Bad Idea, the comic publisher that eschews traditional distribution in favour of direct-to-retailer physical-only sales is up to something else: going to Kickstarter to give an enhanced digital edition of David and Maria Lapham’s latest comic The Ends.
The Ends was a three issue weekly series written by husband and wife team David & Maria Lapham, drawn by David Lapham, that released in January of this year as part of Bad Idea’s Second Coming. The new edition is apparently a digital exclusive version that provides all the content and behind the scenes material that fans of the craft of comics would have loved to have seen – and which digital could have already provided.
Of course, no Bad Idea pitch is complete without a little spice in the delivery. This time it’s directed at the state of digital comics in 2023 – particularly how Amazon bought in and wrecked the market. Running with hyperbolic statements from
“This can’t be the future of comics we were promised”
to
“Amazon.
They fucked us.”
Oh and the title is, naturally,
“Only YOU Can Save Digital Comics From Amazon!”
Pretty funny (and not entirely wrong either).
We could copy the whole thing for funsies but we haven’t got all day so here is the focus – the denied promise of digital in the eyes of Bad Idea:
“Digital was meant to give us more. We were meant to have access to the artist’s original page layouts. The pencils and inks. The writer’s original scripts. The editor’s notes. Trivia. Easter eggs. Millions of new colors only digital can display. The ability to zoom in on the tiniest details. Deleted scenes. Alternate endings. Additional story. And so, so, so many brand-new digitally native features. Every other form of entertainment got exactly that.“
Fast forward a little bit for some chest thumping…
“BAD IDEA has had enough. Yes, BAD IDEA. The one publisher who, to date, has been exclusively a printed-on-paper publisher. Also, the one publisher who has no vested interest in protecting the digital status quo. We’re the only publisher not financially tied to digital. So, we’re happy to blow the whistle on what a scam digital comic books are. Because it’s easy to do digital right. Did you know that every publisher is already doing it? Just not for you. When we edit, approve, and send comics to the printer, we do so digitally. And those files the professionals see are magnificent. High definition, full contrast, incredibly vivid and full of art that never sees the printed and bound page. It’s high time we brought the level of quality in digital comic books that we the professionals see to you, the readers. But we need your help to do that.”
And the actual pitch:
“One time. Just this one time, we’re breaking our ‘no digital’ rule and pulling out all the stops to build a showcase digital comic book so everyone can see everything that’s possible. Something you can all point to and demand from Amazon and everyone else. And we’re doing it with a comic book masterpiece — THE ENDS. Comic book national treasure and living legend, David Lapham, in partnership with the incredible talents of his wife, Maria Lapham, and the legendary team of Scorpio Steele, Bill Crabtree and Dave Sharpe have been hard at work revisiting the book critics already dubbed, “the comic book of the year.” Not only are we releasing the full extent of what we professionals see, we’ve also left no stone unturned in a quest to reach even greater heights with the story. Never before has a comic book of such acclaim been given so much additional love and care. EVIL DEAD II to our EVIL DEAD. If you liked THE ROAD WARRIOR, prepare for FURY ROAD. We’ve also invited a who’s who of the biggest names in comics to join us on this journey and contribute. We’ll soon be launching our campaign to provide you with a definitive answer to why digital comic books can be better and introducing to the world, THE ENDS: PRO EDITION.”
Of course the proof of the pudding will be in the eating so we shall wait to see the true shape of this project when the Kickstarter eventually goes live.
