Substack announced the latest group of creators to join its newsletter service.
According to Polygon, the new wave of creators heading to the platform include Grant Morrison through Xanaduum, Tom King and Elsa Charretier through Everlasting Productions, Jen Bartel through JENBARTEL.CLUB, Khary Randolph and Joanne Starer through Glass Eye Studios and Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon through Exploding Giraffe. Additionally, Substack has launched Mangasplaining Extra, a podcast and a newsletter centered on manga that regularly releases different stories from a rotating team of creators.
In addition to these new productions, Substack has announced new series from some of its existing newsletters. After the success of his first release, Blue Book, writer James Tynion IV will begin releasing chapters of his graphic novel The Closet to his subscribers. Meanwhile, writer Kelly Thompson will release the first issue of Black Cloak, drawn by artist Meredith McClaren, through her Substack channel. Finally, Jonathan Hickman will add two new comics to his ongoing project, 3 Worlds/3 Moons.
Substack is a newsletter company that gives creators a platform to release regular content to their followers using free and paid tiers. Creators can choose to create their prices and increase costs based on the incentives they'd like to add, such as merchandise, physical releases and original art. Last summer, Substack began pushing for more comic-related material and hired Amazing Spider-Man writer Nick Spencer to oversee the development of these projects.
Since creators who produce through Substack own the rights to anything they release, the platform has drawn the attention of some of the comic book industry's most popular creators without directly conflicting with their obligations to publishers. Black Hammer co-creator Jeff Lemire, for instance, will release a new digital-first installment through Substack, with a later print release through Dark Horse Comics. Additionally, Lemire can balance his contracts with Image and Substack simultaneously, providing fans with multiple ways to support his work.
Substack is just one of the many ways that comics continue to expand into digital platforms. In 2021, DC announced a partnership with WEBTOON on multiple digital comics. Similarly, Marvel entered a partnership with WEBTOON earlier this year and has expanded its Marvel Unlimted subscription service to incorporate more original content based on its catalog of characters.
Source: Polygon