What Is Techno Again?

After receiving an engaged response to my in-depth take on the upcoming Longbox Digital Comics—focusing on the pros, cons, and the no small matter of piracy in between—I marked the date for the Longbox San Diego Comic-Con panel down on my schedule. I arrived at the panel first thing Thursday morning, eager to learn more about Rantz Hoseley’s helmed creation and see it in action.

Joining Rantz were panelists David Turner (COO Longbox Inc.), Jeff Katz, Kieron Gillen, and Jamie McKelvie. The talk began with the expected statistics and an explanation of Longbox’s origins. Longbox stands as publisher and device independent—allowing the program to run on handhelds, e-readers, gaming systems, and more—and will launch on Mac and PC as well as two other platforms this fall. In conjunction with development partner Quicksilver Software, Longbox addresses both user and publisher standpoints, fostering a sustainable enterprise “without increasing [publishers'] development time; without increasing their expenses.”

Jeff Katz (American Original Productions) admitted that when he saw the program, his “jaw hit the ground.” Longbox has received a positive response because it surpasses just being a modified PDF viewer. “It’s revolutionary in a lot of ways,” said Katz.

Writer Kieron Gillen revealed that Longbox will offer comics in both serial narrative and trade form, and artist Jamie McKelvie added that it will virtually eliminate the matter of not being able to find a comic that may be out of print. Simply put, Longbox acts to remove barriers and answer the questions, “How can we bring people into comic shops? How do we get to where they are?” Creators—particularly those attached to independent titles—can make a living at the same time readers can access the content they want. In addition to ninety-nine cent monthly comics, Longbox also gives “ongoing subscribers and consumers incentives to buy the trades when they come out so they don’t feel like they’re double-dipping,” which I agree is a more prominent road block than it may sound. Trades are convenient: They’re easy to organize, locate, and they often include extras that you don’t find in the original monthly issues—which tend to easily become lost in the shuffle.

Not to mention the current economic condition creates difficult situations for comic buyers. While publishers like Marvel and DC might be bumping up their prices by a dollar and boasting how the change evens out to something allegedly generous (by their standards, anyway), Longbox eliminates the pressure that every comic book must be golden to be worth the cash. With subscriptions, twelve issues can be bought for only ten dollars—normally that stack would cost over thirty dollars, depending on the comics. Various incentives will also be available to shoppers, rewarding them with free comics practically each month; up to eight-issue starter packs refresh every month, as well. Longbox’s unique design intends to “open people up to different comics and open the audience up in different ways.”

Seeing the Longbox player work its magic in person, however, stood as the shining moment of the panel. The start screen introduced the program as a virtually breathing entity—complete with a Comic Book Resources news feed (now only if we could get a GEN feed going, hmm?), current featured comics, and weekly comic releases. The option screen allows the user to decide if he/she wants to download comics in the background. Most of the flexibility, though, resides in the store, where you can browse comics a variety of ways. Exploring the full catalog, flipping through new releases, and following the rating system (set by pubishers with the option for “parental guidance”-esque subaccounts) are a few of the ways you can navigate the storefront. Comics will frequently include a five to eight-page preview, and the storefront features hyperlinks that refer to titles, allowing the user to “toggle from script to pencils to inks.” Users will be able to search for comics via multiple heuristics. Your library also breaks down the user’s inventory by different categories—such as publisher, writer, artist, etc.—in order to facilitate navigation.

The reader, however, acts as the heart of Longbox, presenting a wealth of convenient modes designed for user compatibility. Switching from single- to double-page views, implementing on-screen control and hotkeys, browsing through a DVD-styled shelf as well as quick navigation for chapters and volumes for trades are only a few of the options available at your fingertips. The program features a spoiler guard on the easily clickable pages that appear at the bottom of the screen, preventing accidental glances from ruining a comic by showing only a standard Longbox logo instead of the page preview. The bookmark function allows you to keep your place in a larger comic; you can also save and export text for bibliographical purposes and access your recent viewing history. A built-in directory’s commentary, featuring extra content from creators, can be turned on and off, and manga sticklers will be happy with the ability to browse pages right to left with the press of a button. The zoom function magnifies areas and lets the user rescale; additionally, the program pre-selects “attention areas to predefine zoom regions so readers can toggle forward and toggle back,” making viewing ideal for smaller screens. Subtitles will be available for international readers, and the minimal view cuts down on perhaps undesired user interface.

At its launch, Longbox will provide comics from more than seven publishers, including Dabel Brothers, NBM, Archaia, Shadowline Silverline, Top Cow, Boom, and many creator-owned books. If something goes wrong with your computer, a backup of your files will already be prepped. Hoseley wrapped up the panel by saying, “the current size of the direct market is not, how we say, robust.” The focus of Longbox will be centered on offering “affordable entertainment rather than, how do we capture the existing mass market?” People who purchase digitally will also be directed into direct market shops, and a formalized admissions process for unestablished self-publishers will be set to ensure quality content. In addition, back issues will be available after undergoing a thorough clean-up process. “There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t exist in digital format, and it’s going to require scanning,” Hoseley stated. The second-tier launch will add on a social friending service, and prepaid gift cards are in negotiation.

Hoseley finished, “We’re trying to make everyone make more money, including retailers and print.” As a brief witness to the power of Longbox, the program looks fantastic and easy to use. I have to admit I was impressed with the visceral attention to potential problem areas, which seem to be largely countered. For those who are wary of the reader’s capabilities, seeing is believing, and I personally can’t wait for its debut. Unclear, however, is the possible effect Longbox might have on online comic shops, but the argument of print versus digital will most likely keep the playing field even. People will always have a preference between print and digital comics, but with a convenient, comfortable reader that virtually tricks the user into thinking they’re holding a real comic in his hands, a mix between print and digital might very well be the future of comics.