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You are here: Home / Comics Guides / Digital Readers / Get Your 50 Free #1 Issues From Dark Horse Comics Right Now!

Get Your 50 Free #1 Issues From Dark Horse Comics Right Now!

April 24, 2013 by Dave Leave a Comment

Fresh off the heels of Marvel’s 700 free #1 issues, Dark Horse is getting in on the digital giveaway bonanza. For their 2 year anniversary, the alt-comic book publisher is giving away 50 free #1 issues from their digital store.

Don’t worry – Dark Horse planned ahead enough to prevent their giveaway from crashing the internet. In fact, they may have perfected the digital giveaway for everyone.

Radiohead
Radiohead (Photo credit: PaKKiTo)

I wrote recently about the impact of a freemium marketing campaign in comics, mostly in terms of Marvel’s recent slew of giveaways. Ultimately, I’m of the opinion that a mass giveaway is a great strategy for Marvel, but I did wonder what impact this might have on the smaller comic book publishers of the world.

In a lot of ways, it’s a similar situation to what we saw in music with Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails in 2008. Here’s Radiohead, the biggest respectable rock band in the world, telling fans and passer-bys alike that they can just have their new album.

It was a revolutionary use of digital in the music industry, and likely a brilliant move for Radiohead. Again, this is a tremendously accomplished, critically acclaimed band that has had financial and commercial success. A free album – in this case giving fans the option to pay a recommended $5  – might just expose more new listeners to Radiohead, ultimately leading them to the band’s back catalog.

 

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For a new band without Radiohead’s pedigree, though? There’s a concern that giving it away might kill their chance to make a living. Obviously, as fans, we love giveaways. But when free becomes the product expectation, it’s just harder to convince new consumers to penny up later.

This is the challenge Dark Horse faces. Celebrating their 2 year anniversary, they just don’t have the established pedigree of a Marvel Comics. Can they really afford to giveaway such a bulk amount of comics?

I think that they can, and already I’m seeing ways in which this promotion will increase purchase of digital and paper Dark Horse comics in the near future.

English: Dark Horse Comics letters.
Give it away, give it away now

While there are some fairly obvious differences between the music and comic book industries, it’s worth pointing out that giving away a single #1 issue clearly sets up a reader for a future purchase. Giving away a whole album – likely a year (or more) of work – might set up future concert tickets, but with a #1 issue you can’t possibly complete the story without the next issues.

With that in mind, I can already see some quick wins for Dark Horse. While I think that reading Mind MGMT in digital form is borderline heresy, it’s also going to expose a lot of readers to one of the best comics of 2013.

The other fantastic move by Dark Horse? You can download all 50 issues in one bundled click – and then they’ll actually appear as individual issues in the Dark Horse app. This saves a lot of annoying “which one do I want” discussion, and lets you just quickly enjoy the giveaway. To go do that now: click here. The promotion ends April 26, 2013, so don’t wait too long if you’re interested.

On that note, here’s a quick look at the Dark Horse giveaways, and the issues I’m most excited to read (or know I love) in bold.

47 Ronin #1
Abe Sapien: The Drowning #1 image Abe Sapien: The Drowning #1
Alabaster: Wolves #1 image Alabaster: Wolves #1
Aliens: More Than Human #1 image Aliens: More Than Human #1
Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War #1 image Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War #1
Angel & Faith #1 image Angel & Faith #1
Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 image Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1
Baltimore: The Plague Ships #1 image Baltimore: The Plague Ships #1
Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities #1 image Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities #1
B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth #1 image B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth #1
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #1 image Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #1
Classic Usagi Yojimbo #1 image Classic Usagi Yojimbo #1
Colder #1 image Colder #1
Conan #1 image Conan #1
Conan the Barbarian #1 image Conan the Barbarian #1
Creepy #1 image Creepy #1
Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery #1 image Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Myst…
Dark Horse Presents #1 image Dark Horse Presents #1
Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1 image Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1
Dragon Age: Those Who Speak #1 image Dragon Age: Those Who Speak #1
Eerie Comics #1 image Eerie Comics #1
Empowered Special #1: The Wench with a Million Sighs image Empowered Special #1: The Wench with …
Exile to Babylon -- Part 1 image Exile to Babylon — Part 1
Ex Sanguine #1 image Ex Sanguine #1
Ghost #1 image Ghost #1
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1 image Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1
House of Night #1 image House of Night #1
King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel #1 image King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel #1
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus #1 image Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus #1
Mass Effect: Redemption #1 image Mass Effect: Redemption #1
Michael Avon Oeming's The Victories #1 image Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories #1
Mind MGMT #1 image Mind MGMT #1
Number 13 #1 image Number 13 #1
Orchid #1 image Orchid #1
Predator: Prey to the Heavens #1 image Predator: Prey to the Heavens #1
Ragemoor #1 image Ragemoor #1
Serenity: Those Left Behind #1 image Serenity: Those Left Behind #1
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #1 image Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost C…
Star Wars: Empire #1 image Star Wars: Empire #1
Star Wars: Legacy #1 image Star Wars: Legacy #1
Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 image Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1
The Answer! #1 image The Answer! #1
The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 image The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1
The Creep #1 image The Creep #1
The Goon #1 image The Goon #1
The Guild #1 image The Guild #1
The Massive #1 image The Massive #1
The Occultist #1 image The Occultist #1
The Strain #1 image The Strain #1
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1 image The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suit…

Filed Under: Digital Readers Tagged With: Dark Horse Comics

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About Dave

Dave is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Comic Book Herald, and also the Boss of assigning himself fancy titles. He's a long-time comic book fan, and can be seen most evenings in Batman pajama pants. Contact Dave @comicbookherald on Twitter or via email at dave@comicbookherald.com.

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