At a few upcoming conventions I’ll be participating on some webcomics panels. I’m looking for ideas and taking requests for things you would like me to discuss. Please reply here with your comments, questions or ideas. Thanks!!

Considering all the drama associated with Dark Horse Comics announcement of day and date digital I want to throw in my two cents. I would also like to refer you to this great post from comic retailer Dan Morrill aka @ComicsForge. I think his points are well taken including those made by Brian Wood. It seems to me that what they’re saying is that comic retailers and publishers need to differentiate their product so digital and print can coexist. Meaning that collected editions, collector’s items, etc are the future and weekly periodicals are the way of the past. This makes a lot of sense to me. It’s the same thing that movie studios do every time there’s a new DVD release. They give their customers a reason to buy a physical copy instead of just expecting customers not to download. In other words there’s no point in competing with digital, accept it but then differentiate to your customers why the physical product is still essential to own. As a comic customer I wrestle with this same thing, especially in a bad economy. Why would I pay $3.99 for a single issue? If I’m patient I can buy a collected edition at a cheaper per issue rate. If that’s true then why would I ever pay $3.99 for a digital copy? As a consumer both the print and digital price have soured my desire to buy anything. I mean why not just collect back issues on ebay for $.99 instead? I think DC made a bold move with the new 52. I think it’s now time for someone to make a bold move and give us a pricing structure that makes sense. This whole idea of free or low cost digital and printed collectable items has been the mainstay of webcomics from the beginning. It seems to work well for many independent artists, what remains to be seen is whether or not it can support a corporate business.