I figured I'd bust it wide open and see what people were thinking about it. If you're not up on what went down at the Cons recently, or what's been in the works for a little while, here's a link:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21693I for one like to have the actual work in my hands for the things I care most about. But does a potential .99 cent price-point interest me. Yeah it does, hands down. There's a ton of things, especially coming out of small presses that I'm not entirely convinced I want to drop $4 bucks on a chance. It either reads good to me, or looks good to me -- occasionally both, but not always. On the months my pull list is busting budget, I could see dropping in another $5 for five titles.
It seems like this could be profitable to many (especially outside of the "big few") because the smaller presses often score a great story but aren't sure about the overall appeal of the product for mass distribution. In other words, releasing digital first could allow for target-specific marketing, comics about local issues, as well as give a company the chance to show-off titles it really believes in without having to drop all the printing / distribution cash.
Apparently, some are tinkering with the notion of allowing the small download fee to be applied as a mini-credit toward the purchase and/or shipping of the book for those wanting hard copies of the stuff they like. The advantage seems kind of plain to me -- a company could then get a more accurate print-to-order number and reduce risk while making a little profit at the same time.
But would the profit be enough? By the time you lay out an olive branch for creators (who might simply just take their work straight to digital release and by-pass publishers anyway), what's left over for publishing editors / staff (Kris?). And what sorts of carrots can be dangled in front of creators if things like Longbox (maybe not Longbox itself) go full blown "digital vanity" and put anything and everything out there for consumption?
It seems like the trade-off could be a market flooded with crap, and weeding through the crap might make it a little tough for serious consumers to find the good stuff without hitting up a publisher first.
Still, it seems like there's a chance of opening Pandora's Box. I'm classic on the fence about it right now, but wondered what other people were thinking or hearing about the impact of this distribution method.
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