Episode 135: San Diego Comic-Con 2009: Darwyn Cooke [Discussion]

[marilee]

San Diego Comic-Con comes to a close with its most explosive interview yet! iFanboy's Ron Richards faces off against Darwyn Cooke! Touch gloves, and come out swinging!

Watch or download this episode now! (http://revision3.com/ifanboy/sdcc2009darwyncooke)

[tim]

I thought it was an excellent interview. Dawyn is one of today's modern masters. He is usually candid and this interview was no exception. Two things stuck out most. As he stated, his style is made for storytelling. He doesn't draw every little detail in each panel, but he gets the message across and it looks so beautiful (I said that, he didn't). Second, the comments about the direct market are what people need to hear. Print will become the last method of distribution for a lot of books. Digital is the way to get the material out there and grow the market. It needs to happen now. Sure, the iPhone, iPod touch, PSP, etc. aren't 'perfect' for reading comics, but they're quite good, especially given the apps that can make reading comics on those devices, like ComicZeal on the iPhone, easy and enjoyable to read. And there are companies formatting the pages to work panel-by-panel on the iPhone. Darwyn gets it. I don't understand the fear by fanboys and publishers, but whatever. When they wake up, they'll realize what they've missed and they'll end up selling more print copies in collections. I would prefer to read monthlies on my iPhone and just pick up the collected editions. Storing comics is a pain in the ass and the cost is just too much for many fans.

[soidl]

iFanboy,
Thank you for sharing such an excellent and extremely insightful interview. While I know you all were tempted to lock this away because of the sound quality or camera work, I applaud your sense of duty in publishing it for the masses. I have been a fan of the show for quite a while and catch the podcast on occasion but this was something truly special. Darwyn Cooke’s view of the world is one that you rarely hear about in the comic community. He has the right idea about putting comics out via iTunes and every other digital format. My favorite line was “How do you sell a million copies of Spiderman? Put it on iTunes for a quarter a pop.” It may sound crazy but I would probably read a lot more comics that way

[naveenm]

Excellent interview. It's notable that what we all seem to be commenting on here is Cooke's comments on the business of comics even more than the story and craft. He gets it! Inexpensive comics delivered on time and via as many avenues as possible. And as he himself shows, we can do that AND have quality. Thanks again for this interview. The video shows will be missed!

[darkknightjrk]

Excellent interview--Cooke is a really cool guy. His comments on the business and the upcoming rise of digital makes a lot of sense, and I loved his reaction to signing Gordon near his tattoo to have it inked--"You're fuckin' nuts." :D