Could Kindle Kill Comics? e-Reading Devices Cloud Future

[giddion]

Newsarama.com looks at ereaders and the impact on comic book publishing.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/0902...mic-books.html

It seems the biggest concern for that market is the rumor of the 7x9 iPiod rather then the current crop of e-ink devices.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by giddion

Newsarama.com looks at ereaders and the impact on comic book publishing.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/0902...mic-books.html

It seems the biggest concern for that market is the rumor of the 7x9 iPiod rather then the current crop of e-ink devices.

Kill them? not exactly.

What it will do is force stogy old companies to compete with ever more new blood by lowering the barriers. The same as with music, video entertainment and books.

It could also crash the collectors market (which Marvel, DC, Image, Etc. get not cut of) if the mainline companies sell their back issues online at a price the public is willing to pay.

Color is needed, really I haven't seen black and white do well in recent decades, except for Love and Rockets which is sort of a noir lesbian soap opera thing. With fast enough page turns, I suspect that we could see new form factors experimented with - Perhaps stories told in panels of the now standard six inch form factor.

It will be fun to watch. It could also drain my fanboi bank account if they put back stock up at a good price.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Kill them? not exactly.

What it will do is force stogy old companies to compete with ever more new blood by lowering the barriers. The same as with music, video entertainment and books.

It could also crash the collectors market (which Marvel, DC, Image, Etc. get not cut of) if the mainline companies sell their back issues online at a price the public is willing to pay.

Color is needed, really I haven't seen black and white do well in recent decades, except for Love and Rockets which is sort of a noir lesbian soap opera thing. With fast enough page turns, I suspect that we could see new form factors experimented with - Perhaps stories told in panels of the now standard six inch form factor.

It will be fun to watch. It could also drain my fanboi bank account if they put back stock up at a good price.

Love & Rockets now there's a blast from my past. I think the first, and the last graphic novel I ever bought was a Love & Rockets one -- Ape Sex, I seem to recall the title being. Loved the artwork and the stories but never really got into the comic book/graphic novel thing after that.

[dadioflex]

Edit.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

A color reader at a magazine size would solve their problem. Adopting new storytelling form factors (as manga has done on cellphones) would also be a big step. Actually, just making the comics available on the web allows most readers to access them. So they'll have to switch away from paper... it doesn't have to be a problem. In fact, it could make their lives easier!

[deety]

Originally Posted by dadioflex

The comix companies exploit the collectors market to the hilt putting out multi-cover issues, cross-series team-ups and subscriber special editions.

I worked in a comics-and-gaming store for several years, and I can't tell you how many casual readers would come in looking to sell long boxes full of Special Collector Editions. I really, really hated having to go through those boxes and pull out the tiny stack of books it was worth it for us to even buy. Some of these folks would point out that I must have missed their foil-stamped "First Issue!" alternate cover complete with a little hologram seal. So I'd double check inventory and learn that we had 30 copies in the warehouse and hadn't sold one in the last six months.

Having to explain to people that they'd fallen for marketing BS was easily the worst part of that job.

Adapting to electronic formats will be a huge change for the industry, but it could be a great thing for readers if the companies have to refocus on quality stories because their gimmicks become less effective.