Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  This week, Bennett looks at tablet growth and the impact on comics.
 
The other day I found a piece on Forbes online called "What the Proliferation of Tablets Means for Comics" by Ethan Gach.  It's fairly short so you probably could and should go read it for yourselves; however, the bullet points are:
 

• Wal-Mart sold over 1.4 million tablets during its big Black Friday sale.
   
• According to a PBS KIDS survey "Roughly half of parents (54%) plan to purchase or give a tech item to their children this holiday season," with tablets edging out video game consoles 28% to 18%.
   
• Tablets sales are "expected to eventually surpass the combined sales of all desktops and laptops sometime in 2015."  Tablet sales are "expected to fall next year," but "that's likely due to more market saturation than a drop-off in interest on the part of consumers."

 
So, in short, a lot of people will be getting tablets for Christmas this year, partially due to the fact the prices have gone down.  I know this from personal experience; it's almost been a year since I first started shopping around a tablet.  Back then a "cheap" one could be had for maybe $200, this year if you don’t care about brand names one can be had for $100--or less.  On a recent expedition to Sam's Club I saw piles of a 9-inch HD tablet for $99.98, from which I can only extrapolate that not only will a lot of people be getting tablets this year but a lot of people you wouldn't expect will be getting them.  Meaning it won't just be kids and teens but Moms and Dads, as well as old folks such as myself.
 
We tend to stereotype people sixty and over as being comically inept at modern technology but thanks to my day job I know there are a lot of genuine senior citizens who have gotten at least computer savvy enough to master online shopping.  And I know that this is just anecdotal evidence, but the more people like this see tablets being used the more they'll want them for themselves.  I bring my iPad to work and over the course of a couple months an older co-worker's questions about it have gone from "What do you call that?" to "Where can I get one?"
 
So, what does this mean for comics?  It means comic book publishers will have more access to more potential readers than ever before, and better yet, different kinds of comics will have a better chance of reaching these readers.  The Forbes piece also focused on the comiXology Submit portal which allows independent creators to not only publish their comics but it puts them on the same footing as any title done by the world's largest synergistic youth entertainment conglomerates.  The way things were back in the Golden Age of the Direct Sales Market, the 1980s, when instead of depending so heavily on licensed comics we had comics like Cerebus, Love & Rockets, Eightball, Flaming Carrot, Dork, etc.  Way back in 2009 (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--It Was Fun While It Lasted") I wrote about the "death" of independent comics, but I also held out hope that the Internet could be the solution.  Against all odds I seem to have been right; it's clear that when it comes to digital comics we're way past the beginning...
 
A couple of weeks ago (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--Have You Seen This Comic?") I commented on such limited edition "Holiday" flavored food items as pumpkin flavored tortilla chips and cranberry infused sodas.  Well, joining them is a special line of Pringles that includes Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie Spice, White Chocolate Peppermint and Cinnamon & Sugar.  When it comes to unusual foods I'm very much in the "I've got to try that" camp, but I believe I'm going to have to draw the line at desert Pringles; it's as if they've given up all pretense the product has anything to do with potatoes.  It's a shame, especially when Turkey & Stuffing flavor might have been a better bit for the brand.
 
I had absolutely had no interest in seeing Disney's Frozen, Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen reworked until it's essentially unrecognizable (to quote its producer Peter Del Vecchio, "There is snow and there is ice and there is a Queen, but other than that we depart from it quite a bit"), and the wacky talking snowman sidekick certainly didn't help.  Then I saw a clip of "Let It Go," sung by Idina Menzel on YouTube and was, and there really is no other word for it, gobsmacked.  Supposedly the studio is releasing it because Disney wants it to be nominated for a Best Song Oscar, but if so it's had the unexpected consequence (if I can believe the online comments I've read) of encouraging adults to see it.  I know I was encouraged.  I'll be seeing it this weekend.
 
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.