Exclusively Online: Tomb Raider and Witchblade Unite at AnotherUniverse.com
The First-Ever Online Exclusive from the Leading Entertainment Collectible Retail
Manassas, VA - AnotherUniverse.com, the leading online retailer of entertainment collectibles, announced the first-ever online exclusive product, Tomb Raider/Witchblade, on its popular web site. This specialty comic crossover unites the nation's most popular video game character, Lara Croft, with the most popular female character in comics, Witchblade.
"We expect sales to exceed 100,000 copies of this exciting collectible, which is remarkable considering comics average sales of only 40,000 copies," stated Steve Milo, president and CEO of AnotherUniverse.com.
Since Witchblade, from Top Cow Productions, is the #1 female comic character and Tomb Raider, from Eidos, is the #1 selling video game, the decision to sell the comic exclusively online has been extremely controversial among traditional retailers.
"I find difficult to understand why any publisher would spend time, money and energy to produce a comic like this, only to limit its availability and make it more difficult for fans to buy," says Ron Hill, manager of Jim Hanley's Universe, a New York based comic retailer.
Not surprisingly, AnotherUniverse.com's Milo sees the exclusive online offer of the Tomb Raider/Witchblade comic exclusively online differently. "The comic book market has been declining in sales for close to five years. We made a spirited presentation to Top Cow and Eidos emphasizing that selling the comic online would help build a new and rapidly growing selling channel. In addition, selling directly to consumers allows all manufacturers to create an invaluable consumer database. A large database of e-mail addresses provides a cost-effective means of contacting fans directly about future projects, promotions, and special events."
According to Milo, the decision to sell a comic book exclusively online may be the clearest signal to date of the Internet's increasing role in online commerce and the dramatic impact it is having on traditional retail sales. "For the first time products are being offered to consumers exclusively online, completely bypassing the traditional retail outlets. Eventually, you will see other online retailers create work with manufacturers to sell albums, books and video games exclusively online. It's just a matter of time. The Internet will fundamentally affect commerce as we know it."
The Tomb Raider/Witchblade comic may be the perfect pop-culture collaboration to usher in this growing trend in online retail and marketing due to the immense popularity of its two heroines, Tomb Raider's Lara Croft and Witchblade's Detective Sara Pezzini. The ravishing Laura Croft, star of the Tomb Raider video games, has helped make
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