iPhone
Has pirated manga become ‘property of the internet’?
Akamatsu's legit manga download site
A blog called Welcome Datacomp has translated a discussion of manga piracy between manga creators Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina, Negima), Minako Uchida, and Kazumi Tojo that took place on the Japanese social media site Togetter about the prevalence of scanned and fan-translated manga on the internet. Akamatsu is experimenting with his own free manga site, but even so, he sounds pessimistic: “Am I too late? I get the feeling that [my project to release free manga PDFs] won’t be enough at this point.” He goes on to say
Hasn’t illegally scanned manga, propagated so casually like this, fallen into the category of “property of the Internet”? You won’t be able to eliminate it. The only thing we can do at this point is [launch our own free websites with the] “advertising model”. (Because charging people would be difficult.)
The most recent illegal scans are very high quality, and the translations are exceedingly accurate. (^^;) If there’s no respect for original authors on the net, then obviously the official versions will lose out.
The creators express dismay that people who would not shoplift from a physical store have no compunction about reading pirated manga; as Tojo says, “It seems like people will pay for things they can touch like vegetables, but they think it’s a waste to pay for intangible data.”
It seems like the creators are talking about both scans in Japanese, which are read locally, and fan-translated manga for other markets; they cite one example of a publisher being told by fans to change a name to the one selected by a scanlator. And there’s an interesting side discussion on the decline of the cell phone, which was once a popular platform for yaoi and erotic manga. As people switch to smart phones, the options dwindle: Apple doesn’t allow adult manga in the iTunes store, and Akamatsu says Kindle doesn’t either (I’m not so sure about that), but the fans reassure him that Android allows it, making that the platform of choice for ero manga fans.
Digital news: Half price sale on Archie comics
The Archie App
Verizon users will get their long-awaited iPhones beginning on Feb. 10, and the Archie folks want to make sure they get a piece of the action from the get-go, so they will be marking down all their digital comics to 99 cents as a way to say hello. The sale applies only to comics bought through Archie’s iVerse app, and prices go back up again at midnight on Feb. 14.
This chiefly affects newer titles, as 99 cents seems to be the default price for older comics on the Archie app anyway. They also have a dozen free comics, including the first issues of the Archie: Freshman Year series and Chuck Clayton’s Cartoon Life. But the sale would be a good time to snap up Veronica #202, which marks the first appearance of Kevin Keller, Riverdale’s first openly gay character, and the Life with Archie magazines, which follow the dual Archie-marries-Veronica and Archie-marries-Betty storylines, for short money.
Also, for those who truly cannot have enough Archie in their lives, the Archie News blog is now updating daily with vintage panels and covers from days of Riverdale past, as well as their usual barrage of information about new releases (including generous previews).
Robot 13 wins Digital Innovation Award
Robot 13
The big news in the e-book world this week was the Digital Book World convention in New York, and the big news for Robot 6 is that Robot 13 (no relation) won the Publishing Innovation Award in the comics category.
If there was every any doubt that comics have arrived, brush it away: There were only five awards categories, and comics made the cut alongside fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and reference. And the list of nominees was quite diverse:
- Clown Commandos #1 (Big Red Boot Entertainment)
- Disney Epic Mickey Digicomics (Disney Publishing Worldwide)
- Motion Comic SUPERARE (Amo Tarzi)
- Operation Ajax (Tall Chair, Inc.)
- Robot 13 (Robot Comics)
- Tumor (Archaia Studios Press)
- Valentine (Robot Comics)
The nominating judges clearly favorited individual comics over publishers: comiXology, iVerse, and Graphicly are all absent from this list, despite the fact that they have been doing quite a bit of genuine innovation. And it’s worth noting that for the judges, iTunes isn’t king. The finalists for the awards were Robot 13, Operation Ajax and Tumor, and two out of these three are not iPad comics: Robot 13 is available for iPhone but was originally developed for Android, while Tumor is distributed via Kindle. In the eyes of these judges, at least, there’s still quite a bit of diversity in the digital world.
Check out Kill Shakespeare for free through iTunes
Kill Shakespeare, Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery’s mashup of all Shakespeare’s characters into one huge bad-guys-versus-good-guys story, has done very well, so well that the first two issues have sold out. What’s that? You didn’t get to see them? Well, if you have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, you’re in luck: Publisher IDW is offering the first two issues for free through the iTunes store. (This actually started a while ago, but some of the downloads didn’t work—now they do.)
You can pick them up through the Comics+ or IDW apps, both of which are free and really should be on your iThing anyway. And if you like what you see, check out the subsequent issues for 99 cents each—Issue #7 just went up this week.
Here’s a bit of background on Del Col and McCreery from their college newspaper.
In 2010, comics owned the iPad
The Marvel app for the iPad
Apple has released a list of the top apps for iPhone and iPad in its iTunes store, and three of the top five grossing book apps for the iPad are not just comics readers, they are all from comiXology: Marvel Comics, Comics (their multi-publisher reader), and DC Comics. This reflects not just the quality of the iPad as a comics medium for comics but also the large numbers of comics that must be selling through those apps (the apps themselves are free). The top grosser in the book category is The Elements, a visual exploration of the periodic table, which probably doesn’t have a lot of mass appeal but sells for $13.99, and the number five app is The Cat in the Hat, which does have a lot of appeal and sells for $3.99. That three comics apps can match that tells me that people are buying a lot of comics through them.
The pattern is the same for the rest of the top ten book apps—all but the comics apps are single-book apps (as opposed to an e-reader like Stanza), and none are free: Alice in Wonderland, the Bible, a Toy Story read-along, and two more Dr. Seuss books.
The Marvel and DC apps are number three and six, respectively, on the list of most downloaded free apps.
Dark Horse announces launch titles for its homegrown digital app
Back in October Dark Horse Comics announced that they would release their own homegrown proprietary bookshelf application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as on the Web in January 2011. With the release date approaching, Dark Horse has posted on their blog a list of all the comics that will be available at launch.
The list includes many of their top titles, including Hellboy, BPRD, Umbrella Academy and Conan; the only thing I noticed that was missing that kind of surprised me was the current Buffy series (Fray, which starred a future Slayer in the Buffyverse, will be available) but maybe they have bigger plans for it at some point.
Individual issues will be available for $1.49 each, and they’ll also bundle series together (ComicsAlliance has the price list). Dark Horse also noted that in February you can “expect to see select issues of your favorite comics appearing online the same time they’re released in stores.”
It’s also worth noting that comics bought via one client can be viewed on all of them. “Once you buy a DH digital comic, whether on the web or on any mobile device, you may access that title from any client,” Dark Horse Chief Information Officer Dale LaFountain told us back in October. “In other words, the purchase is associated with your account, not the device.”
Check out the list of launch titles after the jump.
NYCC ’10 | Download Dark Horse’s digital comics for free this weekend
As Kevin noted earlier today, Dark Horse Comics is supposed to have some news today at the New York Comic Con about their digital comics initiatives — in fact, the panel is going on right now, so we should know soon what they have planned.
Unlike Marvel, DC and the other major publishers, they haven’t aligned themselves with one (or more) of the third-party companies like comiXology or iVerse (Although I should note they released three titles on comiXology’s app earlier this year). Instead, they’ve continued to release individual applications for their titles. So will today bring news of their titles going to one of the existing apps, or will they continue to offer titles individually, but for the lower cost that Kevin noted? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
In the meantime, they’re handing out flyers (see above) at the New York Comic Con advertising that Serenity: Better Days #1 is free in the iTunes application store, both for the iPad and the iPhone, this weekend. And a quick search on my iPad reveals that there are several other free comics out there as well — Beasts of Burden, Troublemaker and several of the other titles shown on the flyer. So head over to iTunes to start downloading now.
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Apple
Digital comics | Following more than two years of complaints, Apple has given developers the guidelines it uses to determine which programs can be sold through its App Store, and relaxed some restrictions on content and tools. The company recently was criticized for forcing the creators of a comic adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses to remove nonsexual nudity from some panels — Apple later changed its stance — and for initially rejecting an app from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore because his animated political satire contained “content that ridicules public figures.” Alan Gardner notes that the revised guidelines specifically exempt “professional political satirists and humorists” from a clause prohibiting defamatory or offensive material. [The Associated Press]
Comic strips | After 60 years with United Feature Syndicate, Peanuts will move in February to Universal Uclick. The news isn’t totally unexpected, as Iconix Brand Group partnered with the heirs of Charles M. Schulz in April to buy the rights to the comic strip from United’s parent company E.W. Scripps. The $175 million deal was for the entire United Media Licensing division, which includes Dilbert. [Comic Riffs]
Image Comics, comiXology team up on digital application
Image on the iPad
Image Comics and comiXology launched a dedicated Image application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch tonight, which is available now on iTunes.
The application includes comics from Top Cow, Shadowline and Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint, as well as titles like Chew, Haunt, Savage Dragon, Youngblood, Wanted, Fell, Elephantman and Jack Staff, among others. Overall it looks like it contains 60 different series that have been published by Image. And while most of the titles, I believe, are already available on the comiXology application, it looks like they’re offering more than 30 free comics for download on the app right now.
With the launch of the app, comiXology now has created dedicated applications for four of the top seven comic publishers, as Image joins DC Comics, BOOM! and Marvel. They also created the dedicated Scott Pilgrim application.
The press release emphasizes “unparalleled access to digital distribution” for independent creators:
“With the launch of the Image Comics app, we have an opportunity to provide our creators with the digital support that, for many of them, was unattainable before,” says Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. “comiXology has established a very impressive track record of bringing independent content into the digital world. Today represents a milestone in our growth as a company and enables us to increase the availability of the fantastic titles we publish.”
“Our partnership with Image is indicative of our shared vision to help independent creators thrive in the traditional print community as well as the explosive digital marketplace,” adds David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “The demand for creator-owned content is at an all time high, and we are thrilled to be able to provide fans with what they want. We’re lucky now to work directly with Image and to offer the creators a clear path to the digital market.”
Check out the full press release after the jump.
Spider-Man: Total Mayhem coming to iPhones next month
Marvel.com has a trailer for a new Spider-Man game that’s hitting the iTunes store Sept. 2 Sept. 1. The game features a storyline “inspired by the Ultimate Spider-Man series” and features Venom, among other villains.
SDCC ’10 | Tokyopop calls for a Priest
Tokyopop's Priest app
Tokyopop’s big San Diego news is that the long-delayed film Priest, based on the manhwa (Korean comic) by Min-Woo Hyung, will finally be released in May 2011, with Paul Bettany in the lead.
At this afternoon’s Priest panel at Comic-Con International, Tokyopop staffers introduced a Priest iPhone/iPad app and showed off a sneak peek of the full-color comic prequel Priest: Purgatory, available exclusively at the convention — oh, and here, where we have the cover and a three-page preview after the cut.
Priest: Purgatory will debut in comic stores on Aug. 1.
Is it still a comic if I can’t crease the pages? Thoughts on digital and the iPad
DC Comics App on the iPad
With DC Comics revealing its digital strategy yesterday, all of the major players now have some sort of digital comics plan, allowing folks who have an Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.), a PlayStation Portable or even just access to the web to read at least some of their comics in a digital format.
I’ve had an iPhone for a while now, and I’ve downloaded free comic apps from distributors like comiXology, Panelfly and iVerse. I’ve used them to download free samples of comics they were offering (sampling Jersey Gods on the iPhone, for example, led to me purchasing the trades). But I never actually bought comics on it. And there’s a big difference between downloading something because it’s free, and actually becoming a paying customer and spending real money on it.
So what held me back? Part of it was because of what was available — most of the material I would have been interested in downloading I already owned in print, and I couldn’t justify buying it again. And part of it was that I just didn’t enjoy the experience of reading a comic on my iPhone as much as I did a print comic, mostly because of the size restrictions. The app developers, of course, tried to make it easy to adjust, offering zoom features and panel-to-panel scrolling, but there’s just something about not seeing the whole page of a comic at a time, versus just seeing each panel, that was the hump I couldn’t get over. I need the forest, and I need the trees.
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
All-Star Superman #1
Publishing | The big news of the day, obviously, is DC Comics’ entry into the digital-distribution arena with its comiXology-developed application for the iPad, iPhone and iPad Touch. CBR’s Kiel Phegley gets the details from Co-Publisher Jim Lee and John Rood, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development. (ComiXology is already updating the app to fix a bug that apparently caused early iPhones and iPods to crash.)
David Brothers has early analysis, looking as day-and-date digital release for Justice League: Generation Lost, and a tiered pricing structure. Meanwhile, Matthew Maxwell writes: “… This does mean that both of the Big Two are now officially putting pinkie toes, if not entire feet into the pool. But who will jump in along with them?” We’ll round up more reactions later today. [Comic Book Resources]
Organizations | Mark Waid has joined the board of directors of The Hero Initiative, replacing Guillermo del Toro. [press release]
BOOM!’s Chip Mosher discusses their digital distribution plans
BOOM! on the iPad
Over the last couple of days BOOM! Studios has made two announcements related to digital distribution of their titles. Yesterday they launched their own iPad/iPhone application with some help from comiXology, and today they announced they plan to make their entire catalog of BOOM! Studios titles available via comiXology, iVerse, Graphic.ly and Panelfly.
I spoke with Chip Mosher, BOOM!’s director of marketing, about their digital plans, timing of releases, the customer base for their digital comics and more.
JK: Let’s talk timing, as that’s been a popular topic of late. How long will it take new BOOM! titles to reach the digital apps, compared to when books hit retail stores?
Chip: BOOM! really sees the digital comics market as its own animal. We were one of the first companies to have comics on the iPhone with iVerse back when they launched and have been watching the market place for a couple of years now. Having a consistent release schedule is important for that market segment, and what we are seeing is that the people who are reading digital comics are far and away removed from the rhythms of the direct market. A ton of what the release schedule depends on has to do with administrative things that are out of our control. Currently we have no plans on doing anything earlier than 30 days.
Are you an Alex Ross fan? Now there’s an app for that
Alex Ross iPhone app
Alex Ross has released a free iPhone app that allows fans to browse the artist’s galleries, view video interviews, receive updates on his personal appearances and more. In short, it’s Ross’ website for iPhone owners on the go.
