Comics adapt to revolutionary digital age


Like many other old school mediums, comic books are being forced to adapt to the digital age.

In the last year, comics have jumped onto the digital bandwagon rather than just awkwardly putting one foot in. The major companies have adopted day and date digital releases, meaning all readers get their issues at the same time. They have also moved much of their libraries to the digital market, and comic reading apps such as Comixology are growing in popularity.

It’s a smart move. Comic books have faced the same big problem that all markets face: piracy. Even with Warner Bros. and Disney backing big companies such as DC and Marvel, this is an industry without the studio support that usually backs films and television shows. Not to mention, comics are also facing the same slow decline in sales.

Until recently, comic book piracy was a simple, free alternative to buying a book. Now the producers are adjusting to the circumstances by offering great service packages, from bundled issues to same-day releases. The quality is great and sales are strong. This isn’t to say that digital is the end-all, be-all solution to the comic book industry’s problems, but it is a new avenue toward financial and popular success.

And if there’s one thing the industry needs, it’s new readers. Comic book shops are excellent, but they are restrained by their fixed location as opposed to the easy accessibility of the Internet. Accordingly, the demand for comics in a more accessible form is forcing companies to shift their focus from singular stores to digital outlets. Anyone interested in reading the further adventures of Iron Man or Batman after seeing the recent films can now, using the growing app market, get the latest issue.

But that’s the business side. What about the creative aspect? Are comic book companies taking the newspaper route by simply re-posting material to the digital world, or are they taking advantage of a new medium to find fresh spins on telling stories?

Even with the presence of big companies, comics are part of a creator-driven industry. Writers and artists drive trends and are responsible for the content. It’s an open world; the last two decades have brought in indie creators who worked on topics far beyond the bread and butter of superheroes and their capes. New ideas are constantly being adopted, and as the industry moves toward the digital field, it is bringing in ideas and models from trans-media movements.

A great example of what can be done with the digital medium is in Cognito Comics’ Operation Ajax. A historical thriller developed specifically for the iPad and adapted from Stephen Kinzer’s All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and The Roots of Middle East Terror, it features moving panels, ambient sounds and most intriguingly, pop-ups of additional information for the reader’s choosing, including timelines, declassified documents and even archival footage of the people involved. It’s an innovative idea, and it makes for a captivating story. Operation Ajax was one of last year’s best releases in part because it created a world that drew the reader in.

This sort of thing isn’t new. In recent years, major companies tried their hands at motion comics with voice acting casts. DC put out a Watchmen motion comic concurrently with its big screen release, while Marvel has tried some big name titles such as Warren Ellis’ Iron Man: Extremis. However, these were seen as special releases and neither company really adopted multimedia elements with their digital releases.

What the comic book industry needs is to full-heartedly embrace those elements. Operation Ajax showed that it can be done and there is a whole world of opportunities that digital offers. Imagine in-page-pop-ups on Batman’s gadgets — Arkham Asylum-style — or being able to play the soundtracks Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly devised for each issue of their series, Local.

And the creators will continue to drive the style of their comics. Whether they are working for big name titles or crafting their indie masterpiece, they’ll just be using a new outlet. With the rise in tech start-ups and the continued growth of augmented reality and social apps, it’s easier with each passing day for comics to dominate the digital world. The only thing to hope for is that it catches on.

The digital medium isn’t the easy solution to the industry’s problems, but it’s a new canvas through which new readers can be brought in and new ways of telling stories can be found. And that makes it an exciting new frontier for everyone.

 

Nick Slayton is a junior majoring in print and digital journalism. His column “Panel to Panel” runs Thursdays.