Another highlight of the weekend was the public unveiling of Longbox at Heroes Con. What is Lngbox? The short version is iTunes for comic books. CBR has details.

Rantz Hoseley, the editor behind Image’s “Comic Book Tattoo” anthology of comics inspired by Tori Amos, introduced his latest endeavor at Heroes Con this weekend. Longbox, a digital comics platform similar to iTunes, is expected to launch later this year as a free download for Mac, PC, and Linux. Developed by Quicksilver Software, Longbox comics can be download for a suggested price point of $.99 per issue, with the potential for block and subscription pricing. The first two publishers confirmed for Longbox are Top Cow and BOOM! Studios. CBR News caught up with Hoseley to discuss the details of Longbox and its potential impact.


We also find this quote quite interesting:
Hoseley believes the very existence of digital comics from major publishers represents a sea change from the perception of online content that existed when Longbox was in its planning stage. “Three years ago, when we started doing development, publishers were very, very resistant to it. The majority of publishers wouldn’t even discuss the possibility of it: digital comics are the devil come to steal the milk from our children’s mouths,” he recalled. “The difference is that now, every publisher realizes, especially with the increasing cost of monthlies and the declining sales of monthlies, that there has to be a way to expand the market. With every other form of entertainment embracing digital distribution and sales medium, it is very foolhardy to not do likewise.”
Lots more on this later.

1 COMMENT

  1. I receive PDFs for Diamond Previews every month. While the paper volumes are best for looking up a specific publisher or title, I have no problem using Acrobat to scroll through the 400+ pages of information. (If only someone would invent a monitor that works like an ipod screen…rotating, with the screen image automatically formatted for landscape or portrait viewing!)

    Just as I can read Nexus in a black-and-white digest without losing resolution, I can read a comicbook on a monitor. Sometimes faster than I can a paper comicbook.

  2. I used to have a Viewsonic monitor that did that. I assume they still make them.

    Here’s one online guide to ViewSonic monitors. New models have the pivot software built in. And here is ViewSonic’s Web site.

    SRS

  3. The only problem I had with the Watchmen motion comic is that each page of The Watchmen is an exercise in discovery. You can read it up down, side to side, and discover a new way of reading the story each time. That’s what makes it so great. I also like to be able to look at the page as a whole. The motion comic takes that out of the equation.

  4. Yeah – comics will still be available – in weirdo specialist shops that normal people don’t go in… oh wait…