Suvudu Universe

The Bunker, written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Joe Infurnari, launched on comiXology in August. Since a new issue has come out each month, there are now four installments, at 24 pages (or more) for $1.99 each.

It’s a fascinating series, with the premise that five friends gets letters from the future prophesying a coming disaster that destroys the world. They’re about to bury a time capsule, but instead, they find an underground bunker, with notes from their future selves that throw their current lives into disarray by telling them what role each of them has in the apocalypse. The series uses science fiction to explore questions of identity and destiny, revealing the group’s secrets along the way.

Now, the series is coming to print in February from Oni Press. The Bunker #1 will include the first five digital chapters, reformatted to 48 pages, for $3.99. Some of the existing pages will be “updated and redrawn”, as well as being recolored from its current monochrome, and the series will continue in print.

The press release doesn’t go anywhere near this concept, but it started me wondering if print is still seen as “better” or “more real” or more of an achievement than having a successful digital series. I think most of us agree that the audiences tend to be different, with people preferring one or the other for a variety of reasons. Yet by talking about the series being “updated” for print, and by mentioning it will continue in print (instead of saying it will continue in digital with print reprints), I got an impression the series was graduating, in a way, or at least transferring its area of emphasis. Either way, now that I’ve tried it, I’m ready for more.

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