What Is Techno Again?

At Heroes Con last weekend, Rantz Hoseley, the editor of Image Comics’ Comic Book Tattoo, introduced the project Longbox Digital Comics, a program similar in nature to iTunes … only for, you know, comics. The Comic Book Resources write-up about Longbox—which has already joined with Top Cow and BOOM! Studios—addressed the pros and cons from a practical marketing standpoint, but what about the fans’ perspective?

First, let’s recap the information in the CBR article. Basically, Longbox Digital Comics would launch of wider net to lure in new readers; while people are more black-and-white when it comes to whether or not the idea of reading about superheroes in paneled form appeals to them, independent comics encapsulate a much vaster range of stories and interests. Comics from the Longbox could be downloaded at a proposed ninety-nine cent price, with the possibility of block and subscription pricing, too. There are dozens of outlets the software could potentially run on, including Xbox Live or Kindle—not just your computer. And best of all, that’s less storage/shelving space for your comics and trades, which really comes in handy.

Obviously discounted and easily accessible comics, equip with a digital, organized storage system, would be highly advantageous to fans as long as the options to flip through pages and read panels are served on a simple, well-designed program. Myspace Dark Horse Presents and Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited have shown success, but honestly I think fans would prefer a pay-for-what-you-want system instead of an buffet-styled free-for-all like MDCU. Comics are expensive, and a lot of factors go into how many comics people can read each week, or in a month. Their reading habits and time availability fluctuate with as little as a blink, so fans would definitely benefit from a service that accounts for their cost-effective needs.

While I totally agree with the Longbox idea, the highly informative CBR article—which covers its bases well in terms of marketing and technical details—skips over one of the biggest challenges to the comic industry … something I can’t believe anyone could realistically overlook:

Piracy.

Oh, piracy: the black word that threatens all kinds of mediums, from video games to music to, yes, comics. The priority alert for comic thieves doesn’t rank as high as other forms of entertainment, so it’s not surprising how easy it is for people to download comics illegally in high-quality, scanned format. After all, the price of comics has jumped, and buying comics proves as addicting and costly a habit as heroin—especially when you consider the expansive Marvel and DC universes that rake in massive quantities of cash based on gigantic, often over-hyped crossovers and ridiculous numbers of titles concerning one character. You can’t count on one hand the number of Batman or Wolverine titles that are at your disposal, which makes it incredibly hard—especially for new readers—to know what’s truly worth reading or even where they should start.

The comic medium is extremely intimidating; it’s no wonder the main complaint deterring the curious from testing the industry’s waters is that they have no idea where to start. People don’t need a road map to read books—the biggest thing they have to worry about is where a book fits in a series—so why should they have to when it comes to comics? Unless you’re rich or are fortunate enough to receive review copies or work in a comic shop, chances are you can only afford a select number of titles to read each month.

Enter piracy—the quick solution for all a comic reader’s problems. A fan can dive in and browse as many titles as they want in order to determine what titles they should stick with, and that simple effort of sampling the bottomless buffet saves them unbelievable mountains of cash. Because writers and artists are never constant in comics, neither is—most of the time, anyway—the quality of a title’s issues. If someone can save three bucks by simply downloading a pirated comic, well—frustration averted. Fans can stay up-to-date with their favorite characters, teams, and universes without it costing them a fortune. So with all of this in mind, and considering that comics are constantly ongoing and frequent—which accounts for their soap opera-irresistible appeal—is it any wonder so many fans rely on piracy each week? Can we honestly blame them? Music has the radio; movies and TV series have cable, OnDemand, and local channels; what do comics have? Free Comic Book Day, once a year, with a very limited offering of titles that aren’t even real issues—most of the time they’re just previews.

What the industry needs is low-priced, legitimate digital comics. Ironically enough, even though indie comics don’t reap as much attention as the “Top Two,” their quality can often be superior. The writers and artists at their helm are more constant for longer periods of time, readers don’t have to deal with fifty-plus years of convoluted history, and indie series don’t fall into as many cliche-ridden traps as superhero comics do. Not to mention they’re more consistent in price to begin with. Subscriptions don’t last forever, either, as many indie comics take the form of manageable limited series.

Independent comics—from Dark Horse to Image to Archaia and beyond—would be a perfect fit for a service like Longbox; before you dismiss it with the “not fulfilling the real comic store experience” bullshit excuse, keep in mind that not everyone has access to a local comic shop. And before you turn to online stores, factor in that nearly all of them charge extremely unequal issue-to-shipping costs. The cheapest I have personally discovered is HeavyInk, which I use quite often—but again, there’s processing and delivery time, and considering comics come out every week … the pros don’t always outweigh the cons. So an affordable, practical software like Longbox Digital Comics would not only effectively ease the piracy problem that continues to rot the industry’s foundations, but it would be of huge benefit to a lot of anxious fans, as well.