CBR: Marvel Dives Deeper Into Digital Distribution

[CBR News]

As the publisher immerses itself deeper into the world of digital publishing, CBR spoke with Marvel's digital braintrust, getting [em]exclusive[/em] word of a program designed to drive readers into brick and mortar stores.


Full article here.

[minusthesnake]

Most of Marvel's responses sound like they came from a robot. I think they're foolish to not discount a book after it's been out for a month like DC does, ESPECIALLY on $3.99 titles, but I'm glad they're fully embracing day-and-date releases. The physical retailer incentives they're doing and having coming soon all sound very interesting. I'm glad to see that digital is proving to increase the whole pie, instead of cannibalizing brick and mortar stores.

[Vic Vega]

I may be more confused about Marvel's Digital policy now then before I read this.

So day and date release is for thier app only and NOT Comixology's comics app?

What is the point of that?

[Xiroteus]

Most of Marvel's responses sound like they came from a robot.

I got the same feeling, sounded snarky a couple times as well.

[Vic Vega]

The last thng comic companies need to be doing is supporting the Brick and Mortar stores any more than they already are.

I'm in friggin' Manhattan and the nearest LCS to me is a 20 minute train ride. A casual shopper probably couldn't even find the place.

Do they want a wider audience or don't they?

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

I may be more confused about Marvel's Digital policy now then before I read this.

So day and date release is for thier app only and NOT Comixology's comics app?

What is the point of that?

Like they said, the goal is to push consumers to the Marvel store and ONLY the Marvel store. There are no distractions from other publishers, your 52s or Pilot Seasons. It's all Marvel all the time.

Now whether that will truly work in their favor has yet to be seen. If they're offering Marvel store discounts and specials every so often then I could see some success. The only thing they're really doing is creating fragmentation in the market. People crave convenience. Needing to go to an extra app just for Marvel is an inconvenience.

[FriendRoss]

I may be more confused about Marvel's Digital policy now then before I read this.

So day and date release is for thier app only and NOT Comixology's comics app?

What is the point of that?

comixology and marvel apps on portable devices get same day digital (i think the interview had a typo or error or was just extremely miss worded... i cant imagine marvel not wanting to have their books on the same "shelf" in the market place as everyone else)



the marvel web based subscription service does not same day digital.






im kinda torn.. i respect marvel for doing the .50 cent kick back thing. its honorable they are trying to do as much for physical stores. on the other hand i hate to see marvel box itself in with pricing based on how a physical store does it



i think physical stores should be marking down 1 and 2 month old books... they might actually sell more them self. instead of paying someone to stock it then keep it stored. seems like the better buisness desicion is to get $2 or $3 instead of no dollars





that avenging spider man code.. i dont know how it worked, but it did. very nice

[Xiroteus]

I'm in friggin' Manhattan and the nearest LCS to me is a 20 minute train ride. A casual shopper probably couldn't even find the place.

Curious, if you were going to your comic shop would that really be the only reason for going to that part of town? I am about twenty minutes away from everything I want to go to however I do multi-task based on the layout of the town. Of course there are some days I am not going to that part of town or a day before that weeks comics arrive and could be days before I get over there again. Digital is just convenient for so many people, no trouble at all.

[minusthesnake]

I may be more confused about Marvel's Digital policy now then before I read this.

So day and date release is for thier app only and NOT Comixology's comics app?

What is the point of that?

I'm pretty sure he misspoke. I believe that if you're part of the Comixology network, you HAVE to make all of your comics available in the Comixology app. I think they're just going to be pushing people harder towards the Marvel app.

As for convenience, as someone who reads mostly Marvel titles, I much prefer their app to Comixology. The Comixology store is so crowded with different things that I have trouble quickly finding what I want. For someone who reads a lot of comics from a variety of publishers, I'm sure using the Comixology app is preferred. At the end of the day, anything you buy in one is available in the other, so who cares?

[Jim Thompson]

The phrase "A day late and a dollar short" popped into my head as I read this interview.

[minusthesnake]

comixology and marvel apps on portable devices get same day digital (i think the interview had a typo or error or was just extremely miss worded... i cant imagine marvel not wanting to have their books on the same "shelf" in the market place as everyone else)



the marvel web based subscription service does not same day digital.






im kinda torn.. i respect marvel for doing the .50 cent kick back thing. its honorable they are trying to do as much for physical stores. on the other hand i hate to see marvel box itself in with pricing based on how a physical store does it



i think physical stores should be marking down 1 and 2 month old books... they might actually sell more them self. instead of paying someone to stock it then keep it stored. seems like the better buisness desicion is to get $2 or $3 instead of no dollars





that avenging spider man code.. i dont know how it worked, but it did. very nice

I could not agree with you more about pricing, both physically and digitally... MARK IT DOWN!

[minusthesnake]

The last thng comic companies need to be doing is supporting the Brick and Mortar stores any more than they already are.

I'm in friggin' Manhattan and the nearest LCS to me is a 20 minute train ride. A casual shopper probably couldn't even find the place.

Do they want a wider audience or don't they?

The support for brick and mortar that they mentioned seemed to all be helping BOTH physical and digital sales, so I don't see why you have a problem with it...

[FriendRoss]

the comixology app is cooler... its much nicer and i think has a better way of sorting and viewing your books


i use them both. i keep most my marvel stuff on the marvel app.. id move completely over to the comixology app but my older purchases from marvel dont sync up.. so i can only get half my marvel books on the comixology app


im sure i could call or email to get it straightened out. the problem popped up after comixology did their big update. it just hasnt bothered me that much

[Peter Wisdom]

I really hope he was wrong about Marvel comics being exclusive to Marvel app. I don't want to have the series I'm already byuing spread across two apps. :(

And from what I read, they don't really synch like he believes they do.

[1derer]

Again, we are looking at the model of a comic shop: A store owner wouldn't have a comic on his shelf that was $2.99 for four weeks and then mark it down to 99 cents. They would have it at $2.99 for as long as they could, and when the trade comes out, most retailers put those into back issue bins and generally the price goes up a bit.

Has this guy ever been in a comic book shop?

All of my local LCS' discount back issues compared to the current 2.99 or 3.99 standard, they don't increase the price. What would be the point of that unless it were a book that actually increased in demand?

One of my town's comic book shops, the Eisner award winning Strange Adventures, literally gives away material on a not uncommon basis. When they opened their overstock location they gave me a copy of Essential Captain America vol. 1 just for walking in the door and asking how things were going.

Marvel needs to realize that they'll make more selling a lot of $1.99 titles than a few $2.99 titles.