Comic tablets and the future...

[Pete Wells]

Thanks to the ramblings of PJ and Co. on the superb Sunnyside podcasts, I've started thinking about the future of our beloved comics.

Naturally, I like holding my paper copy 2000AD and owning it as a physical object but the thought of having a floppy, comic-esque tablet that can have my fave comics regularly downloaded to it, sounds more than fine to me.

I like the thought of not being at the mercy of my postie, Rebellion saving on distribution costs, benefits to the environment and the effect it could have on self publishing. Also, with more artists using computers these day's I feel that the printed page often loses something - an example could be Leigh Gallagher's Zombie Baby cover of 1463, while it looked great on the cover of my prog, the version on his blog had so much more vibrancy and zing to it!

So, my questions are:

a) Where are we at in terms of distribution?

I've heard of the Longbox Project but don't really know what it is and have also heard rumours that Apple may be making an itunes for comics. Obviously, I've used Clickwheel in the past (the Halloween special was great, despite me already owning all the strips) and have found it decent enough to use.

b) More importantly for me, where are we at with a decent sized tablet?

I really don't want to read my comic on something the size of my phone, if I made the switch I'd want something a decent size (and ideally, floppy!) Today Andy Diggle twittered a link to this article about the Apple Tablet which looks decent (http://gizmodo.com/5391045) and PJ has mentioned a Microsoft one in the works too. A friend of mine was also talking about something from Sony, but that might just be for books.

I think the future looks exciting. I can't remember the last time I trudged to the shops and bought a CD, I wonder if it's going to be the same for books and comics in future...

[pauljholden]

It's interesting to me that lots of the people I consider at the cutting edge of comics (people into experimentation with the form - like warren ellis) have started to refer to comics as 'artifacts' - ie actual non-digital things. I see two things in the future:

1) Digital comics, almost all marvel / dc / 2000AD / small press (which will be distinct from marvel / dc / 2000AD only in as much as the creators will probably never had anything in physical print) You could argue that many of those people doing webcomics now are actually getting a bigger readership than Marvel /DC/Whoever, but, because they're all digital we think of them as small press.

2) 'Artifacts' - like the big absolute collections, these will be premier books - I'd still like the big dredd collections, etc, or collected works, but I'd be happy to buy 2000AD and the Meg digitially, picking up collections along the way. (I'd even pay! though not the current barmy pricing of £1.89 or so for the digital 2000ad, not when the actual print copy is roughly the same - the meg digital price, on the other hand, is a bargain)

Course we're a long way from that ideal, but I can see it shaping up like that and I'm looking forward to it.

What's stopping us right now is the idea of a device for reading comics, the iPhone is great and suggests a perfect distribution model that might work, but the form is just too small (even if you make use of it properly by treating each screen as a page). Some kind of tablet is inevitable (for a number of reasons) publishers want it, computer manufacturers want it (lets face it, most of us have computers now that we're probably never going to replace unless we really have the money spare - seriously, I haven't pushed the power of my own computer for a few years, though, granted I don't play games) and the technology is shaping up to make a tablet sized device something that can work well and be affordable.

It's all a question of when (and can print publishers survive long enough to actually capitalise on it when it happens).

(As an aside, I think 2000AD should be looking at distributing through longbox/iVerse AND comixology, frankly the more venues the better)

(Also: most people I know colour on computer, some draw on computer, going to print often DOES have an impact on the art - mostly negative as we've all lost knowledge on how to go to print properly...)

-pj
(ps cheers for this, it's probably a good basis for a another show)

[pauljholden]

One other point: what's stopping this happening RIGHT THIS SECOND NOW, is not technology, it's copyrights, legalities and contracts. There's a very real sense that everyone involved in comics (bar the people who actually sell them*) are desperate for some sort of tablet (technology exists, in fact I'm using a laptop right now that could, if stripped of the keyboard and other bits, work as a perfect tablet) and the big publishers are struggling to figure out the way to make distribution work - and they will, of course, all want to go it alone - which will prevent any decent progress for awhile. The big white hope is that apple come in and put everything in place and tie up all electronic distribution for books/magazines and comics in one fell swoop.

(*though, frankly, most comics shops probably would like to get rid of the comic books sodeas they're a nightmare for ordering/stocking - in the same way they'd like to get rid of customers, if only the could figure out how...)

-pj

[Pete Wells]

I knew you wouldn't be able to resist Paul!

In terms of devices, I had a search and found a (pretty biased) video on the Microsoft Courier vs. the Apple Tablet (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58fxzRV5HY&feature=related.)

I like the fact that the Microsoft device the look and feel of a book and it closes to protect its screens (though as one of the sunnyside guys said, it would scupper the double page spread.) The Apple tablet looks yummy too, though a bit more cumbersome. I wonder what the pricing is going to be like for these...?

[Jim_Campbell]

I would treat that whole piece on tablets with great suspicion ... The only info that every source seems to agree on regarding the Apple tablet is that Jobs has been focussing on it almost exclusively since he returned to work ... if they were just scaling up the Touch, then that wouldn't seem to require that level of attention, so I suspect that it's bringing something decidedly different to the concept beyond "extra big iPod Touch".

Similarly, I'm a little dubious about the Windows offering ... I actually really, really like the form factor, but Microsoft have a habit of leaking prototype/development projects to reassure their shareholders and the markets that they're on the ball, but which don't actually pan out. See their "Hey, we're down with the whole touch-sensitive UI thing -- look, we've got a big assed table that costs $10,000" effort in this category.

Apple's Phil Schiller has said that they have no more products to be announced before Christmas, so we certainly won't be seeing a tablet from them before 2010.

Cheers

Jim

[uncle fester]

Was that video sponsored by Microsoft??  The last time something got such a fanfare it was called Vista...

[pauljholden]

I'd agree with Jim, the big problem is that there's such a feverish demand (specificially from us, technology blogs and publishers) that people WANT to believe. The big problem for developers is whether that demand is real and whether they'd sell sufficient units to make money. (in a recent article some higher up at marvel practically begged apple to approach them).

In my opinion, apple prefer to come to a market with something that does a LOT more than people expect, or, at least, is unpredictably different. People predicted an iPhone, but certainly nothing like the device as it appeared (which two years later STILL feels futuristic and weirdly different from any other phone).

As for microsoft, having seen years of MS Prototypes and their final devices, I wouldn't hold out much - if any - hope for that particular device.

(Crunchgear looks promising though... in that it might actually happen...)

-pj

[uncle fester]

I could see the new generation of tablets would be a big hit with comic readers, as you could jump between volumes, GNs and single issues whilst on the train etc. Having a back catalogue of Case Files in that format would probably spark the same fever that causes everyone I know to race to fill up their ipods.

I think the tablets will have to be a lot more inviting, and as PJ says with Apple, they'll have to do a lot more than what people predict from them before they have an impact on the book reading public. That Microsoft gadget would have the same wow factor as cold tea in that sense.

[locustsofdeath!]

If I might chime in...personally, the shift to digital is a downer. Now that comics are being colored, inked and even drawn on computers, it takes away the fun (I hesitate to say artistry because I will surely be lambasted; plus I do understand that the digital artist, though a different beast in many ways, is still an artist). Or maybe I should say it takes away the "romantic" aspect of the medium, the idea of the artist hunched over his drawing board, the inker leaving his mark and the colorist doing the same. Once upon a time, I could pick up a comic and know right away not only the artist, but the inker and colorist. I feel the same way about the switch from film to digital.

Now, be sure all of you that I mean the above as no offence. Art is art and I enjoy what I'm reading in comics and what I see here on the forum. Carry on, and I will root for you.

[Christov]

I would only support the digital distribution of 2000AD or the Megazine if the prices reflected that.

Basically, what I'm saying is 'if it's cheaper than a printed comic, I'm in'.

[Marbles]

Many people  are already consuming comics digitally on a cheap Windows-based Tablet (or Laptop) using Comic Book Reader and scans.

A Longbox + Apple Tablet solution would simply rationalise (& very importantly monetise) something that is already happening, exactly like Apple did with music a few years ago.

For me the art (esp. colours) I see on preview pages at say Newserama are often far better in quality and brightness than what appears later in the printed page (& therefore in the scans of the the printed page). The upgrade in art quality from missing out the 'digital to paper to digital' process would be well worth paying for.

[Wake]

Basically, what I'm saying is 'if it's cheaper than a printed comic, I'm in'.

In reality could it be much cheaper?

The stories still need to be written, drawn, coloured and lettered. Rebellion would still need to make enough profit to employ editors, etc. The only savings would be printing and distribution. Would they be enough?

[pauljholden]

If I might chime in...personally, the shift to digital is a downer. Now that comics are being colored, inked and even drawn on computers, it takes away the fun (I hesitate to say artistry because I will surely be lambasted; plus I do understand that the digital artist, though a different beast in many ways, is still an artist). Or maybe I should say it takes away the "romantic" aspect of the medium, the idea of the artist hunched over his drawing board, the inker leaving his mark and the colorist doing the same. Once upon a time, I could pick up a comic and know right away not only the artist, but the inker and colorist. I feel the same way about the switch from film to digital.

Now, be sure all of you that I mean the above as no offence. Art is art and I enjoy what I'm reading in comics and what I see here on the forum. Carry on, and I will root for you.

No offence taken, but I'd suggest to you that this is an inevitable direction and that as romantic a notion as traditional comic drawing is, for a pro comic artist its a lot less so (working to a deadline while ill will quickly rob anything of its romance).

-pj

[Christov]

In reality could it be much cheaper?

The stories still need to be written, drawn, coloured and lettered. Rebellion would still need to make enough profit to employ editors, etc. The only savings would be printing and distribution. Would they be enough?

You'd be surprised with the money you could save by cutting out printing and distribution alone, but you're right.

It wouldn't be massive savings but there would be enough incentive to get it digitally if it's cheaper than a printed prog. Besides, a digital 2000AD could reach a broader audience than in print, what with the worldwide web being, well, worldwide. That said, progs would need translation for non-English speaking countries, which could be rather time consuming or pricey.

[pauljholden]

Basically, what I'm saying is 'if it's cheaper than a printed comic, I'm in'.

In reality could it be much cheaper?

The stories still need to be written, drawn, coloured and lettered. Rebellion would still need to make enough profit to employ editors, etc. The only savings would be printing and distribution. Would they be enough?

Yes. For a number of reasons:

distribution costs can be as high as 60% of the cover price (certainly for diamond) digital distribution is starting to fix itself around 30/40% of cover (or much less if you build your own infrastructure).

Publishing costs can be expensive - printing for newstands requires publishing more than you need, on a sale or return basis - and what you get returned are just the covers, so the comics are pulped.

You can only sell a finite amount of back issues (limited by physical storage space)

Distribution is limited by the size/weight of comics, which is why 2000AD in the states is VERY expensive, no problem for digital.

International distribution is difficult, is it worth translating into different languages for various international markets ? whereas it's relatively inexpensive to do the same digitally.

In other words, you make more of the cover price, you can make as many copies as you need without any additional upfront costs and back issues are always available and always for sale.

ALSO: You can do all of this digitally WITHOUT, necessarily, cannibalizing actual sales of the print comic.  I'd suggest the majority of 2000AD's readers are people picking it up in newsagents out of habit and those people are unlikely to ever buy a digital copy.


-pj

(Should be pointed out, I haven't done anything like proper research, have no idea whether it WOULD be feasible for 2000AD to go down the route of 99cents copies, but I'd be VERY surprised if it wasn't).