10 Questions about digital comics with Jamie Me from Comicista!
1. Who are you and what are you working on right now? (2 questions in 1, I
know!)
My name is Jamie Me, I am 27 years old, I am currently running the
Comicista operation, and I am working with António Brandão to convert a
short story I wrote into a comic. REM is the title!
2. What drew you to digital comics?
What’s not to love about digital? It’s 2014, and we all want the shit we
buy 20 seconds later. The other day I bought Death of Wolverine #4
digitally just because I couldn’t wait to see the finale. It’s the exact
same process as with TV. I couldn’t get Pramface season 2 anywhere, but a
quick look online and ten minutes later I’m watching it on Google Play.
3. Webcomics or digital comics?
Both. Anything with a storyline is interesting. I don’t limit myself to a
medium. I’ll read books, buy comics & manga, go watch MMA and play video
games for the stories. It’s all good. Pass me some manhwa and I’ll check
that out too.
4. What do you think works with digital comics?
It’s the accessibility. I mean take Okamirai for example. It’s an indie
manga by Takeshi Matsuyema, and looks very tasty. Your problem? You can’t
just go pick up the print here in the UK. So you turn to digital, and in
most cases that puts money in the creators pocket.
Also, who doesn’t love seeing the panels on a huge screen from time to time?
5. Can digital comics replace print comics?
They don’t need to. I have a box at Traveling Man where they chuck all my
print copies, and I run a digital comic store. Who doesn’t want to proudly
own physical copies of Saga?
6. How can print comics work with digital comics?
Marvel does a great job of offering digital versions with their print
issues, and that seems to be the way forward. Don’t like digital? Sling
the code to your mate and let them join in the fun.
7. What don’t you like about digital comics?
Any form of DRM. When you buy a comic with your cash you shouldn’t be
locked in on a platform. That sucks. The pirates crack stuff so fast these
days, and as a result you are only punishing your customers with DRM.
That’s messed up.
8. What digital comics/webcomics do you read?
Saga, Naruto, Bleach, Attack on Titan, Deadpool Merc With A Mouth and Art
of War, Death of Wolverine, Sex Criminals and many more.
9. Where do you see digital comics going from here?
They have no limits really. You only have to look at how Amazon bought
Comixology recently to see how seriously they are taken.
10. Who do you think we should look out for in digital comics?
People should take a wander over to Kickstarter, and look at some of the
crazy projects getting funded. A few that I’ve backed myself are Outcasts
of Jupiter, Rum Row, Skies of Fire and The Undone to name a few.
