Ihnatko says Apple tablet could play hero to comic books
Speculation based on rumor can be frustrating. But when the rumor is of Apple's fabled tablet, and the speculation is of a new golden age for comics, the 13-year-old kid in me comes alive. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Andy Ihnatko says there are hints that Apple is getting into the digital comic book market, a statement he likens to saying "Apple is helping to create the digital comic book market." Digital comics today, he argues, are where digital music was in 2002. Legitimate businesses are so fractured, clumsy, and behind the times that pirated comics (online illegally one day after hitting store shelves) provide the best user experience.
Enter LongBox, a company that has made the rounds at comic book conventions this year pitching an iTunes-like store for buying and selling digital comic books. Ihnatko talked with LongBox CEO Rantz Hoseley, peppering him with questions and looking for reasons that LongBox was doomed to failure. What he found instead was a company that respects the comic book as a medium, that has made publishing to the LongBox format (.LBX) as simple as adding a plug-in to the software publishers already use, and that has plans for outfits as big as Marvel or DC all the way down to the lone artists publishing on their own.
On what will people read these digital comics? Next month's expected roll-out will start on the desktop, though plans for all sorts of devices are in the works.
But comics need a screen bigger than the iPhone's or the Palm Pre's. They need a tablet like the one Apple is thought by most people on the planet to be making. After an hour with Hoseley, Ihnatko thinks LongBox has a deal to be on Apple's tablet. The CEO doesn't mention Apple by name, though he does tell Ihnatko of an agreement "with a seriously large company operating in the media space." He also told last weekend's Long Beach Comic-Con that LongBox was working with a company that "all of a sudden leaves (LongBox) with a multinational launch with literally millions of installed users."
Ihnatko follows Apple and loves comics. He likely gets talked-up by companies all year and he's not an idiot. The appearance of smoke doesn't always mean fire. He thinks the idea of attaching a digital comic book store to the iTunes Store has merit, and LongBox may be in on it.
[via Chicago Sun-Times]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
drumrobot said 8:44PM on 10-21-2009
I wish I could say I understand the picture of Steve Jobs during a presentation with an odd background. Unfortunately, that would be lying.
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Alexandre Strube said 5:12AM on 10-22-2009
It is a world map. Jobso is photoshopped in a cartoonish-like way (or so that was the intention). And there's this dialog baloon of world domination. What else is to be understood?
Here, this can help: http://mapsandmore.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/charlie-chaplin.jpg
Dave said 8:52PM on 10-21-2009
Your too slow as is the old media.... you want to see digital comics on iTunes well you already can... it is already happening and has been there for a while.
Load iTunes, go to the music section, click on iTunes LP and right there is the first digital comic its called Tyresse Gibson's Mayhem! (Comic Book and Single)
Its a pretty cool offering and certainly lends support to a digital tablet from Apple as you can't use this file on the iphone yet. It would look a lot cooler on a big screen.
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Jordan said 8:53PM on 10-21-2009
Well it's been long rumored that this "tablet" is nothing more than an ebook reader, so this would make sense.
I'm not expecting too much from this Apple "tablet". I'm assuming it's going to be an overhyped, overly glossy ebook reader with a few special features, such as this comic book rumor, that won't necessarily live up to the hype that tablet hopefuls are looking for.
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Chris said 9:57AM on 10-22-2009
Just like the "overhyped, overly glossy" iPhone came out "with a few special features ... that won't necessarily live up to the hype that [cellphone] hopefuls are looking for?"
Jordan said 10:37AM on 10-22-2009
@Chris:...nice try, but we knew what the iPhone was before it was released, hence the reason for the hype. If Apple is trying to re-invent the ebook reader, not a whole lot of people are going to care. I'm sure every Apple girl will then think ebooks are cool and get one, but beyond that it's not going to be that big.
darrell said 8:58PM on 10-21-2009
i think this would be a great idea, the obvious media would be books, magazines and newspapers but think about comics.
also - think about sheet music. have you ever tried to find and purchase sheet music from popular artists online? it's not easy.
hopefully this would come to an apple tablet, however couldn't this be done on the kindle or nook as well?
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davelevy said 9:03PM on 10-21-2009
The key meme that needs to come out is that Apple is not going to send out a tablet; they're going to be sending out iPaper - anything you can get in print can be displayed on it. At first it will be a thick pad, but over time I'm sure it will get to an flexible e-ink format.
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Daniel Flax said 9:40PM on 10-21-2009
Isn't that what Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) designed in the movie Big?
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macserv said 11:42PM on 10-21-2009
Something along those lines, but he went further, creating a choose-your-own-adventure comic book, so that the story would be different every time. If you liked a particular adventure, you could save that path and read it anytime. And you could buy new cartridges to expand your story options. I guess it's all do-able now. :)
Tom C said 9:04PM on 10-21-2009
Well, Disney bought out Marvel, and Steve Jobs is the majority shareholder at both Disney and Apple, now comes the speculation that digital comics is the next big boom... coincidence?
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keithbj said 9:12PM on 10-21-2009
And don't forget when Apple added movies and TV shows to iTunes Disney divisions were always one of the first companies.
Gavin said 9:13PM on 10-21-2009
Thank you for the most intelligent comment here Tom. Many of you fail to realize your talking about apple here, its not gonna flop, its impossible at this point. Im just saying can you remember when Apple released a product in the last 10 years that hasn’t been a huge hit, the only one to my knowledge was the fatty ipod nano and that thing sold like a motherfucker too....
Im just saying all of you intelligent people betting the other way are lacking just that, Intelligence.
Dave said 9:41PM on 10-21-2009
@Gavin:
Apple have had many failures over the years, also nothing is guarantee in the world of business. Just look at the cube for failure in the last ten years.
That said I do believe this will take off and as I already mentioned they are already selling digital comic via iTunes
Zaph said 10:02PM on 10-21-2009
Actually Jobs is a miniority stock holder in both companies.
APPL ownership: 0.6%
Disney ownership: 6.5%
Adrian said 10:30PM on 10-21-2009
@ Zaph
Even though he may be just a "minority stock holder", he is the single largest shareholder in the company, AND is on the board of directors meaning he can pretty much control the company and its subsidiaries (i.e. Marvel) as long as it's not something insane.
Appstand_Mike said 10:32PM on 10-21-2009
I'm surprised that the Apple Tablet is bringing comics into the conversation like this. With the proliferation of e-book readers (if you could call it proliferation), most are talking about textbooks and newspapers. But this is interesting. And, of course, the Apple Tablet would make the most sense out of all of the readers.
But as somebody who is totally not familiar with the comic industry...I guess I have a couple of questions.
What type of comic collectors are willing to pay $$$ for a device to read their comics? Is it the mass-comic reader? How many of them are there?
it just seems to me that the music-buying audience is a whole lot more than the comic-buying audience...so to make the comparison seems a bit odd.
But am I wrong?? I have been before...(ask my wife...)
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jeremy said 11:42AM on 10-22-2009
I am that comic reader. I have been waiting for an ebook reader that works with PDF ebook files and comic files (.cbr files). I can no longer want to pay 3 to 4 dollars per issue but give me the same story in a digital format for 99 cents and I am spending more money per week for digitial content. Give me itunes store like buying experience for books and I will be happy. Most importantly, make it more affordable than the Kindle! ( i know for apple that will be a stretch)
It is too hard to collect paper comics and be married. My wife does not understand why I keep these boxes of comics around.
Comic book reading should not be the driving force behind the tablet but it should be a main feature that is designed into the product and itunes.
Stars Fan said 1:19AM on 10-22-2009
Look for table news from Apple tomorrow to steal some W7 thunder.
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Rego said 1:32AM on 10-22-2009
Comics would be a tiny part of Tablet use. Comics are too limited a product to be a driving force behind the Tablet. It will be for all printed and electronic media and more.
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