February Marvel Previews |
November 13th 2007, a date I shall never forget. Yes, much like my birthday, the Moon landing and the day John Lennon was shot, 11-13-07 will remain in my memory forever. For you see, on that date, the comic industry took a major step forward in embracing the digital age. Marvel opened their vast library of comics for internet viewing.
Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited.
Strange use of acronym aside, the Marvel DCU is a major and long overdue step towards utilizing the global reach of the internet to obtain and keep readers. Now of course digital comics are not exactly a new premise, I realize that. Many companies have offered them before, in some fashion or another, and web comics have been around since, well … since the web began, but never before has a major company took such an aggressive business approach towards them.
Currently, subscribers can read over 2,700 Marvel comics. There is a vast variety of titles for every taste and every fan. The issues available are somewhat sporadic as of now, but with about 20 issues added every week, it won’t take long to get in sync. At present they are showcasing the most popular Marvel issues and filling the rest of the site with a huge selection of various other titles. It is a smart way to do it really, try to get a readership by showcasing all the different characters. But again, there are some nice books available. How about taking a few days and reading Fantastic Four 1-100? Not into the classics? How about checking out more recent books you may have missed like Bullet Points, Agents of Atlas or Irredeemable Ant-Man?
Marvel has also, wisely, used the classic “try it before you buy it” approach, allowing you to test drive their new system before spending your hard earned money. Now while I would have been happy with … say … a 20 or 25 issue free trial, they are giving you a whopping 250 issues to check out. 250 issues for free, that is worth at least a trail run. Please note however, that you will be asked to register with Marvel.com to read the entire book. This is not the subscription sign-up, merely the Marvel main site sign up.
Lord I am giddy over this. Comics I want to read at my finger tips.
Now this recent implementation is not without flaws. First off there is price. For an annual fee of $59.88 ($4.99 a month) or a monthly fee of $9.99, you gain access to the Marvel library of comics. On the surface, that price point may seem a little high for the casual reader, but for avid readers it is a good deal.
One obvious drawback to most comic book readers, and the main gripe I always hear, is the lack of feel from reading comics on a screen. When you are not able to actually hold the comic while reading, it seems to diminish some enjoyment. It is as if there is something missing. It is just not as entertaining. Now while I understand that rationale, for I also prefer to have the book in my hand, it is not that detrimental. I have found that when I read digital comics on my laptop, it is not as bad as sitting at my desk and reading off my monitor. Maybe the desk seems to confining and too much like being at work.
Another thing that may turn fans off is the amount of time it will take for newly released issues to become available. There is a 6 month waiting period from when new books hit the shelves at your local comic shop to when they will be on the site. This sucks, yes, but it is a very smart thing to do. The reasoning behind this … it will help alleviate the hit that comic dealers would take. If Marvel were to put new comics up right away, the comic shops would suffer. This way, comic stores still get first crack at pulling in their needed funds.
I know this may seem like I am just trying to promote this Marvel DCU idea and that is true, in a way. Yes I am a huge Marvel fan, but I do not get everything that Marvel publishes. With this, I can essentially read all the books I wanted to read, but were unwilling to pay $3 a pop for. Titles like Runaways and Ghost Rider for example, can now find their way to my eyes and perhaps into my pull list and titles that I have recently dropped, such as New Warriors and Punisher get a second chance. Not to mention the countless Marvel Mini-series that I have missed that I can now read.
But this goes well beyond my love for Marvel. I want this to succeed for another reason. I want the other companies to offer the same thing. I want DC to pull me into to their universe again. I would love to be able to read all the great DC runs I enjoyed when I was younger, Legion of Super-Heroes and Green Lantern/Green Arrow just to name two. And what about the great series that I have heard about more recently, but never got around to reading? Gotham Central, Brubaker’s Catwoman series and Geoff Johns Flash run. This is why I want this to succeed. Not for Marvel, but for me. Yes I am a selfish bastard.
November 13th, a day that brought hope to a different life for comics. Yes, I shall never forget that day. Now, if I can just remember my wedding anniversary.
Marvel's DCU
ADDITIONAL EDIT –
Just after 48 hours of writing the above statement, I discover that Marvel has pulled the rights from GITCorp. This company, GITCorp, was responsible for bringing us those great comic collections on DVD. Collections like The Complete Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Iron-Man (to name a few). I guess Marvel, having started this Online Comic Subscription Service, has decided to eliminate some of the reading competition. Now while I understand Marvel’s reasoning, I certainly hope they decide to publish them in some other way. I stand by my earlier statements about how I look forward to this new Marvel service, but I also really enjoyed possessing those DVD’s. So come on Marvel, don’t eliminate the DVD collections … I was looking forward to the Complete Daredevil Collection on DVD.
Perry Taliaferro
HeroRealm
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