iComics Anyone?

[PatrickG]

Personally, I think they ought to expand distribution on Johnny DC titles. Maybe as iTunes PDFs for parents to print out and give their kids, with an ad campaign behind it? Nobody's gonna pirate Scooby Doo or Krypto the way they'd pirate 52. Going through iTunes provides some DRM and may limit sharing ability to printers on an authorized computer.

Hm. That actually has me thinking. I don't think the pirate .cbr viewing tools would catch on with big publishers. The downloadable comics I've seen have some issues.

It would really only take a bit of coding to create an iTunes for comics and a file format with the DRM that big publishers would want on their files.

I could probably do it in three to seven (nonconsecutive) days of work and have something pretty snazzy.

You still out there, Mac? Shelly? Tom?

Does this seem like a good idea?

There are web services that provide legal comic downloads or hosting but nothing really iTunes like. An all-in-one store and viewer. Maybe with some effect plugins like a music player that will play music while you're reading (that you can associate music with certain titles with -- or perhaps an experimental "smart" feature like iTunes visualizer that does dynamic music based on page art), some effects that govern what the reading experience is like, etc...? And a sharing ability ala iTunes network sharing? (Except in this case, you might get five page previews of comics owned by anyone on your friends list?)

Wow. This is sounding more complicated...

I think this is something we could get some indies onboard with. Then get backing from or sell the tech to a larger software developer and get the big two onboard with, maybe at least for archived material at first.

But I think having a demonstration sample would be a HUGE first step, even without many features necessarily in place.

[Matt Doc Martin]

Like eBooks, it just isn't the same not holding it in your hands.

Plus, I have all these longboxes....

[PatrickG]

Like eBooks, it just isn't the same not holding it in your hands.

Plus, I have all these longboxes....

Yeah. I'm inclined to agree, in general.

But maybe for comics that don't do well in the Direct Market but which still have a relatively high standard of quality. That's kindof where my meandering train of thought got started.

[sk716]

Personally, I think they ought to expand distribution on Johnny DC titles. Maybe as iTunes PDFs for parents to print out and give their kids, with an ad campaign behind it? Nobody's gonna pirate Scooby Doo or Krypto the way they'd pirate 52. Going through iTunes provides some DRM and may limit sharing ability to printers on an authorized computer.

Hm. That actually has me thinking. I don't think the pirate .cbr viewing tools would catch on with big publishers. The downloadable comics I've seen have some issues.

It would really only take a bit of coding to create an iTunes for comics and a file format with the DRM that big publishers would want on their files.

I could probably do it in three to seven (nonconsecutive) days of work and have something pretty snazzy.

You still out there, Mac? Shelly? Tom?

Does this seem like a good idea?

There are web services that provide legal comic downloads or hosting but nothing really iTunes like. An all-in-one store and viewer. Maybe with some effect plugins like a music player that will play music while you're reading (that you can associate music with certain titles with -- or perhaps an experimental "smart" feature like iTunes visualizer that does dynamic music based on page art), some effects that govern what the reading experience is like, etc...? And a sharing ability ala iTunes network sharing? (Except in this case, you might get five page previews of comics owned by anyone on your friends list?)

Wow. This is sounding more complicated...

I think this is something we could get some indies onboard with. Then get backing from or sell the tech to a larger software developer and get the big two onboard with, maybe at least for archived material at first.

But I think having a demonstration sample would be a HUGE first step, even without many features necessarily in place.

Well, yes and no.

Most comic fans are going to say that they would rather be holding the comic book.

But there are a lot of comic readers out there that don't have regular access to a comic shop.

And I doubt it would require much coding at all, I'm sure with a five minute search I could turn up a canned Open Source code.

But me personally, I'm not a big fan of iTunes. I don't want to use iTunes to listen to my music. I want to get the song I want and get the hell away from there as quickly as possible. The organization of iTunes leaves a lot to be desired for me, as well. Browsing is pretty much out of the question.

If I'm going to get digital comics, I want to go to a site, click add to cart on the titles I want, pay out, and get my download. I don't want bells and whistles, I want speed and ease of use.

[Crowley]

*COUGH*COUGH*
http://www.pullboxonline.com/

[Matt Doc Martin]

Comics in .cbr format are available for free and they don't even interest me.

Pay for digital comics?

Nope.

[TomStillwell]

I've had digital comics on my site for months and the print versions way out sell them. I've actually sold very few digital downloads.

[Crowley]

I think digital comics and newspapers will take off once a "epaper" is developed.

Its going to have to be something portable with a matte surface and really easy to use... possibly the iPhone "touch and scroll" screen technology.

[Charles RB]

I'm going to have to agree on prefering new comics in my hand rather than on my desktop. I can take them to the loo for a start.

Now if you're offering old, out-of-print comics for sale online - the black-and-white Captain Britain/Black Knight team-up strips against grand demonic foes, Zenith, Don McGregor's Black Panther stuff, the full Misty - then I'd sign up like a shot. Gimme gimme gimme!

[PatrickG]

I'm going to have to agree on prefering new comics in my hand rather than on my desktop. I can take them to the loo for a start.

Now if you're offering old, out-of-print comics for sale online - the black-and-white Captain Britain/Black Knight team-up strips against grand demonic foes, Zenith, Don McGregor's Black Panther stuff, the full Misty - then I'd sign up like a shot. Gimme gimme gimme!

This is part of what I'm thinking.

Classics. Rarities. Comics that under-perform in the comic shop.

I think we're a good decade off from having a base that would get their monthly fix online.

But you might get the Barnes & Noble crowd, people who live too far from a comic shop, parents and you get that extra word of mouth you need by offering otherwise inaccessible comics or rarities for existing fans.

Imagine if you could get DC and/or Marvel onboard (the latter seems more likely) with hard to find material at cover price. There might be caveats there (ie. purchasing store credit in minimums of $5 or something).

You might also come to an easier arrangement on SOME material than a traditional print publisher would if the printing rights are in dispute but perhaps the digital/media/distribution rights to a work have a clear owner. Maybe something like Miracleman?

[Reverend Smooth]

I download manga before american publishers get the rights. I just buy the print versions when they come out here (or import from legit overseas publishers) and read the digital stuff when I'm disinclined to be allergic to real ink. (Since I am unfortunately allergic to the fumes from newly-printed books for a few months.)

I think that as a supplement to printed stuff, or as, say, maybe a monthly payment to access archives of older material (like some manuscript museums and researh institutions do), it might be useful.

[Gilda Dent]

I doubt we'll see digital comics that are really practical until hand-held display technology reaches a point with true ease of portability for relatively large displays of high resolution images.

Basically, a light, portable tablet that can display images at a high resolution and with good brightness and contrast.

Think TNG tablets. We're probably only a decade or a bit out on something like that, but whether it'll come from laptops getting more portable or PDAs getting more versatile I'm not sure.

Wouldn't that rock, though, a light, high resolution, durable tablet with an 8 x 10 display and high storage capacity?

Oh, wait, I'm a technophobe. Ignore the above.

[stealthwise]

As a new parent, I would want my daughter to spend LESS time with digital media, as the tv, video games, and computer will all spend time vying for her attention. I'd like her to just be able to read something that I can pick up and hold in my hands, and that won't be able to link or lead to anything else.