MIT on Comics and Micropayments

Snotty Pippen writes "Henry Jenkins, Chair of MIT's Comparative Media Department, has posted 'Comics and Micropayments: An Interview with Todd Allen.' Todd Allen is a professor/consultant with a book on the business of comics. The two discuss a number of online business models and web comics, ranging from the print-to-web migrants like Girl Genius and Finder to the print-to-web download of Flying Friar; the long tail as a driving source for reprints & back-issues; and PayPal's effect on micropayments. All-in-all, a fairly comprehensive round-up of the industry."

Finder!

[EReidJ]

If you have not read Finder [lightspeedpress.com] then you are missing the best thing going on in independent comics today. Aboriginal Sci-Fi, set in a future world with a mix of technology and industrial-age mentalities. It helps to read everything in order, and only the recent stuff is available online. If you don't want to start with the big 2-book, 14-issue trade paperback that begins the whole set (called "Sin-Eater"), let me recommend just purchasing "King of the Cats", or seeing if your local library has it. It's her best book, just four issues, and is almost guaranteed to get you hooked. I've been reading this title now for close to years, since it first started, and it's the only thing I continually come back to, month after month.

iTunes Analogy...

[pshumate]

...really isn't valid, from my point of view. You can download a stand-alone, complete song from iTMS for $0.99. Do most cartoonists who use micropayments give you the entire issue/volume/story for that price? I know McCloud sells the entirety of The Right Number (http://scottmccloud.com/comics/trn/intro.html [scottmccloud.com]) for $0.25, but I'm not sure about other artists. If they don't sell the entire issue for a small price, the analogy falls apart, since you're not getting something stand-alone for a micropayment. I also think the iTMS analogy is invalid in that music is not a niche market, while webcomics still are, for the most part. Personally (as a webcartoonist), I don't think micropayments are a viable means of "making a living", but some cash can be made. This reminds me of a quote, either by Jerry Holkins or Jon Rosenberg, that basically stated that if someone was willing to pay $0.15 for a comic, they'd pay $3.00.

Re:Finder!

[Anonymous Coward]

What is NSFW about Finder? (This isn't a snarky comment; I honestly am unaware of what you are referring to.) I'll concede that I haven't read much of it, but to me it certainly doesn't scream "NSFW" at first glance.

I'll concede that Schlock is a fine comic if one enjoys a comedic twist on military SF, which, much to my surprise, I do. As long as we're recommending webcomics, my favourites are Scary Go Round [scarygoround.com] and its precursor Bobbins [bobbins.org], Sinfest [sinfest.net], and dinosaur comics [qwantz.com], though the latter is certainly pushing the envelopes of "webcomicness"(but that, of course, is part of what makes it so great).

Re:iTunes Analogy...

[pshumate]

Apple already has a device to sell it for: the photo iPod. Clickwheel [clickwheel.net] is a free comics-to-iPod service and has seen some success. Of course, your comic must be a 640x480 image, so modern comic pages wouldn't fit that well. I wouldn't like to see Apple devote a new device solely to displaying images because I don't think it'd sell that well. Of course, I know jack about business. :)

Re:Finder!

[ikkonoishi]

I would say its the two women yelling about being raped on the latest page, and the naked dude laying unconcious in the one before that. Might be more interesting if I actually knew what was going on.