Digital Comics

This is easily one of the most interesting panels I have ever participated in.

Another audio file of the first panel at the ICv2 digital comics conference. This one brought together almost all of the emerging industry's major players for a fascinating conversation. As opposed to previous panels where there seemed to be questions over whether this was even a viable business model, these are smart people doing smart business moves in a dynamic art form. This is where we're going.

Kind of lost in the scrum at New York Comic Con, even Disney was getting in on the digital comics bandwagon. At the ICv2 Comics and Digital conference, Dario Di Zanni had some pretty confidant things to say about the future of ebooks. Disney has been doing Digital Books for a while -- a subscription service for kids to read kids books on the web. With their growing comics publishing ventures -- not to mention the team-up with Marvel -- a close eye should be paid on what Disney is planning, and it sounds pretty ambitious:

LongBox, the long brewing desktop app for purchasing digital comics, has just gone to version 1.1 and announced that it will be bundled with Norton Ink's upcoming ADAM tablet, which features a Pixel Qi screen which enables it to be red in even bright sunlight. PR on the move below, but CEO Rantz Hoseley also stopped to chat with Bleeding Cool and reveal some of the reasons why a desktop store is still useful in a world filled with proprietary apps:

At yesterday's Dark Horse panel, more details of their digital initiative were announced. It will be proprietary, available on every web browser, and sold for iPad and iTunes. (However, Apple only accepts prices that end in .99 -- one of the controlling things that folks were complaining about on Thursday --- so it's not entirely clear how that will work. There will be 170 titles available at first, with some titles available day and date.

Announced only via tweet from retailer Chris Butcher at this morning's Diamond retailer's breakfast. Dark Horse is announcing exclusive in-store downloads for those buying their digital comics, which will be priced at $1.49, according to Milton Griepp yesterday.

Moving forward with digital was the theme of today's ICv2 Comics and Digital conference, which kicked off New York Comic Con with an afternoon of panels and idea sharing. And for those who are moving, they are doing so with zeal and purpose. As opposed to previous such industry gatherings, where digital was timidly referring to in veiled terms, left the Gods of Tradition strike the heretics dead, almost all of today's speakers are living in a world where digital is already a part of their revenue stream. It made for a lively day of engaged attendees.

Not Comics, but it does shed some light on behavior. While we're rounding up some scientific jargon, GigaOM reports that millennials need Wi-Fi the way previous generations needed fresh air and vitamin C. (Millennials are here defined as 17-29 year-olds.)

Filipino comics artist/self-publisher Gerry Alanguilan (Elmer), was supposed to deliver an address at a symposium called "Future of the Book" but he was forced to bow out, so instead he posted his speech for all of us to read. While reading the whole thing is the best way to approach it, the gist can be conveyed. Although Alanguilan is basically married to the idea of print publishing, he thinks it can exist with digital:

Mark Waid has reconstructed his controversial Harvey night speech and made what he was getting at much clearer:

“Yes, Professor Waid, you hippie freak, sharing is all well and good, but how does that pay my bills?”

Everyone's talking digital comics, and they're going to get a thorough investigation in October as part of a one-day ICv2 Comics & Digital Conference,...

ComiXology app for iPads, iPhones and Ipods. IDW has a bunch of storefronts via iVerse, while Dark Horse mostly sells comics through their own standalone apps. New Image comics are selling for $1.99, which is about industry standard. Initial offerings include CHEW, YOUNGBLOOD, and SAVAGE DRAGON. In case you're wondering what to get first, Chris Sims has a good guide to what to download.