LongBox: iTunes for comic books

By Seth Rosenblatt on 24 July 2009, 1:09pm

If you've ever wondered why comic books don't have a digital distribution and management platform the way music, movies, or books do, you're not alone. The good news is that one software company and one man -- perhaps clad in an identity-concealing spandex costume -- are here to save the day with LongBox.

In production for more than three years by QuickSilver Software, LongBox is a free, cross-platform iTunes-style jukebox for comic books. Judging by the proposed feature set, it's the most apt comparison, and one that LongBox CEO and founder Rantz Hoseley is happy to make. "One of our guiding principles is not replacing print or subsuming print, but creating a business model that works hand-in-hand with print. We want a diverse clientele."

In the comic-book business, that's no laughing matter. The industry long ago abandoned the spinner racks in your local convenience store as direct market retail stores became more profitable. Direct subscription sales have also dwindled. It's hard to image the modern comic book, from mainstream superheroes such as Batman to hipster icons such as Scott Pilgrim and film inspirations such as 30 Days of Night, without the comic shop.

Built on a set of proprietary APIs, LongBox will allow readers to purchase and download new comic books in a new, proprietary LBX format. The program contains a viewer that allows you to see pages one at a time or as a double-page spread, zoom in on individual panels, flip through pages, and skin the interface. It even contains an 'anti-spoiler' feature so you won't see what's coming in a story unless you want to. Since the LBX files are made directly from the InDesign and Quark production files that the publishers send to their printers, the zoom feature won't result in pixellation.

LongBox is designed to be both a comic book reader and a comic book manager

Readers will be able to bookmark pages, and LongBox will support right-to-left reading for manga as well as Western-style left-to-right. It will also support what Hoseley called the "grey market" of CBZ and CBR file formats that have been created without the consent of the publishers. He cautions, however, "CBR and CBZ won't have the same metadata as your store-bought LBX files."

In addition to broad metadata, Hoseley promised that there would be eventual social-networking features baked into the platform, but there were hurdles unique to comics. "There are certain things we need to do right," he said. "There's the whole fair-use law of images. We want to make sure that the recommendation system has validity to it, and we want to minimise spamming and grade-inflation."

Not only will LongBox allow users to read and manage their comics from their desktops and mobiles, it will also come with access to an online store so readers can purchase their books directly. Starting at 99 cents (60p) per issue, the LongBox store will have one major factor that differentiates it from the iTunes model, Hoseley says. "Along with buying an incentivised 12-issue subscription for $10 (£6), publishers can and will provide discount coupons for print versions if [the reader] subscribes to the LongBox version." UK availability hasn't yet been confirmed, but we can only hope.

Hoseley was reluctant to go into further detail on how the coupons will work, although he did say that readers should be able to use them at comic-book retail shops as well as online stores. If LongBox does wind up driving readers to purchase both digital and print copies, it would be the first time digital content has been used to directly support a physical copy.

In another similarity with iTunes, LongBox will support three methods for getting free comics out to readers. There will be a monthly sampler pack of eight comics, as well as promotional titles that a publisher pays for out-of-pocket. The platform is designed to support ad content as well, and Hoseley said it's possible certain titles will be made free to readers in exchange for watching an advertisement.

LongBox will launch in the autumn, probably October, for Windows and Mac, and has plans to support handheld devices, smart phones and games consoles by the summer of 2010. Users will be able to access their LongBox content on up to three systems. "You can have your core library, section it off or burn it to externals," Hoseley sayd. "We will be keeping track of a user's entire library." Hoseley assured me that there would be privacy safeguards, but didn't specify how or what they would be.

At Comic-Con International in San Diego on Thursday, Hoseley announced that several big-name comic book publishers had already signed on for the platform's launch. Image Comics, Top Cow, Boom Studios, Dabel Brothers, Archaia, Shadowline and NBM have signed on. Several creator-owned titles have, too, and from multiple genres, including Mouse Guard, Phonogram, Suburban Glamour, Viking and Hunter-Killer.