Tags: Picture of the day
I’ll admit, I can’t afford an iPad. And I have difficulty figuring out the different types of digital comic book formats and what the best way to get a digicomic is, anyway. But I do believe that it will be the way of the future, and the way of the near future when it comes to the monthly “pamphlets.” It’s still much cheaper to buy a trade than to buy all the issues digitally (if they’re even available), so I think publishing will still be around for at least the next 5-10 years. And to cherish the retailers, Marvel recently promoted a “$5 off” coupon to everyone who buys a comic through the Marvel app. That’s a great idea.
Meanwhile, Dark Horse recently announced day-and-date digital pricing at $2.99, with books dropping to $1.99 30 days later. Although this did upset retailers, understandably, they’re just going to have to accept that in order for comics to continue as a medium, they’re going to have to adopt and adapt—or they’ll face the same fate as the music industry.
Maybe retailers will disappear, but it won’t be exclusively due to digital comics. It’ll be due to cheaper prices for merchandise via internet sellers and/or “big box” retailers. It’ll be because kids just aren’t reading as much as they used to. It’ll be because the industry, as a whole, hasn’t tried hard enough to promote the use of comic books in classrooms (a vast, untapped possibility fortified by recent studies showing that kids who read comics end up reading other materials as well, and read at the same or higher levels as those who do not read comics).
Folks like me and you, who love this medium, have a responsibility not to buy bootlegs and to pass along comics to our friends. But we also should feel free to explore the digital market—it offers indie DIY creators a vast opportunity that may, ultimately, produce product to support retailers. See, e.g., Angry Birds, an app that has spawned a huge toy-and-other-crap industry. And it can be used as a promotional tool far more effectively than retail comics (read the first few issues on line, but then advertise that trades are available at your local retailer, e.g.). Retailers who yelled at Dark Horse for going day-and-date should instead start getting creative. These days, no industry can take its customers for granted. No one should assume that customers will find them—retailers have to find their customers. Or lose them.
Tags: Comic books
I do really dig this cat.
Tags: Hip Hop
Here’s my list. Let’s do this.
10. SCOUT-Pi
A sweet, simple EP.
9. SELF SCIENTIFIC-Trials of the Blackhearted
An EP with Big K.R.I.T., Talib Kweli, Freddie Gibbs, Game….And the shit’s free?!?
8. MOTHA FOLKIN’ SOUL-Self Titled.
Hilarious, rated X, irreverent, catchy and well-written. Awesome debut. Here’s the review.
7. GRYNCH-Timeless EP
“All I Wanna Do” is as good as “My Volvo.” Word.
Get it here, free.
6. KREAYSHAWN-Gucci Gucci
Pretty much as soon as this dropped, this Brooklyn chick got picked up by the Majors. Let’s hope she’s got more in her than one song, a la Fannypack’s “Cameltoe.”
Tags: Best of 2011, Extended Player (EP), Hip Hop, Indie, Indie rock
Two for today! First, a wild electronic album from Thor Harris, “A Post Apocolyptic Tale of Friendship.”
Truly astounding soundscapes and collages. It’s the soundtrack to a book or something, but it’s amazing. Get it here.
Sample track three.
Thor Harris Track 03
Bikini‘s latest EP is, for some reason, in memory of JD Salinger. I don’t know much about the electronica “band,” (other than that it’s two dudes), but I like what I hear.
Get it here.
Here’s the video for “ACheerlaeder.” Be careful. It’s wild. And it’s got naked boobies in it!
Tags: Electronica
But not by Alan Moore or Dave Gibbons. Joe and Andy Kubert are at work on a Nite Owl miniseries prequel about the original Nite Owl and his son—perhaps with Joe taking the “dad art” chores and Andy on the “son art” chores?. Also, Darwyn Cooke is writing a prequel focusing on The Comedian. Dave Gibbons said he’s sitting out “this wave,” suggesting additional Watchbooks are coming. Good creators attached, but is there any way this is going to end well? Sometimes, you should just let great be great and stop trying to get more money out of it.
Tags: Comic books
