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COMICS! |OT| May 2016. Let's Do It. Let's Fall in Love.

I remember Comixology discussing the Netflix model several months ago, but I didn't realize they'd be implementing so quickly. I'll have to check out their offerings and see if it's worth it.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Flow's hidden gems of CMX

Purpose: to get Comic-GAF to read some of my favorite titles. The comics listed below are the ones you won't see in the spotlight of the Unlimited store except for Usagi.

Samurai Jack(IDW) #1-15 available for free but you have to buy the last 3 issue.
If you ever loved/liked the cartoon then this is for you. It is all canon I repeat it is canon.

idw-publishing-samurai-jack-issue-2.jpg


Usagi Yojimbo(Darkhorse) #1-15. the rest you have to buy
Hands down the greatest Samurai comic of all time. Stan Sakai is a living legend and this is his baby. Also one of Dark Horse's staples and longest running comics at more than 25 years and ongoing.

284192._SX360_QL80_TTD_.jpg


Judge Dredd(IDW reboot) #1-16
A lot of people are familiar with this iconic series but never gave the IDW series a chance. If you ever read Tokyo Ghost this is like that but way better.

judgedredd-04-cvra11.jpg


Pretty Deadly(image) #1-5
One of the first titles I started reading when I signed up for CMX and still one of the better Image titles. If you liked easy by west and saga give this a shot. one of my personal favorite image titles.

Pretty_Deadly-01.jpg
 
I remember Comixology discussing the Netflix model several months ago, but I didn't realize they'd be implementing so quickly. I'll have to check out their offerings and see if it's worth it.
Not exactly a Netflix model. The goal is to offer a taste of series to encourage people to buy more issues and volumes. Hence the limited offerings. Still, $6 for the first few volumes and issues of series I might not have read otherwise is worth it for me
 

TheFlow

Banned
kinda weird that TMNT by IDW is not part of this but Dredd, samurai jack, and transformers are. oh and G.I Joe.

guess they are waiting for that sale next week
 
Flow's hidden gems of CMX

Purpose: to get Comic-GAF to read some of my favorite titles. The comics listed below are the ones you won't see in the spotlight of the Unlimited store except for Usagi.

Samurai Jack(IDW) #1-15 available for free but you have to buy the last 3 issue.
If you ever loved/liked the cartoon then this is for you. It is all canon I repeat it is canon.

idw-publishing-samurai-jack-issue-2.jpg


Usagi Yojimbo(Darkhorse) #1-15. the rest you have to buy
Hands down the greatest Samurai comic of all time. Stan Sakai is a living legend and this is his baby. Also one of Dark Horse's staples and longest running comics at more than 25 years and ongoing.

284192._SX360_QL80_TTD_.jpg
And Lone Wolf and Cub Volumes 1 - 4
DIG057482_1._QL80_TTD_.jpg
 

TheFlow

Banned
I am definitely adding love and rockets and lone wolf and cub to my list.


I am interested to see how much lone wolf and cub has influenced the medium. I know that Usagi even references it.


BRPD first 3 volumes are up to
 
Unlimited seems like a mixed bag. For some series, you get a good amount of the books; for others, just a volume or a few issues. Looks like it's mostly intended to get people started on some series, but not cannibalize sales. Honestly, it makes a lot of business sense, but I would have loved something like Scridb with the CMX quality.

Most of the Valiant stuff is only one volume per series, for anyone wondering.
 
Unlimited seems like a mixed bag. For some series, you get a good amount of the books; for others, just a volume or a few issues. Looks like it's mostly intended to get people started on some series, but not cannibalize sales. Honestly, it makes a lot of business sense, but I would have loved something like Scridb with the CMX quality.

Most of the Valiant stuff is only one volume per series, for anyone wondering.
Said it in the other thread, but the main reason I don't mind this is that it isn't Mavel or DC. This is mainly indie comics. Like with indie games, I want to support and throw some money at these awesome creators. There are a lot of series on my wishlist, and volumes can be relatively expensive to jump into a series you might not like or the art might not click with you or whatnot. Hell, even a single issue can be $3.99 or $4.99. Being able to see if a series is one I want to read more of is wonderful, I'd gladly then buy more issues and volumes.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Unlimited seems like a mixed bag. For some series, you get a good amount of the books; for others, just a volume or a few issues. Looks like it's mostly intended to get people started on some series, but not cannibalize sales. Honestly, it makes a lot of business sense, but I would have loved something like Scridb with the CMX quality.

Most of the Valiant stuff is only one volume per series, for anyone wondering.

what do you recommend for someone who has never read a Valiant book but wants to dive in to the universe.

I am reading to read through a lot of stuff today since I have the day off. lay it on me.


also yea I agree some of the older books should have maybe 1-2 volumes added. From a sales perspective this is the greatest thing ever for CMX and Publishers. Older titles are getting front page spotlight.

a lot of people don't know that their are Great titles outside of DC/Marvel and hell even Image at this point. Now they can check out Boom, IDW, and Oni press
 

Isak_Borg

Member
Unlimited seems like a mixed bag. For some series, you get a good amount of the books; for others, just a volume or a few issues. Looks like it's mostly intended to get people started on some series, but not cannibalize sales. Honestly, it makes a lot of business sense, but I would have loved something like Scridb with the CMX quality.

Most of the Valiant stuff is only one volume per series, for anyone wondering.

This was actually done in response to SCRIBD and it's really hard to get publisher's on board because digital sales are doing really well and you don't want to cannibalize sales.

It's also a mix of keeping publishers happy and making sure D&D business stays healthy. It also helps to benefit brick and mortar comic shops from being slaughtered which no one in the industry wants.

Folks at CMX do want a healthy print industry to continue because it's in everyone's best interest. It'll be interesting to see if some of the other things planned fall through.

Edit: Just some inside baseball about how things went behind the scenes for this.
 
Said it in the other thread, that's the main reason I don't mind this. This isn't Mavel or DC, this is mainly indie comics. Like with indie games, I want to support and throw some money at these awesome creators. There are a lot of series on my wishlist, and volumes can be relatively expensive to jump into a series you might not like or the art might not click with you or whatnot. Hell, even a single issue can be $3.99 or $4.99. Being able to see if a series is one I want to read more of is wonderful, I'd gladly then buy more issues and volumes.

Totally get that, and it's especially awesome because there's a lot of stuff in there I would readily recommend to everyone (a lot of Valiant and Image stuff.) It's just not something I benefit from personally. I'll do the free trial anyway and check out the few things I've not tried.
 

VanWinkle

Member
Hmm, that CMX Unlimited thing could be a good way for me to try series that aren't DC/Marvel to see if I want to invest in physical books. Mostly Valiant and Dark Horse.
 
This was actually done in response to SCRIBD and it's really hard to get publisher's on board because digital sales are doing really well and you don't want to cannibalize sales.

It's also a mix of keeping publishers happy and making sure D&D business stays healthy. It also helps to benefit brick and mortar comic shops from being slaughtered which no one in the industry wants.

Folks at CMX do want a healthy print industry to continue because it's in everyone's best interest. It'll be interesting to see if some of the other things planned fall through.

Edit: Just some inside baseball about how things went behind the scenes for this.

Well yeah. It has to be this way or basically no publisher would agree to it. The amount of lost revenue from putting up the full series would be massive.

Hmm, that CMX Unlimited thing could be a good way for me to try series that aren't DC/Marvel to see if I want to invest in physical books.

That seems like exactly one of the things that it'll be best for.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Hmm, that CMX Unlimited thing could be a good way for me to try series that aren't DC/Marvel to see if I want to invest in physical books. Mostly Valiant and Dark Horse.

yea I am picking up the goon library editions but I am definitely going to read volume 1 thanks to unlimited
 
Could be worse. This is cheaper than the other sub services, isn't it?

I imagine it's a licensing nightmare with all three publishers which might explain limited libraries and the US only launch.
 

Owzers

Member
I like MU because it reliably has most books after six months alongside older full runs. I'm not that interested in samples, though maybe for one month randomly.
 

Isak_Borg

Member
Could be worse. This is cheaper than the other sub services, isn't it?

I imagine it's a licensing nightmare with all three publishers which might explain limited libraries and the US only launch.

What a lot of people have to keep in mind is that there is a lot of behind the scenes contract work that goes into this and I would "imagine" that when contract renewal comes up for some publishers it'll be something that would be factored in.

I have no inside knowledge and this post is pure speculation.

I KNOW NOTHING.
 

VanWinkle

Member
I like MU because it reliably has most books after six months alongside older full runs. I'm not that interested in samples, though maybe for one month randomly.

Yeah, this is definitely a different type of thing to MU. This is more of a trial type service, while MU is an everything-older-than-six-months type of service. BUT this is cool for me since I prefer physical and this just gives me a chance to try things I thought looked interesting.
 

TheFlow

Banned
I wouldn't keep this for a whole entire year because I read a lot of ongoing comics but this is definitely something I would buy on a month to month basis.

whenever I wanna read a volume of something I never tried or got into I will just buy this instead and save myself some bucks
 
what do you recommend for someone who has never read a Valiant book but wants to dive in to the universe.

I am reading to read through a lot of stuff today since I have the day off. lay it on me.


also yea I agree some of the older books should have maybe 1-2 volumes added. From a sales perspective this is the greatest thing ever for CMX and Publishers. Older titles are getting front page spotlight.

a lot of people don't know that their are Great titles outside of DC/Marvel and hell even Image at this point. Now they can check out Boom, IDW, and Oni press

Thanks to you asking, I also found out the series logos have the Unlimited thing on them, too. It's pretty easy to go to a publisher and see what's free.

Ok, so, depending on what you're looking for:

Archer & Armstrong - Buddy cop conspiracy busters. This is one of the most widely loved books Valiant has. It's just a lot of fun. First volume is free, 6 volumes total, and there's a new ongoing series that follows the characters.

Death-Defying Dr. Mirage - kind of like an ghost/exorcism book. Kind of exposition heavy, but very unique and the art is fantastic. This is a miniseries and the whole thing is free.

Harbinger - It's kind of like X-Men, but it really has legs of its own. It follows a group of misfit teens with superpowers. Saying anything else would be spoilery, but it has two of my favorite characters in the universe. It's very thematically heavy and just an epic tale contained in 6 volumes. The first is free.

Imperium - A pseudo-sequel to Harbinger. I wouldn't recommend reading it if you like Harbinger and want to finish it, but it's a great read on its own. It's like a superpowered cold war book. The first volume is free and currently set to finish next month.

Ninjak - This is an espionage book. You'll enjoy it if you liked Grayson or Velvet. It's got fantastic characterization and Ninjak is a hilarious, arrogant prick. The first volume is free and the series is ongoing.

Quantum & Woody - Superhero buddy cop book with a lot of ridiculous and hilarious ideas. This was almost a laugh-a-panel book for me. The first volume is free, 4 total.

Rai - Cyberpunk samurai cop who rebels against his creator. While not crazy conceptually, and the first few volumes are just good, the third volume is just crazy. First volume free, currently ongoing, and leads into the 4001 AD event.

Unity - A damn good team book, but it's hard to recommend this one without reading XO Manowar up until like issue 19, since it directly involves XO. First volume is free, 6 volumes total.

The Valiant - This is by far my favorite story contained in the Valiant universe. It's a mini-event, all contained in one book, and it does a couple of things really well. First, the art by Paolo Rivera is off the walls good; it brings a tremendous amount of life to these characters. Second, while it's an event that uses established characters (Bloodshot, Geomancer, and Eternal Warrior are the leads), it is a great jumping on point, as it showcases a lot of the characters in the universe and makes you want to learn more about them. Geomancer, in fact, wasn't a character very well explored before this book, yet the story does an incredible job making you care about her plight. The story is kind of a fairytale, self-contained thing that is really touching and affecting on a lot of levels. I will say, some people come away from this feeling like they probably would have benefited from knowing more about the characters, but I knew very little about these characters before jumping into this story and loved it to death. Miniseries, all free.

XO Manowar - A standard cape book, though it has great characterization and there's a few original ideas in there. It follows Aric as he inherits the armor, then tries to avenge his people, so there's a bit of a spin on it in that he's not as much as hero as he is an avenger; however, that's kind of part of how he matures into becoming a real hero. It's Valiant's flagship title. First volume is free, currently ongoing but it will end at volume 12.
 

TheFlow

Banned
Thanks to you asking, I also found out the series logos have the Unlimited thing on them, too. It's pretty easy to go to a publisher and see what's free.

Ok, so, depending on what you're looking for:

Archer & Armstrong - Buddy cop conspiracy busters. This is one of the most widely loved books Valiant has. It's just a lot of fun. First volume is free, 6 volumes total, and there's a new ongoing series that follows the characters.

Death-Defying Dr. Mirage - kind of like an ghost/exorcism book. Kind of exposition heavy, but very unique and the art is fantastic. This is a miniseries and the whole thing is free.

Harbinger - It's kind of like X-Men, but it really has legs of its own. It follows a group of misfit teens with superpowers. Saying anything else would be spoilery, but it has two of my favorite characters in the universe. It's very thematically heavy and just an epic tale contained in 6 volumes. The first is free.

Imperium - A pseudo-sequel to Harbinger. I wouldn't recommend reading it if you like Harbinger and want to finish it, but it's a great read on its own. It's like a superpowered cold war book. The first volume is free and currently set to finish next month.

Ninjak - This is an espionage book. You'll enjoy it if you liked Grayson or Velvet. It's got fantastic characterization and Ninjak is a hilarious, arrogant prick. The first volume is free and the series is ongoing.

Quantum & Woody - Superhero buddy cop book with a lot of ridiculous and hilarious ideas. This was almost a laugh-a-panel book for me. The first volume is free, 4 total.

Rai - Cyberpunk samurai cop who rebels against his creator. While not crazy conceptually, and the first few volumes are just good, the third volume is just crazy. First volume free, currently ongoing, and leads into the 4001 AD event.

Unity - A damn good team book, but it's hard to recommend this one without reading XO Manowar up until like issue 19, since it directly involves XO. First volume is free, 6 volumes total.

The Valiant - This is by far my favorite story contained in the Valiant universe. It's a mini-event, all contained in one book, and it does a couple of things really well. First, the art by Paolo Rivera is off the walls good; it brings a tremendous amount of life to these characters. Second, while it's an event that uses established characters (Bloodshot, Geomancer, and Eternal Warrior are the leads), it is a great jumping on point, as it showcases a lot of the characters in the universe and makes you want to learn more about them. Geomancer, in fact, wasn't a character very well explored before this book, yet the story does an incredible job making you care about her plight. The story is kind of a fairytale, self-contained thing that is really touching and affecting on a lot of levels. I will say, some people come away from this feeling like they probably would have benefited from knowing more about the characters, but I knew very little about these characters before jumping into this story and loved it to death. Miniseries, all free.

XO Manowar - A standard cape book, though it has great characterization and there's a few original ideas in there. It follows Aric as he inherits the armor, then tries to avenge his people, so there's a bit of a spin on it in that he's not as much as hero as he is an avenger; however, that's kind of part of how he matures into becoming a real hero. It's Valiant's flagship title. First volume is free, currently ongoing but it will end at volume 12.
I am about to make you happy man. I just started Harbinger and then I will read a couple from there.

I will post my full impressions later today. so look forward to that.

this looks great
4277168-04.jpg
 
I am about to make you happy man. I just started Harbinger and then I will read a couple from there.

I will post my full impressions later today. so look forward to that.

I should mention Harbinger has a rough stretch with the art around issue 6 or 7, and the beginning stuff is nothing great, but it does improve vastly by the third volume.
 

Riptwo

Member
I was bummed about Comixology Unlimited not being available in Canada, but then I checked out the current selection that Hoopla Digital has and suddenly felt okay. Our local library account gives us free access to the service with six "rentals" per month, and they have a ton of Valiant, Image, Dark Horse and DC titles (plus books/audiobooks/movies). Victory!
 

tim1138

Member
I was bummed about Comixology Unlimited not being available in Canada, but then I checked out the current selection that Hoopla Digital has and suddenly felt okay. Our local library account gives us free access to the service with six "rentals" per month, and they have a ton of Valiant, Image, Dark Horse and DC titles (plus books/audiobooks/movies). Victory!

Hoopla is nice, but the resolution can be a bit meh, especially on double page spreads. Definitely worth checking out to see if your library has access though.
 
I signed up for the free trial and have explored the offerings and I don't think it's for me at this time. At least, with Marvel Unlimited, I can't still experience a whole run. This would be like Netflix offering the first few episodes of a show and making you pay for each episode after the free ones. That's not a model that would work.
 

Owzers

Member
I signed up for the free trial and have explored the offerings and I don't think it's for me at this time. At least, with Marvel Unlimited, I can't still experience a whole run. This would be like Netflix offering the first few episodes of a show and making you pay for each episode after the free ones. That's not a model that would work.

i don't even like CMX sales that don't have all the current issues on sale.
 
I want to apologize for disrespecting COMIC GAF's waifu, D.Va. She is a valuable asset to the game and is charming as all hell.

MEI CAN STILL FUCK OFF.
 

VanWinkle

Member
I signed up for the free trial and have explored the offerings and I don't think it's for me at this time. At least, with Marvel Unlimited, I can't still experience a whole run. This would be like Netflix offering the first few episodes of a show and making you pay for each episode after the free ones. That's not a model that would work.

Yeah, that's definitely a fair point.
 

Isak_Borg

Member
I honestly would have asked but I assumed you wouldn't be able to tell me.

I wouldn't but already heard some grumbling about the fact that this is really going to cut into folks royalties and that matters a lot for smaller books since they're probably not getting paid that high of a page rate.

This might really cripple smaller publishers in the sense that people aren't going to by Valiant books D&D because they can just wait for the book to show up on the unlimited platform.

For a healthy comic industry we gotta make sure that smaller publishers survive and creators are able to be compensated so they can continue to create.

This is really good for consumers but not sure what the financial picture is for creators/publishers.

Having the highest visibility in the digital market and Amazon backing you means you can push your weight when negotiating contracts.

Just something to keep in mind.
 
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