The Hobby.....say a 5 year timeline.

[Currin Comics]

So, we know the digital age is upon us......pay your bills online, read your news online etc. etc.. So, will we one day buy a DVD/CD that has a months worth of comics on it? Will there be the January, Spiderman, Thor, Avengers, Hulk or Batman, Superman, JLA etc on on disk? Will the companies just charge a online monthly fee to keep up with the story? Will it be "still art" aka a comic page on your computer screen or will it be animated? WIll we go to collecting disk instead of printed material.....would not a disk format be cheaper than the print media? If so, will not our printed collections go up in value because they are on paper? It may be longer than 5 years, but I don't see the industry dying, but changing the way it does business for sure-Peace CC.

[comicdonna]

I would compare this to taking a food tablet instead of a steak dinner.

[joe_collector]

You know those straight-to-video animated movies that Marvel and DC release?

 

Those, and TV shows/theatrical releases, will fill the void left by the demise of the publishing arm. To put still comics on CD or pay-per-view online is an insane idea, as it will not attract new readers. Old collections for aging nerds, sure, but new stuff will die

[Jeffro.]

So, will we one day buy a DVD/CD that has a months worth of comics on it?

 

I hope not. Electronic comics hold zero interest for me. Give me paper I can hold and flip through

[Dr-Doom]

The amazing art on the covers and the details drawn in the book are what attracted me to comics, if you get rid of those, the new kids of today won't really get to experience seeing 'that' and the whole comic thing may start to die out....just my opinion.

[mackenzie999]

Digital distribution online to tablets (such as iPad) or other screen-based media. Print is a dying medium, appreciated by those who grew up with it but future generations are unlikely to have the same connection to it that we do. Environmental/resource concerns will also factor in, although paper is not the scarce commodity some believe it to be.

 

That being said, comics are static images because that is currently a limit of the paper medium. I've been in the motion graphics industry for 20 years and the rapid acceleration and distribution of the tools necessary for motion is getting faster and faster, as well as more sophisticated. Comics will either adapt or die out slowly.

[maloney414]

We are a LONG WAY from comics being completely digital. I don't know why people keep thinking it's about to happen.

 

Are young kids more tech savy? YES

Is our entire population getting more tech savy? YES

Will there be apps for the iPad and such? YES, already there.

Would these companies be able to attain the same profits digital? NO Absolutely, freakin NOT.

 

PIRACY is the key here. Going digital means reading it electronically is the only way to get it. PIRACY is already running wild on the internet with torrents for new comics already. Marvel and DC would lose huge amounts of money if they stopped printing books and small publishers would die immediately. Plus, new independent publishers would never be able to start up.

 

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

The amazing art on the covers and the details drawn in the book are what attracted me to comics, if you get rid of those, the new kids of today won't really get to experience seeing 'that' and the whole comic thing may start to die out....just my opinion.

The new generation is playing online videogames, I went online to play Call of Duty World at War Zombies and was amazed there was 15,000 people playing and interacting with each other, then I started playing Red Dead Redemption and was blown away how interesting and so much better this game is than any recent comic book I read and now realize there is no way comic books can compete with videogames. I think comic books will still have a future but the market will continue to shrink as more and more people rather play the online videogames. Also let`s thank Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine, Superman, Green Lantern and the original core Avengers for keeping interest in this hobby relevant, imagine if Batman, Spider-man or some of the other key heroes were not around? this hobby would have been on life support years ago. So a big (thumbs u

to Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Spider-man, Avengers and X-men/Wolverine for keeping interest alive all these lean years.

 

[supapimp]

it's turning into a 'WALL*E' world.

[Dr-Doom]

The amazing art on the covers and the details drawn in the book are what attracted me to comics, if you get rid of those, the new kids of today won't really get to experience seeing 'that' and the whole comic thing may start to die out....just my opinion.

The new generation is playing online videogames, I went online to play Call of Duty World at War Zombies and was amazed there was 15,000 people playing and interacting with each other, then I started playing Red Dead Redemption and was blown away how interesting and so much better this game is than any recent comic book I read and now realize there is no way comic books can compete with videogames. I think comic books will still have a future but the market will continue to shrink as more and more people rather play the online videogames. Also let`s thank Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine, Superman, Green Lantern and the original core Avengers for keeping interest in this hobby relevant, imagine if Batman, Spider-man or some of the other key heroes were not around? this hobby would have been on life support years ago. So a big (thumbs u

to Superman, Batman, Green Lantern Spider-man, Avengers and X-men/Wolverine for keeping interest alive all these lean years.

 

well my point is...is how often do you hear on TV about a new comic being released? The creators of COD advertise it a ton, thus the word really spreads out. If Marvel advertised on TV the release of a new comic book, showing artistic images and the like, I bet it would be one of their best selling books in years. Why? Well I think that kids in general ARE into that sort of thing, but many lack the encouragement from friends to 'go to the comic store' and I don't mean this badly, but we comic guys are often sterotyped in 'nerds'.

[mackenzie999]

I wish I shared your outlook but I feel it is naively optimistic.

 

We are a LONG WAY from comics being completely digital. I don't know why people keep thinking it's about to happen.

 

I believe I said they would die out slowly, I'm not sure where you got "about to happen"

 

Would these companies be able to attain the same profits digital? NO Absolutely, freakin NOT.

 

PIRACY is the key here. Going digital means reading it electronically is the only way to get it. PIRACY is already running wild on the internet with torrents for new comics already. Marvel and DC would lose huge amounts of money if they stopped printing books and small publishers would die immediately.

 

Marvel/DC may not be the furture of the comics industry. The music industry has been hit hard by piracy, and the whole distribution paradigm is in flux. This does not mean that music will die out though, but the chain of creation to consumption is rapidly evolving. There is much the comic industry could learn from the mistakes made by the music industry. Hopefully they are paying attention.

 

Plus, new independent publishers would never be able to start up.

 

You couldn't be more wrong here. Startup costs for digital production and distribution are absolutely minimal compared to print production/distribution.

 

[conditionfreak]

With the coming of this electronic age, novels (hardback and paperback books) were deemed to be a thing of the past. Relics that would one day fall apart and be lost forever, except still available in digital media. Their impending dying off was predicted in that hobby also.

 

But being a collector of first edition hardback books, I have watched intensly over the years and I am here to tell you that the paper book business has NEVER been stronger or better. Books on tape or books on electronic book pads will never replace paper books.

 

Until we run out of trees, and even then, there will be "fake paper".

 

Comic books may someday become a thing of the past. But not for the forseeable future. Certainly not in the next forty years. Yet alone in the next five.

 

If you are young enough, bookmark this thread just for laughs, and check it in twenty or so.

[SuperBird]

Knowing people in the industry, i can tell you that that the number of readers is constantly shrinking, and has been for years. The comic publishers have been able to keep profits up by increasing the number of comics those readers buy; hence the non-stop event related cross-company stories.

 

But readership is still steadily declining.

 

In terms of online comics, nobody has a clear idea on how to monetize them, so I do not envision comics publishers going digital. Independent comics artists, however, have more latitude than ever in getting material out there, between print-on-demand and digital comic sites.

 

As for the future of monthly printed comics as we know them? There is no future. I don't know if monthlies as we know them will die in 5 years, 10 years, or whatever- but they will die.

 

Those characters and stories will live on through other media, though. (thumbs u Video games, animation, and even live action (as the cost of special effects plummets) are all great mediums for comic creators moving forward.

[Currin Comics]

The cost issue does come into play I would expect, seems to me producing via digital/electronic would be cheaper than publishing X number of books to print media. Now, understand, I want to walk into my LCS and buy books and back issues etc., I just wonder when the good ole "cost of doing business" weighed against "how much are we bringing in" will finally tilt the scales. Also, as JC somewhat mentioned the direct release DVD movies, the big ticket movies themselves and toys to some extent are still bringing in some cash, but could and will they continue to be able to prop up the print media side of the finacial equation? I will still collect, buy, sale and trade as long as there is a community to do it with.

[SuperBird]

But being a collector of first edition hardback books, I have watched intensly over the years and I am here to tell you that the paper book business has NEVER been stronger or better.

 

Do you mean the current publishing business of new books has never been better, or the book collector community has never been better?

[500Club]

So, we know the digital age is upon us......pay your bills online, read your news online etc. etc.. So, will we one day buy a DVD/CD that has a months worth of comics on it? Will there be the January, Spiderman, Thor, Avengers, Hulk or Batman, Superman, JLA etc on on disk? Will the companies just charge a online monthly fee to keep up with the story? Will it be "still art" aka a comic page on your computer screen or will it be animated? WIll we go to collecting disk instead of printed material.....would not a disk format be cheaper than the print media? If so, will not our printed collections go up in value because they are on paper? It may be longer than 5 years, but I don't see the industry dying, but changing the way it does business for sure-Peace CC.

 

It won't be CD/DVD.... these mediums are losing ground to streaming content and digital downloadable content.

[bronze_rules]

Completely agree it wouldn't be CD/DVD, anything to minimize costs and increase control on the side of the publishers would be desirable (from their POV).

 

I think 5 years would be a bit short to call for the demise of paper based reading material, however, I could see it happening eventually. As I said, it all comes down to minimizing costs and maintaining control from the publisher's side. If they had an unbreakable encryption, then they would benefit enormously. It's also less clutter and garbage on the consumer side.

 

Now, look would happened to the record collectors. Hard pill to swallow, but unless a generation has their hands on a medium, it just doesn't retain its desirability over time.

Can anyone think of a counter case?

[Currin Comics]

Power Records Baby!!!!! Well, they are the only vinyl I still own.

[Cat-Man_America]

Digital distribution online to tablets (such as iPad) or other screen-based media. Print is a dying medium, appreciated by those who grew up with it but future generations are unlikely to have the same connection to it that we do. Environmental/resource concerns will also factor in, although paper is not the scarce commodity some believe it to be.

 

That being said, comics are static images because that is currently a limit of the paper medium. I've been in the motion graphics industry for 20 years and the rapid acceleration and distribution of the tools necessary for motion is getting faster and faster, as well as more sophisticated. Comics will either adapt or die out slowly.

 

Interesting viewpoint and a sad one should it come to pass.

 

I don't mean to sound like the Lone Luddite here, but I'd assert that some type of static image medium is essential to inspire the imagination of the reader. Comics have always been a unique transitional medium between static illustrative art and the written novel; the mind fills in the gaps. Motion graphics is an innovative technology, but it is a poor substitute for imagination.

 

Here's why:

 

Turning the illustrated page into a moving graphic image is like trying to replace a book with a TV show. The mental exercise of imagination is lost by adding motion graphics to static images. IOW, motion would only serve to "dumb-down" comics; that isn't progress (in my book). Don't get me wrong, Ipads, Kindles, e-readers and their future offspring are superb tools. Furthermore, I'm an avid supporter of ALL digital technology, but that said, interactivity has it's own inherent limitations when it fails to engage the mind.

 

Finally, no digital medium can replace hard-copies for collectors any more than a digital copy of a signature can replace an autograph, ...and I believe that collecting is hard-wired into our DNA. In short, motion graphics are an undeniably "kewl" idea, ...on paper, ...but what is left when that paper disappears?

[mackenzie999]

I don't mean to sound like the Lone Luddite here, but I'd assert that some type of static image medium is essential to inspire the imagination of the reader. Comics have always been a unique transitional medium between static illustrative art and the written novel; the mind fills in the gaps.

 

This to me sounds more like a matter of degree. People visualize everything when reading a novel, the only difference between static and motion imagery is how much of the imaginative process is being done for you.