The Private Eye
Vaughan and Martin’s ‘The Private Eye’ #2 now on sale
About a month and a half after the debut of The Private Eye, the name-your-own-price digital comic from Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, the duo is back with the second issue of the futuristic detective story.
In case you’re a little late to the game, The Private Eye is set in 2076, “when everyone in the United States has a secret identity. Our protagonist is a member of the paparazzi, outlaw private investigators who dig up the kind of personal dirt no longer readily available through search engines. It’s a mystery with lots of masks, but no superpowers.”
The 32-page second issue is now available on the Panel Syndicate website. As “name-your-own-price” suggests, you can pay whatever you choose, although the Vaughan and Marcos think 99 cents is fair (the writer says $3 seemed to be the most common payment for the first issue).
Talking Comics with Tim | Peter Krause on return of ‘Insufferable’
Insufferable
Hard to believe, but this month marks four years since I first interviewed artist Peter Krause about his return to comics. More immediately, today marks the return of Mark Waid and Peter Krause’s Insufferable at Thrillbent 2.0 with a new arc, “On the Road.” Through Thrillbent 2.0, Insuffereable: On The Road is free to view and download or embed — there are plenty of ways to enjoy the somewhat reconciled father-son team of Nocturnus and Galahad (seemingly led by the smarter than both of them, Meg). In addition, there are bundled editions of the first Insufferable arc (with extras) for sale at comiXology.com.
Tim O’Shea: How did Mark Waid convince you to try working in a then-relatively new medium like digital comics on Insufferable?
Peter Krause: The main attraction was that I’d get to keep working with Mark. I really valued the time we’d spent on Irredeemable for BOOM! I stepped away from that book because of time constraints — I was doing non-comics work that was making it harder to bring an “A” game to Irredeemable.
Quote of the Day | The price is right
“I’m delighted to say that many more people paid us than didn’t. Those who opted to pay something paid at least 99 cents, and I don’t think too many people paid more than $5. Three bucks, the cost of most new paper comics, seemed to be a common payment.”
– writer Brian K. Vaughan, revealing to The New York Times the lowest and highest amounts paid for the first issue of The Private Eye, his digital collaboration with Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente. Readers were encouraged to name their own price, with 99 cents as the recommended amount.
By the Numbers | Waiting for Marvelman
In “By the Numbers,” ROBOT 6 takes a look back at the events of the past five days … in numbers.
With Thursday’s announcement that Neil Gaiman is returning to the Marvel Universe and bringing with him Angela, the character at the center of his eight-year legal battle with Todd McFarlane, we’re left to wonder about the whereabouts of Marvelman. We also look at the surprise departures at DC Comics, and what the right price is when you name your own.
Vaughan and Martin’s ‘Private Eye’ debuts: Is it worth your time?
No muss, no fuss and very little hype — this week Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin re-teamed on a new digital-only comic titled The Private Eye. Featuring fantastic colors by Muntsa Vicente, the comic is available on the Panel Syndicate website “for any price you think is fair.”
With that kind of model, there’s not a lot of risk for the consumer, but there is the question of “How much should I pay?” The site’s FAQ suggest 99 cents as a fair price; I opted to pay $3 because that’s what I would pay for a copy of Saga. But if you’re unsure if it’s worth your time and money, here are a few reviews to help you along …
Vaughan and Martin launch name-your-price digital comic
I was excited by the teasers for Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s creator-owned project — Saga is one of my favorite current reads, and I love anything the artist draws — and now I’m pleased to see the actual announcement doesn’t disappoint.
Rather publish a traditional miniseries, which is what I was expecting, the Doctor Strange: The Oath collaborators have reteamed for Panel Syndicate, a website where they’ll release digital comics in a variety of formats, all DRM-free, which will undoubtedly please those who have been critical the the industry’s predominant digital-delivery methods. What’s more, the creators are allowing readers to name their price, although “we think 99 cents is a pretty fair asking price for our new issues” (hitting upon another hot-button subject in the digital debate, that $2.99 or $3.99 is too expensive for a standard-length comic).