Last week it was announced that Marvel would have 5 big announcements on March 10 at the SXSW Gaming Expo. The aforementioned teaser images led to a lot of speculation. One included many title and character names forming the shape of a large number 1 accompanied by a caption that simply said, "First." Next, we got a teaser of a tally countdown.... Numbering 52. This seemed to spell it all out for Marvel fans. We were going to have to endure a universal reboot similar to the DC New 52 relaunch, which would make no sense given that Marvel NOW has already given new readers a universal jumping on point. Last was a teaser that simply said, "Project Gamma," on a briefcase with some sort of frequency wave in the background.
Marvel's 5 big announcements have come to pass. First, an announcement regarding more exclusive video content on their website. Cool. Next, we have some innovations being done with their digital unlimited subscription, a monthly or annual fee that grants users access to over 13,000 digital comics, but not as a hard download. This differs from the Marvel digital copies that accompany nearly all of their $3.99 comics now, a copy that once downloaded to your account is yours forever. Still, it was the other 3 stories had me excited and relieved.
The 52 tallies were for Marvel's Infinite Comics. The infinite comics are strictly digital format comics that are only available online. They can be found on Marvel's website with your Marvel account, or through the Marvel app on Apple devices or Android devices. Coming soon, there will be a new Infinite Comic available every Tuesday for one year. All of these comics will be relevant to ongoing Marvel stories and characters. For a taste of what these comics will read like, check the app now for their Guardians of the Galaxy: Drax the Destroyer special (free, of course, though the 52 to come I believe will require purchasing). So no, not a hint at a DC style reboot. Thank Thor for that.
The teaser with the big number 1? Yeah, Marvel's app and digital comics store has now/will have in total about 700 FREE comics, including #1's, annuals, specials, one-shots, etc. This includes most of the Marvel NOW #1's that have been released since November. Tying in with the mentality behind Marvel NOW, this is meant to attract new readers, get readers interested in more titles, and just generally share over 70 years worth of #1 comics. I currently have about 300 of them downloading to my iPad (I think 50 or so have already finished).
Last, we have Project Gamma. Again, this is an initiative targeted towards the digital side of things. Imagine that while you are reading your digital comics, there is accompanying audio. Music that fits the characters, stories, and adapts to the reader's reading pace. Yeah, I don't know quite how it's going to work. Only Marvel really knows at the moment. I think this could be cool, though, but we'll see what it's like when it launches later this year.
So that's it, really. What does this mean for a guy who works in a comic shop? Marvel are giving away a bunch of comics and promoting the digital format side of things. Are comic shops in danger? Not even a little. Having a digital copy of a comic book is vastly different from having the print copy. For comic collectors and long time readers, the print format will never lose its magic. Sure, we may take our digital copy codes from our Marvel books, and may even read a good deal of our comics on a tablet or phone while on the go. But it's just not the same. Having the stacks of comics, having the boxes tucked away under a bed or in a closet, hunting down that one issue you need to complete a story, digital comics can't replace these things.
Having over 700 free comics to me means that people who download them from Marvel this week may show up at our store saying, "I read a #1 (fill in the blank Marvel title) from (fill in the blank year). I loved it, and I want to read the rest of it! I don't want to buy a digital copy, though, I want to collect the issues in print. Do you have them?" It means some very busy weeks ahead as we rifle through our 25,000+ back issues at Dead Universe Comics to try and help every customer find what they are looking for, and that is more than okay. Marvel is generating interest in the old as well as the new, and that should have comic shops everywhere jumping for joy at the chance to sell the often neglected back issues.
So jump onto your iWhatever or your Galaxy-Thingy and get to downloading free and LEGAL copies of over 700 comics. Try whatever, and start reading. Figure out what you like, then come see us with any questions and we'll be there to help, as always. Happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment