Broken Frontier

BROKEN FRONTIER: When Top Cow was established in the marketplace, the direct market was widely considered "the only game in town" for long-form American comics. Now the manga, graphic novel and Web-based comics are creating a more complicated picture. What's Top Cow's role in that changing world?

FILIP SABLIK: You know what's interesting is at Top Cow we've pretty much always endeavored to succeed in the direct market while looking beyond it. I mean, let's be honest: the direct market is dominated by Marvel and DC and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. So we've always looked to see what other avenues we can get our properties out to the public - television, movies, video games, manga, anime, and now, digital comics.

BF: Have you been under any pressure from retailers since announcing the move?

FS: Any time you announce a new program like this you are going to get questions from established retailers with concerns how this will affect their core business. Because we're offering only comics that are over a year old and with pricing that is comparable to our Compendium volume pricing, most retailers we've spoken with don't feel this will affect their business. Ultimately I think we're talking about two different kinds of consumers and how they like to get their product. Before iTunes came out, I owned probably 75 CDs, total. Now I own over 5000 songs for my iPod because the format and method was appealing and convenient to me. Personally I'll probably continue to buy comics in a physical format because that's how I like to read them. For someone else reading them on a computer screen might be preferable to driving to a comic shop or book store for their fix.

BF: The Web's a new frontier, with lots of potential comics readers who don't know your work. What brand is Top Cow trying to present to them?

FS: We have a pretty cohesive brand we market across all media, which is "Top Cow is your place for edgy, hip comic book story-telling in genres you won't get from the Big Two." It's supernatural fantasy detective stories in Witchblade, horror mob stories in The Darkness, mystery, epsionage and vendettas in Madame Mirage. These are all concepts that have some of the same elements as a "mainstream comic" but also share traits with popular TV shows, movies, and books.

BF: Ad-supported comics are still more successful online than paid-for comics. Can you picture an advertising support model in Top Cow's future?

FS: It's hard to picture right now, as that would directly and adversely effect our core business (the direct market). By having both the physical copy and the digital format available for sale you are allowing for an equal competition of the formats, as opposed to offering the digital version online for free and having the advertising support it. I think most direct market retailers would have serious concerns supporting something that can be read in full online for free, don't you?

BF: How do you think this initiative will affect the future of your company?

FS: It's a bit early to tell. Our hope is that it will continue to build our fan base and allow a new demographic to get into our properties.

BF: Thank you for your time, Filip. Good luck.