Pay-What-You-Want Downloadable Graphic Novels

AmbrosiaPublish · 10-28-2007, 01:32 PM

Taking a cue from Radiohead and other forward-thinking music acts, digital graphic novel publisher Ambrosia Publishing is now offering you the opportunity to pay what you want for the digital versions of their graphic novels at The Ambrosia Publishing Store!

No kidding.

There’s no catch or hidden fee. If you want to pay 1 cent, then pay .01. If you want to pay $2.00, then pay 2.00.

In a matter of minutes, you can be reading any of the following graphic novels:

CLOCKWORK CREATURE: CHAPTER ONE by Kyle Strahm
A dark tale of a small town being plagued by disappearances of its residents and the mysterious and silver-tongued Baron Von Salt, a stranger who claims to know exactly what’s afoot.

SMUGGLING SPIRITS: BOOK ONE by Ben Fisher and Mike Henderson
Set in an alternate vision of the Prohibition-era, SMUGGLING SPIRITS: BOOK ONE introduces Al Stone, a bootlegger who himself on the run from an unrelenting horde of creatures that believes he holds the key to their destruction.

THEY DO NOT DIE! by Scott O. Brown and Horacio Lalia, the same team who did DEATH VALLEY for Speakeasy Comics.
A young girl named Megan is on the cusp of adulthood. As her boyfriend and classmates change around her, Megan discovers that once anyone in the town turns eighteen their souls are traded to a cyclopean beast in the mountains for immortality.

Each title is available in PDF, CBZ, or eBook format with some being available for your iPOD or PSP. Each download sold by Ambrosia Publishing is DRM free so that you don’t have to deal with the hassle of transferring it from one device to another or any of the other problems associated with DRM.

Simply go to The Ambrosia Publishing Store where you can learn more about each title offered for sale or download a preview for each title or check out reviews and interviews with the creators of the titles being sold.

Wesley

JSWolf · 10-28-2007, 03:08 PM

And when you say ebook version, what format exactly do you mean? You don't specify and you NEED to since there are a few different ebook formats out there.

mocelet · 10-28-2007, 03:38 PM

Looking at Ambrosia Publishing, the OP is pretty much a cut-n-paste from their front page. I went rummaging for the answer to "what ebook format is ebook?" but couldn't find anything, so by investing a dollar, I bought a novel in ebook format.
The download is a zip of a PDF file. Hmmm. I think they are missing the point here...

Especially as the PDF page size is 10.42x15.86 inches, with 1"-1.5" borders on all four sides. At least the majority is in monochrome.

Is there a good, reflowable, e-format for graphic novels that we should recommend to them? Mobipocket perhaps?

Nate the great · 10-28-2007, 03:39 PM

I just downloaded the so-called "ebook" version of Clockwork Creature. It was basically the paperless PDF edition, based on a 11" by 17" book size. Completely useless for most ebook devices.

JSWolf · 10-28-2007, 03:46 PM

I don't consider 11x17 PDF an ebook format at all. If they are DRM free, they could do it in PDF that's sized for a 6" screen for the Sony 500/505 and it would also work for the V3 & Gen3 as well. But 11x17 is not right. This company needs to look at what devices are out there for reading ebooks and do it right.

mocelet · 10-29-2007, 03:50 AM

I sent them a feedback saying pretty much what you said JSWolf. I also linked to this discussion and suggested that they have a look.

Who knows - perhaps they will come over and talk?

ischeriad · 10-29-2007, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmbrosiaPublish

Wesley

They are already here

.

mocelet · 10-29-2007, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ischeriad

They are already here

.

Duh, me. Yes. I should have noticed.

nekokami · 10-29-2007, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mocelet

Is there a good, reflowable, e-format for graphic novels that we should recommend to them? Mobipocket perhaps?

How could there be a reflowable format for graphic novels?

But I agree, 11x17 PDF isn't going to work on readers (and I wouldn't like it much on a computer screen, either).

mocelet · 10-29-2007, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

How could there be a reflowable format for graphic novels?

But I agree, 11x17 PDF isn't going to work on readers (and I wouldn't like it much on a computer screen, either).

Ummm, I know that not all graphic novels use rectangular panes, but even non-rectangular panes can be contained in a rectangle. So a reflowable GN format could store each pane separately, with metadata indicating the correct order, and a guide on relative positioning so that a reading device could show the panes in the right order, and with as many on screen as possible/desired.

Maybe the CBZ format does this. I suppose I should try one of their samples in that format.

nekokami · 10-29-2007, 01:52 PM

Many graphic novels frequently contain full-page spreads, irregular shaped and sized panes, content that overlaps multiple panes, etc. I just don't see a "reflowable" format working for this type of content. It would be like trying to reflow Guernicaor something.

Scott McCloud and others have done a lot of interesting work in the area of using screen formats to deliver graphic art, and I think there are creative approaches that could help to make the most of the medium. But many of them rely on having the graphics designed for the medium in the first place, rather than trying to take a work designed for fixed-format pages and converting it to a digital display.

DaleDe · 10-29-2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mocelet

Maybe the CBZ format does this. I suppose I should try one of their samples in that format.

CBZ is a container for images with an idea of the order they should be displayed in (usually alphabetically). It does nothing more than that. The reader displays the images, provides zoom, pan and other features and a way to select the next or previous image. CBR is the same except it uses RAR and the compression and container format rather than zip.

PDF can also be a container for images and will thus serve the same purpose. Some PDF documents can contain text as well but for comic books (CB) this is generally not the case.

Dale

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-29-2007, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nekokami

Many graphic novels frequently contain full-page spreads, irregular shaped and sized panes, content that overlaps multiple panes, etc. I just don't see a "reflowable" format working for this type of content. It would be like trying to reflow Guernicaor something.

In the same way that graphic novels had to re-invent themselves from their sequential art forebears, so graphic content for a screen should re-invent itself. I've seen GNs turned into 1-frame-per-image formats that work. If devices can pan and such, they could even give the user the option of seeing the entire frame smaller, or zoom in and pan around.

nekokami · 10-29-2007, 09:56 PM

See one of many interesting ideas along these lines here: http://www.scottmccloud.com/comics/mi/mi-26/mi-26.html

You'll need flash installed.

igorsk · 10-30-2007, 06:41 AM

Japanese mobile manga uses single panel per screen and sliding panels. I've heard of "paper" manga being ported to mobile but I imagine it either looks pretty crappy or involves a lot of scrolling.

10-28-2007, 01:32 PM	#1
AmbrosiaPublish Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: palm	Pay-What-You-Want Downloadable Graphic Novels Taking a cue from Radiohead and other forward-thinking music acts, digital graphic novel publisher Ambrosia Publishing is now offering you the opportunity to pay what you want for the digital versions of their graphic novels at The Ambrosia Publishing Store! No kidding. There’s no catch or hidden fee. If you want to pay 1 cent, then pay .01. If you want to pay $2.00, then pay 2.00. In a matter of minutes, you can be reading any of the following graphic novels: CLOCKWORK CREATURE: CHAPTER ONE by Kyle Strahm A dark tale of a small town being plagued by disappearances of its residents and the mysterious and silver-tongued Baron Von Salt, a stranger who claims to know exactly what’s afoot. SMUGGLING SPIRITS: BOOK ONE by Ben Fisher and Mike Henderson Set in an alternate vision of the Prohibition-era, SMUGGLING SPIRITS: BOOK ONE introduces Al Stone, a bootlegger who himself on the run from an unrelenting horde of creatures that believes he holds the key to their destruction. THEY DO NOT DIE! by Scott O. Brown and Horacio Lalia, the same team who did DEATH VALLEY for Speakeasy Comics. A young girl named Megan is on the cusp of adulthood. As her boyfriend and classmates change around her, Megan discovers that once anyone in the town turns eighteen their souls are traded to a cyclopean beast in the mountains for immortality. Each title is available in PDF, CBZ, or eBook format with some being available for your iPOD or PSP. Each download sold by Ambrosia Publishing is DRM free so that you don’t have to deal with the hassle of transferring it from one device to another or any of the other problems associated with DRM. Simply go to The Ambrosia Publishing Store where you can learn more about each title offered for sale or download a preview for each title or check out reviews and interviews with the creators of the titles being sold. Wesley

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10-28-2007, 03:08 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,957 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	And when you say ebook version, what format exactly do you mean? You don't specify and you NEED to since there are a few different ebook formats out there.

10-28-2007, 03:38 PM	#3
mocelet Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 11 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: iLiad / Palm Vx / Nokia E65	Looking at Ambrosia Publishing, the OP is pretty much a cut-n-paste from their front page. I went rummaging for the answer to "what ebook format is ebook?" but couldn't find anything, so by investing a dollar, I bought a novel in ebook format. The download is a zip of a PDF file. Hmmm. I think they are missing the point here... Especially as the PDF page size is 10.42x15.86 inches, with 1"-1.5" borders on all four sides. At least the majority is in monochrome. Is there a good, reflowable, e-format for graphic novels that we should recommend to them? Mobipocket perhaps?

10-28-2007, 03:39 PM	#4
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I just downloaded the so-called "ebook" version of Clockwork Creature. It was basically the paperless PDF edition, based on a 11" by 17" book size. Completely useless for most ebook devices.

10-28-2007, 03:46 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,957 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I don't consider 11x17 PDF an ebook format at all. If they are DRM free, they could do it in PDF that's sized for a 6" screen for the Sony 500/505 and it would also work for the V3 & Gen3 as well. But 11x17 is not right. This company needs to look at what devices are out there for reading ebooks and do it right.

10-29-2007, 03:50 AM	#6
mocelet Connoisseur Posts: 56 Karma: 11 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: iLiad / Palm Vx / Nokia E65	I sent them a feedback saying pretty much what you said JSWolf. I also linked to this discussion and suggested that they have a look. Who knows - perhaps they will come over and talk?

10-29-2007, 01:52 PM	#11
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Many graphic novels frequently contain full-page spreads, irregular shaped and sized panes, content that overlaps multiple panes, etc. I just don't see a "reflowable" format working for this type of content. It would be like trying to reflow Guernicaor something. Scott McCloud and others have done a lot of interesting work in the area of using screen formats to deliver graphic art, and I think there are creative approaches that could help to make the most of the medium. But many of them rely on having the graphics designed for the medium in the first place, rather than trying to take a work designed for fixed-format pages and converting it to a digital display.

10-29-2007, 09:56 PM	#14
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	See one of many interesting ideas along these lines here: http://www.scottmccloud.com/comics/mi/mi-26/mi-26.html You'll need flash installed.

10-30-2007, 06:41 AM	#15
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Japanese mobile manga uses single panel per screen and sliding panels. I've heard of "paper" manga being ported to mobile but I imagine it either looks pretty crappy or involves a lot of scrolling.

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