Over at ICv2, Dan Buckley is talking about that Marvel online initiative again:
I believe that this can only increase sales and our fan base. This initiative is all about making it easier for folks to experience our stories.
One way it will do that is by not making all of the stories available:
There will be a good assortment of recent and current favorites available but some of the more notable include Astonishing X-Men #1 - 8 by Joss Whedon, John Cassaday and Laura Martin; House of M #1 - 4 by Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, Tim Townsend, and Frank D’Armata; and Runaways (Volume 1) 1 - 6 by Brian K. Vaughn, Adrian Alphona, David Newbold, Craig Yeung, and Christina Strain.
House of M #1 - 4? That’s only half of the story… I wonder if the fourth issue will finish with an ad to get off your ass and go to the store to buy the trade… and what kind of reaction putting incomplete series is going to get from site subscribers…
November 14th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Isn’t the same thing with AXM? Except in that instance they’re putting up 1-1/3 story…
November 14th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
My guess would be that they are doing that to train the online reader to stay with them month to month. So HoM has the first four issues with the next issue next month and so on. And if you’re really into the story, go buy the trade.
I sincerely doubt that they will never have the complete HoM online.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I read all 8 issues of House of M on the site last night. I had signed up for the service, so maybe they mean that House of M 1-4 is what’s available in the free sample.
However, that’s one of the few complete storylines or miniseries that I’ve found. For the most part it seems to be a few issues here, a few there.
November 14th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
“I read all 8 issues of House of M on the site last night.”
My condolences.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:57 am
One part of me thinks that if I owned a comic shop I would be worried. The other part of me, the one that can’t afford to buy all the comics I would like to read, likes the idea.