The TfC Ramble is a weekly digest of content from the intersection of technology and comics. Happy skimming!
AI
A lot of news in this video, but I know some users may be particularly interested in the news about ChatGPT’s web crawler and the description of how to exclude your webpages.
NFTs & Digital Collectibles
Weebox.io
“White lists” for NFT drops are one way that creators try to solve the “too many people trying to buy all at once” site crash issue. Typically, the addresses of whitelisted accounts are simply released in a Google Sheet or similar, so it was very cool to see Weebox use a custom chatbot shopkeeper to inform people if an account was indeed on the drop list. Besides being more private, this technique is a good example of engaging potential customers with the project's characters.
Star Atlas
Print comics of these NFT first comics are on the horizon. I’ll post more details as they become available.
See the intro video here: https://twitter.com/staratlas/status/1689395972848365568
Veve.me
Aug. 8 Fantastic Four (1961) #45 The first appearance of the Inhumans.
Price: 6.99 Total Editions: 7,500. (Sold Out.)
Note that sold-out digital collectibles can often be purchased in the marketplace from individual collectors, with the “common” variant covers often selling for below list, and other rarer cover variants selling for many times the list price.
Aug. 10 Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #64 The first appearance of Cloak and Dagger Price: 6.99 (Sold Out) Total Editions: 5,000
nft.dcuniverse.com
Aug. 10 Aquaman (1962–1978) #1 Aquaman’s first self-titled ongoing series. Price: USD $9.99 Total Editions: 5,000 Limit of one per collector.
Collectorcrypt.com
I ran across this video of another pNFT site where NFTs are used to verify ownership of a physical item. (GT: I have not personally used the site yet, so please note that this is not an endorsement of this business. Buyer beware.) While the video creator specifically talks about Pokemon as an example, a quick visit to the site shows that other non-Sports cards are also available. For example, see the screen capture of a search on “Marvel.”
Tech Deep Dive
If you think of the various blockchains as cities, bridges are the routes between them. Recently, a bridge between two chains most suitable for comic NFTs - WAX & Polygon - came online. TL;DR - NFTs created on WAX can now be moved to Polygon.
Introducing the Polygon Bridge: Uniting NFTs on Cloud Wallet!
WAX Blockchain and Polygon Bridge Integration: Pioneering a New Era of Interoperability
Just Charts
While the specifics of marketing expenditures, etc., are notoriously camouflaged in the depths of financial reporting, did you know that disclosing how much an executive of a publicly traded company is paid is a regulatory requirement in the US?
“The federal securities laws require clear, concise and understandable disclosure about compensation paid to CEOs, CFOs and certain other high-ranking executive officers of public companies.” ~ SEC.gov
The example below is for Disney’s Bob Iger for 2022. Because Marvel is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, there is no legal requirement to disclose the executive salaries at Marvel.
For another very interesting example, check out IDW MEDIA HOLDINGS INC. Now that the company has been delisted, this sort of information disclosure will not be available be voluntary.
Source: Salary.com This is a very useful aggregator site. Be sure to check actual filings for the most accurate data.
Writer Accountability
Tomorrow (Sunday, August 13th), I will be at Westcoast Comic Con. I have avoided tabling to date as I only have one comic, but John of Soaring Penguin Press convinced me to come and share part of his booth. Will I make money? Unlikely. It’s a pretty small show. Will I finally learn how to use my card reader under pressure? Here’s hoping. It’ll be a fun learning experience and an opportunity to hang out with some local comic industry friends. If you are in the Vancouver area, I’d love to see you there!
My lovely wife is back at work, so this week was mostly about getting back into the writing flow and prepping for Westcoast Comic Con.
My RFQ was complicated, so they are still working on putting together my “Lump Man” quote. That’s on me. #CashflowShenanigans.
Just for Fun
Sound on. And yes, I am easily amused. 🤣
Also, that fridge door!