Tagged: iPhone

Marc Alan Fishman: Paper Is Dead!

For those uninitiated to my writing process, allow me to be transparent: I write my column Tuesday evening. This is helpful for many reasons – mostly all revolving around having a full-time day job, a family, and Unshaven Comics. With that being said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t come clean.

Today, I’m sure there were a bevy of topics I had on my mind (whether the Sonic Screwdriver is really just a magic wand, the appeal of Attack on Titan, or why fantasy football renders my mind numb)… and then I watched Apple’s keynote. With the unveiling of the Apple Watch (sans i?!) and the new iPhone 6, I am sadly forced to deal with my Mac-ness once again.

It’s a terrible disease, kiddos. One that strikes me every few years. There was a time, in the long-long ago, when I was stronger. I was raised on a Compaq Presario, and the PC age. I openly mocked Appleites with aplomb. “My mouse has two buttons! I can upgrade my computer without voiding the warranty! And it’s so much cheaper!” I’d yell at them. And always, they would snicker, look me right in the eyes, and whisper “You’re right, and I still don’t care.” Not a semester into college, and I buckled. That is to say I forced my parents to buckle. Don’t worry. I paid them back. And funny enough, that first iMac I own still works, and still lives in my house. Natch. But I digress. Apple is great, and I love them, blah blah blah.

After seeing the debut of the iPhone Phablet (or 6 Plus if you’re being obvious) the never-ending death of paper consumed me. With each passing generation of digital technology being released to the public,  tangible media and products continue to become more artifacts of history. Even a decade ago, the notion that we’d be able to call up one of a million movies and beam it to our television instead of renting or purchasing the special edition DVD was somehow laughable. And even five years ago, could you honestly convince Johnny Average that he could cut the cord on his local cable provider and his home phone and just exist with amazingly cheap subscription services and a hefty data plan instead? I doubt it.

With each of these arguments, the last bastion of the printed form – the comic book – continues to hide in the dark recesses of specialty shops and tiny convention halls (stop snickering).

For those ready to flame me for forgetting books, just look at the sales figures for all digital publications, and count how many Barnes and Nobles still exist. You’re welcome. As screens become permanently affixed to our wrists, hands, and eye-wear, the notion of a printed piece is truly novel. As with all digital distribution models, eventually a price and delivery system becomes ubiquitous to the public at large, and eventually, the physical media is reduced to the collector’s market alone.

DC, Marvel, and the lot of mainstay publishers have all adopted digital practices. Readers of Mike Gold here on ComicMix no doubt know about how certain digital only pieces are trumping the quality of their printed brethren. As with everything else, it’s only a matter of time until our medium at large is thought of as digital first. Scary, no?

No, in fact it isn’t. With the eventual death of paper comics – aside from the collectors market (akin to how the music industry is moving back to vinyl) we’ll soon be privy to something new and amazing. Instead of odd motion-comics, or narrated comics, we’ll soon be able to purchase truly interactive comics.

Think of it. A cover with a well-rendered animation to draw you in <http://www.buzzfeed.com/adamclement1/30-animated-comic-book-covers-that-are-downright-h-il8v>. Single panels on a page being able to be instantly full-screen-zoomed so you can relish in the artwork. Interactive commentary on particular moments. Editorial annotations that actually call up the other issue in question. The possibilities are endless (and yes, some of them are potentially true now, and I don’t know it). And all of it could eventually be monetized in such a fashion that a subscription-based model could provide an unwieldy catalog of back issues for a price that feels like stealing. The best part of all, all of this could happen in another five years or less. The future is here, and its battery life mostly sucks.

Suffice to say, I’m a bit of an early adopter. But I also see the forest for the trees. Those trees needn’t be cut down en masse to make way for new comics. As I’ve explored in the recent past (Freakanomics, anyone?), we know the major publishers are likely not sweating over per-issue sales so much as potential licensing opportunities. As the appeal of moving away from ink, paper, bricks and mortar… so too will our industry look more like the music and television models.

Paper is dead my friends. And you can pay for that on your iPhone too.

 

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST PLAYS A GAME OF THRONES!

This week, New Pulp Author Van Allen Plexico is joined by John Ringer (co-host of the “Wishbone Podcast“) to discuss George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series, and the “Game of Thrones” series on HBO that came from it.

Spoiler warning!  They talk about the entire show (to date) and all of the books, as well as speculate on where it may be going.

Episode 11 of The White Rocket Podcast: Game of Thrones/Song of Ice & Fire is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.

The White Rocket Podcast is part of the Earth Station One Network.

Michael Davis: Dark Saturday Knight

Davis Art 130108I finally watched The Dark Knight Rises last Saturday.

Just a short recap: personal demons of mine kept me from seeing the film when it opened because of the shootings that happened during an opening night screening.

The first day the film came to Blu-Ray I brought a copy and planed a Dark Knight Rises night, complete with all the man cave fixings. That week another mass shooting happened and again I put the film on hold. Then Sandy Hook happened and again I put the film on hold.

I freely admit that I’m a pussy when it comes to confronting my own demons. I also freely admit that because of those demons I’ve made stupid decisions and reacted quickly instead of smartly.

Comics, animation, video games and the like take up a great deal of my time and my life, but they are not all my time or all my life.

I was not ready to see The Dark Knight Rises and waited until I was.

The film was, in a word, great.

I don’t regret waiting I don’t regret not seeing it on the big screen because the film was so badass I could have watched it on an iPhone and loved it.

On another note…

Dwayne McDuffie was a dear friend and creative partner of mine. I have yet to watch All-Star Superman, written by Dwayne, which debuted around the time of his death. I’m just not ready. But it sure is something to look forward to.

WEDNESDAY MORNING: Mike Gold Laughs!

 

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST AND THE MOVIES OF 2012, PART 2

The White Rocket Podcast has released episode 10: The Movies of 2012, Part 2! Bobby Politte and Van Allen Plexico pick up where they left off last time, starting with ARGO and ending with an in-depth look at THE HOBBIT. Find it on iTunes or at http://whiterocket.podbean.com.

Episode 10 of The White Rocket Podcast is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.

Listen to Part 1 of this conversation here.

The White Rocket Podcast is part of the Earth Station One Network.

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST IS HOT ON THE TRAIL OF RICHARD STARK’S PARKER!

Author Mark Finn (“Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E Howard”) joins New Pulp Author Van Allen Plexico to indulge in their passion for Richard Stark’s PARKER, the hard-boiled master thief from the typewriter of Donald E Westlake, star of more than twenty novels, and as seen in “Payback” and other films.  And just in time for the new movie starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez.

Episode 8 of The White Rocket Podcast is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.

The White Rocket Podcast is part of the Earth Station One Network.

WHITE ROCKET PODCASTS TO THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: THE SEQUEL

This week on the White Rocket Podcast, a part of the Earth Station One Network, New Pulp Author Van Allen Plexico is joined by writer/publisher/director Jim Yelton for part 2 of their exploration of Marvel’s movies, past-present-future. Van and Jim also look at what DC is doing (and should be doing).  It’s a fun show.

This and all previous episodes are available on iTunes (Search “White Rocket Podcast”) or at http://www.whiterocketbooks.com

Next week, Van is joined by Mark Finn (author of BLOOD AND THUNDER: THE LIFE AND ART OF ROBERT E HOWARD) to talk about Richard Stark’s violent world of PARKER!

Episode 7 of The White Rocket Podcast is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.

Listen to Part 1 of this conversation here.

WHITE ROCKET PODCASTS TO THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Marvel’s The Avengers

On this week’s episode of the White Rocket Podcast (part of the ESO Network!), host Van Allen Plexico is joined by writer/director/publisher Jim Yelton to talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Van and Jim start with the really bad Marvel stuff from back in the day and explore how they came from those humble beginnings to dominate superhero movies today.

Episode 6 of The White Rocket Podcast is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.

White Rocket Podcast 005: Jeff Deischer on Superheroes in Novels & Beyond– The Golden Age!

On this week’s episode of The White Rocket Podcast, New Pulp Author/Publisher Van Allen Plexico is joined by New Pulp best-selling author Jeff Deischer for part 2 of the series on “Superheroes in Novels and Beyond.” Van and Jeff discuss his new novel, THE GOLDEN AGE, which brings the classic Better/Nedor characters such as the Black Terror roaring into the New Pulp/novel realm. They discuss what makes pulp pulp, and what happens when you throw superheroic characters into that style of storytelling.

Listen now at http://whiterocket.podbean.com/2012/11/29/white-rocket-005-superheroes-in-novels-beyond-pt-2-the-golden-age/
Also available on iTunes and via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad.

Part 1 of the series, Episode 003, with guest Bobby Politte is available here.

The White Rocket Podcast is part of The ESO Network.