Comics Online (FINALLY)
Comics Online (FINALLY)
Nov 13All breathing nerds (and all mouth-breathing nerds, too) have probably read the news: Marvel Comics has launched an online comics service.
No downloadable files; web only reading. 2500 issues available (250 free ones, at least for a limited time). $4.99/mo prepaid; $9.99 monthly. 20 new issues online every week.
Thus far, there hasn’t been too much complaining, although I guess that it’s inevitable. And hell, it’s probably deserved, because I don’t think this offering is what anyone really wanted, in terms of pricing, format, content available, etc.
But it’s a START. It’s where we begin.
This is new ground, and I am chomping at the bit to see where this could go. This is just where it is NOW.
One of the Big Two has waded into the pool and is charging people money to read comics online. Will it supplant physical comics? Not in this model. Will it supplement them? For now, yes.
To me, right now, Marvel Digital is like a trade paperback, or a hardcover, or a floppy, or an Essential, or a phat honkin’ torrent packed with CBR files: It’s just a delivery method for comics. Others will come along, better than this, or at least different. Maybe different models will co-exist; maybe one will become the “iTunes for comics” standard.
Regardless, this is easy (if buggy), it’s simple, and it has potential. In six months, it could be fantastic, or it could be lame, or DC could have already released a pay-per-download model that is cleaning up, prompting Marvel to pull its ass offline and try to rejigger the site for a new model. Until then, my name is Matt, and I approve this method of digital comics delivery.
