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Digital Comics

Started by ParamagicFF,

22 posts in this topic

ParamagicFF

ParamagicFF

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Does anyone else get any portion of their comics digitally? If so, how have digital comics changed your buying habits? Have they changed what you actually desire to collect in any way? I was one of those who thought I could never give up the feeling of holding a paper book in my hand, but found the convenience of digital comics (especially for reading in bed at night) to be abig enough perk for me to switch all but my favorite collected books to digital. And due to the instant availability, and frequent sales, I've found that I try many more books than I did when I was strictly print Has anyone else had a similar experience? Does anyone enjoy Marvel's infinite comics or Mark Waid's project?

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the authority

the authority

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I have tried them 3 or 4 times now and I just don't like them as well as print. For some reason they just don't look/feel right on my ipad. I think it is great for those who like them because they are cheaper overall. In fact, Warren Ellis' FreakAngels was free and I read it a while but it left me wanting. I also read a little bit of Crossed on free digital but that book wasn't my cup of tea in print or otherwise. I just can't break my 40+ year old habit lol

 

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ParamagicFF

ParamagicFF

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I don't think I'll ever go fully digital, but I'm honestly surprised by how much I already have. Then again, it could be because I don't have an excellent retailer near me, or one that discounts things often. I have one of those shops that's more than happy to not sell a book, mark it up by 50cents and stick it in back issues forever. Then he complains that he can't sell online because everyone is undercutting him.

 

i like to own my comics

 

This is one of the things that I thought would bother me a lot. However, I've been just fine continuing to get my absolute favorite books in paper, and others digitally to read when it's convenient. Also, it's a known point that comixology has a directive that, should they go under, our comics would be made available to us in some capacity.

 

3D comics killed Digital

 

If anyone but DC had done this, I probably would have gotten them all. Had it been Valiant, I would have been all for it. Fortunately for my wallet, I dumped DC books several months ago when it became clear that their "new 52 plans" of "story based books with long running creative teams" were not lasting, and I didn't feel like those books were worth $3.99 with the random $8 issue every few months.

 

 

Again I'm not advocating digital over print, just curious if anyone supplements.

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aaronc

aaronc

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I am fully digital but only after my 3rd try. Screensize is important for me. The first time I try reading on an iphone, the experience sucks. Tablets, on the other hand, have been a gorgeous experience.

 

I liked them for easy buying, cheaper prices and multiple reads. The last part is especially important for long form story telling like what Hickman likes to do. Trying to refer to earlier issues with physical comics is a pain.

 

A side effect is that reading digital makes me less speculative and tend to appreciate the content for what it is.

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Meta4

Meta4

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Im a hardcore print collector, for sure, but have learned to enjoy digital comics on my ipad very much. I read east of west 1-5 today at the gym, the convenience cant be beat. And airplane travel is now a perfect excuse to catch up on back issues. I also subscibed to digital comics unlimited from marvel. Despite a few annoying glitches and gaps in runs, its an amazing service, like a netflix for back issues. It lets me reread my old marvel favorites and try out series I wouldnt neccesarily invest in, but am glad I get to read. If I like the book, I'll buy a print copy amd cgc it. It also allows me to keep some of my marvel omnibus's new and sealed and just read the issues on marvel unlimited. Never thought I'd be singing the praises of digital comics, but between the convenience and the ability to zoom in on individual panels, I think digital is the most important addition to the format of comics simce the trade paperback.

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Arkham

Arkham

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Reading books digitally actually increased my purchases of physical books. I love reading digitally. It's so much easier..

 

Me too.

 

I buy a HEAP of different titles digitally and get the feel for them. If I love the book, I'll start sourcing physical copies.

 

For me Digital is amazing. Firstly, I don't have a local comic store. The nearest is over 100km's south of me.

 

I love the convenience of being able to carry hundreds of comics around with me on the iPad to read on-demand. I love the way the colours pop off the screen on the iPad. I love that there are no ads to break up the story when you're really getting into it.

 

I don't love the pricing structures or the licensing model. In many ways it is much like "hiring a vhs" at the video store.. only not having to return the video unless the store shuts down. So I'm okay with it... but I wish I got a digital file I can store and keep for the future, rather than rely upon the business/web-service to stay active.

 

I still collect physical floppies and slabs. However, due to reading more titles thanks to the ease of digital access, I now buy more trades for a wider range of titles and am reading far more than I ever have before.

 

Digital really gets 1.5 thumbs up from me. The final half-thumb is stuck up the bum of whoever priced them at physical prices and then said "you don't own it". But hey, half a thumb up the bum isn't too bad. (Or so I've been told).

 

 

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TrinityComics

TrinityComics

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I love digital. I still buy a ton of books but I also find the clarity on my iPad unparalleled in physical copies. Some artists do there work digitally and it looks amazing on the screen. Anybody have an app called Comic Zeal? I read most of my books on there the layout of the page looks better than comixology because it fills up the screen border to border. And as other people said the convenience and reading in the dark are all great. I actually rather read digitally. I recently downloaded Some older stuff and rather than look at it on the old comic paper it looked brand new digitally.. It will never kill physical sales though for me..

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Dr. Balls

Dr. Balls

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I love digital. I still buy a ton of books but I also find the clarity on my iPad unparalleled in physical copies. Some artists do there work digitally and it looks amazing on the screen. Anybody have an app called Comic Zeal? I read most of my books on there the layout of the page looks better than comixology because it fills up the screen border to border. And as other people said the convenience and reading in the dark are all great. I actually rather read digitally. I recently downloaded Some older stuff and rather than look at it on the old comic paper it looked brand new digitally.. It will never kill physical sales though for me..

 

I get all my new stuff digital, and it looks amazing on my iPad and using Comic Zeal. I sold off all my drek and runs over a year ago and went digital, with zero regrets.

 

Eventually digital will kill of print, in my opinion. The infrastructure of printing is so much larger and more expensive than digital, it's only a matter of time until we see one of the Big Three declaring that there will be no more printed comics.

 

It will still be a few years down the road. They have to work on preserving their retailers and giving them a profit margin to work with. Lots of economics need to be considered - but digital is definitely going to overtake print, and printed comics will end up being a novelty, not a necessity.

 

The biggest missing component right now to digital: creating something unique and exclusive that appeals to the collectible nature of hobbyists and readers. What that is, I have no idea. But - someday, they will figure out how to fill that void. When they do, it will be the solidification of the digital era.

 

I work in the printing industry (18+ years), and it's been in a slow downhill slide for a decade. It won't go away overnight, but it's going away - that's for sure.

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the authority

the authority

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I love digital. I still buy a ton of books but I also find the clarity on my iPad unparalleled in physical copies. Some artists do there work digitally and it looks amazing on the screen. Anybody have an app called Comic Zeal? I read most of my books on there the layout of the page looks better than comixology because it fills up the screen border to border. And as other people said the convenience and reading in the dark are all great. I actually rather read digitally. I recently downloaded Some older stuff and rather than look at it on the old comic paper it looked brand new digitally.. It will never kill physical sales though for me..

 

I get all my new stuff digital, and it looks amazing on my iPad and using Comic Zeal. I sold off all my drek and runs over a year ago and went digital, with zero regrets.

 

Eventually digital will kill of print, in my opinion. The infrastructure of printing is so much larger and more expensive than digital, it's only a matter of time until we see one of the Big Three declaring that there will be no more printed comics.

 

It will still be a few years down the road. They have to work on preserving their retailers and giving them a profit margin to work with. Lots of economics need to be considered - but digital is definitely going to overtake print, and printed comics will end up being a novelty, not a necessity.

 

The biggest missing component right now to digital: creating something unique and exclusive that appeals to the collectible nature of hobbyists and readers. What that is, I have no idea. But - someday, they will figure out how to fill that void. When they do, it will be the solidification of the digital era.

 

I work in the printing industry (18+ years), and it's been in a slow downhill slide for a decade. It won't go away overnight, but it's going away - that's for sure.

 

I think you would be lucky to keep 20-25% of the market if there were no printed comics. The market is supported by collectors imo. I would still buy a select few comics at a buck or so each but no way would I personally spend $1000s per year on air. To me it would be like paying for itunes songs when you can listen to Pandora and youtube for free all day long. I know people buy them and I'm not knocking them. I just think they are paying for air.

 

I've also heard that Comixology would keep providing services even if their business went under. I don't question their ethics or intentions but I need to know, If a business can't pay their bills, how can they promise to keep the lights on. I think there will be printed comics as long as there are any comics. 2c

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