In which Chris Sims has a new comic and I get onto my high horse about removing barriers between readers and the content they want.

Despite the fact that I’ll never tell him to his face, I consider Chris Sims to be one of my better friends, and was glad to hear that he had a new comic coming out through Flashbackuniverse.com. Unfortunately, they seem to have decided to use just the .cbr format for their offerings, which means that there’s too many steps between me and reading the comic.

Let’s say I heard about this Christmas comic Sims has done and want to enjoy it. To do this, I have to visit the Flashback Universe downloads page, where a link to download the comic is at the top of a long list of other comics set in the same world. I’m given the option to preview the story or download the file.

The links explaining what a CBR viewer is, how to display the comics, and explaining the file type are all fine and good, but people want content, not explanations from the internet, especially when it comes to entertainment. Heck, Zuda’s viewer is awkward as all get-out, but it takes just a click to get started with a comic, and when you’re trying to get people engaged with the content that you’re offering them, you want to remove any and all barriers between them and the product, especially if you’re offering it for free.

Here’s three things I would do if I were going to have Chris Sims write a comic story for me that I wanted as many people as possible to read:

1. Give the comic its own page on the site that people can link to without saying “Go to the Downloads page, scroll down a bit, then click on the download button.” Make sure to include buttons that allow people to submit and vote for the comic on sites like Digg, and include a form that lets people share the link via email. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to spread the word for you, especially with a time-sensitive piece like a holiday comics story.
2. I’d still offer .cbr downloadables as an option for people who are familiar with the format, but to make it easier for the vast majority of readers, I’d put the entire thing online as .jpgs and use either a web gallery (which Chris is doing on Action Age stories) or a content management system to display the pages in an easy-to-follow format.
3. Having a more popular product is a problem most publishers I would want, I think, and if I were interested in making a little cash to cover my increased server costs that the former two items would incur, I’d include Google or Project Wonderful ads that are displayed above or below each new page.

I can see why Jim Shelly has chosen the method he’s using now: it’s easier on him to package the comics, but what’s easier on the publisher/producer/etc usually makes it more difficult for the consumer/reader/fan.

Edited To Add: Flashback does offer a serialized webcomic on the site: Mr Crimson, which gets a new page every week.  While I prefer the larger-dose-per-installment formula, it’s a way to get people back to the site on a regular basis.

Even more edited to add: There’s now a webcomics/gallery version of Chris Sims’s Christmas story for Flashback, “Saturn Knight Before Christmas” available.