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Underground > Comic Books >

Marvel - the Digital Age

10:02 / 14.11.07

Marvel have put a boatload of free comics online as part of their Digital Comics Project.

There's loads and loads of good stuff on there, from a selection of GMs New X-Men and the whole of Fantastic Four: 1234. There's also stuff like the whole first series of the Ultimates, some classic 60s Dr. Strange comics and loads of classic Kirby stuff!

This is going to mean I'm going to get a lot less work done than I do already. When Marvel put this site up, their servers were rushed almost immediately and the site went down. Hopefully this'll show them that digital distribution could reach a great new audience.

Hopefully DC'll follow suit soon.

Essential Dazzler

10:20 / 14.11.07

They are also charging for access to a far larger archive, which I think is the more interesting thing to talk about.

Hmm.I've been continually frustrated by DC and Marvel's moves towards setting up an internet market. Much like the music industry they seem to have done far too little far too late.

I download a lot of comics. Far more than I buy. I spendat least a third of every pay-cheque on comics. I downlaod comics for a few reasons. I live away from a comic shop 6 months every year, I try to keep up with major Marvel events, as most of the comics I read are MU ones, and there are just so many comics I want to read but cannot afford too.

I've been hoping for months that Marvel would get a cheap efficient digital service up so that I could do all this legally.

This service provides nothing I'm after.

No downloads - you have to view everything through the frankly horrific Marvel comics viewer. The first comic I ever read was through an earlier version of that player, and I loved it so much I found the rest of the series and never stopped buying comics, but they updated it a while back and I've never been able to get it to work since. Also, image quality not much better than the worst of the scans floating around.

Another major deal-breaker is that they are refusing to provide any comics until 6 months after they hit print format, I mentioned above that this is the major reason I download comics.

The thing is, I love comics, I haven't stopped buying any comics I would have since I started downloading them, I've bought more. I would gladly pay Marvel a few dollars a month for a e-music style ticket to download a dozen or so high quality .cbr files available the same day the print comics are.

I can understand why they are doing things the way they are, but it just isn't what I want.

10:52 / 14.11.07

despite everything that's not that cool about the way they're doing it [not mentioning the royalties for extra sales issue], i guess this is HUGE and a big step into the present [the future wil be another thing altogether], finally!

and it's great that a big player like Marvel is doing it, which means others will follow now that someone is stepping into these waters.

16:37 / 14.11.07

I like that, when asked about the royalties, Marvel folks are saying, "That's part of the plan." Or "We'd like to." And writers are saying they haven't heard anything yet but they're sure they'll get online royalties (although it is pathetic, to hear some of them say, "If it makes money I'm sure they'll cut us in." That's like saying, "If the movie I wrote is a hit I'm sure I'll get paid.")

Don't most business models sink or swim based on the bottom line? And shouldn't you figure out what your bottom line is before you start reprinting comics that you may or may not one day decide to maybe pay royalties on? What are Marvel waiting on? Either pay the royalties or don't, but don't pretend that you need more time to see if you are or are not. That's a weird way to do business.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

16:56 / 14.11.07

The thing that most upsets me, I have to say, is the phrase We don't have our product intersecting kids in their lifestyle space as much as we used to.

I mean, all he had to do was add a "going forward" to that, and I'd've been on the next plane out with murderous intention.

This isn't just what's wrong with the comics industry today. This is what's wrong with everything, ever, and why the human race should just die, really.

18:29 / 14.11.07

hang on, back up a bit - a third of your paycheque on comics? dude, surely you can't find that many that you really like?

18:30 / 14.11.07

While I do take your point Stoat, I wonder if you shouldn't be actioning your life goals from a more blue skies perspective? It's easy to give in to the so-called ideas of the awkward squad, of course it is, ("there's no point", they say; "I'm going to swallow a pound of semtex and then blow myself up during Ben Elton's musical about Queen", and so on) but it's too easy.

It's time to wake up and smell the coffee, my friend! How are you going to actualise your agenda for the next phase if you carry on throwing your toys out the pram like this?

You need to get a strategy in place, and until you do, the only people who'll salute your ideas when you run them up the flagpole will be the comrades in Clissold Park, damn them.

Essential Dazzler

18:58 / 14.11.07

hmm, yeah, that was a little bit of hyperbole. I'm currently buying about 10 monthlies, end up spending a lot on collections as well.

I was buying just under 20 at one point before a big cull.

Also, I'm a student, I only work about 5 months a year.

18:02 / 19.11.07

what's also weird is to think that this might eventually make a dent in the back issue market --- will people (and the future generations) eventually not want/desire actual physical paper, or will it be enough just to look at comics online?