REBELLION, CLICKWHEEL POST 2007 2000AD ARCHIVE ONLINE

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

The Beta launch of downloadable versions of complete comics or “progs” of the UK’s long-running cult sci-fi weekly anthology comic, 2000AD last December has proven to be a success.

Now, Clickwheel, the distributor of online comics for Apple iPhone and iPod, and Rebellion, the owners of 2000AD, have announced it will add archive material from 2007 in addition to the weekly 2000AD comic downloads.

“The plans Clickwheel and Rebellion have for the 2000AD download service are wide-ranging and incredibly exciting,” said Will Simons, Creative Director of Clickwheel, in a joint statement. “They began with the 2000AD Christmas Special in December and we’re now implementing the first in a series of archive content.”

Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion added, “As the download service was designed for existing overseas 2000AD readers and latent fans, the first archive will feature every issue from 2007 to give fans access not just to copies they haven’t read but also overall storylines over a number of issues.”

Responding to follow-ups from Newsarama.com, Tim Demeter, who is Clickwheel's Editor-in-Chief, said that charging a fee of $2.99 for an entire prog has not deterred fans from all over the world to download the comics. “2000AD retails for $3.75 and as this program is aimed primarily at an international audience, overseas shipping needs to be factored into the cost as well,” he explained. “Once that all adds up, we’re offering fans of 2000AD with limited access to the physical product a convenient way to get their Thrill-Power at a nice little discount.”

While he could not share any numbers in terms of subscribers and downloads so far, Demeter did acknowledge that they’ve received “excited emails from around the globe about 2000AD being available digitally.”

Although the digital initiative was initially aimed at the international fans instead of those who reside in the UK, Demeter said that the online initiative to release each new weekly edition a week after the print edition was sold in shops in the UK has not affected sales of 2000AD progs at all. In fact, the publisher has seen an increase in the sales of the print edition.

Phase 2 of the digital initiative will see full progs from 2007 being offered for digital downloads, just like the current weekly editions. But what about older stories featuring characters currently owned by other companies but were previously published by 2000AD such as Dan Dare, Zenith, and those that starred the IPC-owned characters like Kelly's Eye and Robot Archie and others? “We are sticking to material owned entirely by 2000AD for the immediate future,” Demeter said. “Someday we’d love get this material online but we respect the rights of these creators and therefore will need to work things out with them if and when we post their content.”

As for intercompany crossovers like Judge Dredd vs Aliens, Predator vs Judge Dredd, and the Batman/Judge Dredd ones, he said that “As we do not own the rights to these characters it’s not a call we can make on our own. We’ll see!"

Will new content and original stories created just for online consumption be a part of the upcoming phase? “Clickwheel will be launching a quarterly anthology of original content this spring,” he revealed. “It will not feature 2000AD properties but we hope that the fans will find new characters and stories therein to enjoy.”

The archive goes live Friday, February 15th. Visit www.clickwheel.net or www.2000adonline.com for more details.

[vbartilucci]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Although the digital initiative was initially aimed at the international fans instead of those who reside in the UK, Demeter said that the online initiative to release each new weekly edition a week after the print edition was sold in shops in the UK has not affected sales of 2000AD progs at all. In fact, the publisher has seen an increase in the sales of the print edition.

RUN PROG DC_MARVEL_GETACLUE

10 read paragraph
20 IF Penny_drop = TRUE THEN
30 RUN implement_online_sales
40 ELSE
50 GOTO 10
60 END IF

[drollia]

I am glad that I can finally get 2000 AD. I will admit i had been discovered it through torrents a whule back and feel in love with a number of things in it. Now I that see that all of the archive stuff is there also i think that I am going to be putting a huge whole in my wallet.

Marvel needs to take note that this is how a service like this should run. Internationally with the oppurtunity to own the product also.

Finally it is nice to see it works with a portable format like the Iphone/ipod touch.

[samnoir]

Wow! Some pretty exciting developments, although I still wonder how you can read the tiny word ballons on your phone.

I've only recently gotten into digital comics, but only because I have a monitor large enough to accomodate entire pages on the screen in a legible size.
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[Arion]

This is good news .
I have always been a 2000 AD fan.

[Ace]

What I've been saying for a while.

People will pay almost full price for new comics digitally so long as they get to keep what they buy and the format is good.

Period.

People want the convenience. They don't want to store the comics. They want the immediate gratification. You won't get EVERYONE to switch over, obviously, but you'll get a HUGE new audience that will never go into a store and buy a comic but will gladly read them for a few bucks online.

We're talking the 18 to 30 demographic here.

[Tom Daylight]

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

RUN PROG DC_MARVEL_GETACLUE

10 read paragraph
20 IF Penny_drop = TRUE THEN
30 RUN implement_online_sales
40 ELSE
50 GOTO 10
60 END IF

2000AD print distribution is quite different to Marvel's and DC's - more newsstand-oriented. As soon as the next issue comes out, the previous one gets taken off the shelf and returned. Whereas Marvel and DC comics are put out there and consumers expect them to stay on the shelf for weeks and usually months. 2000AD doesn't put out nearly as many collected editions, either (and 2000AD being an anthology, those collections never collect an entire issue's worth of material). So the structure's quite different too.

However, 2000AD's online distribution looks exceptionally professional and there are a lot of lessons that all comic book publishers should be learning from it.

[nemler]

Originally Posted by Ace

We're talking the 18 to 30 demographic here.

And me being in the 30+ group...I will continue to buy the printed comics. I have no desire to read comics on my monitor...or worse yet, a phone!?!
I just don't get it. I guess I have officially become an "old dude" then?

[Jason Seaver]

Originally Posted by nemler

I have no desire to read comics on my monitor...or worse yet, a phone!?!
I just don't get it.

As much as I like reading comics in print, getting them in an electronic form has its benefits, too. Like not having to hunt through, store, or move the dozen or so boxes in my attic.

[Squashua]

Content needs more Zenith.

[Spy_Smasher]

This is outstanding news. I was hoping that they would see a positive sales trend as a result of putting their comics online and it seems they have.

[sonorous]

Originally Posted by samnoir

Wow! Some pretty exciting developments, although I still wonder how you can read the tiny word ballons on your phone.

Yeah, was wondering about this too - I don't have an iPhone but I'm considering getting one.

Does anyone use this format for digital comics. Is it workable?

[Rockin' Rich]

Content needs more Zenith.

Yes it does. Most American fans have never experienced Morrison and Yeowell's great series.

Guess the legal mishigas still hasn't been resolved.

[pyleg]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

[2000AD digitized for $2.75 an issue]

I miss the DC reprints, which were an excellent value. The Rebellion reprints are pricey in dollars. I'm starting to wonder if part of the reason the DC reprints went away was the exchange rate....

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Jason Seaver

As much as I like reading comics in print, getting them in an electronic form has its benefits, too. Like not having to hunt through, store, or move the dozen or so boxes in my attic.

Feh. Dozen or so... Lightweight. :-)

[The_Adventurer]

Originally Posted by Tom Daylight

2000AD doesn't put out nearly as many collected editions, either

Not true, for the last two years Rebellion has released at least 2 TP worth of reprint material a month. That's a huge amount from a smallish company. I should know, I bought them all. Infact you can check out all the TPs they've released (as well as upcoming releases) here at the 2000AD Books site

Originally Posted by pyleg

I miss the DC reprints, which were an excellent value. The Rebellion reprints are pricey in dollars. I'm starting to wonder if part of the reason the DC reprints went away was the exchange rate....

Actually, the latest Rebellion TPs in the latest Preview (Strontium Dog: The Final Solution and Judge Dredd: The Henry Flint Collection, I think) were only 20 bucks each, that's way down from the usually $28 or $30 they've been. Hopefully that's a permanent trend!

Honestly, the problem with Rebellion 2000AD TPs is not cost, its availability. They never resolicit and backordering is next to impossible, so if you miss a solicit finding a copy is pretty much impossible after the fact. Rebellion really needs to do some resoliciting.

Originally Posted by Squashua

Content needs more Zenith.

Stuck in Legal hell on two sides (A: They used IPC character (like Robot Archie) without permission and B: Morrison thinks he owns the work) To bad. I really want to read it myself.


And the digital format is FANTASTIC. After only a month I have dropped buying the print issues, because the convience is just so great with the digital. I still get the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000AD Extreme Edition in print however, because they're not offered digitally (yet)

[pyleg]

Originally Posted by The_Adventurer

Actually, the latest Rebellion TPs in the latest Preview (Strontium Dog: The Final Solution and Judge Dredd: The Henry Flint Collection, I think) were only 20 bucks each, that's way down from the usually $28 or $30 they've been. Hopefully that's a permanent trend!

The value depends on page count and color vs. b/w. The Judge Dredd Case Files aren't horrible value at $30 because they're 300 or so pages and are probably as about as good a quality of a package as the material has gotten. But they're not cheap either.

The DC trades were $12-14, which was like, what, 7-8 pounds in 2004? I think the Rebellion reprints of Bad Company and Rogue Trooper were double the price of the DC reprints.

If the dollar keeps dying, pretty soon Geoff Johns will be angling to write Robo-Hunter....

[Doc Nero]

Originally Posted by Squashua

Content needs more Zenith.

Totally agree however copyright issues may prevent books 3 & 4 from appearing. Several characters are not owned by Rebellion but by IPC (Archie, Steel Claw etc.).

[Doc Nero]

Beaten to the punch.