During the recent New York Comic Con event, Dark Horse announced its mobile app for iOS devices, along with what they say is the “industry-changing digital comics program,” which is a win-win situation for both comic creators and readers. In other words, readers will be able to grab comics at lower prices while creators will get to earn more money from their work.
Right from the bat, there will be more than 150 titles available in the app, including Dark Horse’s popular horror anthology Creepy, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and B.P.R.D., Joss Whedon’s Fray and Serenity, Felicia Day’s The Guild, BioWare’s Mass Effect, Robert E. Howard’s Conan, Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy, Eric Powell’s The Goon and many more.
In addition to the single-issue offerings, Dark Horse will also offer quite a few introductory #1 issues for free. Plus, there will be comic bundles, grouping together story arcs spanning multiple issues into affordable packages — this way, readers will get the three or four issues that comprise a complete narrative at prices ranging from $2.99 to $5.99.
Then in February 2011, some Dark Horse titles will feature synchronized release in both the digital and print formats…
With more tablets hitting the market, the good times are ahead for the comic industry. Hopefully, publishers will also go beyond iOS and make their titles available for other platforms as well.