Cover by Marcos Martin
The Private Eye #1
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Marcos Martin
Color by Muntsa Vicente
32 pages / Color / Name your price
Published by Panel Syndicate
Add The Private Eye #1 to your pull list!
“Well, one day the cloud burst.”
This week Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin unveiled Panel Syndicate, a bare bones website that, if its first venture proves popular enough, could serve as a platform for truly independent digital comic storytelling. In his afterword to this initial project, The Private Eye, Vaughan explains that he and Martin chose to bypass Kickstarter to keep from tempting fate, eager to bring the product to completion before making any official announcements or promises. As such, this collaboration was long rumored, but only fully revealed now, when you can hop over to Panel Syndicate and download a DRM free version of the issue in a variety of formats in one of several languages for whatever price you think it merits. It’s a gamble on their part. A number of you will simply opt to pay zilch. Honor system, folks. Me, I paid the price of a regular 32 page comic. That still doesn’t seem enough though, given how much I enjoyed this gem. So, I’m further paying it forward by yacking about it good and plenty.
It’s 2076, America’s 300th birthday. Fittingly, this neo-noir zeroes in on both old and new, with a melting pot approach to progress as richly seasoned as the country itself. The social commentary simmers too, as hearty and scalding a broth as Terry Gilliam ladled out in 1985’s Brazil. In Vaughan and Martin’s vision of the not so far-flung future however, faces like Katherine Helmond’s aren’t stretched out with absurd machinery; they’re hidden under holographic displays. Rather than assuming the role of a fish-faced MMORPG avatar in a virtual realm, you become that avatar in the real world. It’s a system much like the one employed recently by indentured staff in McCann & Lee’s Lost Vegas. It’s all part and parcel with a vision of tomorrow where information and secrecy have wound up in a tailspin. As always, this future’s most frightening aspect is its plausibility. It might not even take us 60 years to catch up. Except, can you imagine a world without an internet?
Art by Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vicente
A young private eye, painted as much an “unlicensed journo” as a detective, thrives on exploiting this era of heightened secrecy. He’s deeply nostalgic, festooning his office with posters from old gumshoe movies, cultivating a collection of vinyl and turn-of-the-millenium political texts (hardbound, not digital). Then, he’s not nearly so enamored of the past (and our present) as his delusional, live-in grandfather, the old man decked out in fading, wrinkled tattoos who our mothers continue to prophesy. Vaughan’s depiction of our tech savvy generation fast-forwarded to our natural conclusion, either speaks to a fear and cynicism regarding the perceived virtues of social networking and our readiness to share all forms of data and personal information, or lucid insight about the same. For this reader it registers as something of a mix, but your mileage may vary. The depiction of “the cloud” as an actual meteorological presence might seem silly on paper (or pixels), a bit on-the-nose, but it’s also a totally clean metaphor. A storm brewing. A deluge. It plays to modern concerns about privacy and maybe, just maybe, our recent experiences with actual storms as disasters.
Our Private Eye is wonderfully enigmatic, a character who darts in and out of shadows, employing some urban camouflage to evade capture in a rooftop chase. The Cheshire Cat grin printed at the occipital of his hoodie seems a loving wink to Phillip K. Dick and William Gibson. The young man himself makes for a nice blend of young and old, equally romantic and disillusioned about the era that generated the cloud. An old soul who’s not so wise that we lose him to a high horse. He can also put the dick in private dick, a tad big for his britches when it comes to his own abilities. As the best detectives are.
Art by Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vicente
Martin and partner Muntsa Vicente take traditional detective stories and the comic medium and quite literally turn them on their ear. The issue is presented in landscape format, each page the same dimensions of a regular comic’s, simply rotated 180 degrees. This allows for some nice neon vistas (Magenta skies! Multilingual billboards!) and serves an opening rooftop chase quite well. But Martin’s also known for points of impact, a skill made quite evident with Mark Waid on Daredevil. Both Vaughan and Martin employ frequent use of insert shots, zooming in on signage in outdoor scenes and on the Private Eye’s possessions in a climactic bargaining scene in his office. It adds great visual interest and even some telling thematic parallels or juxtaposition (close up on a gun, which we quickly realize is part of the Maltese Falcon poster on the wall). It’s terrific world-building too. Is that a pack of cigarettes? No, it’s green. And is that…? Oh, marijuana hasn’t just been legalized, but commercialized too! Instantaneous. Worlds like this certainly aren’t new, but they’ve achieved splendid depth in a short amount of time and with great economy.
The Private Eye is off to a dazzling start, and of course, this first chapter ends on a top notch cliffhanger. Unfortunately, I have no idea when that next installment of this passion project will hit just how regular these installments will be. This is an experiment after all. Hopefully it’s a fruitful one in the long run. I say that selfishly, but also with some investment in the future of independent comic creation, not just for Vaughan and Martin, but for others. That’s part of the plan. For as much as The Private Eye frets over the dangers of shared information, Panel Syndicate is also something of a rain dance, a small but fervent burst of creation to coax more from the heavens.
Let it rain.
Story: 4.5 / Art: 4.5 / Overall: 4.5
(Out of 5 Stars)
Download your copy of The Private Eye right the hell now. Pay what you want, but don’t be stingy. Trust me.
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Anyone know if this is coming to floppies down the road?
Danke!
Just digital for now. No plans for print.
While I wouldn’t mind owning a print copy of the full story somewhere down the line, BKV mentions in the afterword that Martin suggested making the story a digital exclusive. Part of that is the irony that the internet no longer exists in the world of this story.
You can grab it as a pdf file and read it on your desktop or laptop of whatever though. I promise, it doesn’t bite.
I’d love a physical copy of this, but am happy to support the digital version if its the only option. At least it exists.
Hopefully this does well enough for them to release a hardcover collection down the line. It read fine on my iPad but the only downside of this first issue was not being able to hold the beautiful art in my hands.
You can hold an iPad.
Haha. You’ve got me there. But it’s just not the same. It’s still great, just not ideal.
The digital format is perfect for this kind of episodic storytelling over the next ten months, but if this first issue is any indication of the what the rest will be like, the completed story will be great to have as a hardcover in my library.
Possibly. I don’t want people to get the idea that this will definitely end up in print. We don’t know.
From their FAQ:
How soon will this thing be available in print?
Sorry, we don’t currently have plans for THE PRIVATE EYE to ever appear in print. We still love paper comics, especially the retailers who sell them, but this is something different.
http://panelsyndicate.com/help
I saw that on their FAQ too but I assumed they were talking more about single issues as opposed to a collection. Also, I feel like you guys have been around the industry long enough to know that if something is successful enough, and there is enough demand, the hardcover will come at some point. It’s not something I expect a month after #10, but I hope/assume they’re smart enough to release one at some point if the project winds up being successful. They can’t look too far ahead when they didn’t know if the support would be there, they have to say it’s digital only in order to get those digital sales, regardless of what’s the truth.
I’d be mildly surprised if this never ended up in print.
Listen, I think a print collection would be great. I’m just frustrated that a lot of readers seem to be dismissing what is truly an event. It’s such a simple and elegant distribution method, so readily accessible. It’s a great story and it can be head right now.
And I can totally agree with that Paul. This is an event regardless of where it’s being delivered. And the delivery is convenient which is a plus.
from a marketing perspective i think this is awesome. It was first teased yesterday. Released today. No hints or big con announcements…they just owned the market for 2 consecutive days and had their time in the sun. This is doing everything opposite of how you regularily market and sell comics. Love it.
The A-list creators are the ones who can shape what the future of comics will be. When they experiment, they can prove the concepts and ideas better than an indie guy with 200 fans.
and to agree with Paul…this is such a spontaneous thing. (i’m sure it took some planning) but to me, it feels kinda like big name musicians just deciding to do a concert on a street corner one day.
This is the first digital comic that I’ve ever bought. I didn’t even hesitate paying for this one. The creators are among the best in comics, they offered it in an easy to use storefront, and without DRM. All those factors are important to me. I won’t buy rights restricted material as a matter of principle.
@tripleneck: So you’ve never ever bought a DVD or video game? Because those are loaded with protections that prevent copying and digital sharing.
And technically EVERY creative work is rights restricted by law. It’s just that in the days of purely physical media things could be passed around to share. Now creators actually have a way of protecting their creation to ensure people are, you know, paying for it. DRM can be restrictive certainly but what is your beef with creators protecting their work? So your “matter of principle” is that you should be able to freely copy and distribute someone elses hard work as you see fit? That seems a little off to me.
@USPUNX
Holy crap. Crawl down off of your high horse there, son.
Bought it this morning for $2, looking forward to reading it tonight after work! BKV and Martin worked together on a Doctor Strange mini-series a while back, right?
Yes.
Doctor Strange: The Oath it was called.
Spectacular mini, that was. Best Dr. Strange story in decades.
That’s right. I just read the first issue of Dr. Strange: The Oath last week. This should be good.
I wish I could buy it–I just tried a couple of minutes ago and received a PayPal error — “This recipient is currently unable to receive money.” Hope they get it fixed soon!
Same thing happened to me!
Got it now! Yay!
Note: Though I was able to purchase this through PayPal earlier this morning, a number of people are reporting some issues actually buying the book. Not sure if that’s tied to all payment methods or just PayPal. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Didn’t work for me this morning but I have just purchased it now, hope that helps!
Looks like they fixed their issues, I just bought/downloaded it.
I purchased this as well. Read it. Loved it and then felt guilty as if I hadn’t paid enough for it. I think for issue 2 I’ll be giving them a bit more…
This is a really cool idea. I’m gonna go check this out. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
I paid $10.00 for it. Money well spent.
Purchased and downloaded. I love the concept and creators, but I also love to see these creators trying something different in terms of publishing/delivery. Kudos on all fronts.
I agree totally. It’s great to see a comic of this quality released outside of Diamond or Comixology.
with all the talk about “new ideas” in comics, it doesn’t just have to mean plots and characters. Sales and marketing as well! Love the experiment. Can’t wait to read it later.
If you bought this, don’t forget to add it to your pull list!
https://ifanboy.com/comics/the-private-eye-1/
Does that means it now qualifies for POTW?
Sure.
Will the pull list option eventually be available for other digital first comics?
Probably not. This is a special case.
Sweet. I’m gonna be honest, it’s gonna be tough to beat this one this week. 😉
@daccampo
But Saga comes out this week, too!
@Connor – I can see why the digital firsts like Batman Beyond and Green Arrow don’t make it to the pull-list, since each issue is really just 1/3 of a “normal” sized issue. But what about something like Mark Waid’s Insufferable, which is coming out in collected digital issues (on comixology) about once a month?
Read it loved it. Take my money BKV and Marcos Martin. Take all of it.
Very cool. I will definitely pick this up when I get home from work. Two great creators working together is never a bad thing.
Re: the release of the next installment, Vaughan says in the Afterword that it’ll be in a month. Let’s hope all ten issues are released as regularly.
Just bought my copy. No way I was going to pass this up. Cannot wait to read.
BKV is truly at the forefront of the comics medium in terms of quality and ideas.
This was excellent!
Bought it. Read it. Loved it.
Just finished reading and it was so very good. BKV has this uncanny world-building ability. I want to know EVERYTHING about this version of the future. Add to that Marcos Martin’s art and Muntsa Vicente’s gorgeous colors and it an absolute MUST BUY. And don’t be stingy.
Also, two BKV comics in one week. It’s good to be alive.
Its interesting that they offer 3 DRM formats. I’m really hoping they share (percentages or ballpark) which formats were post popular. That would be great for all the indie guys trying to figure this out.
DRM-Free i meant to say.
Yeah, I went with CBR. Mostly because it was the middle option. I couldn’t really tell you why it’s any better or worse than PDF or CBZ. The reader app I have can handle all three.
Does anyone know why I’d want to choose one over the others?
I suppose it’s if you’re reading on a tablet. Different tablets and tablet apps handle different formats better. I bought it as a CBR and am reading it through Comic Zeal on the iPad. It a super easy cbz and cbr app and it allows good organisation of your titles in a longbox style format. It even bags and boards comics you finish reading!
PDFs are really good and pretty standard across the world. The others are basically renamed compressed zip or rar files depending on who makes them. Very interested in seeing if PDF’s have any traction actually.
Agreed! I just talked to Paul about this, and I was sort of reveling the the format choice — if you’re going to offer something digitally, you need to focus on the all the most widely used aspects. In this case, the “widescreen” format of the book is crucial for tablets, displays, and laptops. And the PDF is the other factor — such a universal format that works on every device. Very smart, simple choices.
yeah and the thing about PDFs…they’ve been around for so long and are so safely “permanent” as a format at this point. For all those poo pooing digital things because of formats going away…well here you go.
CBRs are just a box full o jpegs anyways.
I really hope BKV and Martin reveal how much they managed to make or at least how many downloads they received. It’ll be a very interesting statistic that could potentially change or shape a few things for the future.
Anyone else get a kind of 90s vibe from the book. Not the excessive superhero, Rob Liefeld copyrighted vibe but that cool, indie, teen vibe like when MTV was actually a music channel with amazing music. Kind of reminded me of Ghostworld by Robert Clowes, not in content but tone and delivery. Think it might just be me!
Just bought it – went with Paul’s suggestion of paying a normal price for a 32-page book (which I took as $4.00). At least I know 100% of that goes to BKV and MM
Just bought my “copy”.
I love this concept
Agree with the above comments – if it gets enough interest/sells enough they should make available a collected print version
When Radiohead did this with their album In Rainbows people were skeptical, but they made a ton. They also had it available as a deluxe edition with artwork and CD/Vinyl options.
ugh I hate that digital only is becoming a thing. I personally can’t stand reading comics digitally, I find it unsettling and that my eye travels much differently on a screen compared to an 8.5×11′ page, or any page. I hope they do publish this so I can fully enjoy it.
Your eye travels differently? Is there some kind of science behind that?
When I look at a screen, my eye instinctively goes to the center. When looking at a comic book (or any book for that matter) page, my eye instinctively goes to the top left corn. It may not seem like a huge deal but it dramatically changes my reading experience and make screen reading that much more difficult. Plus, at the end of the day there’s also a psychological link between my absorption of a comic book and the physical object. The comics that I have read digitally I have not retained nearly as well as the ones I read in physical copy. Maybe a it’s a residual effect of my learning disability, but that’s the way it is for me. This exclusionary model does not sit well with me. I’d much rather pay $4 for a physical copy of this than a dollar for the digital.
I don’t think they’re trying to spite you with the digital-only model. “Exclusionary” seems to be an unnecessarily harsh way or framing what they’re doing.
It does seem like a slight to people who would read this, but through either personal preference or financial availability can’t or won’t.
Simple solution: colour printer. Print it out. Read it.
For a while, I’ve been a print only purist–mainly because I don’t want to see the local comic shop experience fade away–but this is a comic that is more effective because it is digital. All the art is geared towards being read as a double-page spread, and I felt that I was much more in tune with each page as a result. Double page spreads in print form can be hit or miss depending on the title (see Young Avengers #1 vs. All New X-Men 5-7) and reading this in a landscape format–where every page feels like a double-page spread–really made for a much more enjoyable experience, one that I feel will be less effective (both visually and story-wise) in print format.
@mikeandzod21 That’s backwards. It’s a personal project, a passion project. They’re working without a publisher. You’re acting like it’s a personal affront that they won’t print it. That’s like getting ticked off at a lemonade stand when they offer red cups instead of blue.
And how is it a slight to anyone on a financial level? You can pay whatever you want. Or do you mean it requires people own or have access to a computer? Because if they don’t, they’re not hearing about it in the first place to even miss out on it.
I would assume they would want as many people to read it as possible though, and I don’t think doing it digitally exclusive allows that. And as per the finical level, yes, people who would read this who don’t have eReaders or don’t own personal computer (which yes, still exist) wouldn’t be able to. And they’d hear about it at their local store, like people heard about Y: The Last Man and Saga. And it not like wanting lemonade in a blue cup instead of a red, it’s like wanting to watch a certain tv show but it’s only available on like Netflix streaming and then saying it probably won’t ever be available on DVD.
As per the double page spread format, 300 was also done all in double page spread and is probably one of the most beautiful print books in the medium. There’s no reason for this not to be the same.
You know what. You’re absolutely right. They’re terrible people.
I’m not saying that, I’m just saying I don’t see why they would only make content for digital only people.
Because they’re a couple of buddies, not a printing press. There are print on demand resources, but that’s a whole other headache and squashes the pay-what-you-will aspect of the project. It’s not unreasonable for them to want to maintain this kind of simplicity for a passion project.
You’re not being persecuted. What you are doing is looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Technology always leaves people behind…you can’t expect the world to stop until you’re ready for it to move forward can you? You can just choose to miss out. No big deal. Catch that next cool thing when you’re ready for it.
I’m willing to bet more people have access to a computer with internet access, then people who have access to local comic shops.
@mikeandzond21 Also, with your… eye… problem… I bet you don’t read manga either.
@mikeandzod21:It seems a little silly to think that someone who can’t afford to have a computer and internet would still have the disposable cash to spend on print comics.
I donated $3.50 to the cause. I wish best of luck to the creators. I look forward to the next issue when it comes out.
Matthew
So many are asking for print versions and i have to ask, why does that have to be the end all? Why can’t something just live in the space it was designed for? Be a fun experiment that lives in a moment in time and be what it is? Not dissing print..i have giant bookshelves, but more fascinated with that attitude towards web and digital based comics, that if they are “good” they have to appear in print down the road.
Do we need to collect everything?
Preach!
got frustrated today seeing more asking about when they can preorder the print version than talking about the story.
I know comics have a large collector mentality attached to it, (which is way cool) but at i’m starting to see it as print being fetishized to the point where the stories aren’t even important to some. Its all about the object. and that’s weird to me.
Because if you think this work is brilliant and want to revisit it in three years, instead of simply pulling the book off of your shelf, or even just access your Comixology library, you have to wade through the saved documents on your computer to find where you put these random PDFs . Or maybe you’ve deleted the files or changed laptops.
And it’s easier to loan to friends, or flip through in a moment of boredom, or carry with you on a flight.
I’m not against the format, I think they’ve done a great job so far. Im in for all ten issues and can’t wait for next month. Just explaining my (and others, i think) neurotic concerns that it will one day, down the line, be available to put on our bookshelves next to our Y the Last Man and Saga trades.
but see, now its about what YOU want instead of what the CREATORS want. Sometimes its ok to not get the souvenir. I think the point we’re making is, appreciate the experience and the event and don’t worry about the preorder. Wouldn’t it be cooler if this was a thing that we all talked about in 10-20 years…like a bit of a legend?
LeviHunt15, the CBZ I downloaded was 20MB. You can get over a thousand files of that size of on a 32GB USB flash drive, which you can buy for under $25. There’s your longbox of of the future. Easy to back up and keep a copy in your safe deposit box, (or buried in your backyard, if that’s the way you roll), for safekeeping. Want to share it with a friend? Copy it to Dropbox or Mega or Box.com, and send a link to your friend.
I guess it’s just a change in thinking to treat digital property as carefully as physical property. I definitely requires you to think differently, but it doesn’t take much more effort (and often a lot less) to manage a few hard drives/ flash drives vs a wall/closet full of CDs/photo albums/long boxes.
SICK OF PRINT.
@anville: AMEN!
@levihunt: I also fail to see how digging through a long box or overcrowded bookshelf is any easier than digging through a hard drive. My computer has a search function so I can search for a single file that could be anywhere on my device in a matter of seconds. I don’t know about your long boxes but mine came without the search feature.
I liked it: clever premise, nice art, fun stuff. I paid a buck, which is I would want to pay for digital comics.
Mostly, I had technical qualms. I was surprised by the 1.6:1 aspect ratio (as opposed to the standard 1:1.53). It would fit great on some devices, but on my iPad I had to keep zooming in to read the finely drawn lettering. The back page of text was definitely a problem, as it drives me nuts to try to read like a typewriter head.
Hopefully, with more projects like this, we will see some experimentation in the vein of “Reinventing Comics” (http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Comics-Imagination-Technology-Revolutionizing/dp/0060953500) with, for example, continuous extra long or extra wide pages, that you can just scroll through.
Weird. I didn’t have any problem with the font size on my iPad. What generation pad do you have? Maybe retina display is the difference?
That said, Vaughn might want to think about bumping up the font size just a touch in the future.
I have an iPad 2 (i.e. non-retina) and, while readable, it wasn’t very pleasant. Lettering is too thin and tiny for a non- retina display and zooming is annoying and disrupts page composition. I ended up reading on my 19″ PC screen.
Enjoyed it, though.
This was a pretty good start, but with all the good books coming out this week if this ends up being my potw i’m going to be disappointed.
Shelled out 2.50 which is what I would have paid for a print number 1 at my LCS, saga 1 was 2.99 plus discount and more pages, also you can now turn it over for that ebay $$$.
Probably in for this whole thing reading BKV twice a month instead of one will be a treat.
If this is the future of comics, I wholeheartedly support it. Listen: there are going to be shitty print comics and good print comics. Likewise, there will be shitty digital comics and great ones–like “The Private Eye.” It’s all in the hands off the individual creators and how they use their chosen medium to enhance–not detract–from the story at hand. Furthermore, it is a great feeling to know that I directly contributed to the creators–and not Diamond Comic Distributors–to help them continue to create stories that I love. Maybe this is an illusion, but I feel like there is a relationship formed between creators and readers through ventures like panelsyndicate.com, an experience that, in my view, can’ happen any other way. I can’t drive to Brian Vaughan’s (and Marcos Martin’s, as well) house and hand him five dollars, but I can do so, digitally, for the next nine months. Hell, if a particular issue puts a wild hair up my ass, I can pay him ten or twenty dollars! To me, this is a great step forward for creator-owned comics, one which…I don’t know…. help creators actually make money. Imagine that.
Dropped $4 on this. I made out like a bandit. I’m in love.
i love how BKV & Martin are taking their (awesome) product directly to the fans. i paid $1.99 for the first issue and will pay at least that for all remaining issues.
After reading this I felt like a total asshole for only paying a dollar for it
You can pay more for issue 2. Or less. That’s why it’s cool. PAY YOUR EXACT AMOUNT OF ENJOYMENT!
This may be a n00b question but i chose the pdf version and read the issue and it was great. but then i was thinking that i didnt get to choose where to download the issue it just opened up in my browser. does anyone know how i can save this to a certain folder on my hard drive so i can put them all together when they are all out
Depends on your browser settings
A good place to look first is your ‘Downloads’ folder.
If you use Chrome as a browser it remembers all your downloads as well – you just click the three lines under the X top-right and then click Downloads
Thanks for the reply. I do have chrome and tried to look in my downloads list but it wasn’t in there. I think coz i did pdf it just automatically opens in my browser like a webpage would. i guess i will have to jump back on and download the cbz to store somewhere. i hope they don’t think i just grabbed it for free coz i did pay the first time 🙂
Click the PDF link, right click “save as..” or “download linked file” and you can save it.
@resurrectionflan Thanks heaps dude. worked a treat 🙂
I find it hard to believe this will never see the light of day in print format. It’s Brain K. Vaugh and Marcos Martin….How can a publisher NOT see dollar signs with that combo alone?
It certainly looks great and Paul you did a marvelous review as always. But I’d rather own a physical copy cause that’s how I am.
I’m waiting for the eventual collected edition too.
I think this thread took a turn for the hilarious with people being “frustrated” about other people’s opinion and format preference and/or taking the creator’s format decision personally . It’s pretty goofy. Different strokes, folks. No need to get so bent outta shape for or against the format it initially comes in. There are plenty of people buying into this digitally. I’ll buy into it the way I want. What happened to being cool with other people’s opinions round here? The only people who’re wrong are those coming down on other’s opinions because they don’t match their own. It’s silly. We don’t all have to be excited about some experimental thing or be upset because it’s a digital comic.
The question now is how often will it come out?
A good question! I suspect this is making far money for the creators than any work for hire, and so one would hope this becomes a priority for them, IE “as fast at Martin can draw it.”
It’s pure speculation, but I’m hoping monthly.
this is awesome! i bought this before i even finished the article.
haha
i’m both over joyed and saddened by the comments in this post.
this is a good foot forward for digital comics and the progression of this medium.
i can’t help but feel like people asking about print versions are missing the point entirely.
the elimination of middlemen, distribution costs, the reduction of price point, and directly giving the CORE creative parties the FULL financial support they deserve, is a great thing.
and a thing that is easier when a title is fully digital.
going to print reverses and destroys all of that good will.
is it really so terrible, so fear inducing to think of this comic or any comic being exclusively digital?
most of these books we buy are digital anyway, they have to be before they go to print.
we need more models like this where we directly support the creators, and not only rent or read our digital collections through a third party portal.
the fearful thinking, the focus on print thinking, is stagnant thinking. it gets this industry no where, what BKV and MM are doing moves the industry forward in a good direction along side print comics if it is better embraced.
it won’t eliminate print, that’s silly.
but not everything should be something in print.
I bought it, read it, enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away like I would expect to be with a BKV first issue. I’m definitely on board for more, though. The most interesting thing about this format (and to a lesser extent, Kickstarter) is that I think it sort of amplifies the old Kirkman/Bendis “rarified air” argument. If this comic were to come out with the same story, art, everything done by two no-names, the high likelihood is that it would go largely unnoticed and the few folks who read it and loved it would probably even forget about it by the time issue #2 comes out. That’s not to begrudge BKV and Martin, they’ve certainly earned their names through consistently fantastic work, it’s just to say that IF things were to swing this way, it’d probably be really difficult for new creators to break into the industry. Food for thought…
“It’s easy to break into the industry… it’s hard to make a living in it.” – paraphrasing Brandon Graham interview i heard the other week.
It’s a good point, but as they said, if it’s successful, maybe they open their doors to others. Maybe this becomes a thing, for lack of better word.