[Press] DarkBrain.com Offers Entire Comic Lineup Free – PR.com

DarkBrain.com Offers Entire Comic Lineup Free – PR.com

DarkBrain.com Offers Entire Comic Lineup Free

Former pay-to-view webcomic site offers content at no charge.

DarkBrain.com Offers Entire Comic Lineup Free
Warwick, RI, August 31, 2010 –(PR.com)– Webcomic publisher DarkBrain, LLC announced this past weekend that effective immediately, all content on their website (http://darkbrain.com) – including over 240 pages of comics – will now be available to readers at no charge. Each comic includes graphic novel quality art, original music, and voice-over narration. Stars with voicework in DarkBrain comics include adult film actresses Tabitha Stevens and Raylene, as well as rock star Tony Campos (Prong, Ministry, Asesino, Static-X).

DarkBrain produces edgy content designed specifically for PG-13 and R+-rated audiences. At its inception, the site utilized a state of the art preferences system where readers control how intense they wish their viewing experience to be. With the restructure, readers will now have free access to 12 original series on the site with preset PG-13 content. In addition, DarkBrain.com will now offer advertising space.

To reach readers who prefer R+-rated content, DarkBrain.com now offers monthly memberships. For $4.99 a month, members have access to the preference system that allows them to choose the intensity of their content, as well as access to Members-Only and pre-released content and an ad-free environment. Members may also purchase a 6-month membership for $24.95.

To improve visibility and revenue to the site, site publisher Andrew Zar found this recent change timely and appropriate. Since the change, DarkBrain.com has had over 40,000 page views per day. As an added feature, DarkBrain is also asking all registered users to vote on the titles they wish to see continue, in an attempt to streamline their product line to the trends of its readers. In addition to the survey, the stories on DarkBrain.com have been organized by genre, aiding readers in finding the content that most appeals to them.

For more information on DarkBrain, LLC or to become a member, visit http://darkbrain.com.

Media Inquiries should contact SJS Comic Promotions at susan.soaores1971@gmail.com.

Release Notes: August 26th, 2010 | Star Trek Online Official Site

Release Notes: August 26th, 2010 | Star Trek Online Official Site

General

* The Advanced Heavy Cruiser now displays in the Ship Requisitions while doing the Commander Promotion mission.
* The ships outside the windows on Earth Spacedock have been temporarily removed pending improvements to how they look at a distance.
* Fixed a bug that could very rarely prevent a player from reaching Vice Admiral rank without GM help.

Missions

* The civilian-inhabited asteroids in the Rhi System no longer look like mining facilities.
* Typos of the name “Minos Korva” have been fixed in Sector Space and in the mission, The Tribble with Klingons.
* Aid the Planet missions at Vice Admiral rank now properly reward Offerings of Friendship in all difficulties.
* Anomalies now grant the proper rewards at Vice Admiral rank in all difficulties.

PVP

* The correct target score is displayed when setting up a private match in the Shanty Town map.

Items and Abilities

* Eject Warp Plasma once again lasts its stated duration.
* The Classic Excelsior (Commander Rank) can now be purchased for Energy Credits in Ship Requisitions.
* “Bergamot” is now spelled correctly in the description of Earl Grey Tea.
* The Biofunction Monitor console now grants the correct crew recovery rate.
* Typos have been corrected in the Target Weapon Systems abilities.
* The level requirements on certain Deflectors and Disruptor Beam Arrays have been corrected.

UI

* The Ship Rename UI now correctly allows you to type up to 16 characters instead of 15.
* Your selected character now stands on a transporter pad in the Character Select and Character Creation screens.
* The UI now displays correctly for Fleet Bank withdraw/deposit buttons with different permissions.
* The “Buddy” icon should no longer show as a white box.
* PvP Queues
o The “X” has been removed from the Invite window. The Decline button can still be used to decline an invitation and close the window.
o If two or more people are in a PvP Challenge Queue, the “End Challenge” and “Leave” buttons now ask for confirmation.
o The name in the Invite field now correctly clears after you send an invitation.
o Pressing ESC now correctly closes the Invite window.
o An issue has been fixed that could sometimes cause uneven PvP matches.
o Inviting players to PvP now works correctly when using @handles and character names.
o A bug has been fixed that could very rarely cause a player to become temporarily stuck in a PvP map without enemies.
* The “Join” button now correctly highlights in the Chat Channels UI when you are invited to a channel.
* Shield status now correctly updates in the Status UI while in Sector Space.
* Removed a case in the Ship Editor where the Pattern dropdown would stretch to cover both the Pattern and Style sections.

Known Issues

* NPCs have twisted torsos if they walk around while playing certain animations.
* We are working on adding wing animations for Birds of Prey and Intrepid ship models. An early version of this animation has snuck into the warp in/warp out cutscene for the B’rel Bird of Prey.

Ask Cryptic: August 9, 2010 | Star Trek Online Official Site

Ask Cryptic: August 9, 2010 | Star Trek Online Official Site

Welcome to the latest installment of Ask Cryptic, where we put your questions to the devs. This edition Star Trek Online’s Executive Producer, Dan Stahl, answers questions about UGC, Bridge Officer VO, and the future of Star Trek Online.

Q: Captain_Revo: What is the current situation with new Klingon ships? What new ones are planned and when will we see them, please?

A: We recognize that there is a lack of Klingon ships compared to what Starfleet has available. That is why we are shifting the focus of the Ship building team to creating more Klingon Faction ships. This includes high end versions of the Vor’cha, D7, B’rel, and Raptor as well as Orion, Gorn and Nausicaan ships. In addition, when they have time, the ship team will also be adding more customization options to these ships as well.

Q: cookieimp: What are the latest plans for User Generated Content?

A: There is an internal development team working directly with the Star Trek team to launch a Beta of our User Generated Content Tools for Season 3. We aren’t discussing our specific plans just yet, but we do want the tools to be easy to use so that players can begin to create their own missions and episodes. This may or may not be the big secret project we are working on.

Q: cmdrshran: Is there an ETA on when the sector space overhaul is coming?

A: We have several team members working specifically on creating a new Sector Space demo with the realization that Sector Space is one of part of the game that could really use not just a graphical overhaul, but a functional one as well. We are still in the early design and iteration phase, but I’m hopeful that you’ll see a huge improvement in Sector Space in the near future. This could also be the big secret project we are working on. But rest assured that we don’t plan to release this until we think it is awesome. So if that takes it past Season 3, then so be it. We will certainly put it up on the Test Shard before then for feedback.

Q: Armsman: How is the work on re-tooling the ‘ship interior’ mini-games?

A: We really enjoyed working on developing the scanner mini-game and Dabo and want to incorporate more designs like these into our missions and gameplay. Multiplayer Poker is still in the works to be added to the player ship interior lounges. We are also working on the concepts for a “Tricorder” type of mini-game that could be used in missions for multiple functions. So we expect to see more mini-games work their way to the game over time.

Q: Roche_Furman: Will we be able to create Very Rare items at Memory Alpha?

A: As part of our loot overhaul, we will be adding very rare items to Memory Alpha as well as developing some unique items that can only be made via memory alpha. As part of those changes, we are also looking into adding a way for Klingon players to get those items as well – whether that is their own crafting game or something similar.

Q: V-Mink: What are some of your long-term goals for STO? What do you see the state of the game in a year or two?

A: This is an important question because in order for someone to want to play the same game for years to come they have to love the game they are playing and love the direction the game is headed. I see us focusing on ensuring the game stays true to the world of Star Trek. Our long term goal is to focus on developing stories, features, and content that brings more of the Star Trek Universe into the game. Four years from now the people who will be playing this game are those that love this game and love Star Trek.

Q: lancemikemack: Will we be able to customize our interiors more?

A: It is a long term goal (aka not Season 3) of the User Generated Content team to allow players to completely customize their interiors and perhaps even allow Fleets to construct their own Starbases that exist in game. All of that will take time and we need to get the tools functional and working first to create very basic missions before we can attempt this.

Q: Creovex: When will we see more PvP maps out there rather than playing the same old ones?

A: There is a strike-team working directly on fixing the issues with PVP maps and the PVP-Queues. We’ve been promising fixes forever and we just need to get it done and make it work right. We have gone back to the drawing board in some places and completely rewritten parts of the queues in order to address concerns and add functionality. As part of that we will be focusing on ensuring that we have several awesome PVP maps for players to play and then retire maps that players don’t like. There’s no definite timeframe on when you’ll see new PVP maps, but the entire PVP system is actively being worked on.

Q: XA_DeadHorse: When is cryptic going to budget time to polish up some of the game aspects, clean it up and make it feel more like a finished game?

A: Recognizing the issues we’ve had in the last six months with shipping features that aren’t entirely complete or have bugs in them, our entire philosophy for Season 3 is to polish up the game and start addressing existing issues before creating a bunch of new things that will add to the problem. We aren’t giving the team a deadline – and instead we are saying things like improve Sector Space, improve Ground Combat, improve mission variety, improve Exploration without a definite due date. We want the team focused on quality and making it right. When we are happy with how those features are shaping up, we’ll put them on the Test Server and work with you to iterate on the designs. If this means that some features stay on Tribble for months without going to Holodeck – so be it. We are committed to making the game feel more “finished”.

Q: Sonaos: Are we ever going to see a system that can up-grade our commissioned bridge officers from standard traits to superior?

A: While we are still debating the design of a possible respect trait feature – one thing we are definitely moving forward with is the concept of promoting your Bridge Officers to higher stations within the ships. This could be a First Officer or a Chief Engineer, or a Chief Medical Officer. There would be requirements and benefits for bridge officers that get promoted. We look at this as one additional way to take those officers you found early in your career and have them advance with you. At some point you will also be able to rank up a bridge officer to the point where they can become their own Captain and you can convert them to a new character slot and play them as if they were a new character.

Q: Treksplorer: Is there work being done towards allowing lower-tiered ships to be upgraded as we go if we’d like to stick to a particular class?

A: The ship design team is actively working to make more refit and retrofit ships available at later ranks. Some of the ships we want to see available for play later on include the Saber, Olympic, Nova, Akira, Constellation, Raptor, Vor’Cha, and Be’Rel. While there are not details yet on a way for you to retrofit your own existing ship, we do want to give you more options to play classic ships at Admiral ranks.

Q: stagemonkey02: What’s being done to improve the mechanics of Fleet Actions?

A: The biggest feature I’ve been asking for is the ability for Fleets to run their own Fleet Actions which requires some new tech because currently there is no private queuing, but that is about to change. The PVP team that is working on the queues is also working on a new challenge system that allows you to set up your own matches where you can pick the map and variables to play then launch the game yourself. We expect Fleets to be able to take advantage of this tech and invite members of their fleet into their own Fleet Actions.

Q: Gnume: I understand that Trading already Commissioned Bridge Officers is coming in the next update (or very soon) but that it will be a “person to person” trade only. Does this mean I will not be able to trade the item with another character on my account?

A: We have some very interesting long term plans for how to trade commissioned officers that we hope to get into the game sooner than later. We are discussing designs that involve a “personnel exchange” where you can go to a computer and see all officers that players have up for trade. You could search and look for unique species, traits, skills, etc and then make a trade with that Captain for the officer. This would also allow us to seed that system with unique and rare bridge officers that players could snatch up as recruits and develop them into superstar captains. Once this feature is fully developed you would be able to trade your crew with another captain on your account through this exchange system.

Q: Kahn: When will crafting be coming to the Klingon Faction?

A: We are evaluating how to bring a similar system to the KDF so that Klingon players will have access to any new and interesting items that get added to Memory Alpha. While we have decided if this involves the same “scan for anomaly” game the Federation has – perhaps it is similar enough that you still get the data and then convert it into items. Maybe instead of scanning anomalies, you steal the data from somewhere else… there are a lot of interesting ideas on the table.

Q: Brodie0854: When do you plan on giving us access to the rest of the Sol System? – I know you said that its most done,, but that your hold off releasing it until you can give us something to do there. Any current ETA on when that is likely and can you hint at what the current plans are for it?

A: As part of our commitment to cleaning up and polishing the game, we are taking a very close look at the big hub zones in the game and both improving flow and performance as well as “fun” in those zones. We really want to rework the Sol System to be more than just earth and rework Earth Space Dock to be more functional and easier to navigate. Both are on the schedule, but there is no definite time on when we’ll have this all put together.

Q: Aeidan: Will players eventually be able to play as a holographic entity (hologram) captain?

A: Photonic Species is on the schedule to be developed sometime between Season 3 and 4. We don’t have a solid release date, but the design team really wants to see this species in game.

Q: Alecto: Would it be possible for you to allow players to hail other players in STO via Starship communications or personal combadges using VOIP sometime in the future?

A: We feel that Crytpic’s core competency is in making MMOs in our game engine and we leave VOIP technology to other software developers who specialize in it. We have no plans to add our own unique Voice Chat to the game. However, we do have plans to improve the way you communicate with other players 1:1 in game. We have some concepts drawn up and want it to be more “Trek” when you hail another ship. Even something as simple as seeing the other captain sitting in his chair when you talk to him would be a huge win.

Q: Liandras: Is there any serious interest from the devs into the role playing aspect of this game?

A: While that is a very general question, I can say that we are committed to focusing on Star Trek versus say any given feature. The long term life of the game is in direct relation to how true we can stay to Trek. So you are going to see more content, more stories, and more locations that allow players to roleplay their lives in Star Trek before you are going to see one off features that have little or nothing to do with Trek and only please a very small minority of MMO players. I also believe that allowing players to write and create their own Star Trek stories using a User Generated Content Tool that they can then submit for everyone to play will provide endless opportunities to roleplay within this game.

Q: mikew75: I like to asked will there be Caitain & Benzite Bridge officers for Season 2 comes out, really interested to know because my Benzite & Caitian toons need more of the race on their ship.

A: We recognize that there are several species not available as bridge officers at this time. We do have plans to fix this in the future and ensure that all races are represented in the related factions. Our decision to withhold some bridge officer species for now will change once we have worked out final details on how related features such as the personnel exchange and First Officers will work.

Q: Verjigorm: Will 1on1 (Space and Ground, related to Andoria) be coming with the next patches? Maybe even true 1on1 PvP, which will be counted towards daily missions?

A: We have a small group of developers actively working on implementing a new challenge queue system. This includes allow players to launch their own PVP challenges 2 v 2 , 3 v 3 etc.. For now we want to get the queue tech working and functional so that it can get to the Tribble Test Shard. Once it is in a state where we like it, then we can consider hooking it up to missions.

Q: Nishka: I was wondering when we can expect the Bridge Officer voices back in the game?

A: We do have a lot of bridge officer VO statements that were created during development and are not hooked up in the game right now. This is mostly due to some concerns about how they would get hooked up and how the system felt in general. We have ongoing meetings internally to discuss how to get this VO into the game, but it is going to be a while as we work on a solution that fits within our engine properly and is consistent across all our games. I’d expect this to come well after Season 3, but we will start using different VO concepts and perhaps experimenting with this in upcoming missions.

Q: TOSLover: The “Sit in Chairs” option was, if I remember right, supposed to be implemented back in May. Have you any idea when we’ll be able to actually sit down in our chairs?

A: This is still being developed internally and is currently sitting on the plate of one of our best core programmers who expects to have it tackled within the month. Once we get the tech to do it, we can start retrofitting locations where we want you to be able to click/sit. This will be time consuming but we do want to get it into the game in as many places possible. We are just waiting for the tech and the time to implement it.

LAUNCH! | Longbox Digital

LAUNCH! | Longbox

LAUNCH!

At long last, after delays both planned and unexpected, LongBox, Inc. released v1 of its LongBox Digital Platform on July 20th as a week-long exclusive on PCWorld.com, followed by the general release to the public on Mac & PC today.

Between interviews at the San Diego Comic-Con, a smiling Rantz Hoseley (LongBox, Inc. CEO and Founder) spoke about the occasion, the work it’s taken to get to this moment, and what’s next. “It’s been a long time coming, and although the lengthy development process has tested the team’s patience, we committed from day one to doing this right. That means not taking the ‘easy road’ sometimes, the short-term gain, and not developing a business, or a platform in a reactive manner.”

The CEO’s smile gets bigger at this point “The end result… we feel… is very much worth it. The comprehensive infrastructure and tools behind the LongBox Digital platform make it a very powerful avenue for publishers and creators wanting to bring their stories to a receptive digital audience. The same is true for the fans… the consumers… the users. The platform has gone through some fairly massive changes as a result of user feedback during the Beta process, and also to differentiate LongBox from recent companies who’ve been…” Hoseley’s mouth twists as if trying to find the best word “…shall we say, obviously influenced, by the LongBox user interface?” He breaks into laughter, as he sums up “Really, it’s fine… if they want to be influenced by what we were doing a year ago, more power to them, we’re on to the next evolution. I think as apparent as it is in the Mac and PC experience, it’ll really come slamming home this fall with the tablets.”

The LongBox Digital platform is available via the platform’s website (http://www.longboxdigital.com/longbox-software.html), via their publishing and promotional partners, torrents, and more. Content for purchase on the LongBox Digital Platform will be available starting Friday, July 30th, with new content available for purchase every Friday from a wide variety of publishing partners thereafter. As a thank you to the comic fans and their supporters, any user registering a new account before September 1st, 2010 will receive 2 ComicBlocks* for free.

*(The average single issue comic costs 1 ComicBlock. ComicBlocks are roughly equal to $1USD, and are the method of exchange for the LongBox Digital Platform)

SCOOP: Marvel’s Digital Payment Letter To Freelancers Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors

Whomever was the first to announce royalty payments to creators aside, looks like DC is ahead of the curve of actually implementing it.  Lots of fluff and “working on it” is all I see here.

So it really looks like DC took so long to get in the game because they were getting all the royalty stuff figured out BEFORE they got in the game.  Marvel looks like they did just the opposite.  I wonder if they will give back pay for the digital stuff already sold?

SCOOP: Marvel’s Digital Payment Letter To Freelancers Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors

SCOOP: Marvel’s Digital Payment Letter To Freelancers
Submitted by Rich Johnston on June 25, 2010 – 10:00 am (0) comments

Bleeding Cool was the first site to run DC’s letter to freelancers concerning digital payments in full. Now we’re doing to the same with Marvel. The following letter was sent out to Marvel’s exclusive freelancer talent on Monday, June 21st, as part of a new communication missive. Non-exclusive talent will receive the letter this coming Monday, as news about digital “incentive payments” will then be released by an official source.

First Joe Quesada addressed the troops saying;

Hi Gang,

Y’know, one of the coolest things about being a part of the Marvel family is recognizing just how extended the family is. Thanks to the leaps and bounds of technology, it’s even easier for those of us here in New York to work with folks all over the country and overseas. We’ve got most of the continents covered and we’re just waiting on Antarctica. Heck, some of you are in a different day than me. How’s the future? Do you guys have Hover Boards yet?

And there’s the point. There’s a lot of stuff to know and an amazing amount of information that is useful to you. Here at the office, we have it all flow past us. We’ve got pretty ready access to getting the questions we all have answered. What’s new with the company?What’s changing, what’s not? What resources are available to me? And, more close to
home, when can I expect my pay? What’s Marvel offering to make my life easier? But forthose of you not in the office, you might feel left out of the loop and oceans away. So we want to fix that. This is the first of a new newsletter email we’ll be sending out periodically to you… our life’s blood, the folks that help make Marvel tick. In it, we’ll do our best to provide answers to your questions. If we’re really good at our job, maybe even before you ask ‘em.

Did you know we’re in the process of building a SketchUp 3D library of everything from Cap’s shield to Avengers Mansion? Are you hip to the fact that we’ve got a print program for our exclusive talent that allows you to easily order special edition prints for you to have at shows and appearances? There’s all kinds of stuff to share. The plan is to make sure we let you know all about it. Oh, and if you have any suggestions, we’re all ears.

So, if you’ve got a question? We want to answer it. If it’s something that you feel your fellow freelancers would want to know too, drop us a line and we’ll include it in the next newsletter. E-mail George Beliard at XXXXXXXXX and tell him I sent ya.

Now, I’m going to let David Bogart kick-off this edition talking about a biggie. Recently, we announced the Marvel App for the iPad to much fanfare. What does this mean to you? Well, I’m not going to spoil it – I’ll let David fill you in. But I’ll say this much… remember that bright future I was talking about up top? Yeah, i think this is definitely a part of it.
Now where’s my Hover Board? See ya in the funny books!

And David Bogart (the man who made me the man I am today) followed with;

We were very excited by the positive feedback the Marvel Comics App received during the release of the Apple iPad. Many of the press reports and reviews mentioned how great the comics looked. Digital formats and distrdmtion are a great opportunity for Marvel to reach new fans and to present your amazing work on new platforms.

Please know that Marvel is working to include digital comics in the Marvel Comics Standard Talent
Incentive Plan.

We plan to make incentive payments for downloadable digital comics by the beginning of August, after the San Diego Comic-Con. Digital downloads of comics – such as through the Sony PSP, and the Ipad/Iphone/Ipod Touch devices – are sold to consumers on a per issue basis, and we can more easily calculate the revenue tied to specific issues.

The incentive plan for digital comics available in subscription services – the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service on marvel.com – is more complicated, since consumers are granted access to a great number of issues for one flat fee. Our goal is to finalize a plan by the end of this year to pay subscription-based digital comic incentives.

The email continued with links to CGI models of various Marvel buildings and props, and links to an online version of the Official Handbook To The Marvel Universe from 2004-2007 full of extra visual reference material for characters as well…

Newsarama.com : So… Who IS COMIXOLOGY, The Digital Comics Leader?

Another great article by Vaneta Rogers

Newsarama.com : So… Who IS COMIXOLOGY, The Digital Comics Leader?

So… Who IS COMIXOLOGY, The Digital Comics Leader?
By Vaneta Rogers
posted: 24 June 2010 05:31 pm ET

One year makes all the difference.

When ComiXology launched its “Comics by ComiXology” iPhone app in July 2009, the company appeared to be one in a crowd of developers. After all, there was more than one way to read a comic on Apple products.

But one year later, and ComiXology is all over the news because of its involvement with Marvel and DC. The two leading publishers have chosen ComiXology as a partner in their digital program, and the company is working with more than 30 other publishers, as well as holding exclusives with more than one creator.

So who is ComiXology? Where did they come from? And what are they up to next?

Business Plan

David Steinberger, CEO of ComiXology, grew up as an avid reader of comic books. He founded the company with another comic book fan and a friend because they saw an opportunity for comics to utilize digital technology.

In 2006, Steinberger entered a business plan competition at NYU, where he was a student and eventually got his MBA. His startup, then called “Iconology,” won the top prize, which gave him funding to launch the ComiXology software.

“That’s how I got started,” he said. “We won a few thousand bucks from the Stern Business School to get going.

“I can tell you, though, that we never, ever expected all of this to happen. In the business plan, we were very careful to say that our vision does not wholly depend on Marvel and/or DC being a part of it. Meaning, we never expected this to happen,” he said with a laugh.

“So to be here, feeling like we’re just getting our legs under us, feeling like we’re just getting started, and yet we’ve done the thing that nobody thought, or nobody who invested in us or judged us in a competition was led to believe that we could do? It’s just surreal,” he said.

Retailer Software

ComiXology first entered the digital world as an online tool for retailers at retailers.comixology.com. Comic shop owners subscribe to a service that allows customers to view previews and place orders right there on the website.

Because of ComiXology’s relationship with retailers through its online service, the company has always been very active in promoting print comics as well as digital. All of its apps have a “BUY IN PRINT” link on each comic, and clicking on this button takes the digital reader to a list of comic shops near their current location.

This existing relationship with retailers has given ComiXology an advantage as it heads into the next stage of digital comics.

“We’re in a unique position where we’re friends with publishers, and we have a great consumer service, and we sell services to retailers on top of that,” Steinberger explained. “And our retailers, when they work with ComiXology, when their customers purchase a digital comic book, our plan is for the retailers to actually make revenue from the sale of that comic.

“I can already coordinate user names with retailers. For example, if you have bought digital from ComiXology and you shop at Isotope, I probably know that,” Steinberger explained. “So we can coordinate with retail locations. We’ve actually been tracking sales since January.”

That’s not to say the retailer affiliate program that DC announced yesterday will have anything to do with ComiXology’s retailing subscribers. “What we’re doing for DC is much wider. It won’t be tied to paid subscriptions on ComiXology,” he said. “All retailers will have the ability to take part in it.”

iPad Launch

When the “Comics” by ComiXology app launched on the iPhone OS, it already had 20 publishers on board and an exclusive from Robert Kirkman. Because it was among the first to utilize Apple’s new in-app purchasing, Comics by ComiXology became the leading multi-publisher app soon after its launch and has held onto that spot ever since.

Within months, other creators had jumped on board, and the company now has more than 30 publishers available on its app. With a kids app being launched this summer, and their website integrating digital comics with their apps, the company has been busy expanding its stronghold.

But ComiXology’s commitment to software for Apple devices paid off earlier this year when Apple announced it would release the iPad, which greatly enhanced the digital comics reading experience.

Suddenly, Apple’s devices looked like the place to be. And ComiXology was already there.

By the time the iPad hit stores, ComiXology had partnered with Marvel to launch its new app, and soon after, they were able to pick up DC Comics.

Winning DC

“We really didn’t think we could pull off DC after we got the Marvel app. We just figured they’d go with someone else because, you know… they’re supposedly arch-enemies,” Steinberger said. “But that’s not how DC saw it.”

But more significantly, the addition of DC to the Comics by ComiXology app rounded out the selection in a way that was really needed.

“It was the number one complaint we got,” he said. “‘Where’s DC? Where’s DC? Where’s DC?’ We get emailed that about 25 times a week, in one form or another,” he said. “And to be able to pull it off and be the only ones that offer DC on the iPhone OS and the iPad, and to be able to have them on our website and store, and to be making a web store for them is beyond my wildest dreams, really.”

After Marvel chose ComiXology as a partner in its iPad program, the user response was so great that the company had to quickly upgrade its server because of the demand. On Tuesday, Steinberger said the company had prepared for the influx of users it expected for Wednesday’s launch of the DC app.

“We expanded our server capacity incredibly well,” Steinberger said with a laugh.

Single Channel?

With yesterday’s announcement, ComiXology is definitely in the lead as the iPad/iPod/iPhone market shakes out. But other companies, including the much-anticipated but as-yet-unavailable Longbox Digital, are entering the marketplace, and that doesn’t even take into account all the digital comics providers on other devices.

A single channel would certainly streamline purchases and be advantageous for the market. As creator Jonathan Hickman told Newsarama yesterday, “I think it’s a mistake, and one that marginalizes an emerging market, not to have a single channel from which to buy.”

Whether or not ComiXology ends up being that “single channel” remains to be seen, and Steinberger isn’t taking anything for granted.

What’s Next?

“I feel like, after Wednesday’s announcement, we should be just cracking beers open and taking the weekend off, but that’s just not going to happen,” Steinberger said. “There are thousands of things we need to be doing next. The retailer affiliate program alone is a huge deal.

“It just makes me feel like we can really do something here,” he said. “That’s silly, I guess. From the outside, I keep getting told we’ve done something. But the worldwide market is out there. It’s ridiculously big. Marvel and DC haven’t made great penetration into the worldwide market. And we have the kids app, and the website tools, and we have so much work to do.”

But Steinberger acknowledges ComiXology’s accomplishments are worth celebrating, although he prefers to call those accomplishments “feedback.”

“This is the best kind of feedback we could ask for, for whether or not we were going in the right direction. I guess that’s the biggest thing for me. The question of, did we make the right choices to focus on the print market? And information about comics? And connections to retailers? And retailer tools? Was that really the right base for moving into digital comic books and binding all of this together?

“I feel like Marvel and DC have said ‘yes,’” he said. “And it’s the best confirmation that we’re going in the right direction, that we’re making the right decisions. It’s crazy to step back and realize where we are, but it makes me very excited to see what is next, and what we can be doing to make all of this better in the next step.”

Quote of the day | Christine Valada, on digital royalties for creators | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

‘Nuff said.  Put up or shut up Marvel!!

Quote of the day | Christine Valada, on digital royalties for creators | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Quote of the day | Christine Valada, on digital royalties for creators

* Posted on June 24, 2010 – 04:00 PM by Kevin Melrose

“This is certainly welcome news for DC creators, who have benefited from DC’s long-standing policy of equitable compensation over the long-term. Marvel has reproduced works in various electronic formats for years, and I can assure you that my husband hasn’t seen a goddamned dime for any such use of Giant-Sized X-Men #1 or anything else he ever created for Marvel. Meanwhile, royalties from DC for a relatively minor character got us through the worst of our past 15 months of hell. Until Marvel takes the steps that DC has to compensate the creators who made the company great, all it is doing is blowing smoke. Anyone who thinks Marvel is the better place to work is just deluding themselves.”

– photographer Christine Valada, wife of veteran writer and editor Len Wein, on DC Comics’ announcement of creator royalties for digital sales

DC digital fallout: Royalty war | The Beat

So the truth comes out, DC pays people a LOT better than Marvel

DC digital fallout: Royalty war | The Beat

DC digital fallout: Royalty war
13 Comments POSTED ON Jun 24 2010 AT 4:25 pm BY The Beat

Lots of reaction and ripples from yesterday’s announcement that DC was at long last joining the digital world with their DC Comics apps for iPad, iPhone and PSP. One of the more amusing developments came from the news that DC was definitely including creator royalties for digital sales, as announced in a widely leaked memo to freelancers:

Subject: A message from Jim Lee and Dan DiDio.
June 23, 2010

To our fellow creators,

Today we set in motion arguably the most significant program in the modern history of DC Comics. Through concurrent but separate partnerships with comiXology, the leading digital comics app developer, and the Sony PlayStation Network Comics Store, DC will now, for the first time, be offering for sale to fans all over the world digital issues featuring the world’s greatest characters. We chose the Sony PlayStation Network Comics Store and comiXology as the first two partners to distribute our titles because of their incredible marketing reach and technological expertise in authoring and optimizing the traditional narrative of print comics into digital form. In short, they make digital comics a pleasure to read whether you are reading them online on your computers, on your iPhone, on your iPad or on your PSP.

As we make this announcement it’s worth noting that, although DC is not the first major publisher to enter the digital comics arena, we are the first to announce a participation plan for talent, thereby setting the industry standard in that regard. Details of our initial compensation plan will be mailed to you in hard copy for your records and should be arriving next week. In broad strokes, the compensation is calculated on a net receipts basis in order to accommodate the various reporting structures of our digital publishing partners. Most importantly, we assure you that your participation in these digital works will be equal to or exceed the participation levels that you currently receive under our additional compensation plan for print.

There are other significant ways our digital program differs from those of our competitors and these differences underscore our belief that this new digital channel will improve our ability to better market and sell comic books to several new kinds of comics readers. Whether they be kids or lapsed fans or new fans coming into the art form through their love of comic book characters in film, TV or videogames, we are convinced our digital program will grow the entire business, not just for DC, but for our traditional book channels and also allow you, the creators, to reach more readers than ever in recent memory. To that end, you will see a wide and diverse selection of digital comics being offered in the upcoming weeks–hopefully some of your very own work!

All the best–

Jim Lee and Dan DiDio
Co-Publishers, DC Comics

This was a clear — and welcome — play to creators fretting about making money in this digital era. But meanwhile, across town, Marvel’s CB Cebulski was pooping in the punchbowl on Twitter:

>yawn< (Not because I’m tired, but because I just saw today’s “news”.)

I’m not sniping at DC, just correcting misinformation that’s being sent out freelancers, some who work for both companies.

Sorry, DC, but despite what your nice letter says, you are NOT “the first to announce a participation plan for talent” for digital comics.

I’m thrilled I can read my DC Comics digitally now and this really shows the new age @JimLee00 and @GeoffJohns0 are ushering in for them!

Marvel editor Tom Brevoort joined in the sniping:

So today, DC invented the digital comic and payments for same. Interesting approach, taking a leadership position from the back of the line.

While public ribbing is par for the course for these crosstown rivals, it did raise the question of why DC is comfortable publicly announcing their incentive plans, which Marvel can only do so via passive-aggressive snark on a social networking platform.

After doing a little digging, we found out what really happened. It seems that on Monday of THIS WEEK, Marvel sent out a letter to its exclusive talent announcing a royalty program for their digital publishing — something that had been missing before. The plan is thus far only the promise of royalties — none have been paid — and hasn’t been announced to non-exclusive talent yet. The timing would suggest that Marvel got wind of DC’s impending announcement and wanted to head off any questioning by Marvel talent.

This does raise the larger question of Marvel’s entire royalty program, however. While Marvel creators we talked to were all happy as a clam with their compensation deals, and Marvel is winning the propaganda war for overall creator satisfaction and talent development, they are definitely wayyy in second place as far as royalties go. Their existing royalty program runs for a few years, as opposed to DC’s which runs in perpetuity. Also, and more famously, Marvel pays NO royalties on foreign sales, despite the huge success of Marvel properties around the world.

DC does. And that’s a very significant amount of income for creators.

The question of Marvel paying digital royalties for digital comics is one that had been uncomfortably bandied around in some interviews with Joe Quesada and others. The fact that Marvel has had to quickly pony up the announcement of a plan with DC announcing theirs shows that both companies consider digital publishing a key component of their future — not including creators in the payout simply isn’t a option for the future pixelated world of comics.

From where we sit, if Marvel and DC want to get into a war over who treats creators better and pays more royalties — it’s one of the BEST thing that could happen for comics.

UPDATE: I’m informed that the announcement to talent
was part of a long planned roll-out which included other information. If nothing else, this proves two things:

a) Marvel is very serious about making sure its creators are paid fairly for digital publishing

and

b) Marvel freelancers are a lot more tight-lipped than DC creators!

Newsarama.com : Comics Creators Respond to DC DIGITAL COMICS Plans

Read the rest of the article at the link below…

Newsarama.com : Comics Creators Respond to DC DIGITAL COMICS Plans

UPDATED: Comic Creators Respond to DC DIGITAL COMICS Plans
By Vaneta Rogers
posted: 23 June 2010 02:33 pm ET

With the announcement today that DC Comics has entered the digital comics marketplace, one of the more interesting aspects of the program — for the industry’s talent, anyway — was that DC will have a royalty program for creators when one of their digital comics is purchased.

DC has often been praised as a creator-rights leader for its royalty program, with former publisher Paul Levitz even winning an Eisner Award for his humanitarian work on behalf of creators. So creators weren’t shocked by the announcement, but were reacting positively nonetheless.

The internet has also been abuzz about the future of comics now that both major publishers are dedicated to digital comics.

So we went to the creators to ask:

- What is your overall reaction to the news of DC’s digital program?
- Do you have knowledge about or a reaction to the plan to pay royalties on digital sales?
- When do you envision the digital model being the industry’s dominant from of distribution? 2 years, 5 years, 10, or never?

What follows is the response, which we’ll be updating throughout the day:

Newsarama.com : Comic Book Retailers React to DC DIGITAL

Newsarama.com : Comic Book Retailers React to DC DIGITAL

Comic Book Retailers React to DC DIGITAL
By Vaneta Rogers
posted: 24 June 2010 10:59 am ET

After DC Comics’ announcement Wednesday morning, digital comics may be the talk of the industry. But what role they play in the future of comic book retailing is the real mystery.

Newsarama talked with retailers and their representatives to examine how the digital marketplace is impacting comics now and in the future.

Retailer Affiliate Program

Part of the mystery behind DC’s announcement is this new “retailer affiliate” program DC is working on with ComiXology. According to the publisher, the system will reward retailers when digital comics are sold, although details of how are still being ironed out. To the company’s credit, they’re speaking directly with retailers about it.

Joe Field, president of the retailer group ComicsPRO, said DC has been talking with the organization about the affiliate program and how to best approach digital comics so they benefit retailers.

“It’s sort of a mutual thing, to be honest,” Field said. “ComicsPRO and our board of directors are proactive in trying to talk to all of our suppliers about the near-term and the long-term future of the business, and seeing that digital is here and it’s something that needs to be addressed, we’ve had conversations with DC about it.”

David Steinberger, CEO at ComiXology, said the affiliate program has gotten interest from several publishers, but DC is leading the push toward its completion. The executive said it could involve a monetary reward for actual sales through comic store websites, or it could be a system where digital buyers are “matched” to their local comic book store, so sales to that customer can be tracked.

Field said he’s aware of what DC is considering, but can’t share details until DC begins the program. But he emphasized that DC has been very proactive in talking with retailers about the program, both inside the ComicsPRO organization and other retailers.

“I think there are a number of publishers that would like to do what they can to help storefront retailers promote sales in our stores as much as they are promoting their digital applications,” he said. “But I think DC tends to be the best practices leader when it comes to engaging the interests of their primary market, which is still the direct market.”

Among the retailers we contacted, confidence in DC’s intentions is high.

“Having talked previously with John Rood about digital comics, he stressed that treating retailers as partners in the digital space was a priority for DC, and today they’ve backed that up,” said Kendall Swafford, owner of Up Up and Away in Cincinnati. “I am eager to hear more, of course, but DC seems serious about finding ways that they, their creators and their retail partners all benefit from this brave new world.”

“I’m not really sure how a comic store can make money off digital comics,” said J.C. Glindmyer of Earthworld Comics in Albany, N.Y. “DC has always worked together with retailers to help promote their books, so I’m pretty confident this move will be a positive one that continues their partnership with retailers.”

Or as Joel Pollack, president of Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Md., put it: “DC Comics is our friend.”

But Field said retailers will be watching DC and other publishers, because they care about the future of comics too. “I know DC has always thought it’s important to engage the retailer segment. They look at digital as being additive. And we are going to hold them to that,” he said.

Death or boon for paper?

Some comic book fans have stated a belief that publishers want to switch their business to all-digital. After all, it eliminates the added cost of distribution, and it gets comic straight into customers’ hands.

But Steinberger of ComiXology says the elimination of the existing comic marketplace would be a catastrophe for publishers, and fans who believe otherwise are off their rocker.

“They’re insane. They are so insane to say that,” he said. “They have no idea of the economics of this whole thing if they think DC or Marvel or any publisher would be better off without the retailer space. That’s where they’re making their money!

“Yes, digital comics can be a part of their overall market, but everyone is better off if the digital market is an added market,” Steinberger explained. “More customers instead of less. More customers going to comic book stores. More customers buying comics. To think otherwise is just insane.”

To that end, retailers shared several anecdotes about customers coming into their shop to buy something after having sampled it online.

“When Marvel’s digital app came out, within the first few days, someone came in and said they read the first volume of the New Avengers on Marvel’s app, and they couldn’t wait for Marvel to upload the rest of them, so they came in and bought the next several volumes,” Field said. “To me, that’s additive. That’s window shopping, buying a small thing, and then coming into the stores because the material is attractive enough to want it now.”

Steinberger said a lot of retailers who subscribe to the ComiXology retailer program have communicated that customers come in asking for comics they don’t carry, because they saw them on a digital outlet.

“That’s the great thing about the retailer tools in our apps, that take you to your local store,” Steinberger said. “Retailers say they’ve sold things that they wouldn’t have put on a shelf. People discover things digitally that they didn’t even know there were comics for.”

Steinberger said the ComiXology plan has always been to grow the comic book marketplace through digital. To that end, the company includes a “buy in print” link on all its apps that leads digital consumers to their closest comic stores.

“All of our business models,” Steinberger said, “from our original business plan to the research and plans we have now, shows print comics growing, not fading. And the digital market growing along with it.”

“I really think that the more people that are reading comics, the better comic book stores will do. What I’m looking at is the way that DC is setting this deal to potentially create hundreds of thousands of new window shoppers for comics,” Field said. “We just have to make sure digital comics are approached with that in mind.”

Day-And-Date

While retailers like the idea of an “affiliate program,” as well as the marketing that digital comics seems to accomplish, none of them are big fans of digital comics being released at the same time they hit stores.

DC is releasing Justice League: Generation Lost every two weeks in both comic stores and digitally, at the same price. Next week, Marvel is releasing Iron Man Annual #1 as a day-and-date digital release.

“It makes more sense if it’s a release that will support and stimulate sales of subsequent books,” Glindmyer said. “I would be more concerned if it was the first issue of an event series such as Brightest Day.”

“The one thing I do like is that it is at the same price, not a digital discount,” said Lisa Lopacinski, co-owner of Neptune Comics in Waukesha, Wisc. “At least this way paper and digital can go head-to-head. When the comics are available digitally at a substantially lower price than paper it drives people to digital in order to save money, more-so than because they actually prefer the digital format.”

When Boom! Studios recently announced a major push into digital comics, Marketing Director Chip Mosher specifically talked about the company’s intention to only release digital comics a month later than their street date. Retailers said they prefer that type of approach, because it acts as a marketing tool for the paper comic instead of a competitor.

“I would probably not be as supportive to publishers who would debut all of their books on line within an small window of its release date,” Glindmyer said.

It’s a Small Digital World

Most retailers also indicated they’re not overly concerned about digital comics because it’s such a small market. While they are vocal about how publishers approach the future and want to protect the marketplace, they don’t see any effect on their business in the short-term.

“Although I can’t tell you specifics of this, I have seen from a couple of different publishers what their actual digital sales are. And I can assure all of my retailer colleagues that it’s very minimal at this point,” Field said. “It doesn’t take a whole lot to become the #5 app on iTunes or the iPad.

“We’re just at the starting line for what sales can be digitally, but I think there’s a tremendous amount of allure to the window shopping that digital comics can be for print media,” Field said. “The financial model doesn’t make sense right now for us to be worrying so much about digital.”

Adam Casey, manager of Ssalesfish Comics in Winston-Salem, N.C., said his customers don’t even seem to be interested in digital comics.

“Does anyone really care about digital comics?” he said. “I know there’s been a lot of talk about the ‘future of comics’ and what-not, and there’s been a space race/arms race/cold war styled event going on by seeing which publisher can be the first to beam a comic directly into the head of a reader at 12:01AM on Wednesday, but is there really that much demand for a digital comics program?”

But Field said that while fear of the digital marketplace is unfounded, open discussion with publishers is important. “I think it’s a key for ComicsPRO and for other retailers to be a part of the discussion of what happens to our business, and what forms it takes,” he said. “We have to look out for ourselves, and being engaged in the conversations is part of that.”

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