Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
By David Hyde
PARTNERS WITH COMIXOLOGY AND PLAYSTATION®NETWORK DIGITAL COMICS
ONLINE SALES AND DC COMICS APP FOR IPHONE®, IPAD® AND IPOD® TOUCH LAUNCH WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23 WITH UNPRECEDENTED RETAILER AFFILIATE PROGRAM, CONSUMER PLATFORM CONVERGENCE AND PROMOTION OF EAGERLY ANTICIPATED SUPERMAN STORYLINE
NEW YORK / BURBANK, Calif., June 23, 2010 - DC Comics, publisher of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Fables, is partnering with comiXology and PlayStation®Network for two separate digital comics distribution deals launching today, Wednesday, June 23. In addition, a DC Comics App for the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod® Touch is available allowing consumers an easy way to access DC Comics’ content. The announcement was made jointly today by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.
“At DC Comics, it has been a top priority that DC forges a meaningful, forward-looking digital strategy,” said Jim Lee, Co-Publisher, DC Comics. “As both a comic book creator and Co-Publisher, it was incredibly important that our plan includes not only creator incentive payments, but also an innovative component that supports comic shop owners. We see digital as an opportunity to grow our entire business.”
Both the comiXology and the PlayStation Network Digital Comics launch offerings will include classic titles from DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm, such as Batman: Hush, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Fables: Legends in Exiles and Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories. Both programs will share a tiered pricing format, with digital comics priced from $.99 to $2.99 per issue. The Justice League: Generation Lost mini-series will be available through both platforms day and date with each issue’s print edition on-sale date, with both the digital and print editions priced at $2.99. Several comics will be available for free at launch, including the first installment of the ZUDA series Bayou and select stories from Batman: Black & White.
To further promote today’s announcement, DC Comics is offering a free 10-page preview of the 700th issue of Superman available through both platforms, day and date with the issue going on sale in comic book stores. The 10 page story is a prelude to writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Eddy Barrows’ highly anticipated “Grounded” storyline that will be published in Superman which will examine how Superman sees America, and how America sees Superman.
“Grounded is a major turning point in the history of Superman,” said Dan DiDio, Co-Publisher of DC Comics. “This storyline has the potential to generate national headlines and bring new readers the series.”
About the comiXology program: The comiXology program will launch with over 100 issues, from DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm, including the first issue of All Star Superman. Beginning with launch, one issue of Neil Gaiman’s critically acclaimed Sandman will be available digitally exclusively through comiXology each week and over 100 additional issues from the company’s diverse imprints will be made available through the comiXology program each month. The digital comics, priced from $.99 to $2.99 per issue, will be available through:
• DC Comics app for the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod® Touch;
• DC Comics-branded storefront, located in the Comics by comiXology app for the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod® Touch;
• DC Comics-branded storefront on the web at Comics.comiXology.com.
• www.dccomics.com, later this year.
“Once readers download an issue, they will be able to read it on all DC Comics-branded Comics by comiXology-supported platforms,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “DC’s taking a bold approach to platform convergence, and we’re thrilled to be their solution of choice.”
Staying true to comiXology’s support of comic retailers, DC’s partnership with comiXology also includes a first-of-its-kind Retailer Affiliate Program, which will collect a portion of digital revenues to be invested back to and on behalf of comic book retailers in a variety of initiatives.
“The ComicsPRO Board of Directors is looking forward to continuing our dialog with DC Comics to figure out how their digital strategy can lead to new customers for storefront retailers,” said Joe Field, owner/operator of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff, an Eisner-Award winning comic book shop in Concord, California. “We’re pleased to be part of this important conversation about the future of the comics business.”
About PlayStation Network Digital Comics: The PlayStation® program will launch with over 80 issues from DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm, including the first 25 issues of Superman/Batman. Comic book titles based on videogame properties, including Free Realms, God of War and Resistance, will be made available digitally exclusively on PlayStation®Store for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Over 50 additional issues will be made available each month, priced from $0.99 to $2.99 per issue, available through PlayStation Network.
“With the PlayStation Network digital comics available for all PSP models, the user is able to explore a huge range of more than 1600 comics and we look forward to working with DC Comics to continue to add even more titles,” said Susan Panico, senior director, PlayStation Network, Sony Computer Entertainment America. “PlayStation Network is the premiere entertainment destination and we are excited to provide users with exclusive content and continue to expand our growing library of comics.”
About the DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution partnership:
DC Comics is working with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution to leverage its global digital platform expertise and key partner relationships with companies such as Apple, Microsoft and other online distributors. Through these efforts WBDD will help DC Comics grow their digital publishing business.
“We’re very pleased to be working with the exceptionally talented team at DC Comics to help bring digital comics to consumers,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “This innovative offering breaks new ground, and makes some truly great works available in digital form for the first time.”
“Today’s launch provides an additional opportunity to convert new readers and recapture lapsed readers while serving existing fans,” said John Rood, Executive Vice President, DC Entertainment. “We look forward to working with our partners in the industry—the creators, the retailers and the fans—as we experiment with our digital strategy, in a manner that remains additive to our traditional business models.”
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Tags: Batman, comixology, DC Comics, fables, green lantern, ipad, iphone, ipod touch, playstation network digital comics, sony, Superman
61 Responses to “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DC COMICS LAUNCHES DIGITAL PUBLISHING”
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Yes!
WOW ——— !
I guess I be getting me an iPad for Xmas
I thought one point of making digital comics was to bring down the price to consumers. After all, DC will be saving tons of cash on the overhead on a digital book. This whole “new direction” at DC never ceases to disappoint. 2010 will probably be the year I stop buying comics. I’ll join the ranks of the “Wait for the Trade” crowd. I can get those from the library.
Yes! I am beyond excited about this. For people like me who don’t have a comic store nearby, this is great. As much as I love having a real comic in hand, digital comics are simply so much more convenient. I’ll probably still buy new comics my old way (through ComicPull), but older issues would be a whole lot easier to find online. Sign me up!
Wow I am very excited about this hopefully they will release classic WWII titles on the digital formats like Marvel did. I was kind of hoping for more then just scanned pages but this is a good start. and @Kennypick cya more room for us fans to get our books and not here guys like u bitch and moan
This is incredibly exciting news. I’ve been waiting for DC to make their move on digital publishing. Thanks DC!
Now, if you could just make all your titles available on day of sale through the app, that would be perfect.
BRIGHTEST DAY EVER!!!
Finally, I can read those Vertigo and Wildstorm titles which I’ve been wanting to pick up for a long time. As of now, I hardly have any money left after I pick up my DC floppies each week.
But some of those titles being available digitally and at a price point of $0.99 - $2.99 means I can save $$$ for those other books as well. Here’s looking forward to the day I no longer have to drive 14 miles to get all of my comics.
Thank you DC.
I dont know if I agree with this DC…I like being able to hold comics in my hands, its the best part of Wednesday afternoons for me. Yes, we will be saving money (which I do need to do) this way and helping to rebuild the comic industry, but I just want my comics to fill up my long boxes too.
got it on the ipod touch this morning before you Americans woke up. Will be getting all those titles I can’t get my hands on hard copy!
Great news! Now, I’d really love a subscription based model like Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited. I’d love to be able to read Vertigo comics online.
@jorel… Get stuffed buddy. I’ve been a loyal DC reader for more years than you can probably count and the last 2 years have been the lousiest. I’d love to hear how you can rationalize paying full price for a new book in digital format versus a hard copy. It’s a total scam. What do you think the resale value of a digital book will be?
I’d rather bitch and moan than follow blindly and throw my money away.
downloading the DC reader now man i was gonna ask for a gift card to a book store for christmas now i want an ipad lol
meh. give me paper anyday!
@memorandom soon there will only be digital have u not seen sci fi movies lol
I think both DC and Marvel are guilty of three different things that is going to make the push to digital a slow one (which may be the intention, I don’t know)
1. You are setting day-and-date up for failure if you are trying to get any new customers. All casual readers will see is that the day-and-date title (which they probably won’t even know is a day-and-date title) is $1 extra for no particular reason which would cause them not to buy it, thus skewing the numbers of the experiment up and setting it up for failure. The only people it MAY entice (and I use ‘may’ very causally) is people nowhere near a comic book store that are more than casual readers. Let’s be honest though, they are either already getting their comics for free through torrents or getting them discounted from online retailers. For me it just sucks because all I want to do is read more stories without breaking the bank. I thought digital would give me that by allowing me to have a mix of print and digital, but sadly this doesn’t seem like the case.
2. The pricing point of these older comics is INSANE. Why in the world would anyone pay $1.99 for comics that are scanned versions of 40, 20, or even 1 year old comic books? Most of these are already available for cheaper prices (whether it be collections or bargain bins) and on top of that, DC/Marvel have ALREADY made their money off of them. Scanning these books and charging these outrageous prices makes for just cash in these companies pockets at the expense of the customers who are being cheated out of an opportunity to read about these characters at a decent price point. This really bums me out.
3. Pricing in general is just silly. Why $1.99? Why not $0.99? $0.99 makes a TON more sense if you are truly trying to entice new readers. It’s a lot easier to hook a new reader on a $0.99 comic book than a $1.99 comic book. I thought this was all about growing the market anyway…? I guess I was just naive in thinking that $1.99 would be reserved for digital books that had extra content that wasn’t included in print.
The start page looks nice on my 3G, but it crashes after that.
But congrats DC, you’re the first to make me admit to actually wanting a stupid iPad.
Can’t wait to see this in action. The videos of the app in action look terrific!
However… the app crashes on my iPhone 3G (running iOS 4) every time I open it. Many people seem to be having the same problem (half the comments on the iTunes Store app page complain of the same issue). Is DC working with Apple to fix this? Not a great first impression.
@wierddemon
I think they have to do it slowly so they don’t kill off the direct market stores which have kept them alive for decades.
And I think we ALL want comics to be cheaper…but people have to get paid. Things aren’t free.
Oh….and in total agreement with the crashing issue. Currently, it’s a worthless app (for 3G, anyway)
EEEEYEEEEEEESSSS!!! The Future of comics is upon us! Soon they’ll be directly developed in digital form!
SAVES TREES, SPACE…and you can read them ANYWHERE!!! What’s not to like!
CONGRATS DC, Now that’s what I’m talking about!
I like that DC has entered into the digital world with this partnership. Is there any plan to offer yearly/monthly subscriptions for digital content like the folks over at Marvel have done? I would love to have such access to the DC Universe library as I have at the “other” universe.
@gtrandall I understand the ‘people need to get paid’ argument for day-and-date releases, but I guess it is lost on me for old releases. I was under the impression that people already got paid for those…?
That’s not to say that they don’t deserve to make a profit on older comic books BTW. That’s not what I am trying to say, but I think that at $0.99 they are still profiting. I’m pretty sure the $1.99 price point is just there because they are scared of the implications of pricing at a lower price point. But, $1.99 for one issue of Batman: Year One? That seems like price-gauging to me, that’s a 20 year old comic!
F I N A L L Y ! This is the main reason I bought my iPad. Please monitor the sales and be ready to adjust the price of new comics downward. I suspect it will be hard to get anyone to pay $2.99 for a digital comic given there are no materials or shipping costs.
Disappointing. I am a dedicated DC fan since childhood, and have little positive to say about the competition, but I really wanted DC to follow Marvel’s example here. Their DCU, where you pay that one monthly fee and get unlimited access to hundreds of titles is a deal I didn’t think twice about taking advantage of (even if it was just for stupid Marvel titles). I would have happily paid three or four times as much for the opportunity to read old DC comics, but I am not going to pay a per issue price whether it is low or high.
Also, I could not care less about current comics. I will get them at my brick and mortar comic shop until it is no longer provided in that format.
Oh well, it seems that there are plenty of you who are excited about this announcement, and I am happy for you.
@thephylemon: Not everyone can afford to shell out that fee. Its great to be able to buy just what you want
@Kennypick well that sux for you the past 2 years with the exception of Final Crisis I have been soo happy as a comic fan. You asked how can I justify paying the same price for a digital book that I can a hardcopy easy its the same book just in another format. The app just launched today give it time to grow. As far as reselling I don’t plan on ever reselling my books so that is moot. And also love how your first comment to me was a personal attack seems all you “older” fans can’t articulate your dislike for a book or somone not agreeing with you with out taking a personal jab at them just sad really.
About the app crashing the folks @ComiXology have posted the following via their Twitter account:
__________________________________
We are aware of the issue with early iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and a fix is being reviewed with Apple. We’re
___________________________________
I’m loving the app myself, and I think the affiliate program for retailers is a positive step by DC and ComiXology to work with local comics shops.
Please DC, bring this to the Android Market too!
I’m a little upset by this news, because at this year’s C2E2 Jim Lee stated that DC Comics was still investigating digital comics. Obviously, Jim Lee already had the DC Comics’ digital comics plan in place back in April 2010 and was just waiting for the ink to dry.
To Jim Lee and DC Entertainment:
1) How long are DC Comics’ digital comics going to be exclusive to Apple and the PlayStation Network? How many years do we have to wait for DC Comics’ digital comics to be available on Android devices? On Windows 7 devices? On Netflix? On the XBox 360? If the digital comics are exclusive to certain companies, then you’ve just killed the free market where people will have to buy certain devices to view DC Comics’ digital comics. You’ve also killed the chances of any non-Apple or non-Sony device to compete, because those devices won’t have access to DC Comics’ digital comics.
2) Are DC Comics’ digital comics portable, like MP3’s? And if not, why? I can do whatever I want with a printed DC Comic, so why can’t I do whatever I want–aside from breaking the DRM–with a DC Comics’ digital comic?
I am SO HAPPY…I can’t even put it into words. Been downloading the free Batman books all afternoon and getting ready to by some of the digital material.
To everyone asking about this being exclusive. If Android or Blackberry allows the Comixology application, then you can get these books. This is not really “exclusive” because many of the applications on Apple (i.e. Pandora, Tetris, Wordpress, etc.) are found on the Android & Blackberry devices.
Comixology is an application that not only sells DC Digital material but other publishers. You shouldn’t be asking DC, you should be asking your phone provider to carry the Comixology Application - problem solved.
I think the general idea of digital comics is to get the stories out to the greatest number of readers and consumers. They’ve just launched the apps via Apple and PSP, via Comixology. I’m sure Comixology is working on reader apps for other platforms as we speak (PC is in beta).
It is in DC’s best interests to not use one type of reader or distributor, ESPECIALLY this early in the evolution of digital comics. I wouldn’t be surprised to see digital comics morph into the ebook model, available from both online retailers, and from comic book stores with websites, with some sort of sharing/trading function built in.
As for the pricing… better to set it high, then lower it. Otherwise, you get people complaining about publishers killing off the $9.99 ebook (which Amazon sold at a loss) for a more viable and rational model. Besides, DC is going after NEW readers with digital comics. They probably don’t know what a paper copy costs, and even if they do price it, it’s still a dollar cheaper.
Hey, why $0.99? Why not FREE? That would really pull in the eyeballs! Oh, wait, they do have free comics! Batman Black & White!
The iPad launched on April 3, C2E2 was the week after. Nobody knew what the iPad could do, how it would sell, what Apple would dictate. Look how long it took Marvel, with its established DCU, to announce an iPad application. DC seems to have done the due diligence, and will announce more at San Diego and NYCC.
Personally, I love paper comics. If DC offered DVD-ROMs like Marvel, I’d buy them for reference. Otherwise, I’m not likely to read a comic on a screen, but that could change.
I hope digital comics becomes the new newsstand. This is exciting, and I know DC has the intelligence to do this right.
ALSO…
(sorry for the duplicate posts)
In addition to the application called: Comixology
There is an application called: Comiczeal, although this application doesn’t carry DC books - there are really, really old Charleston books on this application. I’ve downloaded all the Blue Beetle ones!
I’m in iPhone heaven right now downloading all these.
And, they look SO COOL! Like a miniture library right on my phone!
http://up2net.org/624/Batman_B%26W-Library.JPG
http://up2net.org/625/Batman_Black%26White.JPG
Thank you everyone involved in this project. And, special thanks to Jim Lee. This is HUGE!
I bought the iPhone app & already been reading some comics. I love not having to drive 20 minutes from the Marine Corps base to get a comic fix. Now, let’s hope I don’t go broke faster getting all the comics I can w/ the touch of a few buttons.
Oh wow…PLEASE I would love it if they put this up on PS3 network, would love to read comics on my big screen tv.
I am really happy that it is available on the iPhone and iPad. Now I need to buy an iPad with a larger hard drive
I have been sending my old printed comics, that I have purchased on my iphone, over to the troops overseas. Now I can start sending over my DC Comics to them.
Win Win
Another step in the death of the comic shop, and probably the death of comics as we know them. All the comics ever written are already available in digital form for free. I can’t imagine this is sustainable. Progress I guess, but I’m sad somehow.
I love the concept and paying per issue is fine, but screwing non-Apple zombies out of Sandman is a kick-in-the-pants to comic books fans everywhere.
These first DC steps (along with Marvel’s) are an experiment undoubtedly. Priced according to current business models, with an eye toward preserving LCS viability, it’ll take some time before digital pricing stabilizes at a level that makes apparent sense (and makes all jump for joy). That said, prices of older issues will have to drop to attract new readers.
Food for thought - Green Lantern: Rebirth lists for $14.99 in trade paperback, and is available, new, for $10.19 from the big A. Through the new app, each of the six issues that make up the story cost $1.99. Does it make sense? At this point, I don’t really know. It may take a year or more until things settle down. Nevertheless, hallelujah that the Big Two are finally on-board digitally.
Props to ComiXology for the platform.
I happy that dc finaly join the digital age. My only problum is, that I don’t own any of the hardwere that it runs on. I have a pc and a playstation 3 it would be great if i could use one of these to read the comics.
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