Whether you collect comics for nostalgia, profit, or passion, the emergence of comics as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) last year represented a significant step forward.
Thanks to NFTs, we can truly own digital copies of rare comics as NFTs, adding new dimensions to the experience of being a comic book collector.
As NFT owners, we’re no longer passive collectors, but we can actively participate in the project in various ways. Indeed, we can trade the comic for profit, or hold the NFT to become a part of a greater picture within the project. The value this creates for owners is truly game changing.
Today, we’ve assembled our top 3 NFT projects which have brought comics to the realm of Web3 as NFTs. Each project is unique and offers immersive features, which help us engage with the characters and narrative in meaningful ways.
Thanks to VeVe Digital Collectibles, we’ve seen the legends of Marvel Digital Comics and DC Comics brought to the world of Web3.
Additionally, we have seen the emergence of ‘Punks Comic’ by Pixel Vault, a new and exciting squad of Punks, based on the original CryptoPunks, who have been brought to life in NFT comic format.
Most recently, we’ve witnessed the rise of ‘Satoshi Master of Disguise’ by Blockchain Comics, who leverage new technology and a likable new comic hero for the blockchain world.
All three projects offer unique benefits, so let’s get stuck into those right now.
VeVe Digital Comics
In August 2021, VeVe Digital Collectibles announced it was expanding its product range into the realm of digital comics. Since then, we’ve seen some of the timeless heroes of the past brought to life within this comprehensive application.
Notably, VeVe works with Marvel Comics and DC Comics, among others. Most recently in July 2022, VeVe released ‘Thor #1’ by Marvel, depicting the first appearance of Jane Foster as the mighty Thor.
VeVe Digital Comics has continued the tradition of physical comics having different cover variants. These variants come in five different forms on VeVe: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Ultra Rare, and Secret Rare. With Secret Rare being the rarest, certain comics have seen their floor prices explode on the secondary market, such is the demand for these collectibles.
You won’t know which variant you get until you open your ‘Blind Box’, which adds to the suspense! Should you capture a Secret Rare edition, you can be sure that you’ll be the owner of a highly-coveted digital NFT comic book.
Once purchased in the VeVe app, you can start reading your comic via the VeVe Comic E-Reader and trading in the VeVe secondary market.
What is more, you can experience a VeVe Digital Comic in Augmented Reality (AR) Mode. To experience the comic in AR, simply find a flat surface and follow the steps in the app to experience the wonders of comics in AR.
With such a comprehensive, seamless application, it’s no wonder VeVe has pioneered the NFT space for comics and continues to lead the way.
‘Satoshi Master of Disguise’ by Blockchain Comics
A new hero for the blockchain has emerged on the Immutable X blockchain. Satoshi Master of Disguise (SMoD) is the star of a new comic book series, conceived by Blockchain Comics.
Blockchain Comics has innovated the NFT comic space in several ways, namely, they’ve given birth to ‘Decentralized Publishing’ and a minting mechanism called ‘multi-layer minting’.
Multi-layer minting adds a new dimension to owning a digital NFT comic. This technology allows SMoD NFTs to combine 5 levels of rarity with 6 different features, generating a unique SMoD avatar.
Consequently, every aspect of the comic book’s story is subject to the 5 levels of rarity, with your unique SMoD as the hero of your own comic edition. Variations in artwork and dialogue emerge within the story, depending on your NFT.
As more comics emerge in the series, multi-layer minting presents the opportunity to own extremely rare comics, as the various features and rarities combine. This maximises the scalability of your SMoD NFT.
As for Decentralised Publishing, this utility is realised through the Blockchain Comics Portal, and empowers SMoD holders to be their own publishing house.
Through the portal, digital copies of the comic can be minted and physical copies printed. As a SMoD holder, you retain the IP rights to mint, print and distribute your comics.
Essentially, you control the scarcity of your own, unique comic brand.
What is more, this project gives NFT holders voting rights to decide the parameters of the Blockchain Comics Portal. Acknowledging the community as its backbone, Blockchain Comics plans to put the rules and regulations of Decentralised Publishing to a community vote.
On Thursday 14th July, a presale launch of Satoshi Master of Disguise will be unveiled on the IMX Marketplace and it will be fascinating to see where this journey leads.
Punks Comic by Pixel Vault
The Punks Comic team arrived in May 2021, with their debut NFT comic ‘The Hunt for the Lost Robbies’. This cast of Punks drew inspiration from the original CryptoPunks and were reimagined in a classic comic style by artists Chris Wahl (Marvel and Dc Comics) and Odius.
This collection of 10,000 NFTs awarded holders with an NFT depicting the comic’s cover and a fully-downloadable PDF digital version of the comic.
From the outset, Punks Comic NFT holders were given the option of holding, staking or burning the NFT.
These options presented some interesting choices to the owners, and would certainly add intrigue to the project.
Holding your NFT would ensure that you receive the next edition ‘X Marks The Drop’ for free, which turned out to be a collaboration with Bored Ape Yacht Club.
From December 5th 2021, Pixel Vault opened up a staking period for 24 months, where you could stake your Punks Comic #1 NFT and gain fractional ownership of the 16 original CryptoPunks. This gave holders the opportunity to earn $PUNKS tokens (ERC-20 tokens), which depended on how long they had staked their NFT.
Additionally, holders were given the chance to burn their NFTs over a 14-day period. The rewards of burning a Punks Comic were to receive a Pixel Vault Founder’s DAO (PVFD) token featuring art created by FVCKRENDER.
Owning a PVFD token means “having governance over the DAO and its contents (fractionalization, individual item sales, buyouts, etc) and access to a private Discord.”
In total, 5902 PVFD tokens were minted and this collective, who own a “vault of crypto assets”, votes to decide what to do with the assets.
Finally, the project introduced the ‘MintPass’, which allows existing holders to reserve their mints pre-drop. Also, burning the MintPass unlocks a ‘MetaHeroes Identities’ NFT, which will gain you access to the ‘MetaHeroes Universe’.
This play-to-earn gaming metaverse consists of nine planets “to be governed and owned by their respective DAOs.”
NFT comics are here to stay!
As the metaverse approaches on the horizon, you can expect these NFT comic ecosystems to continue to grow.
Whether you’re a classic comic enthusiast or prefer more modern parodies like Satoshi, you can now purchase an NFT which gives you so much more than just a comic.
Indeed, with the NFT comes unprecedented ownership, incredible features and utilities, including direct access to the project and its community via social channels like Discord.
Comics are ideally suited to the decentralized realm of the blockchain, so if you’re interested in comics, these three projects all offer something for you!
