Slave Labor Graphics has announced that they will forego the traditional comic book format for new serialized comics and only distribute them as digital downloads.
As costs increase for lower print run titles, smaller publishers are looking for different business models in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace. Slave Labor seems to have taken a bold move in that area. We wish them luck in the new digital future.
DC Comics’ newest marketing strategy to energize their sales and possibly make them the top comics publisher not only includes a relaunching of their Universe, but a strong push into digital distribution as well. Their day-and-date publishing – releasing digital copies of print books on the same day of release – is their current foray into digital distribution. While a few other publishers currently do day-and-date digital, their main competitor, Marvel Comics, delays their digital copies by at least 9 months in deference to comic book retailers who had feared that this policy would hurt their print sales.
With this new tactic, DC hopes to increase their previously waning market share and capture a market that is beginning to grow since the introduction of the iPad and other tablet devices. They are hoping that the convenience of purchasing books digitally at the same time as print releases, will put them at the forefront of the digital market.