Percy Mayhem 02 Cover Large
If we had to guess, we’d imagine that when actor-musician-model Tyrese Gibson wanted to join the infectiously lively world of graphic novels, he wasn’t aware that part of this world is nitpicking bloggers, commentators and message board fans who fact check every utterance. But in a long interview at CBR, he and collaborator Mike Le address some of the complaints over quotes and talk about the future of MAYHEM. Specifically, Gibson refutes previously quoted claims that MAYHEM was the first comic for iTunes, which, as we all know, isn’t so.

Tyrese: That’s a misquote. The reporter misunderstood what I said. What I said and what I meant was this is the first time in history that Apple has teamed up with a creator to develop a digital comic book for iTunes. I know there have been many digital comic books way before “Mayhem,” and I am aware of other digital comic books that have been sold on iTunes.


In another quote, Gibson shows he understands multichannel delivery:

Tyrese: Let me say this, I strongly hope the digital sales drive consumers to discover comic books, which then drives them to their local comic book stores to buy more comic books. Digital comic books do not have to mean the death of printed comic books. I believe they can co-exist and help each other thrive. In this recession, anything that can help bring more traffic to comic book stores is a blessing.


Over the summer watching the MAYHEM experiment was vastly entertaining, and it’s safe to say the program had some pluses, but also pissed off a lot of people with, to put it mildly, over-aggressive marketing tactics. The bottom line is that quality was not one of the big selling points of the project, unfortunately, and what really fuels repeat business is a good story. However, it’s good to see Tyrese & Co. addressing some of the issues they raised. And their teaming with Apple is part of the Jobs Crew’s greater recognition that comics are a major part of the future business model for digital downloads.

Somewhat related: for the first time book app downloads have surpassed game app downloads for the iPhone:

In October, one out of every five new apps launching in the iPhone has been a book. Book publishers from Your Mobile Apps to Softbank are adapting books for sale in the AppStore at record rates. Flurry believes that Apple is poised to take market share from the Amazon Kindle in eBooks, in spite of the iPhone’s smaller four-inch display compared to the Kindle’s six-inch display. If Apple is actually working on a larger tablet, as rumored, it could steal even more market share.


Hurry Tablet!!!

1 COMMENT

  1. Talking about comics on the iPhone mine is still on iTunes and still free. It’s called Stolen Suns, search for it and download it free. Comments and opinions would be welcome.
    Heidi said she would check it but I’m not sure she did yet.