Posted in: Comics, Digital | Tagged: Comics, digital

A Giant Digital Leap Viewed From The Toilet

Laurence Rider is Bleeding Cool's new Digital Correspondent.

One Giant Leap…

Somebody asked me the other day why I'd bought a tablet when I already have a netbook. My answer was pretty simple. A tablet is comfortable to read on the toilet; the netbook isn't. And that is pretty much answer to the question of why digital comics are only just taking off.

Convenience.

It might seem blinding obvious to many, but no-one really seems to be talking about the technology side of the digital comics debate. Tablet technology has moved a digital future comics from a possibility into a reality. Sure, it might be a bit too expensive for many at the moment, but that's changing. The Kindle Fire and it's ilk are making tablets affordable, and that's going to open the floodgates. Much like mobile phones revolutionising communications, MP3 players changing the face of music and the Kindle altering the book publishing landscape, we're about to see a giant shift in how comics are marketed, sold and consumed. So, where does the industry stand with this at the moment.

Pretty well. Surprisingly for the comics industry, it's largely prepared for the shift. Smartphones have been a great testing ground for the current generation of comics readers, developing guided view and perfecting the transitions. Different distribution and sales models are currently being tried out, and we're seeing the big publishers get in on the action fairly early on. Despite unease amongst traditional brick-and-mortar, print retailers, there seems to be an acceptance in the industry that not only is digital happening, but that it could be a good thing. A good thing that can actually drive sales. Not only that, but a giant marketing opportunity as well.

Look at the recent Avengers film. It's one of the most successful films of all time, linking popular franchises and gaining overwhelmingly positive reviews. Not only is it a bona fide hit in its own right, but it's also a great marketing tool. The single biggest problem with converting a film audience into a comics audience has been getting them into contact with the comics in the first place. It's never been practical to give away free comics on the door, and even if there had been interest in the past, the dwindling number of comics stores made it difficult for people to find them. With the rise of digital comics that changes.

Let's say I went to see Avengers on opening weekend. I liked it. I want to know more about it, having been sold on this shared universe stuff by the pother Marvel films. I click onto Marvel.com, and look! There's a store where I can buy comics to read right now, not long after I've seen the film, still awash in the glow of enjoyment and generally well-disposed to towards the franchise. Even better, for the past two weekends, there's been a sale on Avengers digital comics, priced at 99 cents an issue, offering complete story arcs for $5.94. Cheap enough that a lot of people would be tempted,.

Of course, this relies somewhat on the initiative of the audience. While watching Avengers (Or Avengers Assemble, as it is over here), I didn't see any reference to where to buy the comics, which is a missed opportunity. Perhaps having a free download offered with the cinema ticket would have drawn more people in, and perhaps some advertising by either Marvel or ComiXology could have had an effect. Failing that, explicit notes on where to buy the comics on the posters would make sense, but all in all, it's a giant leap in the right direction. There finally seems to be an easy, cost effective way of at least offering comics to people that doesn't involve too much effort on their part.

This year we have a whole host of comic related films which should be huge. The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men In Black 3 and GI Joe: Retaliation all have comic connections, and could be used to grow the audience for digital comics significantly. And, of course, once we've got people hooked, who knows what we can get them to read, particularly since everything's only a click away. Want to know who that was at the end of the Avengers? Well here's the relevant issue. Enjoyed the work by a particular writer/artist? Click here. And, with a tablet, download it to read offline.

And go and read it on the toilet.

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