Digital Dark Horse - Stuck at starting gate

Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson has shed light on the delays of the firm's Digital service.

Speaking to ICv2, the exec explained that the new terms and conditions Apple has imposed on in-app purchases led to the platform's postponement.

"We basically were about to launch when they announced their new policy," he said. "Of course that didn't make as much news regarding Dark Horse - on the effect it had on Dark Horse - but certainly one [of] the readers that was rejected got a lot of attention."

Richardson went on to say that the delay has only set the launch back by a matter of weeks. "We have a really aggressive programme. We want to put our stuff up but we want to make it available. We want to make it available at a really great price," he added.

"Some of the challenges that we have with Apple are that we'd like to charge the price we want to charge and we'd like to make sure we have last say in how our material is presented, but we're like everyone else. We need to be in the Apple store, so we'll do what we need to do.

"Dark Horse is into Apple in a big way - we use Macs and Apple technology for our whole company. We have iPods and iPads and iPhones and we're very much Apple reliant. It's not a big deal, it's just going to delay us a few weeks."

A new launch date for Dark Horse Digital is yet to be announced.

Dark Horse Comics win Manga publisher of the year award

The Diamond Comics Distributors Gem Awards provide retailers with an opportunity to honour the publishers and vendors who have produced exciting and unique content to help them grow their businesses over the past year.

This year, dark horse takes home the title of Manga Publisher of the Year!


“2011 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dark Horse Comics,” said dark horse's vice president of marketing, Micha Hershman. “For twenty-three of those twenty-five years, dark horse has published manga, including the two longest-running manga series in the English language: Oh My Goddess! and Blade of the Immortal. We are extremely proud of the quality of our books and their consistent performance in all markets.”

Crime pays for Dark Horse

Dark Horse are hoping crime does pay when they reissue one of the most controversial comic book series in history -Published between the years of 1942 and 1955 by Lev Gleason Publications, Crime Does Not Pay proved to be a turning point in the medium. The series was a favorite target of Dr. Fredric Wertham and other censors and is partially responsible for the creation of the Comics Code Authority—yet it was also an inspiration for Harvey Kurtzman’s reality-based EC Comics.

Mostly written by Charles Biro, the stories in Crime Does Not Pay became known for their lurid detail, confessional tone, and exceptional, violent artwork. The stories often dealt frankly with adult relationships, drug use and sex, in addition to the depictions of physical violence, torture, and murder that were standard for every issue.

Dark Horse’s special edition of Crime Does Not Pay features a selection of stories from across the series’ entire run, as well as an all-new cover in true Crime style by Pete Poplaski and an essay by cartoonist, historian and co-editor Denis Kitchen. Look for this essential collection on shelves July 27

Billy the Kid - the final issue

The four issue mini series winds up with a wild tale which sees the Kid facing off against Jack the Ripper and the Elephant Man.


It's out there now from Dark Horse Comics.