The New Spinner Rack
Reems of paper and countless bytes have been used describing the effects of the Internet on the print industry. Newspapers, once the bastions of facts and opinions, have given way to the countless pundit blogs and hard journalist sites. Magazines continue to hold on by a thread, and nationally broadcast commercials now tout the benefits of digital delivery.
It could be a long story of doom and gloom, but really this time is a new birth of genre for the American Comic Book. Now no longer restricted to what over-powered distributors will offer, the digital spinner rack is boundless in terms of content and variety. Superheroes? No problem. Westerns? Got them too. Romance? Sports? Historical fiction? Horror? High Fantasy? Sure! There’s space for them all!
Digital delivery systems will only improve as tablets and smartphones become more and more commonplace, and the accessibility to comics, not just American Comics but World Comics, will only increase. Comixology is already one of the best known delivery systems offering apps for the major smartphone and tablet operating systems as well as computer downloading. DC, Dark Horse, Image, IDW and a host of other publishers distribute through the Comixology portal offering titles as diverse as Bone, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Superman, Melody, and Omega Chase.
Since the beginning, American Comics embraced a wide variety of genre. Grizzled detectives shared the same issue as caped crime busters. Supernatural mystery men were just a page away from swashbuckling pirates. The focus of American Comics shifted to the costumed superhero after the runaway popularity of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, and Captain America, but comics starring Hopalong Cassidy, Archie, and Donald Duck also sold and sold well.
However rack space constricted with the twin problems of lowering sales and public scrutiny. Publishers cut back their lines to the bare bones. With the constriction, major publishers focused on their core product, leaving other genres to the independents.
DC’s new publishing initiative is a baby step to expand its own in-universe genres. Although still firmly entrenched in the costumed superhero, DC is stretching its product line with the Dark and Edge branded titles. This variety is tailor-made for the new digital spinner rack as readers can find these titles more readily and always in stock.
This is the Digital Spinner Rack’s greatest advantage. Anyone, worldwide, can access the product and it will always be there. Combined with technological advances like the Cloud and the proliferation of user-friendly devices access to comics have never been greater.