Comicbook Publishers’ Untapped Market

Imagine, for a moment, that Amazon has announced the next release of their Kindle product:  the Kindle DX II (pronounced “dee-ex two”), and while it includes a long list of upgrades and improvements, the single most important development is its ability to display full-color, when necessary, via a dual-mode rendering process.

Continue the imagination process for a moment to understand what new opportunities this would bring:  digitized issues of National Geographic, full-color covers for all Kindle edition books, and comicbooks.  Wait, what?  Comicbooks!?!?

The two largest comicbook enterprises, Marvel (now owned by Disney) and DC, have been experimenting with the digital revolution for their core business, to varied levels of success – Marvel has a “digital comic” subscription, are experimenting with “motion comics”, and even provides some online for free; DC has freely available origin stories for most (all?) of its characters, and provides previews of its upcoming comics (like Blackest Night: Superman #2).

The unsaid assumption throughout all of this, however, is that printed comicbooks will never actually leave this world, because the experience is too unique, and “motion comics” are likely just a supplement or even a novelty.  Cue the digital book revolution, stage left.

As e-readers continue to evolve, their core technology will undoubtedly reach a point where they are both feature-rich and cheap enough that it is no longer possible to ignore them – much like the iPod’s entrance a decade ago.  Color display options will undoubtedly be a feature of a future release, if only for the added market possibilities and display of illustration, since color eats away at battery life, to to mention unnecessary in black-and-white printed word display.

When e-readers have a color display option, comicbooks will likely become a market that explodes with growth and helps bring the devices to a more visible position in public life – who wouldn’t want their comicbook collection available on the train commute to work, or at school during boring classes?  The Kindle’s size and design would lend itself, almost uniquely, to comicbook usage and the actions of comicbook publishers suggest they would embrace the new, untapped market with open arms.

So, Amazon, if you really want to make the Kindle the reading device of the future, you need to target those who will gladly pay to make your dreams happen:  nerds.

And nerds love comicbooks.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

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