital comics too!" 
• Bluewater Comics is taking advantage of the timeliness digital publishing allows by publishing a digital comic about Muammar Gaddafi. Seems like a good way to make the most of the medium, if you ask me (and by reading this blog you have implicitly asked me).
• Richard Rys at the Philly Post says digital comics just aren't the same as feeling a paper comic between your fingers, and that the internet just isn't the same as a comic book shop. Meh. I went to library school with a lot of people who made more or less the same sentimental arguments against digital books. I wasn't convinced then and I'm still not convinced now. Technology changes. You get used to it. I like my Kindle, I like my Comixology.
• At first I thought this Blog@Newsarama post was going to be about artists doing page layouts with the iPad in mind, but it turns out that it's about Warren Ellis saying basically what I said in my review of Knight and Squire: Digital comics work best when comics are written with the single issue in mind, not the eventual trade collection. When I pay two or three (or four!) bucks to download a comic, I want to feel like I've gotten a complete experience, even if it's part of a greater whole. 
• This week IDW released a bunch of digital comics in Apple's iBooks store, which I guess is a pretty big deal. I figure the more venues digital comics are available in and the greater variety of digital comics available, the better--it's always good to have options. 

Comixology Fail #1: "Ownership"

Don't get me wrong, I think Comixology is doing a lot of things right. But they're also doing a lot of things wrong. How do they fail? Let me count the ways:

1. You don't really own anything you buy on Comixology. Every comic you buy lives on their server and only on their server. You can't download it and transfer it to your non-wifi-enabled iPod. You can't read it when your device is not connected to the internet. And worst of all--because this is something entirely outside the customer's control--you can't read your comics when Comixology's server is down. This afternoon I paid for six comics but I didn't have time to read them until tonight. And now I cannot get onto Comixology's web app--not via the link on their homepage, not via DCComics.com, not via Comics Dungeon, where I bought the comics this afternoon. When customers cannot access the content they paid money for, that is a major business fail. This needs to be fixed. I get that they're worried about piracy, but (a) they could still discourage piracy by using some kind of DRM-protected (but downloadable) file that only works in a Comixology desktop app, and (b) piracy happens anyway. The pretty pictures I post on this blog? They're all taken from screenshots from Comixology's web app. If I were so inclined, I could screenshot an entire comic and save it as a jpeg or pdf. I'm not so inclined--I stick to fair use when taking screenshots for the purpose of reviews--but the point is that not allowing customers to download the comics they buy serves no purpose.

So stop it, Comixology. NOW.

(Enumerated list of Comixology Fails to be continued in future posts...)

EDIT: So I guess you actually do download your comics on the iPod/iPad app, but there isn't any kind of PC desktop app, so everything I say above applies only to people like me who read their comics on a PC. I'm still annoyed. Why don't you have a PC desktop app where I can download and keep my comics, Comixology?

Digital Horizons: Marvel Claims Digital Supremacy, Digital Storefronts Go Live

Last weekend Joe Quesada made the claim that Marvel is the #1 digital publisher. This week Graeme McMillan, who is quickly becoming my favorite Blog@Newsarama contributor (with all due respect to his fellow contributors, who also write great stuff), asked (a) what does that mean? and (b) how on earth would Joe Quesada know that?

#

This week Comixology's Digital Storefront program went live. Apparently, some retailers are not happy about the terms of the program. For example:

...you give up your right to sue or form class action lawsuits; comiXology has the right to use your service marks to promote their digital service; you're obligated to promote the service in-store to existing customers; there are some circumstances where you don't receive even a single penny until you sell well over 600 comics, and so on and so forth...

I'm kind of bummed about this. As I mentioned the other day, I feel somewhat ambivalent about being one of those people who are giving up print comics in favor of digital, thus screwing over the direct market. I understand that the direct market is important for the survival of the comics industry as we know it. At the same time, I and every other consumer have to make decisions that make the most sense for us--comic shops are not charities we should be guilted into donating to. Digital is what makes sense for me right now, but I was  hoping the Digital Storefront program would give me a way to do what's best for me while still supporting businesses that I value.

I don't know anything about how the program works except for what I've quoted from Brian Hibbs above, but based on what I can observe, this is what I think needs to happen:

• Retailers need to be able to customize the display, just as they arrange the comics they display in their shops. Right now, what I see is basically Comixology's web app framed on the retailer's website.
• Retailers need to be able to offer subscriber discounts, and they need to be making enough of a profit that they can afford to do this. Right now pricing appears to be determined by Comixology, which means I have no incentive to buy from Comics Dungeon instead of buying directly from Comixology, except that I think they're good people and I want to help keep them in business. Altruism only goes so far in a capitalistic economy.
• Apart from alternative pricing, retailers need to be able to offer something Comixology doesn't. Like, I dunno, signed copies or region-specific variants? Again, consumers need incentives to buy from the retailers. 

The problem, as Hibbs points out, is that Comixology wants to be a retailer (actually, the retailer), not a distributor (not even the distributor). And Comixology doesn't have incentive to do otherwise, so as Hibbs says, the problem lies at DC's feet. Or mine, I suppose, as the consumer. I'm not sure what I can do, though, other than support the Digital Storefront program (such as it is) as my way of saying that yes, I want digital comics, but I want to get them without screwing over the direct market. Even if the program doesn't support the direct market as well as it should, it's currently the only option I have if those are my goals as a consumer. 

The other thing I can do, as with other issues I have with Comixology, is wait it out. Yes, they are very quickly becoming the iTunes of comics, but before long Amazon will come along and start offering DRM-free digital comics (i.e. digital comics I can actually download and own) at the same price, and Comixology will be forced to try new things in order to compete. Hopefully one of the ways they compete will be by teaming up with retailers in a more equitable fashion. 

If only everything I wished for on this blog came true...

Diving Into Digital Part 3: Why Digital?

In order to understand why I'm going digital, you have to understand first that I am a very practical person. A practical person who, as a thirty-one-year-old professional and father of three, still reads superhero comics religiously, but practical nonetheless. Every decision I make, whether it involves marriage and children or simply getting breakfast items from the fridge to the dining room table in as few trips as possible, is made after analyzing all alternatives and their possible outcomes. At work, I'm praised for my efficiency. So when it comes to buying comics, my goal has always been to maximize enjoyment while reducing cost.

When I was a kid, I took a half-hour bus ride to Gecko Comics in Kaimuki every week because they gave me a better discount than Jelly's Comics, which was just down the street. The better discount meant I could buy more comics with my limited budget (a very small monthly allowance plus paper route earnings). When I was in college I discovered G-Mart, a really great online store that offers 35% discounts on DC advance orders and free shipping on orders of $85 or more. Depending on my budget, $85 usually meant a month or two of comics for me, so I got my comics shipped every other month or so, the most recent comics just a week and a half after their release date. I also discovered during this time that I didn't really want to move nine long boxes with me every time I relocated, which was pretty often, so I started downsizing my collection. I sold comics on eBay and replaced them when I could with more durable and re-readable trade paperbacks. Then I decided it was silly to buy comics, read them once, and sell them for less money, only to spend the money again on trade paperbacks. Why not just wait for the trade in the first place?

I've tried waiting for the trade for the past six or seven years now, with varying degrees of success. The problem is that the practical adult in me is constantly at war with the eager fanboy who wants to read that latest issue of Teen Titans right now! So while I was in grad school in Seattle, I checked out the local comic shops (there are several) and found Comics Dungeon, which offered enough of a subscribers' discount to appease the miser in me. Then I moved to Davis, California, and was equally happy with Drom's Comics. I enjoyed making the trip to the comic shop every week, chatting with the owner, and knowing that I was as up-to-date on the happenings of the DC Universe as my inner fanboy needed to be.

Who returns from the dead in this issue? I'll have to wait a month to find out if I don't buy it now. Oh, who am I kidding? I read the spoiler online the day before it was released.

Then I moved to Orem, Utah, where we have some decent comic shops around, but nothing like Comics Dungeon or Drom's. And worst of all, no subscriber's discount. I just couldn't justify spending three bucks for a comic book (this will be ironic in just a minute). So I went back to G-Mart, ordering floppies of the most important series I couldn't trade-wait for, and trades for all the rest. So now instead of living between Wednesdays, I live between the random day every month or two when my G-Mart order has accumulated to $85 and a shipment of comics arrive. (Please note that G-Mart does offer other, faster shipping options to people less practical-minded than I, but those options cost money and we've established that that's a bad thing, right?)

Then along comes Comixology. As I mentioned in Part 1, I've been checking out digital comics for a few months now. I realized at one point that in most cases it's cheaper to buy individual back issues at $1.99 a piece than to buy the equivalent trade collection, even with G-Mart's advance order discount, so I've been buying series that I otherwise would have trade-waited for, like Green Lantern and Gotham City Sirens. And I've decided I kind of like getting my comics this way. Generally I've been able to get comics earlier than the trade release, and a little cheaper, and I still get to keep them forever without the hassle of long boxes. (Never mind the fact that you don't actually own comics that live on Comixology's servers; that's a post for another day.)

So I was already digging digital when DC announced the New 52 would be available digitally the same day as print. This seemed like a good time to make the full plunge into digital. I have all the benefits mentioned above, plus I get to read comics on the day they're released, without having to go anywhere (as I've mentioned before, I work from home; the longer I do so, the more of a recluse I become, and going places is such a hassle). But then there's the price issue. Mems how spending three bucks for a comic is ridiculous? How about spending three bucks for a comic I don't really own? But the fanboy really really wants to read new comics now. And Mr. Practical really doesn't want more long boxes. And the lazy part of me is kind of tired of buying comics, reading them, then scanning the covers and listing them on eBay so that I can then replace them with trades.

So I made a compromise: The few comics I'm really excited for, the ones I have to read the day they're released, I'll pay full price for. The rest I'll read a month later, when the price drops a dollar to the same price I would have paid by pre-ordering through G-Mart. We'll see how long this appeases both sides of me.

[Aside to G-Mart and the other comic shops I've linked to above: As soon as you decide to participate in Comixology's Digital Storefront program, I will totally buy my digital comics through you. I'd just as soon give part of my money to you as give it all to Comixology and DC.]

Reading over this post now, I don't believe I've convinced anyone that I'm a practical person. Hopefully, though, I've convinced you to at least read the coming conclusion to my blog intro, Diving Into Digital Part 4...

Diving Into Digital Part 2: Size Matters

I read my digital comics on the 17.3" screen of my HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. I had to buy a new computer for work recently (I work from home for a virtual company) and I specifically looked for a large screen laptop with comics in mind. Until then, I'd been reading either on a desktop, which had a large enough screen, but who wants to read comics while sitting at a desk?, or on a 15.6" laptop. I found the 15.6" screen just a little too small. Viewing an entire two-page spread, I could make out most of the print, but I had to squint in some cases and in other cases it was just plain impossible. You can zoom in on any part of the page, but then moving around the page is cumbersome--with so much clicking and dragging, I can't just enjoy the comic.  

I experimented with Comixology's Guided View, which shows the panel one by one so that they can be displayed larger, but I found it too constraining: I felt claustrophobic, like I was trapped in this little box and I knew something was happening outside, but I wasn't sure what. Guided View zooms in and out of panels and pans across the page as it goes from one panel to the next, but you rarely get to see the entire page as a whole, unless you exit out of Guided View. This would be fine with comics that were created to be read in Comixology's Guided View, but so long as comics are created to be printed on paper, Guided View simply doesn't capture the full experience. Part of comic book art is the page layout--you couldn't shift panels around on the page and have the same work of art.

To see what I'm talking about, take a look at this two-page spread from Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1, by Adam Schlagman and Ben Oliver:

These two pages are meant to be seen side by side, so you get that zig-zag effect. Each panel tells part of the story, but together they tell a larger story--not just sequentially, but also simultaneously. Here's the same page as seen in Guided View:

You get an idea of the overall motif, but just barely.

So I decided I needed a big screen. This ruled out that iPad I'd been coveting but couldn't really afford anyway. (Yes, the laptop cost more than an iPad would have, but I needed the laptop for work, remember? Plus, my employer paid for the laptop. [And if you're reading, dear employer, rest assured that I do use the laptop for work nine hours a day. You aren't paying me to read comics. (But if you ever want to, just let me know.)])

The 17.3" screen works well. It gives me 8.5 inches of height, compared to the average 10" comic book spine, which means I'm seeing comics at 85% of their natural size. Definitely readable, no squinting necessary. At 6.72 pounds, the laptop is a little heavier than the average comic. Okay, a lot heavier. I won't be reading digital comics in the bathtub. And laptops do get hot when you actually have them atop your lap for an extended period of time, but a lapdesk solves that problem, and alleviates the weight with a little cushioning. I bought the LapGear Deluxe Computer Lapdesk on Amazon for twenty-five bucks, and it does the trick. I can now comfortably read comics sitting on the couch, lying in bed, or, most likely, slouching in such a way that will have me looking like Harold Allnut by the time I'm forty. (Who knew his last name was Allnut? Wikipedia is awesome.)

Still, I'll be the first to admit that reading comics on my laptop is not quite as natural-feeling as reading comics on paper. I think my ideal would be an iPad with a 20" screen. Until Apple makes one of those for me, though, I'm willing to make the compromise. Why? We'll get there in Part 3.