With digital very likely to be a major player for comics in the future, many comics companies are getting an early start on the entire “revolution” that may see us downloading issues from an FTP site rather than going to our local comics shops … sooner than we think!
DC Comics has been putting their toe in the water a lot recently, with some books like Batman Beyond Unlimited and Smallville Season 11 appearing in digital format before they are collected into a monthly comic. (I do love that first one especially, by the way!)
Not long ago, the company revived a previous Batman title with Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight, which can first be purchased online. Here’s the description: “On Thursdays, a new digital Batman series will showcase stories of the Dark Knight outside of regular DC Comics continuity and feature artists and writers such as Ben Templesmith, Steve Niles, B. Clay Moore, Nicola Scott and Joshua Hale Fialkov. Each chapter retails for .99 cents.”
I’ve also been picking up the paper version that comes out not long after the stories appear digitally, so DC is probably glad I’m double-dipping, as it were! I want good hard copies to keep in case my iPad crashes, as it did once on me already!
Here’s the upcoming schedule for this great online digital comic:
- May 23 – “The Pain Cellar” written by Frank Hannah, artwork by Marco Turini May 30 – “Gotham Eye View” written by Robert T. Jeschonek, artwork by Declan Shalvey
- June 6 – “Riddler in the Dark” (1/3) written by Charles Soule, artwork by Dennis Calero
- June 13 – “Riddler in the Dark” (2/3) written by Charles Soule, artwork by Dennis Calero
- June 20 – “Riddler in the Dark” (3/3) written by Charles Soule, artwork by Dennis Calero
- June 27 – “The Beautiful Ugly” (1/3) written by Derek Fridolfs and Kenneth Elliot Jones, artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander
- July 4 – “The Beautiful Ugly” (2/3) written by Derek Fridolfs and Kenneth Elliot Jones, artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander
- July 11 – “The Beautiful Ugly” (3/3) written by Derek Fridolfs and Kenneth Elliot Jones, artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander
“Our goal has always been from the very beginning to have something for everyone. The opportunities that digital opens up, it really allows us to go for as wide an audience as possible,” said Hank Kanalz, DC’s senior vice president for digital.
It’s great to read a short story instead of a longer tale, which happens nearly all of the time in comics these days. And being a big Batman fan, I’m loving the chance to see folks strut their stuff who haven’t been working with the Dark Knight in the past.
The very first story, “The Butler Did It” by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire, was a pretty interesting look at Batman’s motivations. Amazo took on the Dark Knight in “All Of The Above,” which I also enjoyed a lot. The world’s greatest detective preemptively stopped the world’s dumbest criminal” in “The Crime Never Committed.” Then the Joker convinced ordinary citizens that they were actually Batman so they’ll try to take down Killer Croc, which didn’t end well!
Every Thursday, I have a new ritual … to pick up the newest digital Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight! If you like Batman, short stories or digital comics, you should make it part of your routine as well! You can purchase, download and read your “copies” at comiXology.
