Marvel Comics App Debuts on iPad

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by pagansoul

MrCarl, Do you have any idea what the cost of a new comic book is today?

Yup. But a subscription model still makes more sense, and they offer it on the PC!

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by pagansoul

MrCarl, Do you have any idea what the cost of a new comic book is today? The days are gone when you can get a Batman, Spiderman, whatever for 25cents. You even pay a buck at flea markets for a used edition in not the best condition.

The cost of modern comics is quite excessive as it is, the digital versions approaching that pricing just seems silly when they have a vastly more appealing system and pricing model in the form of digital comics unlimited at $10 a month ($5 a month if you pay for a year) even with its limits.

[bob1xxx]

Honestly that's a cool app,but in my mind the Ipad is too much held hostage to apple's closed system , give it a year heck six month folks and you start seen window/linux based operating tablets with great flexibility (ie real internet with flash) expandable memory though sd cards, usb support, etc... at 30% to 50% cheaper than the Ipad just give it some time, unless you a tech sucker never buy apple 1st gen of anything.

[SpiderMatt]

Besides the fact that the iPad is a closed system, this app is a bit of a joke. 500 comics? Seriously? Marvel must know that thousands of its comics are available online completely for free without hassle. This just echos the attempts of other media like those of film and music trying to monetize a portion of its offerings for more than it's worth in the current market place. If Marvel makes enough money off this to make it worth while to them, then more power to them, but I think ultimately it will prove to be another fruitless attempt to sell a digital medium in a way that is far less convenient than digital piracy. Good luck. Marvel needs to make their offerings at least more like digital music subscriptions, in which people can download albums the day they come out. Great, Marvel is offering 500 back issues for a monthly subscription. The question consumers should be asking themselves is "so what?"

[Graham]

Originally Posted by K-Thom

Not nuff said ... thumb press (thumb touch, that is) right or left does work, at least on the iPhone.

Phew!

[SamuraiXSendai]

Originally Posted by pagansoul

MrCarl, Do you have any idea what the cost of a new comic book is today? The days are gone when you can get a Batman, Spiderman, whatever for 25cents. You even pay a buck at flea markets for a used edition in not the best condition.

joblack, don't read under the blazing sun, not even with an e-ink device. You and the device will live longer.

Used to buy them for 12 cents. My allowance was $1 so every week I bought 8 comic books starting in 1965. Still have all of them

[mr ploppy]

I looked at the web based version when it came out, it was a good example of how NOT to compete with piracy -- launch a product that is inferior to what is already available for free, make it so that you don't own what you pay for, and wrap it all up in the worst interface they can think of. Then they wonder why people continue pirating.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SpiderMatt

Marvel must know that thousands of its comics are available online completely for free without hassle.

Legally?

[markbot]

It's a shame that people condone IP piracy. It could lead to the stagnation, if not the downfall, of human civilization. The government needs to get tougher and start going after the people who download the IP illegally...not just the distributors. After all, if I walked into a book store and robbed a barrel of books, they would haul me off to jail or at least impose a fine. Just because there is no variable cost for the seller, people don't feel bad about stealing digital IP. It really says something about human nature....that most people would commit crimes if there weren't people looking over their shoulders constantly. We aren't ready for a society without religion...we need the threat of hell to keep most people in line.

[DawnFalcon]

Yea, heaven forbid that society evolves.

(Hint: Unmild sarcasm)

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Legally?

The only ones legally available are the low quality ones with a horrible interface that you "rent" access to on a monthly basis. The ones of readable quality are all fan made.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by markbot

It's a shame that people condone IP piracy. It could lead to the stagnation, if not the downfall, of human civilization. The government needs to get tougher and start going after the people who download the IP illegally...not just the distributors. After all, if I walked into a book store and robbed a barrel of books, they would haul me off to jail or at least impose a fine. Just because there is no variable cost for the seller, people don't feel bad about stealing digital IP. It really says something about human nature....that most people would commit crimes if there weren't people looking over their shoulders constantly. We aren't ready for a society without religion...we need the threat of hell to keep most people in line.

I bet they said the same thing about libraries and used book shops.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by stustaff

Im going to be controversial here!!!
I think your a liar!
I think if I walked up to you tomorrow and offered you a legit iPad for $1 you would buy it!

I would buy the brick for one buck and immediately sell it on Ebay to an idiot with no taste and too much money. .

So you would be the liar, liar ...

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

The only ones legally available are the low quality ones with a horrible interface that you "rent" access to on a monthly basis. The ones of readable quality are all fan made.

Not free, but you can get large archives of some titles cheap-- around 10 cents an issue for the X-Men box:

http://www.amazon.com/40-Years-of-th.../dp/B000E28UT2

I can't vouch for the interface or quality, though. (And I would never suggest that anyone google the words "revised chronological x-men".)

[mr ploppy]

I bought something like that years ago, about 40 years worth of Mad Magazine on 5 or 6 CDs. Quality was awful, and that was in the days of 14" CRT monitors.