Digital publisher ComicFlix looks beyond licensed comics, to consumer market

ComicFlix, a digital publisher that has developed a tech-based solution to convert films into graphics novels, is looking to expand into the consumer business, building on its initial titles available on Kindle which include of The Mask of Zorro, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Perfect Husband. and The Three Stooges.

Founded in 2014 by Olyvia Rakshit, ComicFlix provides content owners with a new way to monetise their existing content, increase engagement and extend the reach of their content – and last year got backing from VC accelerator Anthill to raise further funding.

Using machine learning and video summarisation techniques to render stories from videos, the company says their technology can already convert a full-fledged feature film into a graphic novel within a week. C3 Entertainment, owners of the Three Stooges IP, was the first company to ink a deal with ComicFlix to bring film properties to digital and print comic books, back in 2015.

Based in San Ramon, California with an office in Bengaluru, India, but with engineers across the globe including Europe, the company ran its Project 39 on Indiegogo (currently being update) to offer a new take on old Sherlock Holmes stories, adapting the 1954 Sherlock Holmes series starring Ronald Howard and converting it to 39 separate graphic novels, one for each episode of the classic show – the world’s first conversion of film into comics.

Comic Flix - Sherlock Holmes Sample

Eighty per cent of the conversion work is done by the machine using proprietary software that creates images that look hand drawn from video frames and puts 100 per cent of the dialogue from a film or television show into the appropriate frames with the characters.

There’s still a human element, however: a team of editors and illustrators then validate and edit the art and text as needed, to put a finishing touch on the pages of the graphic novel.

Some sample pages from "Sherlock Holmes: The Case of The Perfect Husband", available on Kindle

Some sample pages from “Sherlock Holmes: The Case of The Perfect Husband”, available on Kindle

ComicFlix is hoping directly to consumers who have shot their own video and would like to convert it into comics, although at present the start-up remains focused on the business-to-business market.

“Consumer engagement will happen after we consolidate the enterprise business,” Guru Pandian, co-Founder of ComicFlix, told FranchiseIndia earlier this month.

“There is a huge business opportunity lying untapped. People are looking beyond making albums on birthdays, weddings or any other functions.”

• ComicFlix “Fumetti” app is available on iTunes and Google Play | Web: www.comicflix.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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