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Web Nuggets: Proposing The Bleeding Cool Digital Comics Chart

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  1.  (9429.1)
    The coming year or two is going will have controversial claims of publishers calling themselves the “real” #1 (and #2, and #3) publisher in comics due to digital and GN’s, and it might be very tricky to sort that all out. Ironically, we may be heading into a digital dark age in terms of understanding what the developing market really looks like.

    So. Bleeding Cool is proposing to create its own digital chart for comics based on the Nielsen ratings system. Creating a large population of digital comics readers and simply asking them what they read that week. And how much they paid.

    It will be incredibly flawed, even more so when it starts. It will be self selecting rather than representative, it will rely on honesty and diligence and it will have no chance of reflecting actual numbers. Hopefully that will improve in the weeks and months to come. And if it falls apart, then it will have to be abandoned.

    But for a first time we’ll be able to see digital trends.

    Bleeding Cool is inviting digital comics readers to get in touch...
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      CommentAuthormister hex
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2011
     (9429.2)
    But I don't want to read comics on a "device". Does that make me a bad person? (I, uh, don't own a "device". Does THAT make me a bad person?) I stare at a computer screen 8 hours a day, the last thing I want to do is read comics off of one. Plus, the whole enterprise seems a bit sketchy from the start. Computers and anything digital are the realm of planned obsolescence - will I be able to "read" a digital file from, say, ten years ago? What happens if I drop my "device" in a snowbank or a toilet? Is that it for my "collection"? Color me old-school and get those damn kids off my lawn.
  3.  (9429.3)
    You own a computer, therefore you own a device. And I read digital files from 10 years ago all the time. Guess what? The kids couldn't give a fuck about your lawn.

    I mean, I don't disagree that there are questions to be asked here. But all you're really doing is demanding to know why people are talking about washing machines when there are perfectly good rocks down by the river.
  4.  (9429.4)
    Plus, the whole enterprise seems a bit sketchy from the start. Computers and anything digital are the realm of planned obsolescence - will I be able to "read" a digital file from, say, ten years ago? What happens if I drop my "device" in a snowbank or a toilet?


    Well print editions of comics/books aren't in print forever either, and aren't as tolerant to inclement weather as, say, fire baked clay tablets or etching you message into a desert or mountain side.

    This is a good thing Bleeding Cool are doing. It is good that it accepts there are flaws in their methodology, but it as a start it is a good one. Its success or failure will hopefully prompt other initiatives to chart what comics are selling without looking directly at reported download numbers.
  5.  (9429.5)
    I've signed up - it's a start!
    • CommentAuthorOddcult
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2011
     (9429.6)
    I've two questions about this (which I will put to Rich, obviously, but just bunging them up here for discussion anyway).

    Does it include strips like XKCD and Sinfest etc?

    How will piracy be handled? ie - Do illegal scans count? Or distributed versions of paid-for comics obtained for free?
  7.  (9429.7)
    "Digital" comics aren't considered to be the same beast as webcomics.
  8.  (9429.8)
    I don't think illegal scans as its to find out buying trends. Although, illegal scan would probably throw up some interesting results!
  9.  (9429.9)
    I'm counting only paid-for digital/web comics, just as Diamond does not count free or heavily discounted items.

    Not sure how I'll deal with all-you-can-eat subscription models.
  10.  (9429.10)
    What happens if I drop my "device" in a snowbank or a toilet?

    Unless it's printed on waterproof paper (god that was fun stuff to play with a while back!) chances are your printed material won't do so well in a swimming pool, snowbank, or toilet. At least if your 'device' is in a case, chances are the damage can be minimized (A bag of rice can do amazing things), or you might have a backup elsewhere.
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      CommentAuthorSonny
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2011
     (9429.11)
    I see digital comics as more of a supplement to my paper comics reading, rather than a substitute. I've been looking into/reading some comics on my phone lately, and they work pretty good (especially on the go), but they're hard to find. I could see myself "collecting" some amount of digital comics, but again that would only enhance my paper collection. A good analogy is music: I own quite a few digital albums (that I've PAID for), but they pale in comparison to my CD and vinyl collections.

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