High Moon TPB Vol. 01Media Release -- DC Entertainment announced today that select ZUDA titles will be available through comiXology and the PlayStation®Network. Each ZUDA issue will feature approximately twenty pages of content; the first issue will be available for free and each subsequent issue will be priced at $.99. Effective today, www.zudacomics.com will be shut down. The Collective, the Official ZUDA Blog, will continue to be updated at http://zuda.blog.dccomics.com/ with information about upcoming releases and behind-the-scenes information.

The first issue of Jeremy Love's Eisner nominated Bayou was available at launch for free. Issue 2 is now available through ComiXology and the PlayStation®Network. The first issue of David Gallaher and Steve Ellis acclaimed' High Moon is now available, with the second issue available next week.

Upcoming Zuda titles for the PSP and ComiXology app include John Zito and Tony Trov's Black Cherry Bombshells, Dan Govar's Azure, Andy Belanger's Bottle of Awesome, Sheldon Vella's Supertron, and Adam Atherton's Lily of the Valley.


The Future of Zuda
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
By Ron Perazza

Last week DC Comics took a much anticipated second step into the world of digital publishing with the simultaneous launch of the official DC Comics iPhone/iPad App (powered by comiXology) and participation in Sony's Playstation Network. I say second step because, as most Zuda fans know, we made our first step back in 2007 when DC Comics tasked us with a project that would evolve into ZUDA COMICS. Part webcomics collective, part community, part competition, all experimental; Zuda was an unique and ambitiously creative project, albeit an occasionally clunky one.

Recently we ended our competition format and put submissions on hold. And now, effective today, www.zudacomics.com will be shut down.

Why?

The submissions question is simple: It is the new DC Co-Publishers' plan to expand submissions beyond just Zuda Comics and the Online group into a larger, more comprehensive system that covers all of DC Comics' wide variety of needs, skills and interests. Jim and Dan are very excited about bringing in and developing new talent so look for more information about that from them as plans develop.

As for the site, from here on out, Zuda Comics will be folded into DC Comics' exciting, new Digital Publishing initiative. Expect more Zuda series to be released through the DC Comics and comiXology Apps, the Sony PSP and on both the comiXology website and, eventually, the main DC Comics website as well. You'll be able to read all of your digital editions and manage your entire library in one place, whether DCU, Vertigo, WildStorm or Zuda. The goal there is convergence of technology and convergence of editorial.

In these past two and a half years, I'm very proud to say that Zuda series and creators have had some outstanding critical successes. Ilias Kyriazis' MELODY was nominated for a Friends of Lulu Award for Best Female Character, Andy Belanger got the nod for the Shuster Award for Webcomics, SUPERTRON, HIGH MOON, THE NIGHT OWLS and THE BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS were nominated for a combined total of seven Harvey Awards, including the win for best Online Comic by HIGH MOON, and BAYOU took home a record-breaking number of Glyph Awards, recognition by the American Library Association and is currently up for coveted Eisner Award for Best Webcomic! Clearly the experiment was yielding fantastic creative achievements and now, new fans coming to DC through our apps and through the Sony Playstation Network will get a chance to read what the rest of us have known about since Zuda's launch.

I think if there's one thing that the Zuda Comics community shares is the belief that nothing lasts forever – submissions get rejected, competitors don't win, stories end. We try stuff, hopefully we learn stuff, we change stuff and still the experiment continues. Zudacomics.com may have come to an end today but the award-winning series will live on and without a doubt, the discussion and lessons learned these past two and a half years will continue to inform, shape and fuel the development of DC's future digital plans and initiatives.