Cutting Off Suspected File Sharers Heavy-Handed, says Which?

Responding to yesterday's news to the British Government’s announcement that it would cut off people suspected of illegal file sharing from the internet see news story), Sarah Kidner, editor of Which? Computing has described the proposal as unfair and heavy handed.

"To cut off innocent customers without indisputable proof is blatantly unfair and extremely heavy-handed," she commented. "We've received hundreds of letters from people who claim to have been wrongfully accused of file sharing. They’re fighting to prove their innocence with the threat of court action hanging over them unless they pay compensation of up to £665 in some cases.

Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK, providing impartial, expert information on products and services in its magazines, books and online to help consumers make more informed choices.

“We favour the original Government proposal to tackle illegal file sharing by sending warning letters before technical measures are imposed," Kidner added. "So in Which?’s response to the Digital Britain report, we will urge the government to first establish a rigorous and reliable method for identifying illegal file sharers before taking action.”

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Comic Piracy on the Net: New Clamp Down Plans Announced

British fans sharing e-versions of comics via the Internet could soon come under the spotlight of anti-piracy organisations, after the government announced further measures to tackle digital piracy, mid-way through the consultation period on its Digital Britain report.

The Guardian reports that these include cutting internet connections for persistent offenders who share film, music and book files - which would, we assume, include comics - on a peer-to-peer basis.

This measure is unexpected as it was ruled out in the final Digital Britain report which was released in June, for "going too far".

In the report, the then communications minister Lord Carter said illegal filesharers should receive letters warning them their activities could leave them open to prosecution. If that failed to reduce piracy by at least 70%, Ofcom would have the power to call on internet companies such as BT to introduce so-called "technical measures" to combat piracy. The most draconian of these measures was to slow down a persistent filesharer's broadband connection, but it would not appear until 2012.

Now, the Guardian reports, the government is proposing illegal filesharers will still get warning letters but if they continue to swap copyrighted material they could have their internet connection temporarily severed, although it may be possible to retain basic access to online public services.

It is also expected that the government will give power to target illegal downloaders to ministers, rather than Ofcom, "to speed up the process".

The Guardian quotes a draft of the new plan as saying: "The previous proposals, whilst robust, would take an unacceptable amount of time to complete in a situation that calls for urgent action."

France recently tried to introduce similar measures but they were ultimately thrown out by its high court as unconstitutional. In the UK, privacy groups are likely to challenge any similar legislation as contrary to human rights law.

Comics piracy is a major concern to both large and small publishers, although it has also, fans argue, helped comics fans 'sample' new titles (the try before you buy argument) and enabled the dissemination of vintage comics material, much of it unlikely to ever be published in print due to licensing issues and limited appeal.

Unfortunately, many of those efforts by fans to raise the profile of vintage material are being exploited by pirates who then collect such scans and re-sell them as illegal digital collections on eBay. The BBC, for example, is aware of illegal sales of fan collections of digital scans of classic Doctor Who material from comics such as TV Comic and Countdown.

While several programs have been created to read digital comics on screen there is, currently, no legal Internet equivalent of iTunes for digital comics. However, as we regularly report here, many comics are being re-formatted for presentation on devices such as the iPhone, Android and other devices.

More Web Links


• Digital Britain Report


• Digital Britain Forum


Discussion site aimed at encouraging an online debate about the issues raised in the Digital Britain Report.

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Comics for Sony: Marvel , IDW sign up

Sony have announced that a brand new digital reader will be released on the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) this December.

NetworkWorld reorts on the announcemnet, made at a GamesCom press conference in Cologne earlier this week, reporting users will be able to download and read comics on the portable console.

While there aren't many details on the reader's content, it was revealed that US publishers Marvel and IDW - the latter already investing heavily in mobile comics - will be releasing digital comic books for this new service.

Marvel's VP of Digital Global Marketing Ira Rubenstein told GamesCom "hundreds" of Marvel comics for the new service.

• Read the NetworkWorld news story

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Robot Comics brings Terror to iPhone

Continuing an impressive rollout of comics titles for the iPhone and Kindle that includes Kidd Millennium, the unofficial heir to R.F. Outcault’s 19th century newspaper comic sensation, The Yellow Kid, Robot Comics has announced the release of Issues #1 and 2 of American Terror via Apple iTunes store.

Published by Robot Comics and bundled with the new iRobot Comics Viewer, Issue #1 is being offered for free download with Issue #2 available at $0.99. 

Issue #3, which will conclude the first volume, is to be released shortly.

Created by Jeff McConsey and James Comsey, originally published by Alterna Comics, the critically-acclaimed American Terror is adapted by Robot Comics to create a version specifically formatted for mobile devices.

Set in 2041, it's a story of a future where nobody celebrates America's Veteran’s Day anymore. Victor Sheppard is an old man in a new world. He remembers a time prior to the War of the Third World, when cops still carried guns and there was a ghetto in every city. A new age of peace and equality has begun, but it didn’t come cheap. Millions of people died and the world is a better place, but nobody remembers why.

Haunted by his dead comrades, Victor decides to do the one thing he thought he’d never do: Spill his guts...

• American Terror is available for iPhone and iTouch via iTunes and for Android mobiles via Android Market

• Download #1 Free for iPhone/iPod touch

• Download #1 Free for Android: simply scan the QR code below with your Android to download American Terror #1 from the Android Market. Alternatively, search ‘American Terror’ on the Android Market.

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Amazon, Uclick, Launch International Comic Strip Superstar Competition!

Amazon.com and Andrews McMeel Universal have announced the launch of the first Comic Strip Superstar, the international competition in search of the next popular comic strip artist.

The winner will receive a publishing contract from Andrews McMeel Publishing, a $5,000 advance from mobile comics publisher Universal Uclick and a monthly stipend for the development of 20 comic strips that will be considered for syndication.

"As the nation's premier humour publisher in newspapers, books, mobile phones and online, Andrews McMeel Universal is uniquely suited to bring this comic strip contest to the public,” said Hugh T. Andrews, executive vice president of Andrews McMeel Universal.

“We are excited by the opportunity this contest provides to continue our mission to seek, recognize and celebrate remarkable creative talent, and to share it with an appreciative and enthusiastic audience through a variety of distribution channels.”

Up to 5,000 entries will be accepted for the competition at www.amazon.com/comicstripsuperstar until 12th September 2009.

Each entry should be original, unpublished work consisting of 10 daily comic strips and two Sunday comics, a title and a brief synopsis. From the submissions, Universal Uclick will narrow the entries down to 250 quarterfinalists.

The quarterfinalists will then be narrowed down to 50 semifinalists by John Glynn and Lee Salem, seasoned Universal Uclick editors. In the semifinal round, popular comic strip creators Garry Trudeau (crator of Doonesbury), Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), Scott Hilburn (The Argyle Sweater) and Mark Tatulli (Lió and Heart of the City) will choose 10 finalists and post feedback for each on Amazon.com. Amazon.com customers will then have the opportunity to view the finalists’ submissions and vote for the grand prize winner.

“We know Amazon customers are extremely creative and enjoy discovering new talent. This competition gives them the opportunity to discover great new comic strip artists, while having a few laughs along the way,” said Jeff Belle, vice president of US Books, Amazon.com.

The winner will be announced 9th November 2009, and will receive a prize package from Andrews McMeel Universal which includes a publishing contract with Andrews McMeel Publishing and a newspaper syndication development deal and contract for distribution on GoComics.com desktop and mobile applications from Universal Uclick.

• The competition is open to legal residents of the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding the Province of Québec), China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States (the 50 states and D.C.), and the United Kingdom, who are 13 years or older at time of entry.


• For complete terms and conditions on the Comic Strip Superstars competition, visit www.amazon.com/comicstripsuperstar.

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eigoMANGA Announces iPhone Comic App

eigoMANGA and Iconology Inc. have announced that eigoMANGA's comic titles are now available for the iPhone via the Comics by comiXology App, which is available on the iTunes Store.

The Comics by comiXology App is a digital comic store, library and reader for iPhone and iPod touch featuring Original English Language (OEL) manga from eigoMANGA in addition to over 100 titles available from twenty popular comic publishers and independent comic writers.

"The stunning display and innovative multi-touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch have finally made comics appealing in a digital format," explained David Steinberger, CEO of Iconology, Inc. "By combining great comics with iPhone OS 3.0’s In-App Purchasing and location awareness features we are creating a revolution in the way comics are sold and read which could only happen with iPhone and iPod touch.

As we previously reported, Comics by comiXology offers a 'guided view' that keeps the entire page of a comic intact, unlike other solutions where the page is cut into individual pictures the user browses like a photo application. Comics by comiXology is a reader app that contains all a user’s comics and offers its own digital comics store that supports many eigoMANGA comic titles.

• The Comics by comiXology App is now available, including free eigoMANGA comic titles from the Rumble Pak and Sakura Pakk series, for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

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Digital Comics: Your Views Wanted

British student Daniel Boswell is conducting a brief survey into about online/digital comics reading practices and illegal downloads, to get a sense of public feedback on these trends.

The research is for a dissertation into mobile comics and feedback from both comic creators and readers would be much appreciated.

• Click Here to take Dan's survey

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FindComicApps Site Launched

A new website, findcomicapps.com, offering a guide to the increasing number of digital comic applications for iPhone has been launched recently.

It's no secret that the App Store can be overwhelming and titles get buried with no way for users stay updated. The creators of this site - who, we will note straight away, seem to want to be rather anonymous, which is odd, but the sites' content is genuine and informative, hence this post - wanted to find a way to aggregate the mobile comics community into one place where consumers can go to find out what comic books are available on mobile platforms.

The website is dedicated solely to the advancement of all mobile comic applications, and the creators say they plan feature new releases every week from all developers across all platforms.

Included is a quick appraisal of every comic iphone app in a useful directory, including iVerse, Crispy Comics, Dark Horse, IDW, Robot Comics, ROK Comics and others. The guide doesn't include a link to the provider's own web sites but does have direct links to their apps and comics on the iTunes store.

The site has only just launched, but it's a handy service which with dedication is sure to grow. Check it out at: findcomicapps.com

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The Dark Trailer Debuts

Here's the trailer for Chris Lynch's new cybberpunk/superhero comic The Dark, which is being published by Markosia (see news story). Written by Chris and with art by Rick Lundeen, it will be released later this month as an iTunes application and as an original graphic novel. More info from www.thedarkcomicbook.com

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comiXology iPhone App Tops Book Apps Poll

The new Comics by comiXology App has reached the #1 rank among book apps in the iTunes store. The app offers over 100 comic titles for download through in-app purchasing, and uses the location awareness feature to help fans locate nearby comic stores where they can also buy printed copies.

Launched during the San Diego Comic-Con late last month, the Comics by comiXology App is a digital comic store, library and reader for iPhone and iPod touch that is launching with over 100 titles available from 20 popular comic publishers and many independent comic writers. ICV2.com notes that the App offers a “guided view” that keeps the entire page of a comic intact, unlike other solutions where the page is cut into individual pictures the user browses like a photo application.


"The stunning display and innovative multi-touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch have finally made comics appealing in a digital format," said David Steinberger, CEO of Iconology, Inc. "By combining great comics with iPhone OS 3.0's In-App Purchasing and location awareness features we are creating a revolution in the way comics are sold and read which could only happen with iPhone and iPod touch."

With the Comics by comiXology app, comic book enthusiasts can not only read their comics in a format designed to preserve the comic book experience on an iPhone or iPod touch, but, in a bid to further monetize the release, you can also locate and connect with local retailers to purchase the printed version of the titles.

Through relationships with comic book retailers, Comics by comiXology will, say gthe publishers, increase both digital and print sales of comics and deliver a powerful mobile marketing tool for comic book publishers and retailers.

Comics by comiXology "guided view" display keeps the entire page of a comic intact, unlike other solutions where the page is cut into individual pictures the user browses like a photo application. Comics by comiXology also contains all of a user's comics and offers its own digital comics store that supports multiple publishers.

Among the 20 publishers that have already signed up to deliver their titles through Comics by comiXology are many well-known industry icons including British publishers Com.X and Markosia, AdHouse Books, Arcana Comics, Asylum Press, Bluewater Comics, , Creative Impulse Entertainment, Digital Webbing, eigoMANGA, Evil Twin Comics, First Salvo, Image Comics (including Active Images, Allred, Kirkman, Wagner, Brunswick, Revel and more), Moonstone, Red 5, Slave Labor Graphics, Th3rd World Studios and Zenescope.

Popular comics writer Robert Kirkman has also agreed to deliver his titles exclusively through Comics by comiXology making it the only place to get Walking Dead and Invincible for iPhone and iPod touch.

• The Comics by comiXology App is now available, including over 30 free comics, for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore, or follow this direct iTunes download link

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Mobile Manga Sales Jump

Could mobile comics be a saviour for manga? While print comic sales in Japan are far from in freefall like some in the west they have dropped over the past decade. Now, the New York Times reports that direct-to-cell sales of manga have jumped up 43-per cent from last year -- a significant jump in and of itself, but even more impressive given the cell phone manga market's typical slow yearly growth.

For a variety of reasons, the mobile version has manga booming again, the Times reports. In the year ending in March, Japanese manga publishers raked in ¥32.9 billion in revenue, up 43 per cent from the previous year and from next to nothing in 2003, when manga first became available by cellphone, according to Impress R&D, a research company in Tokyo, which published the data at the annual Tokyo International Book Fair in July.

Mobile comics have are popular in Japan for a number of reasons, not least of which being fast cellular networks, good prices and convenient payment processes plus a range of great mobile devices to view comics on.

Like manga comic creators, many of these new manga readers are also women, who are devouring female-skewed shojo manga with its themes of love, romance, and, sometimes, explicit sexual content with relish.

Women who do not want to be seen reading these titles in public places like the train helped create the market for manga on the cellphone, which accords them privacy in ways that magazines and books do not, the Times claims. (Of course, reading manga on a Japanese commuter train often isn't easy, either: as this 2007 article notes, fans sometimes have to read their comic with it perched over their head, they often get so crowded, so you can see the appeal of reading on a mobile!)

Men, on the other hand, have overall been sticking with paper manga due to the lost formatting and panel design when shrinking a manga page onto a phone's screen.

Publishers would not reveal publicly what percentage of their revenue came from mobile manga, but privately, many said about 10 per cent, with mobile sales fast gaining on paper sales. So far, it is unclear whether the mobile sales will make up for lost revenue from print sales, down to ¥448 billion in 2008 from the peak of ¥586 billion in 1995, according to the Research Institute for Publication in Tokyo.

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