With last weekend’s announcement that Marvel Comics would be rolling out augmented reality comics, an approach that melds digital with print by turning readers’ tablets more or less into a venue for special features and creator’s commentary on print comics, it’s unsurprising that this afternoon’s House of Ideas panel at WonderCon was all about digital.Support for the existing direct market was a big part of Marvel’s pitch today; Arune Singh, director of communications at Marvel Comics, told the audience that the company has no interest in killing the direct market, calling retailers the life’s blood of the comics industry. Later, he criticized DC Comics for their policy of price-cutting digital back issues (after they’re a month old, DC titles’ prices in the ComiXology digital storefront drop by $1), saying that he didn’t think the approach benefited retailers. Many other publishers, including Image and Dark Horse, participate in either the same or strikingly similar digital policies, and while Marvel themselves do not, they have a standing 99 cent sale at ComiXology on Mondays which allows readers to buy a wide variety of Marvel titles for pennies on the dollar, or at least quarters.Infinite Comics #1, the Nova-centric Avengers Vs. X-Men tie-in that will be written by Mark Waid and feature Stuart Immonen’s art, will be the first augmented reality comic to be featured on the Marvel ReEvolution App, available on April 2. While Marvel conceded that it may be possible to point your iPhone or tablet at a digital screen and gain access to the special features, they stressed that fans should just buy a paper copy of the comics, which comes with a free digital code, and gain access that way. Singh described the program as an evolution in both print and digital comics, which will allow both media and both segments of the market to expand and improve.They had a few copies on hand for members of the audience to check out and comment on, leaving the rest of the room in the dark as to the content but allowing panelists to interact with those audience members on a practical level, making the conversation feel a bit less like a lecture.Waid himself is putting his money where his mouth is with regard to digital comics; Bleeding Cool is reporting that at his own, separate panel later in the day, he announced that he would be selling his physical comics collection to help finance the digital-first publishing operation that he’s entering into with Leverage creator and former Blue Beetle co-writer Jon Rogers.
