Comic Books Evolve, from Ink to Internet

Although print comics are still thriving, Marvel and DC Comics are getting a head start on finding digital outlets for their properties

by Chris Albrecht

The image of a bedtime-avoiding youngster huddled under blankets with a flashlight and comic book might soon be joined by that of a kid thrilling to a superhero's latest adventures on a laptop tucked under the covers.

Just like music, movies, and TV shows, comic books are going digital. But unlike other media migrations, the jump from ink to bits significantly changes the nature of a comic book. "Ours is different from video because their final product looks exactly the same," said Dan Buckley, president of publishing at Marvel Entertainment. "The DVD is the same as if you downloaded it." Comics, however, must go from a tactile, paper experience to a hands-free digital one, and unlike text-only books, comic narratives are told through sequential art; how the panels are laid out is just as important as what's in them. Both Marvel and DC Comics are experimenting with different approaches to presenting comics on the Web as they try to figure out what consumers want—and what they'll pay for.

Why Go Online?

While sales of traditional entertainment forms such as music CDs and DVDs have decreased or flattened, there hasn't been a similar sea change forcing the comics industry to go digital—the paper-based comics business is still doing well. Combined sales of graphic novels and comic books in the U.S. and Canada hit $705 million in 2007—a 10% bump up from 2006, and sales of graphic novels have quintupled since 2001.

So if demand is still high for print, what's driving the digital moves? Opportunity. "We want people to see these stories through as many distribution points as possible," Buckley said. So Marvel is trying a number of digital formats for its properties. Last year the company launched Digital Comics Unlimited, a subscription-based service that charges $50 a year for access to more than 4,000 (soon to hit 5,000) comic books online. Since the launch, Buckley said Marvel has learned quite a bit. "The print and digital businesses complement each other," he said. "One is not cannibalizing the other."

The company is also trying its hand at so-called motion comics, which use existing comic panels but give them an animated feel through pans and zooms or by giving characters simple movement; voice actors provide the dialog. Marvel created a 25-episode motion comic from N, a short story by Stephen King, as a promotion for Just After Sunset, his upcoming collection of short stories; free episodes are being released every weekday until Aug. 29. The company has also tested motion comics out on some of its bigger-name properties, such as Ultimate Spider-Man.