Marvel confirms plans for digital distribution

According to Newsarama, some very interesting news has reared its head at the New York Comic Con. Marvel Comics President and Publisher Dan Buckley has confirmed to the public that the company will be pursuing digital distribution in the future.

Buckely’s news about digital comics came at the end of the panel when moderator Douglas Wolk asked the assembled panelists (DC’s Paul Levitz, Del Rey’s Dallas Middaugh, Tokyopop’s Stuart Levy, and Viz’s Alvin Lu) what they felt about the digital distribution of their comics, and if it will be playing a role in their future. The question was initially greeted by silence from the panelists, with Buckley ultimately stepping in to answer for Marvel.

“[Digital distribution] is a very real thing that we’re all going to have to deal with, because whether we like it or not, our books are already on the internet,” Buckley said, just prior to confirming that Marvel will be directly involved in the distribution of digital versions of their comics.

He went on to say that Marvel was currently considering alterations to their existing formats in order to enhance the digital comics experience. I'm very curious to see what the company will come up with. I'm a huge, huge fan of scanlations, and having worked in the community myself for a fairly long time, I can safely say that reading manga on your PC (no matter how well it's been scanlated) just isn't as much fun as reading the hard copies. I know a lot of people will probably agree with me on this issue.

Anything that would help make the digital reading experience more fun can only be a good thing. One of my friends recently pointed me to Shueisha's online distribution format, and I have to say; God, that is so annoying. The entire reading experience is lost amidst horrible flash boinking noises, creepy music and the vivid colours and borders. Ugh.

Thankfully, I have enough faith in Marvel to believe they'll be able to pull off a digital distribution format that doesn't make your eyes bleed everytime you look at it. Maybe we'll be seeing more of an increase in flash-based comics? Or interactive comics, perhaps? I have no idea what they could have in mind, frankly. A decent example of e-manga is the Metroid manga. True, it involves a ton of flash integration, sound effects and doesn't exactly offer a traditional manga/comic experience, but it's not half bad either.