We’re getting a LOT of updates from publishers that are joining the DRM Free bandwagon. This is great news for fans – and it seems that our options for DRM Free books are growing!
Image Comics has had DRM Free books for some time available through their site. In the last few days, we have received word from three more of our favorite publishers of their own DRM Free initiatives…Valiant, Dynamite, and Action Lab. That adds to last month’s announcement by comiXology of DRM-Free backups for many of the comics sold through their app (CLICK HERE for the CBR article on that subject).
DRM (Digital Rights Management) allows publishers to control their content to some extent even after the sale, and this has been a sticking point for many fans. Certainly this exceeds the level of control publishers have after the sale of a print copy – and DRM Free content is becoming more and more popular in a variety of media.
Each of the publishers going DRM Free have announced additional incentives, including some books for VERY low prices (and even some books for FREE). In thanks to these amazing publishers we’ll publish their full press releases below so you can hear the full stories directly from them. You’ll see the latest info, first from Valiant, then Dynamite, and finally Action Lab. Please check out these amazing announcements…and add some of their fantastic books to your pull list. Knowing the quality of their titles, you’ll be glad you did!
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VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce a new partnership with DriveThruComics.com to make Valiant’s complete, award-winning library of modern and classic content comic available as DRM-free digital files. Beginning today, DriveThruComics.com will also offer Valiant’s monthly comics titles as day-and-date new releases and will soon host Valiant’s complete catalog of single issues and collections – all in a DRM-free PDF format. Valiant’s new partnership with DriveThruComics.com marks the first time that the publisher has made its titles available in such a format anywhere online.
To launch this new slate of offerings, head to DriveThruComics.com now to download each of Valiant’s best-selling #1 issues for free for the next 30 days. Visit DriveThruComics.com now to download the acclaimed first issues of all of Valiant’s fan favorite ongoing series, including:
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #1 (2012) by Fred Van Lente & Clayton Henry
BLOODSHOT #1 (2012) by Duane Swierczynski, Manuel Garcia & Arturo Lozzi
ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 (2013) by Greg Pak & Trevor Hairsine
HARBINGER #1 (2012) by Joshua Dysart & Khari Evans
QUANTUM AND WOODY #1 (2013) by James Asmus & Tom Fowler
SHADOWMAN #1 (2012) by Justin Jordan & Patrick Zircher
UNITY #1 (2013) by Matt Kindt & Doug Braithwaite
X-O MANOWAR #1 (2012) by Robert Venditti & Cary Nord
“Fan support for Valiant’s first RPG at DriveThruComics.com‘s sister site, DriveThruRPG.com, has been huge! In conjunction with Catalyst Game Lab’s launch of the Valiant Universe RPG, we’re proud to offer our a complete selection of comics from Valiant’s award-winning library to DriveThruComics.com‘s passionate fans,” said Russell A. Brown, President of Consumer Products, Promotions, and Ad Sales for Valiant Entertainment.
“Valiant has some of the most exciting and entertaining comics on the market today,” said Matt M. McElroy, Director of Publishing for DriveThruComics.com. “Several members of the DriveThruComics crew were already huge fans of the Valiant characters and creators, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to have these books available on our site.”
Established in 1989, Valiant has sold over 80 million comic books, and today its characters continue to be forged in publishing, licensing, film, video games, and beyond. Since its summer 2012 publishing relaunch, Valiant has returned to the fore as one of the most commercially and critically successful independent publishers in the industry today with an initial slate of titles that included X-O Manowar by New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord; Harbinger by New York Times best-selling writer Joshua Dysart and Harvey Award-nominated artist Khari Evans; and Archer & Armstrong by the New York Times best-selling creative team of writer Fred Van Lente and artist Clayton Henry.
After multiple awards and nominations, including a 2012 Diamond Gem Award for Publisher of the Year, Valiant ventured even farther in 2013 with the debut of its first crossover event, Harbinger Wars, and the release of Unity #1 by writer Matt Kindt and artist Doug Braithwaite – the year’s highest charting debut issue from a non-premier publisher with sales in excess of 70,000 copies. This May, Valiant followed up with “Valiant First” – an all-new line of titles led by the smash-hit ongoing series, Rai, and its biggest crossover event to date, Armor Hunters. Most recently, on the heels of 16 nominations at this year’s Harvey Awards, the publisher has announced The Valiant – a prestige format mini-series from New York Times best-selling writers Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt with art by Eisner Award winner Paolo Rivera.
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DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Dynamite Entertainment is excited to announce the debut of its brand new digital comic program featuring DRM-free comics. Launching initially with comics available in PDF file format, the initiative makes a selection of its most popular and celebrated titles ready for download today directly by consumers. The sale of DRM-free digital comics coincides with the comic book and graphic novel publisher’s 10th anniversary celebration, and can be found at their company website’s dedicated digital sales page: http://dynamite.com/digital/.
The program launches today with an available selection of over 80 individual comic books, which includes creator-owned and licensed titles from Dynamite’s massive library. The debut selection represents a wide variety of titles, spanning numerous genres, featuring name brand creators (including Kevin Smith, Bill Willingham, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Alex Ross, Gail Simone, Robert Jordan, Jim Butcher, Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson, Frank Cho, Art and Franco, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, and more), and highlighting some of the industry’s most beloved characters (Red Sonja, Vampirella, and The Boys, just to name a few).
Cryptozoic Man by Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson
Blood Queen by Troy Brownfield and Fritz Casas
The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robinson
Captain Action Cat by Art Baltazar, Franco, and Chris Smits
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers by Joe Casey, Nathan Fox, and more
Chaos! by Tim Seely and Mirka Andolfo
Chastity by Marc Andreyko and Dave Acosta
American Flagg by Howard Chaykin
The Devilers by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Matt Triano
Evil Ernie: Origin of Evil by Jesse Snider and Jason Craig
Garth Ennis’ Red Team by Garth Ennis and Craig Cermak
Jennifer Blood: Born Again by Steven Grant and Kewber Baal
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files: War Cry by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, and Carlos Gomez
Jungle Girl by Frank Cho, Doug Murray, and Adriano Batista
Justice, Inc. by Michael Uslan and Giovanni Timpano
Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet by Kevin Smith and Jonathan Lau
Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure by Bill Willingham and Sergio Fernandez Davila
Miss Fury by Rob Williams and Jack Herbert
The Mocking Dead by Fred Van Lente and Max Dunbar
The Ninjettes by Al Ewing and Eman Casallos
Pathfinder: Dark Waters Rising by Jim Zub and Andrew Huerta
Project Superpowers by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and Carlos Paul
Red Sonja by Gail Simone and Walter Geovani
Red Sonja: Blue by Peter Brett and Walter Geovani
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Chuck Dixon, and Chase Conley
The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow by Howard Chaykin
Terminal Hero by Peter Milligan and Piotr Kowalski
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes by Leah Moore, John Reppion, and Aaron Campbell
Vampirella by Nancy A. Collins and Patrick Berkenkotter
Vampirella Master Series by Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, and more
Vampirella vs. Fluffy by Mark Rahner and Cezar Razek
In celebration of their 10th anniversary, Dynamite will offer ten of its comic books at 10 cents apiece, introducing new readers to Dynamite’s most accessible and successful titles at a great value. The introductory-priced comic books include:
Blood Queen #1
The Boys #1
Evil Ernie: Origin of Evil #1
Jungle Girl #0
• Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1
Miss Fury #1
The Mocking Dead #1
• Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time #1
The Trial of Sherlock Holmes #1
Vampirella #1
Dynamite will also offer ten (10) free wallpapers to consumers featuring The Boys, Cryptozoic Man, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper’s The Last Temptation, Red Sonja, and Vampirella. These wallpapers can be downloaded from Dynamite’s digital DRM-free page for a limited time.
Following today’s launch, Dynamite plans to release its DRM-free comics on a weekly basis, every Wednesday, with new offerings announced via the company’s Facebook, Twitter, and website as they are made available for download. There will be a slow, focused roll-out over time that will grow the available titles to reflect the vast majority of Dynamite’s library.
Throughout its first month of operation, Dynamite will donate ten percent of all sales to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers.
Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, says, “CBLDF is delighted to be named as the charitable partner for Dynamite Digital! As comics advance in so many new directions, the CBLDF remains vigilant in our efforts to protect the comics medium in each aspect. Dynamite’s contribution underscores our commitment to protect comics in the digital environment as vociferously as we do in the comic store and education spaces.”
“The market has been growing for DRM-free content. Each and every day, fans want to choose how to buy and enjoy their comics, and we’re taking our titles to the next level for digital sales,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “Expanding into DRM-free content, made available directly to consumers from our website, is simply giving the consumers the option for what they want and how they want it, and continues to reach out to a non-traditional comic-reading audience. Our hope is that the availability of comics in a digital fashion will continue to draw new readers to the medium, helping to complement the growth for physical sales through our retail comic store partners. Following the trend we’ve seen over the past few years in our industry, the world’s continuing love affair with books in print will benefit from a surge in Dynamite interest.”
Barrucci adds, “As part of our launch, we’re donating a portion of all sales to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Charles, Alex, and their team work tirelessly to protect our First Amendment rights. The Fund needs the help of the industry to support free speech.”
“DRM” (Digital Rights Management) refers to the technology used by publishers, copyright holders, and other individuals to control the use of digital content and devices after sale. Dynamite’s goal is to offer their titles DRM-free, thereby growing the company and granting comic creators more opportunities to make great products. Dynamite is eager to take this next step with fans as it continues to expand on its own digital offerings.
Dynamite’s current digital offerings include same-day-as-print releases through Comixology, iVerse, Dark Horse, iBooks, and Amazon Kindle. Recently, Dynamite worked in conjunction with Humble Bundle, Inc. to offer a 10th Anniversary bundle for sale for a limited time, dedicating a portion of profits such worthwhile charity organizations as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Doctors Without Borders, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT
Action Lab Entertainment is proud to announce that Beginning with the Action Lab hit, F1rst Hero and the Action Lab Danger Zone sexy mega hit, Zombie Tramp, all of their titles will now be released as full issue, digital first offerings through Comixology.
The entire catalog from both Action Lab and their mature readers imprint, Action Lab: Danger Zone will be available DRM Free as part of Comixology’s Digital Ownership Initiative.
Single issues will be $0.99 during the first two weeks of release, before returning to their regular price of $1.99.. In addition, books will be timed to release digitally the same month they are offered in Diamond Distribution’s retailer catalog, Previews, giving comics fans a taste of what we do and driving them to comic shops nationwide.
ABOUT ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT- Formed in 2010 with the purpose of pooling their collective talents into a single, powerful entity, the members of Action Lab Entertainment have countless years in multimedia publishing, design, and business. Their first release, Fracture, was successfully funded through Kickstarter and since then they have continued their mission to produce high quality, genre-spanning entertainment. Since its formation, the accolades for A.L.E continue to build on a daily basis. Among its more popular titles are all ages material like the Eisner, Glyph, Shel Dorf Award nominated series PRINCELESS, NFL RUSHZONE (based on the Nickelodeon Television series), Jamal Igle’s MOLLY DANGER, Artist/ Writer Jeremy Dale’s hit series SKYWARD, and Gayle Middleton’s (My Little Pony, The Littlest Pet Shop) monstrously adorable VAMPLETS. Action Lab’s Mature Readers imprint ACTION LAB DANGER ZONE continues to push the envelope of comics entertainment with titles as varied as EHMM THEORY and Dan Mendoza’s over the top horror-comedy ZOMBIE TRAMP, THE FINAL PLAGUE and BO, PLUSHY GANGSTA.
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