Buh-bye, htmlcomics.com: Illegal site shut down

Glenn Hauman

Glenn is VP of Production at ComicMix. He has written Star Trek and X-Men stories and worked for DC Comics, Simon & Schuster, Random House, arrogant/MGMS and Apple Comics. He's also what happens when a Young Turk of publishing gets old.

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66 Responses

  1. Russ Rogers says:

    Why not create an iTunes or Rhapsody for comics? Have comics in digital form available for reading or download. You can either buy and download the individual digital comics for a small fee. For the sake of argument, let’s say 99 cents for an issue, $9.99 for a 12 issue story arc or graphic novel. Prices can be worked out by the marketplace. The Rhapsody side would be that for $10 a month subscription you could browse and read any comic in the library, but you wouldn’t be able to download the comic (without paying an additional fee). Again, the marketplace can determine how much subscriptions would cost.

    Any publisher could have their comics available through the service. Then they would get paid mechanical royalties taken from the subscription fees based on how often their books were accessed. And publishers and artists would obviously get a percentage of any sales made on downloads through the site.

    Look, I could get music for “free” by pirating it. But I don’t. I use iTunes because it’s LEGAL and it’s frankly easier to understand more convenient for me than piracy. Doing the right thing isn’t just right, it’s also more user friendly.

    People will not be averse to paying for comics online IF you can make it LEGAL and more convenient than piracy (and cost less than print). People don’t want to have to subscribe to DC, Archie, Marvel, Boom, Darkhorse and Bongo and a myriad of other publishers both too small to mention and not even publishing anymore. They want to get it ALL from one giant, digital, virtual Comic Book Shop.

    And there’s no reason why there can’t be several digital warehouses competing for attention, pricing and business. There’s room for iTunes and Rhapsody and other models for delivering digital music. I don’t see why there has to be one model for delivering digital comics. But print publishers need to rethink their positions in the digital age.

    Shutting down “html.comics” won’t stop the demand for digital comics.

    • Brandon Barrows says:

      Comics can be purchased through/for the Kindle, though I don’t know how widespread it is. My friend Mike Luoma (www.glowinthedarkradio.com) publishes his books and comics in that format, as well as traditional print. 99 cents per download for the comics and according to Mike, they sell fairly well.

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      It won’t shut down the demand for sure Russ. I think a download service will be an eventuality, but no one has really got it running well just yet. Marvel’s trying several options (motion comics on iTunes and a subscription service as well) and DC seems to be taking things low and slow for now.

      I think there are those in the retail market that fear the digital age that’s forthcoming. There are some “on the fence customers” that will soon put down a subscription box for a download site… and there has to be a balance there. Time will tell.

    • Glenn Hauman says:

      “Why not create an iTunes or Rhapsody for comics?” There is one, it’s called iTunes– assuming, of course, that Apple will give equal terms to a company other than Marvel.

  2. Russ Rogers says:

    Why not create an iTunes or Rhapsody for comics? Have comics in digital form available for reading or download. You can either buy and download the individual digital comics for a small fee. For the sake of argument, let's say 99 cents for an issue, $9.99 for a 12 issue story arc or graphic novel. Prices can be worked out by the marketplace. The Rhapsody side would be that for $10 a month subscription you could browse and read any comic in the library, but you wouldn't be able to download the comic (without paying an additional fee). Again, the marketplace can determine how much subscriptions would cost.Any publisher could have their comics available through the service. Then they would get paid mechanical royalties taken from the subscription fees based on how often their books were accessed. And publishers and artists would obviously get a percentage of any sales made on downloads through the site.Look, I could get music for "free" by pirating it. But I don't. I use iTunes because it's LEGAL and it's frankly easier to understand more convenient for me than piracy. Doing the right thing isn't just right, it's also more user friendly.People will not be averse to paying for comics online IF you can make it LEGAL and more convenient than piracy (and cost less than print). People don't want to have to subscribe to DC, Archie, Marvel, Boom, Darkhorse and Bongo and a myriad of other publishers both too small to mention and not even publishing anymore. They want to get it ALL from one giant, digital, virtual Comic Book Shop.And there's no reason why there can't be several digital warehouses competing for attention, pricing and business. There's room for iTunes and Rhapsody and other models for delivering digital music. I don't see why there has to be one model for delivering digital comics. But print publishers need to rethink their positions in the digital age.Shutting down "html.comics" won't stop the demand for digital comics.

    • Brandon Barrows says:

      Comics can be purchased through/for the Kindle, though I don't know how widespread it is. My friend Mike Luoma (www.glowinthedarkradio.com) publishes his books and comics in that format, as well as traditional print. 99 cents per download for the comics and according to Mike, they sell fairly well.

    • Marc Alan Fishman says:

      It won't shut down the demand for sure Russ. I think a download service will be an eventuality, but no one has really got it running well just yet. Marvel's trying several options (motion comics on iTunes and a subscription service as well) and DC seems to be taking things low and slow for now.I think there are those in the retail market that fear the digital age that's forthcoming. There are some "on the fence customers" that will soon put down a subscription box for a download site… and there has to be a balance there. Time will tell.

    • Glenn Hauman says:

      "Why not create an iTunes or Rhapsody for comics?" There is one, it's called iTunes– assuming, of course, that Apple will give equal terms to a company other than Marvel.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I say create an ADVERTISER supported read-on-line-only-no-download comic version of HULU! Light on the new stuff,but heaver on older stuff not in line to be reprinted or not profitable enough.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I say create an ADVERTISER supported read-on-line-only-no-download comic version of HULU! Light on the new stuff,but heaver on older stuff not in line to be reprinted or not profitable enough.

  5. Christopher Back says:

    I agree that finding a legal and user friendly option would do wonders for several companies, but here’s a question: what about comic companies that went out of business and haven’t been bought by other companies?

    I’ve been curious about the defunct 70s company Atlas/Seaboard, finding decent readable copies of their titles are not easy, but a company that wants to make any of their comics available download any of the Atlas/Seaboard comics, who owns the rights to those characters?

    I enjoy a lot of comics from companies (and lines from Marvel and DC) that are no longer around.

  6. Christopher Back says:

    I agree that finding a legal and user friendly option would do wonders for several companies, but here's a question: what about comic companies that went out of business and haven't been bought by other companies? I've been curious about the defunct 70s company Atlas/Seaboard, finding decent readable copies of their titles are not easy, but a company that wants to make any of their comics available download any of the Atlas/Seaboard comics, who owns the rights to those characters?I enjoy a lot of comics from companies (and lines from Marvel and DC) that are no longer around.

  7. Anonymous says:

    what d hell..!!! it was one of d best sites nd they take it down too… i mean it was soo nice.. wer d hell do u find those old comics and it was soo user friendly..!! ughhh hate u guyzz who took it down..!!! go 2 hell..!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      i agree it was the best site i’ve ever stumbled upon!!!! hope that they bring it back!!!!

  8. Anonymous says:

    what d hell..!!! it was one of d best sites nd they take it down too… i mean it was soo nice.. wer d hell do u find those old comics and it was soo user friendly..!! ughhh hate u guyzz who took it down..!!! go 2 hell..!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      i agree it was the best site i've ever stumbled upon!!!! hope that they bring it back!!!!

  9. Anonymous says:

    noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! i didnt finished to read identity crisis!

  10. Raz says:

    I understand to bring down pirate sites, though this one was a great resource for comic fans and am sad to see it go. Whether people don’t agree with the creative interpretation of the copyright laws, it does seem he was attempting to do it legally at least to his interpretation. I think it would have been more beneficial to work with him to set the site up in a way that would benefit all parties rather than simply shutdown such a vast resource of comics. I mean all the work was practically done with the scanning of the issues they just needed to set up a better program to protect comics from being downloaded. Hell pay a monthly subscription fee to have access to all those comics like I pay for netflix get access to all there movies. I just don’t think shutting it downs was the best solution. And those that are happy to see it go aren’t real comic fans. I agree some compensation should be paid out to publishers and creators hence the subscription fee.

  11. Anonymous says:

    noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! i didnt finished to read identity crisis!

  12. Anonymous says:

    Hopefully the comic companies wise up and find some sort of compromise on this. I completely understand not wanting people to be able to read current or recent issues for free but the old stuff should be available for everyone to read. That wouldn’t take money out of anyone’s pockets, except the cost of hosting the site of course. Why wouldn’t the comic companies want to partner with someone, or just run a site like that on their own and then promote the heck out of it. That way you will have a lot of new readers learning about the origins of all of these characters and hopefully becoming interested enough in comics to become new customers. Put the back issues online and let everyone read them for free and on the same site give customers the option of downloading current and recent issues at regular price and it’s all official and legal. It’s at least worth trying if you ask me.

  13. Raz says:

    I understand to bring down pirate sites, though this one was a great resource for comic fans and am sad to see it go. Whether people don't agree with the creative interpretation of the copyright laws, it does seem he was attempting to do it legally at least to his interpretation. I think it would have been more beneficial to work with him to set the site up in a way that would benefit all parties rather than simply shutdown such a vast resource of comics. I mean all the work was practically done with the scanning of the issues they just needed to set up a better program to protect comics from being downloaded. Hell pay a monthly subscription fee to have access to all those comics like I pay for netflix get access to all there movies. I just don't think shutting it downs was the best solution. And those that are happy to see it go aren't real comic fans. I agree some compensation should be paid out to publishers and creators hence the subscription fee.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Hopefully the comic companies wise up and find some sort of compromise on this. I completely understand not wanting people to be able to read current or recent issues for free but the old stuff should be available for everyone to read. That wouldn't take money out of anyone's pockets, except the cost of hosting the site of course. Why wouldn't the comic companies want to partner with someone, or just run a site like that on their own and then promote the heck out of it. That way you will have a lot of new readers learning about the origins of all of these characters and hopefully becoming interested enough in comics to become new customers. Put the back issues online and let everyone read them for free and on the same site give customers the option of downloading current and recent issues at regular price and it's all official and legal. It's at least worth trying if you ask me.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Half of my happiness on cyber entertainment has gone.
    Miss it a lot , hope it come back!!!!!!

    misssssss!!!

  16. Anonymous says:

    Miss it a lot , hope it come back one day.
    Over half of my happiness on cyber entertainments has gone.

    Misssssssssss!

  17. Anonymous says:

    Half of my happiness on cyber entertainment has gone.Miss it a lot , hope it come back!!!!!!misssssss!!!

  18. Anonymous says:

    Miss it a lot , hope it come back one day.Over half of my happiness on cyber entertainments has gone.Misssssssssss!

  19. Anonymous says:

    Yeah True… I usd to love all those old comics… Why cant some people mind their own business. Can they provide us those old comics on their own??????htmlmics rocked. wuddo anything to see it back up n running.

  20. Brandon Barrows says:

    The two incoherent, ridiculously poorly written anonymous posts made me laugh out loud for some reason.If you want to read the comics, anonymous, buy them. Crimes like copyright infringement shouldn’t be ignored because it’s convenient for you. Crimes exist to protect people and property, and should apply across the board, not just when it doesn’t inconvenience you.

    • mike weber says:

      Perhaps they were a piss-take?

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        Yeah, plus I meant laws were meant to protect people. Obviously. Nyquil + cold = incoherent posting.

        • mike weber says:

          Ooh. I missed that. Aren’t you lucky? Now that you’ve pointed it out, yourself, it wouldn’t be fair to zing you…

  21. Dster says:

    whyyyyyy! well is there any other site?

  22. Anonymous says:

    Yeah True… I usd to love all those old comics… Why cant some people mind their own business. Can they provide us those old comics on their own??????htmlmics rocked. wuddo anything to see it back up n running.

  23. Brandon Barrows says:

    The two incoherent, ridiculously poorly written anonymous posts made me laugh out loud for some reason.If you want to read the comics, anonymous, buy them. Crimes like copyright infringement shouldn't be ignored because it's convenient for you. Crimes exist to protect people and property, and should apply across the board, not just when it doesn't inconvenience you.

    • mike weber says:

      Perhaps they were a piss-take?

      • Brandon Barrows says:

        Yeah, plus I meant laws were meant to protect people. Obviously. Nyquil + cold = incoherent posting.

        • mike weber says:

          Ooh. I missed that. Aren't you lucky? Now that you've pointed it out, yourself, it wouldn't be fair to zing you…

  24. Dster says:

    whyyyyyy! well is there any other site?

  25. Anonymous says:

    oh for fuck sake you stupid fucking fbi now what will i do in the middle of lession when i did all my work. oh fuck you fbi fuck you. ps i was in the middle of the darkness and deadpool you assholes.

  26. Anonymous says:

    oh for fuck sake you stupid fucking fbi now what will i do in the middle of lession when i did all my work. oh fuck you fbi fuck you. ps i was in the middle of the darkness and deadpool you assholes.

  27. Anonymous says:

    thank God i’d finished reading 52 before they shut the site down!!!! don’t the FBI got more important things to take care of? my usual practice is to read the comics first in htmlcomics before buying an issue for my collection!! Damn!!!!! everyday i try the site that maybe they are back on line!!!

  28. Anonymous says:

    thank God i'd finished reading 52 before they shut the site down!!!! don't the FBI got more important things to take care of? my usual practice is to read the comics first in htmlcomics before buying an issue for my collection!! Damn!!!!! everyday i try the site that maybe they are back on line!!!

  29. Anonymous says:

    Illegal? If the comics could be found in my country, then I would say it is Illegal. Until then, no.

  30. Anonymous says:

    Illegal? If the comics could be found in my country, then I would say it is Illegal. Until then, no.

  31. mike weber says:

    Stupid software pirate tricks, part 2
    .
    This guy ties with the guy running HTMLComicslook like a genius, i think.

  32. mike weber says:

    Stupid software pirate tricks, part 2.This guy ties with the guy running HTMLComicslook like a genius, i think.

  33. a man in shadows says:

    its fucken shit that they shut it down if an fbi i guygets kill it wont b the man in shadows…….not

  34. Anonymous says:

    Older comics should be allowed to be posted online, because they are hard to find. Why make those comics only available to a select few?

  35. a man in shadows says:

    its fucken shit that they shut it down if an fbi i guygets kill it wont b the man in shadows…….not

  36. Anonymous says:

    Older comics should be allowed to be posted online, because they are hard to find. Why make those comics only available to a select few?

  37. JosephW says:

    Obviously, the anonymous posters who are so upset at the loss of the "steal-the-comics-and-post-them-online" website have never done anything creative in their lives. I honestly believe that not one of them would really be willing to use a legitimate comics download system. These people remind me of the very bane of comic store retailers–the ones who spend hours and hours on end in the store actually reading comics from cover to cover, then leaving the store claiming that there wasn't anything that interested them. (Further, I don't buy the claim of the one anon poster who said he read the books online before buying the copy. I'd honestly be surprised if he bought 1 "hard" copy out of every 50 that he'd read online.)

  38. Anonymous says:

    I *tried* to post this with my name (as a "new" member) but after nearly two hours, I had yet to receive the "confirmation e-mail" so here's the comment: Obviously, the anonymous posters who are so upset at the loss of the "steal-the-comics-and-post-them-online" website have never done anything creative in their lives. I honestly believe that not one of them would really be willing to use a legitimate comics download system. These people remind me of the very bane of comic store retailers–the ones who spend hours and hours on end in the store actually reading comics from cover to cover, then leaving the store claiming that there wasn't anything that interested them. (Further, I don't buy the claim of the one anon poster who said he read the books online before buying the copy. I'd honestly be surprised if he bought 1 "hard" copy out of every 50 that he'd read online.)(I know this will take some time for the moderators to add the comment, but could it possibly take any longer?)

  39. Anonymous says:

    Since I don’t want to sign up (so I don’t get a bunch of junk mail and viruses) for the sole purpose of commenting a few times, I’ll just put a user name on my comment:
    IMMORTALFRIEZA
    Considering that you could get most of those comics for ten cents(or whatever, but a pittance now) when they first came out, that the comics this guy was uploading are out-of-print, so the creators aren’t losing money on them, and he was in fact making them money through free advertising, that the only way to get them legally, even just a single series, would cost the average joe millions, (which is ridiculous, things should go down in price as time goes on, not up, I’ve never understood that, it’s like getting punished just because you weren’t born in that decade, so no, buying them is not possible) and lastly, and most important, no comic creator that I’ve ever heard of has a website of their own so that we can get all the comics that they’ve ever made (even Marvel, which has the biggest archive I’ve ever seen, has but only a tiny fraction) for a reasonable price, what these people did to this website was a dumb idea, as it was in fact benefical to them. What the entertainment industry needs to realize is that the moment the internet was invented copyrights became one of those laws that became impossibe to enforce, or even make the slightest dent in. What the industry needs to do is they need to make websites where you can get their material in excellent quality, conveniently, and for a reasonable price, if not completely free, (since that’s what people want, to be entertained without destroying their lives spending money on it) in other words, give us a preferable and legal alternative to piracy if they really want to stop it.
    I have tried to, through my very long comment, answer any possible attempts at refute it, though feel free to challenge it, IF your respectful.

    • mike weber says:

      I don’t need to. Every point you attempt to raise has been already specifically refuted (and in the actual sense, of “disproven” rather than the all-too-common misuse in place of “rebut”, which means “to argue against”).I will point out that you apparently have no understanding of the laws of supply and demand – if something is scarce (to the point that demand exceeds supply) prices will rise and continue to rise so long as there is a demand.As to the rest – it don’t work that way, because corporations have to make a profit or go broke.

  40. Anonymous says:

    Since I don't want to sign up (so I don't get a bunch of junk mail and viruses) for the sole purpose of commenting a few times, I'll just put a user name on my comment:IMMORTALFRIEZAConsidering that you could get most of those comics for ten cents(or whatever, but a pittance now) when they first came out, that the comics this guy was uploading are out-of-print, so the creators aren't losing money on them, and he was in fact making them money through free advertising, that the only way to get them legally, even just a single series, would cost the average joe millions, (which is ridiculous, things should go down in price as time goes on, not up, I've never understood that, it's like getting punished just because you weren't born in that decade, so no, buying them is not possible) and lastly, and most important, no comic creator that I've ever heard of has a website of their own so that we can get all the comics that they've ever made (even Marvel, which has the biggest archive I've ever seen, has but only a tiny fraction) for a reasonable price, what these people did to this website was a dumb idea, as it was in fact benefical to them. What the entertainment industry needs to realize is that the moment the internet was invented copyrights became one of those laws that became impossibe to enforce, or even make the slightest dent in. What the industry needs to do is they need to make websites where you can get their material in excellent quality, conveniently, and for a reasonable price, if not completely free, (since that's what people want, to be entertained without destroying their lives spending money on it) in other words, give us a preferable and legal alternative to piracy if they really want to stop it. I have tried to, through my very long comment, answer any possible attempts at refute it, though feel free to challenge it, IF your respectful.

    • mike weber says:

      I don't need to. Every point you attempt to raise has been already specifically refuted (and in the actual sense, of "disproven" rather than the all-too-common misuse in place of "rebut", which means "to argue against").I will point out that you apparently have no understanding of the laws of supply and demand – if something is scarce (to the point that demand exceeds supply) prices will rise and continue to rise so long as there is a demand.As to the rest – it don't work that way, because corporations have to make a profit or go broke.

  41. Anonymous says:

    IMMORTALFRIEZA
    I thought somebody would bring up supply and demand, which is one of the many ways the world works that makes no sense to me. If the demand increases, and the supply in insufficent, the suppliers should find ways to increase the supply so that it meets the demand, not jack up the prices to take advantage of the people in demand (I know what readers are thinking, and yes, if you are willing to put in enough effort, it is always possible). In fact, by using the internet for cheap distribution of a media, it would just about eliminate the supply issue for that media, thus fulling the demand, and thus preventing increases if not lowering costs for the media. For this issue, for the comic books and such, they could easily make it free, and still make a profit, by doing what they do with TV, put up advertisments all over the place to pay off the website maintence and the profits would come from what’s left over.

    • mike weber says:

      You really have no idea what the economics of web commerce are like.

      Or, apparently, of real-world economics in general.

  42. Anonymous says:

    IMMORTALFRIEZAI thought somebody would bring up supply and demand, which is one of the many ways the world works that makes no sense to me. If the demand increases, and the supply in insufficent, the suppliers should find ways to increase the supply so that it meets the demand, not jack up the prices to take advantage of the people in demand (I know what readers are thinking, and yes, if you are willing to put in enough effort, it is always possible). In fact, by using the internet for cheap distribution of a media, it would just about eliminate the supply issue for that media, thus fulling the demand, and thus preventing increases if not lowering costs for the media. For this issue, for the comic books and such, they could easily make it free, and still make a profit, by doing what they do with TV, put up advertisments all over the place to pay off the website maintence and the profits would come from what's left over.

    • mike weber says:

      You really have no idea what the economics of web commerce are like.Or, apparently, of real-world economics in general.

  43. Anonymous says:

    Simply amazing. A few months back one of my friends mentioned some site on the web that you could read comics books on. I decided it was something I needed to see for myself. To see if was true. And was astonished to find it actually existed. I did read his legal excuse and went, something is not kosher here. Anyway, I did take a good look and actually thought the site rocked. I KNOW, I KNOW the man did a bad thing. But it really was done well in showcasing the beauty of the art form. And it really did get me to want to go out and buy some new comics again… which I actually did.I fully understand why the site needed to come down, but I am sad that I didn’t discover it sooner. JUst for the share enjoyment at getting the chance to look at the greats of the medium… on my all new ipad…

  44. Anonymous says:

    Simply amazing. A few months back one of my friends mentioned some site on the web that you could read comics books on. I decided it was something I needed to see for myself. To see if was true. And was astonished to find it actually existed. I did read his legal excuse and went, something is not kosher here. Anyway, I did take a good look and actually thought the site rocked. I KNOW, I KNOW the man did a bad thing. But it really was done well in showcasing the beauty of the art form. And it really did get me to want to go out and buy some new comics again… which I actually did.I fully understand why the site needed to come down, but I am sad that I didn't discover it sooner. JUst for the share enjoyment at getting the chance to look at the greats of the medium… on my all new ipad…

  45. Anonymous says:

    this site got me into comics :D now i buy them yeah thers probaly loads of people like me

  46. Anonymous says:

    this site got me into comics :D now i buy them yeah thers probaly loads of people like me