With the news last week
that Marvel will add original, online-only content to its existing
Digital Comics Unlimited service, Newsarama contacted retailers to get
their reaction.
The future of digital comics vs. print comics is still uncertain, but
magazine and newspaper publishers have already seen the effect of the
internet on periodical print publishing. And while it's true that
"ebooks" haven't replaced novels, comics are a more visual and usually
shorter medium, making the potential for computer distribution
different from longer-form stories. As Marvel begins testing the waters
for original online content about its characters, retailer reactions
were mixed. Most understand the decision by the company, although some
believe this is a step in the wrong direction.
"My reaction to the news was one of a business sense. For Marvel to
make their online service work, it only makes sense," said Ralph
DiBernardo, owner of Jetpack Comics in Rochester, N.H. "I think it was
the next logical step for Marvel. It seems to be the only way they
could draw more readers to their pay-to-use site. Since you can find
almost every Marvel comic online without paying, this would be the only
way they could draw a large number of people to their service. That
being said, it still won't work."
"Honestly I am torn between the positive side, which is more exposure
to comics for younger readers and the negative, which is loss of
potential sales for my store," said Bret Parks, owner of Ssalesfish
Comics in Winston Salem, N.C. "As a comic shop owner, I can’t help but
cringe a little bit as Marvel’s online digital comics will surely take
a huge bite out of back issue sales. I guess it just depends on
Marvel’s goal -- do they want to replace us or help us? Personally I
think Marvel is just testing the market and if they can make more money
with their digital comics than with print, I’m certain they will turn
their backs on comic book retailers."
"This may be a new way for Marvel to try to amortize the production
costs of the eventual printed collected editions of what might
otherwise be lower-selling printed series. And to that end, I wish
Marvel success," said Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in
Concord, Calif. "I am a big believer in the old line that says 'dance
with the one that brung ya' -- and to that end, the lack of
consideration on Marvel's part of a way for direct market retailers to
share in the promotion and sales of these new digital comics is a bit
disconcerting. But my business will live on and still thrive despite
this -- the extinction of the periodical is still a long ways away."
Retailers believe more publishers will try similar programs now that
Marvel has started. But they point out that a lot of publishers already
put new comics on their websites, plus there are tons of webcomics
available on the internet. Those types of comics don't seem to affect
comic shop business significantly so far, retailers said.
"There is a lot of original material on the web already, so it's not
like Marvel re-invented the wheel here," said Carr D'Angelo, owner of
Earth-2 Comics in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
"Dark Horse has already done a few MySpace original comics. I don't
think it's a stretch to see other publishers doing original material
online. Zuda has been doing original stuff for a year," said Jason
Pierce, owner of Alter Ego Comics in Muncie, Ind. "I don't think that
putting existing characters in their own original web comics will hurt
the sales of the comic titles at all."
However, several of the retailers we polled said they've heard
customers talk about downloading comics illegally online, and it's
difficult to know for sure if that's impacting sales.
"There are anecdotal experience but it's hard to see major trends yet,"
said D'Angelo of Earth-2 Comics. "We have seen positive effects from
online previews of new comics or long-running series. My business
partner, Jud, has also had customers recently tell him that they were
reading comics online and not buying periodicals. Of course, they said
this as they were buying trade paperbacks. There is still a wealth of
quality material in book form that people have not read.
"But when customers say they are reading online, they are downloading
the pirate copies that are scanned in, not necessarily signing up for
Marvel's Digital Comics. They like illegal scans because it's free and
easy, and they get to keep on top of the big storylines," he added.
Based on the buzz they hear from customers, a few retailers questioned
the success of Marvel's online initiative and wondered if this move
toward original content wasn't an attempt to drum up business and offer
something illegal downloads can't.
"I think that if Marvel were to reveal their true numbers on this
initiative, you'd find it to be less of a moneymaker than you'd been
led to believe. I haven't seen too much of a massive push outside of
the comics market to drive people to the digital subscriptions at
Marvel," said Mike Wellman, co-owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan
Beach, Calif.
Others said they foresee these original online-only comics simply being
released in print eventually, and they doubt they'll be anything but
supplemental to the real continuity changes that happen in print.
"First of all, let's define only. Is Marvel suggesting
that it will never see print? Come on. Really?" said DiBernardo of
Jetpack Comics. "What kind of financial sense does that make? It's just
a matter of time before there is a trade or comic released with this
material, just like Dark Horse did. They have to make it pay!
"Furthermore, the stories might fall into continuity, but can they
really take a chance and make big universe changes with the web-only
content?" DiBernardo continued. "Would they risk alienating their
physical readership? How many people would quit collecting if big
changes happened in their books, that they did not get to see?"
Some retailers questioned Marvel's decision to exclude retailers from
the process, saying there could have been a way to include them. They
wonder if there isn't some way to make online comics even more
beneficial for both sides.
"I'd like for there to be a strategy that includes comic shops, if
possible, though I admit I'm not entirely sure what that would be,"
said Matt Price, owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Okla. "I
assume if some of these exclusives do well online, they'll be released
as trade paperbacks, but maybe there's something even more
forward-thinking than that. I wish I knew what it was!"
Others said they aren't surprised that Marvel isn't reaching out to
help comics shops in this process, citing how the publisher doesn't
offer returns for late comics the way DC Comics does. "Anything to keep
the money out of the hands of retailers is fine by Marvel,” said
Charlie Harris, owner of Charlie's Comic Books in Tucson, Ariz.
"I just saw the Marvel house ad for the exclusive Iron Man and Hulk
online comic. This is probably the strongest slap in the face to comic
book retailers that the company has delivered, second only to the
sure-to-be released $3.99 Director’s Cut Second Print variant of the
online-only comics," said Parks of Ssalesfish Comics.
One of the perceived benefits of online comics would be to expand the
audience reading comics. But while all retailers said they support
anything that can get more people reading comics, some questioned
whether Marvel's pay service actually attracts any new readers.
"I don't know how many new people they are going to pick up that don't
currently read comics picked up from their local comics shop," said
Pierce of Alter Ego Comics. "I would gather that most of their
subscribers want an addition to their current read pile."
"People not already reading comics would have no reason to visit Marvel online," said Harris of Charlie's Comic Books.
"This is preaching to a subset of the choir, in my estimation," said
Field of Flying Colors Comics. "The digital interface still doesn't
provide the same experience as holding a comic book in one's hands.
There will be some fans that have to have it all and have it now, so
they'll buy into it. But I suspect most of the 'choir' will still wait
for the trades on these, while others will wait for the illegal (but
free) downloads."
That "experience" of holding a comic book is what most retailers
believe will make the difference in the choice between online and print
comics.
"People still like books. To read them, hold them, give them as gifts.
And there's still a lot of places people like to read comics where a
laptop is not going to be convenient," said D'Angelo of Earth-2 Comics.
"I refuse to believe that people are going to stop buying actual comic
books because of digital comics," said Wellman of The Comic Bug. "Many
of our customers are primarily collectors; I still cling to that
notion. Sure, we'll always have the fly-by-night folks that dabble in
comics, get Iron Man fever for a few months and more often than not,
wander off into the night. Sure, we retain some of those folks and they
become what? Comic collectors. Our sales have remained strong, even in this crazy economy."
