It's official -- select Top Cow back issues are now available on a download-to-own basis via IGN's Direct2Drive digital retail store.  The move to digital distribution via high resolution, full color PDFs, which was announced at the New York Comic Con (where it was first erroneously reported that online comics would be published simultaneously with comic shop releases and sell for the same $2.99 price), is now in full swing and by the end of the year Direct2Drive will have over 400 Top Cow issues available, though none of the downloadable issues will be more recent than a year old.  Filip Sablik, Top Cow's V.P. of Sales and Marketing told ICv2: 'Our goal is to support the direct market print sales by offering only backlist items.'

 

Initially the per-issue cost of the Top Cow online offerings will be $1.99, which is roughly the cost the consumer would pay for an issue when it is published in a collected trade paperback format.  Sablik told ICv2: 'Like other download services the price may go up a little or down a little depending on the individual product but for now that is the average price.'