THE WALKING DEAD: THE ALIEN Digital Pay-What-You-Want One Shot Comic Book

 

PANEL SYNDICATE, an online publisher of DRM-free pay-what-you-want webcomics, has released a digital one shot THE WALKING DEAD comic book.  IMAGE COMICS the publisher of the popular THE WALKING DEAD comic book series cut a deal with PANEL SYNDICATE to make this unique comic book a reality.  If IMAGE COMICS could sell a print version of PANEL SYNDICATE'S Eisner Award-winning sci-fi mystery story THE PRIVATE EYE than the digital publisher could create their own original THE WALKING DEAD story that could be distributed through its website panelsyndicate.com.

This 31 page story maintains the black and white coloring style of the print version of THE WALKING DEAD comic book series and is set in Barcelona, Spain just a few weeks after the beginning of the global zombie infestation.  THE WALKING DEAD: THE ALIEN tells the story of an American who had planned on wandering through Europe on a backpack trip but instead finds himself trapped in a foreign land trying to survive this new plague hitting Spain as society collapses around him.  THE ALIEN includes a surprising twist at the end which connects it with one of the main characters in THE WALKING DEAD franchise.  Fans of THE WALKING DEAD will absolutely want to read THE ALIEN!

Credit: Panel Syndicate

THE ALIEN is available in the same format as the other titles available through PANEL SYNDICATE so it is priced as pay-what-you-want, which includes the option to obtain the digital comic for free, and can be downloaded as a DRM-free PDF, CBR, or CBZ to read.  Robert Kirkman, the creator of THE WALKING DEAD, has agreed to allow all proceeds from for THE ALIEN to go the creators of PANEL SYNDICATE, Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, who are also the artists who put together this digital one-shot story.  So while you can select to pay nothing for this comic, paying something helps support this creative duo continue to promote interesting, original content by themselves and other artists like, THE PRIVATE EYE, BARRIER, and UNIVERSE! that is available on panelsyndicate.com.

Credit: Panel Syndicate

CLICK HERE to download THE WALKING DEAD: THE ALIEN.

Humble Bundle Celebrates the Magic of Jim Henson

There is a new Humble Bundle that celebrates the magic and wonder of Jim Henson's imagination and creations. The Humble Jim Henson: The Jim Henson Company Comics Bundle provides the opportunity for people to enjoy Boom Studios print portrayals of puppets that have been beloved by generations of fans.  You can name your price to purchase a basic bundle of The Dark Crystal and Fraggle Rock digital comic books.  HumbleBundle.com allows consumers to purchase a bundle of video games or digital publications for any price they choose with that money being split three ways amongst a designated charity, the publisher, and the website.  The focus of these bundles is normally to raise awareness and funding for charities, in this particular case it being the Center for Puppetry Arts.

In 1978, Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson cut the ribbon to open the Center for Puppetry Arts. Since then, the Center has inspired generations of children and adults through our performances, educational workshops, and exhibitions. The Center uses the art form of puppetry as a means to provide educational experiences that encourage creativity, support school-day learning, fuel holistic development, and provide accessible, hands-on opportunities to participate in arts activities. The Center’s live puppetry performances, hands-on workshops, and guided museum tours provide creative arts experiences to students that aren’t available in classrooms while also providing teachers with opportunities to infuse the arts into their curriculum goals.  The Center for Puppetry Arts is opening a new museum space this year which will feature expanded exhibit areas for both its Global Collection and the Jim Henson Collection. This new space will provide immersive and interactive, exhibitions allowing guests of all ages to explore puppetry in unique ways, challenging preconceptions and giving a new appreciation of the global scope and universal power of the art form. As part of this project, the Center will be protecting and preserving hundreds of international and Henson treasures for future generations to enjoy and understand. 

If you spend more than the average amount people are paying for the basic bundle,  you will get some extra bonus e-books added to your shopping cart which include Jim Henson's The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow and The Storyteller comic books and novelizations of Storyteller and Labyrinth.

Additionally, if you spend $2 more than the average amount spent on the basic bundle, the graphic novel Jim Henson's Tale of Sand will be thrown into your package as an extra thank you.  Discovered in the Archives of the The Jim Henson Company, A Tale of Sand is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by Jim Henson and his frequent writing partner, Jerry Juhl. A Tale of Sand follows scruffy everyman, Mac, who wakes up in an unfamiliar town, and is chased across the desert of the American Southwest by all manners of man and beast of unimaginable proportions.  A Tale of Sand will allow Henson fans to recognize some of the inspirations and set pieces that eventually appeared in later Henson Company productions.


These digital comic books are DRM-free which means that they aren't tied to a particular website or computer program to be able to read.  Download them onto whatever device you want and read them at your convenience where and when you want.  I've heard that accessing these comics works great from a PC or laptop but some people have had difficulties with them on smart phones and tablets. Here's a hint...download these files to your PC, save them as .pdf and upload to your mobile device by dropbox.  Voila! that has worked every time for me!

This deal, like all Humble Bundles is for a limited time so if you are a fan of Jim Henson's work beware because if you snooze you'll loose and this offer will be gone. Check out the clock in the top right corner of Humble Bundle deals right under the green Pay What You Want box to check out how much time is left before an offer expires.

Get a Bundle of Transformers Comic Books on Humble

Fans of the Transformers movies, cartoons, and toys won't want to miss the newest Humble Bundle that is available for a limited time.  HumbleBundle.com allows consumers to purchase a bundle of video games or publications for any price they choose with that money being split three ways as designated by the buyer amongst a designated charity, the publisher, and the website.  The benefits of the bundle are normally increased if a person spends at least the average price of everyone purchasing bundles.  Often times there is also an upper tier with more perks if someone spends beyond a certain amount of money on the bundle.  In this case the Humble Bundle is a collection of Transformers comic books from publisher IDW.

The Transformers bundle lets people pay whatever amount they choose to receive 67 digital comic books from IDW.  You could pay $5, $10, $25, $50 whatever you'd like to purchase this comic book bundle and designate from that sum how much IDW receives, how much of a tip to give Humble for its serve, and how much to donate to in this case the Hasbro Children's Fund.  So if someone were to purchase the bundle for $15 they could designate $5 to each or could give $10 to Hasbro Children's Fund with $2.50 each going to the other two.  You get the gist. It is hoped people will appreciate getting a good deal and at the same time also be generous enough to support the charities using the Bundle as a fundraiser.

For the whatever you want to pay route, this Humble Bundle has 6 graphic novels that compile the first 29 issues of the Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye serial plus the individual issues issue for 34-37 of the comic book series.  If you spend the average amount people are paying for the bundle, which was $10.88 at the time of this post, you would also get 6 more graphic novels that compile that compile the first 28 issues of the serial Transformers:  Robots in Disguise and a seventh graphic novel Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 1 which compiles the first  6 issues of that serial.  Plus if someone spends the average + $5 they have as a bonus included into the bundle the graphic novel Transformers: Dark Cybetron Volume 2 and the individual issues of Transformers: Robots in Disguise 33 and 34.  So for approximately $15, a someone can pick up 112 digital comic books estimated to be worth $155. If you go to Amazon.com for example, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 1 for Kindle is priced at $7.99 and the digital edition on Comixology is the same price.  So this Humble Bundle is not a darn bad deal I do say so myself.

Money spent on this Humble Bundle also supports The Hasbro Children’s Fund, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to empower childhood by bringing “the sparkle of Hope, the joy of Play and the power of Service” into the lives of the children across the globe. Working with strategic charitable partners, the grants made through the Hasbro Children’s Fund support programs that deliver; stability for children in crisis; pediatric physical and mental health services; hunger security; educational programs; quality out of school time programming and programs that empower youth through service.  To learn more about these programs and how they are making a difference for children worldwide, please visit www.hasbro.org.

These digital comic books are DRM-free which means that they aren't tied to a particular website or computer program to be able to read.  Download them onto whatever device you want and read them at your convenience where and when you want.  I've heard that accessing these comics works great from a PC or laptop but some people have had difficulties with them on smart phones and tablets.  Here's a hint, for smart phones and tablets download an app called Bluefire Reader that is meant to optimize reading ebooks and you should be in good shape with those devices too.

If you, or someone you know, are a Transformers fan or a connoiseur of comic books this is a Humble Bundle not to pass up.  Don't wait though as this offer is gone as of March 11 - as you can tell by the clock clicking down on the offer's web page.

Pay Whatever You Like to Receive A Huge Bundle of DarkHorse Star Wars Comics on Humble

Don't miss out on this great deal! The Humble Star Wars Comics Bundle lets you pay whatever you like to download a huge selection of digital comic books published by Dark Horse that includes Star Wars Omnibus Volume 1 (the first 26 issues of the Star Wars comics printed by Marvel alongside the movie in 1977), the first four issues of the Star Wars: Empire series, and the Star Wars: Jedi, Crimson Empire, Darth Maul - Death Sentence, and Blood Ties: Jango & Boba Fett mini-series.  Pay $1, $5, $10, $25 whatever you are comfortable with and can afford to purchase these great comics that are provided DRM-free and accessible in multiple formats (CBZ, EPUB, PDF).

To encourage people to spend a little more than a dollar or two there are some incentives for spending a little bit extra.  First of all you can designate some of the money that you spend to be donated in support of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF).  The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book artists, consumers, retailers, and publishers. Since 1986, the CBLDF has managed and paid for the legal defense of individuals whose First Amendment rights are threatened for making, selling or even reading comic books.  One of CBLDF's more recent projects was successfully defending Ryan Matheson, an American citizen who was unlawfully arrested at Canadian Customs and wrongfully charged with importing child pornography for having digital comic books on his laptop computer which contained innocuous manga images.  Ryan's case cost the CBLDF $75,000 to defend.

Secondly, if you spend the average people are paying for the Humble Bundle (which is currently around $10) you will be provided an additional five selections which includes Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1 Blood of the Empire (11 issues),  Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1 Commencement (7 issues), the first six issues of the Star Wars Legacy series, the first five issues of the Dark Times series and the Darth Vader and the Lost Command (5 issues).  Plus if you spend more than $15 dollars total the first six issues of Brian Wood's "STAR WARS" series are included in your bundle.  So if you spend at least $15 dollars you will get a bundle of 89 Star Wars comic book issues with a combined value of $190 if you were to purchase them individually on the Dark Horse digital marketplace website.  The Brian Wood's Star Wars issues provided in the Humble Bundle for example would cost you $10.99 and the Star Wars Omnibus Volume 1 is priced $9.99 if you were to buy them directly from Dark Horse's website today.

I can testify that these are some great selections in the Humble Star Wars Bundle because I already own most of the issues included in this package.  So while unfortunately this deal isn't that great for me, I can say it really is an exceptional opportunity for anyone who would enjoy reading Star Wars comics and hasn't already collected these editions.

Don't wait to take advantage of this opportunity though as it ends on Wednesday, October 29th @ 11 am PT.  For more information, visit: www.humblebundle.com/books

Note if you are planning to view these comics via a tablet, e-reader or smart phone there are a few things you need to do to access your downloaded comics.  CLICK HERE for all the details.