The Ramble is a weekly digest of news from the intersection of technology and comics.
AI
BackerKit Stands With Creators on AI
While a more accurate headline might be BackerKit Stands with Traditional Creators on AI, it appears that they have taken a very thoughtful and defensible approach to creating an AI policy. The devil will be in the details, especially in implementation.
NFT Drop Update
nft.dcuniverse.com
Oct. 5 DCeased (2019) #1 Price: $9.99 (Max purchase: 2 per account) Total Editions: 4,000 (Still available)
Veve.me
Oct. 3 Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #209 The first appearance of Calypso. Published: 1980 Price: $6.99 Total Editions: 7,500 ()
Oct. 5 Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #15 The first appearance of Kraven the Hunter. Published: 1964 Price: $10 Total Editions: 10,000 (Still Available)
Star Atlas
Oct. 4 Star Atlas CORE Act 2 - Episode 2 The exclusive Magic Eden collectible cover for Act 2 - Episode 2 is on sale until October 16. Price: 0.824 SOL
(~$18.90) Total Editions: TBD - Time Gated
NFT Infrastructure
In my book, I talk about how using cryptocurrency to pay for NFTs is optional. Helio just made that easier to implement for developers. Helio is โA complete suite of web3 payment tools for creators & Internet entrepreneurs. Sell NFTs, subscriptions, e-commerce & digital products with the power of DeFi. Launch a Pay Link in minutes & get paid instantly - now on Solana, ETH & Polygon.โ I will have to test this thoroughly in the future, but this announcement is very promising. This tool set keeps improving.
I love the fact that I can separate my substack reading from the avalanche of e-mails in my inboxes. If you havenโt already tried the app, it is magic.
Just Charts
Do you think weโll ever see $1.55 print comics? Why or why not? I think there is a lot of insight to be gained from asking that question.
Writer Accountability
This week, the cold reality of the cost of producing the art for Lump Dog hit hard, and I nearly pulled the plug on the project in favour of finishing other, less expensive projects first. However, we found a way to move forward that fits my business mantra: โManage for cash flow.โ Unfortunately, it means yet another version of the contract is in the works.
What I am watching
We finished Ahsoka in our house. While I wasnโt a fan of the โfind the thing to find the thingโ start of the story, there was a lot to like here. Sabine Wren, David Tennantโs character and the Noti were highlights for me.
What I am playing
For what is essentially an infrastructure bug hunt for the devs building the AAA game, Iโm finding Star Atlas Labs a lot of fun. All my fleets escaped sub-warp this week (i.e. that bug got squashed) and are actively harvesting the resources required to craft golden tickets.
๐ Canโt spell my last name from memory? Seriously, who can?! ๐
Fortunately, you can now reach this substack via two easier-to-remember domain redirects: techforcomics.com and tech4comics.com.