Amidst the furor of the burgeoning Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market, Omar Spahi, comic book artist and executive producer of the 2019 Netflix film Code 8, has released the complete 28-pages of his indie comic Xenoglyphs #1, the first issue of his Xenoglyphs series, as a unique NFT on Rarible.com. While it's not the first time a comic book has been released in such a format, as José Delbo released a limited run of 250 NFT copies of his own self-penned comic last year, this will be the first time a full comic book will be released as a 1 of 1 collectible, marking a new milestone for NFTs and the comics medium.
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are, simply put, traceable digital files that cannot be duplicated due to blockchain technology, leading to their recent rise as a trending commodity in the crypto-art community. This trend hit the comics industry with a bang when Delbo, who had been making a mark for himself in the NFT community throughout 2020, managed to net $1.85 million in the cryptocurrency “ether” (ETH) earlier this month selling artwork of DC Comics-owned characters such as Wonder Woman. The success of the auction, paired further media attention following artist Beeple’s $69 million NFT sale at a Christie’s auction, later prompted DC to issue a notice to its artists warning them against selling likenesses of their characters, adding fuel to the fire and speculation over the uncertain future of NFTs and their impact on the industry.
Spahi said the authenticity afforded by the emerging system was the key to his decision to engage with it, saying NFTs work “perfectly” with the comic creation process. He also alluded to the benefits the system had on those who work on comics in sharing the profit. “With Rarible, they've incorporated a system that allows creators to retain royalties in a meaningful way, not just upon initial sale, but through the re-sale process as well”, he told Screen Rant. “That amount of creator participation has never been possible in this type of digital art before.”
While optimistic about the NFT market, saying it would be “a meaningful distribution platform that will shape the comic book landscape moving forward,” Spahi was quick to point out that, excitement for the new market aside, he did not believe that the digital NFT market could ever replace the direct market when it came to getting the word out for new creators. “It's another platform to sell stories and art like Kickstarter, your local comic shop, or a big box retail store like Barnes and Noble,” he said, adding that “[new] creators still need to build their audience and focus on telling meaningful stories to attract audiences.”
Looking into the future of this newly emerging market, Spahi said that he believed this was only the beginning for the emerging market. “NFTs are here to stay,” he said, “and they're only growing in value.” Xenoglyph #1, entitled "The Great Pyramid of Giza Part 1," was originally published in 2013 written by Omar Spahi with art by Peejay Catacutan.