The Landscape

In the cable TV age of the 80’s, direct sales outlets supplanted News-stand as the distribution method of choice, with independent and international content inspiring the prospective buying and collectible craze. The 90’s see "The Big Two", MARVEL and DC, strike a deal with Diamond distribution to protect their market share by monopolizing distribution... effectively seizing control of the entire domestic market and derailing the migration toward more radical alternative product.
The industry decline begins even while the content evolution is about to start.

In the next 25 years the global environment is completely transformed by the world wide web and the phenomenon of social media. 

 

The domestic comic book industry still made $2.0+ billion between 2021–2024. While comic book content is increasing in demand, fueling TV & Film, the pool of domestic generated comics is dwindling. Industry consolidation has crushed the blossoming independent creator community of the 1990s(1993 saw peak units sold at 800–900 million). And, despite computer, internet and social media revolutions, independents still limp along with no digital formats as effective as the printed comic book to deliver their stories. Cel phones and tablets become the weapon of choice, while under mainstream control, comic books and animation formats remain largely unchanged domestically.

 

Meanwhile, lack luster print comic  production, sales and distribution cause the industry giants to collapse under their own weight. 

As the result, along with the derailing of independent content, stores close, sales crash, massive lay-offs, and the American version of the medium faces obsolescence.​

 

Still, it is internationally recognized that Comic books as a medium is still one the most efficient ways to deliver story. And, for readers it remains one of the fastest ways to consume and get hooked on continuous content. However, Comics, as they are, simply do not work well on screen and existing digital solutions such as WebToons are cumbersome, do not work well cross-platform and leaves this major design challenge for its creators to try and solve that problem for themselves. 

 

With three decades of research & design Dominant Parallel has developed an ecosystem of products that work together to satisfy consumer demand and enable the productivity & reach of creators.

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The DP Method

DP has decided to address the challenge caused by this evolution of the artistic landscape with its own unique design.

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To take better advantage of how an original independent approach fuels the entire multi-media and to present graphic storytelling practically and efficiently on portable electronic media for the new wave of independent producers... DP presents two formats: