In his newest MyCup o’ Joe column, Marvel chief Joe Quesada introduces a new project coming out in January called Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil (above), pimps upcoming changes to the Ultimate Universe and talks about Marvel’s recent digital comics announcements (which you can get up to speed on here, here and here):
I know some may look at the digital world with fear, but I always go back to this one place: When collected editions started to really become commercially significant, everyone and their mother was claiming this the end of the monthly comic with complete certainty. Perhaps these are the same folks who thought the Ultimate Universe a dumb idea? Anyway, I kept telling folks that I believed that both trades and monthly comics will thrive, and that one would help the other. I feel the exact same way about the world of digital comics. I think it will help monthly comic sales as well as trade sales. There will be people who will like one form over another and there will be those who will like multiple formats.
One of the stories I’m looking forward to checking out is the Frankenstein/Werewolf by Night meetup, which will feature artwork by longtime webcomics creators Dean Haspiel and Joe Infurnari.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
This is wholly apples and oranges. Both comics and trades can be sold in an actual comic book store, or any retail store. Digital comics can only be sold through Marvel’s website. As a retailer, I’m painfully aware of the fact that the company that holds 50% of the market in its grasp would, in a hot second, drop all store distribution if it could move all of its product in an online only, digital only store. I don’t really think readers would be 100% behind this, but as a cost cutting measure, I’m sure both of the big 2 would attempt this. I just wish they spent some of that time working on actual, out of market advertising to try to get back some of the readers that left en masse in the 90s.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
i’m a big fan of digital comics, but i never found a reason to join the Marvel DCU program until i discovered the new Fin Fang Four and American Eagle digital only stuff that’s coming out. consider me sold.