Online Distribution

[dalea]

Hi!
I am new here, I just registered because I had an idea when I heard that Alpha Flight was to be cancelled after issue 12.

I thought I might share it here and see what you think about it.

Why not ask Marvel to distribute the comic exclusively online?
They would not have to pay for printing and distribution that way, most people nowadays have a web connection.

If the fans would pay the same amount for a comic distributed digitally that they pay for a physical one Marvel could maybe make enough money on a smaller fanbase to justify the comic.

I mean I would rather have a digital version of the comic than none at all!

I wish the artists could acquire the rights to a comic, that way we could pay them directly for a digital distribution of it, I am sure any comic artist would rather write and draw for the fans directly instead of having to give up the comic.


Dalea

[HappyCanuck]

Really interesting idea, Dale, but that leads to another problem: PAYING for said eComics. 99% of those sites require a credit card (otherwise it's difficult to get payments), and I just don't have one due to bad credit. It's bad enough that I can't get AF locally (hell, i get mine from BRITAIN, and I'm Canadian - sad, eh?). If it went online as a paid eComic, I'd never get to see it.

But dispite that slight glitch, it IS an ingenious idea, one that, despite what I said above, Marvel would be fooling to ignore (hence they will, since Marvel is nothing but foolish these days)

[PWalk]

What happens alot with E-comics is a bunch of users will hop in together and share an account. Everyone uses the same login and pass and get to view the comic when their turn is up. Also people just do printscreens of the comics and post them on thier sites for everyone to read.

I'd love there to be a way for the comic to work online but with the internet comes piracy and frankly in the end Marvel just wouldn't make enough money.

[Ben]

That's the great thing with Paypal. Now you can pay online without the need of a credit card, it just takes a few days do the e-cheque to clear.

Ben

[jay042]

More likley if tey were to do E-comics they would be flash based like their preview comics on the site right now.

But in all honesty, electronic publishing is not a viable market. The fact that Steven King, one of the biggest writers on the face of the planet, couldn't get enough interest in a book he published online just shows you where it stands right now.

[tkmadison]

Really interesting idea, Dale, but that leads to another problem: PAYING for said eComics. 99% of those sites require a credit card (otherwise it's difficult to get payments), and I just don't have one due to bad credit.

Hey, I hear that but it wouldn't be terribly difficult for them to set it up for PayPal, right?
That way you wouldn't need a credit card, just a bank account.

[HappyCanuck]

well, dunno about anyone else, but I've always found it nearly impossible to set up a PayPal acc't, mostly due to the fact I'm Canadian (I know other Canucks have PP acc'ts...). not only that, I live practically paycheck to paycheck...

[Northcott]

The revised Epic line was supposed to allow a variation on that theme: Marvel wouldn't have to worry about paying the creative team, they'd just send them a cut of any profits made from the final sales. Marvel covers the print costs, and no more, and the creative team takes full financial responsibility for themselves (and so profit handsomely if they succeed).

It was a fantastic idea that had the industry buzzing, but got dropped like a hot rock. I'm still rather upset by it.

[tkmadison]

"outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read"
.

Off topic, I know, but that signature quote of yours....
I swear I saw it scrawled as graphiti in Britannia Park on Commercial Drive in Vancouver...?

[HappyCanuck]

"outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read"
.

Off topic, I know, but that signature quote of yours....
I swear I saw it scrawled as graphiti in Britannia Park on Commercial Drive in Vancouver...?

Heh, actually, I got it from one the book series I read - it was on her coffee mug

it's quite possible to be seen everywhere. I've since seen it three times - once on a t-shirt, twice in a book store.

[Mokole]

[quote="HappyCanuck"][quote="tkmadison"]

"outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read"
.

It's a Groucho Marx joke.

My tag line is simply emblematic of my life, and it being a hockey quote just makes it better.