1. Who are you and what are you working on right now? (2 questions in 1, I know!)
I am the Darren G. Davis, publisher of Bluewater Productions. We developing fiction series with such people as William Shatner, Adam West, Logan’s Run and more! We also have a couple lines of biography comic books. As of this year we have been putting our back catalog of 800 titles up on different digital sites.
2. What drew you to digital comics?
It is the nature of the beast. With comic sales getting lower we had to push some of our titles to digital only.
3. Webcomics or digital comics?
Digital comics. I am not that familiar with webcomics as I should be.
4. What do you think works with digital comics?
At this point, I think they are convenient and very accessible. They also have figured out day and date with the print versions.
5. Can digital comics replace print comics?
I think that print books will became more print on demand. If you look at the models for Warner Bros. Home Video they are now releasing DVD’s print on demand. It will soon be the same as printing becomes more expensive to do. Look at books like “50 Shades of Grey”, that book started off digital and became a phenomenon – then went into print. As much as people with balk at them, they are here to stay. There is a reason “Borders” went out of business. Also Barnes and Noble mentioned that because of the sales of “50 Shades of Grey” helped them stay in business. It is also the same with newspapers. I think the graphic novel market should stay in tack for a while but the floppies are dying out.
I saw in the newspaper a pre-school holder for the IPAD. This shows me they are trying to get real small kids into digital. So when they grow up they will not really know the difference and gravitate towards the digital. Digital will replace print in time, just as television replaced radio as the main form of entertainment. Print will have to adapt and then only way for it to do it is print on demand.
Comic books have a stigma too them as well. Just like “50 Shades of Grey” people can sit in Starbucks and read their comic books without being judged. “50 Shades of Grey” is mommy porn that people are reading for the same reason.
Once I saw that school and libraries jumped on the band wagon….they are here to stay. I was a reluctant reader in school and I have read more books since I have gotten my Kindle than I have read in 5 years. They can be a tool that can be used for good.
6. How can print comics work with digital comics?
Really only by being print on demand.
7. What don’t you like about digital comics?
There is nothing like holding a comic book in your hand. Also the collectibilty is going to be an issue with comic books with the digital world. Also I do not see Jim Lee signing a Kindle. I also think they work better on an IPAD because of the size. There are pirate problems that people have with some of the sites that issue PDF’s to people. Some of our titles can be downloaded on these sites.
8. What digital comics/webcomics do you read?
Now that DC Comics got their way back tot the Kindle with the “New 52”, I am trying more of them than I did in print.
9. Where do you see digital comics going from here?
I think their will be more competition with digital. More places are popping up each month to compete with the existing ones.
10.Who do you think we should look out for in digital comics?
I think everyone will bite the bullet and have to make it a priority part of their business.
“10 Questions With” is to be a interview session with digital comics creators – there’s a lot of great people I’ve got lined up and I hope you enjoy seeing what the creators are interested in.
If you are a digital creator and am interested in participating, please contact me!
