Popular Comics Tracker Threatened with Legal Action

**CBR News** · 11-23-2007, 11:25 AM

Z-Cult FM, the popular BitTorrent tracker for trading illegally scanned comics, has been threatened with legal action from DC & Marvel if they don’t shut down immediately, according to one online report.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/ne...m.cgi?id=12452

**Charles RB** · 11-23-2007, 11:27 AM

Not much of a shocker now Marvel's doing its own online comics thing, is it?

**Michael P** · 11-23-2007, 11:41 AM

Boo-fucking-hoo.

**Xevious** · 11-23-2007, 12:16 PM

that's a bummer.

**DonC** · 11-23-2007, 01:44 PM

And this is a bad thing how?

**Heroid** · 11-23-2007, 01:58 PM

Comic book filesharing is a more complicated issue than music downloading. Recording artists and the recording industry do not stand to gain anything from illegal downloading. With comic books, it's a different situation.

The past twenty years have seen an increase in continuity cross-overs. Marvel and DC very nearly have all of their titles interconnected now, and to understand what is going on in, let's say, Amazing Spiderman, you would have had to follow the significant plot threads of Civil Wars through all of the Marvel books, plus the Civil War title itself. The same can be said of DC and its current company-wide crossover, Countdown to Infinite Crisis.

These events can be fun, but if I have to buy every title that's involved with the crossover, then I'm not going to read any of it. Pure and simple. Tie all of your titles together in one enormous plotline in an effort to make me buy more titles, then I'm simply going to quit reading comic books. Which I did for years.

I admit, I download a few titles a month. Sometimes it's because for some reason my comics shop didn't get my copy. Or maybe a very popular book sold out before I got to the store. Usually it's because I need to keep up with several titles that I don't want to buy and can't afford just to keep up with the several titles I buy and would dearly love to keep buying.

You comic book busisness types can figure out whether my downloading and continued reading is helping you or hurting you. I'm going to keep doing it as long as you keep tying titles together in big crossover events. Stop the crossovers, I'll stop the downloading. Stop the downloading, but continue the big crossovers? I'll simply stop reading your books.

There is a lot of good reading availble very inexpensively or for free online.

**DonC** · 11-23-2007, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Heroid

You comic book busisness types can figure out whether my downloading and continued reading is helping you or hurting you. I'm going to keep doing it as long as you keep tying titles together in big crossover events. Stop the crossovers, I'll stop the downloading. Stop the downloading, but continue the big crossovers? I'll simply stop reading your books.

Honestly, if you're against company-wide crossovers so much, not buying or reading them would send a better message to the companies that do these things. By downloading them you're telling them that you are, in fact, interested in these types of stories, even if you don't want to pay for them.

**Kid Omega** · 11-23-2007, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by Heroid

Comic book filesharing is a more complicated issue than music downloading. Recording artists and the recording industry do not stand to gain anything from illegal downloading. With comic books, it's a different situation.

The past twenty years have seen an increase in continuity cross-overs. Marvel and DC very nearly have all of their titles interconnected now, and to understand what is going on in, let's say, Amazing Spiderman, you would have had to follow the significant plot threads of Civil Wars through all of the Marvel books, plus the Civil War title itself. The same can be said of DC and its current company-wide crossover, Countdown to Infinite Crisis.

These events can be fun, but if I have to buy every title that's involved with the crossover, then I'm not going to read any of it. Pure and simple. Tie all of your titles together in one enormous plotline in an effort to make me buy more titles, then I'm simply going to quit reading comic books. Which I did for years.

I admit, I download a few titles a month. Sometimes it's because for some reason my comics shop didn't get my copy. Or maybe a very popular book sold out before I got to the store. Usually it's because I need to keep up with several titles that I don't want to buy and can't afford just to keep up with the several titles I buy and would dearly love to keep buying.

You comic book busisness types can figure out whether my downloading and continued reading is helping you or hurting you. I'm going to keep doing it as long as you keep tying titles together in big crossover events. Stop the crossovers, I'll stop the downloading. Stop the downloading, but continue the big crossovers? I'll simply stop reading your books.

There is a lot of good reading availble very inexpensively or for free online.

Of all the rationalizations for stealing, this one is my favorite.... just for the sheer absurdity of it.

**Michael P** · 11-23-2007, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Kid Omega

Of all the rationalizations for stealing, this one is my favorite.... just for the sheer absurdity of it.

"It's the company's fault for making you want it so much!"

**Rattlehead** · 11-23-2007, 02:34 PM

Wow. "I have to download so I can keep up with the crappiest comics the Big 2 puts out." Classic.

**Drew Van T.** · 11-23-2007, 02:37 PM

This is a fairly pointless, as Torrents are becoming trackerless - or to be more precise, going towards distributed tracking. If there is no centralized tracker, then there is no tracker to sue.

Money down the drain from Marvel and DC.

**Charles RB** · 11-23-2007, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Rattlehead

Wow. "I have to download so I can keep up with the crappiest comics the Big 2 puts out." Classic.

Why not just look up the summaries on Wikipedia or in any given comic forum when the issue comes out?

**Rattlehead** · 11-23-2007, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Drew Van T.

This is a fairly pointless, as Torrents are becoming trackerless - or to be more precise, going towards distributed tracking. If there is no centralized tracker, then there is no tracker to sue.

Money down the drain from Marvel and DC.

All those RIAA lawsuits have certainly struck fear into the hearts of music downloaders.:rolleyes:

They should focus their time and money on making a digital distribution system that surpasses torrents so that they themsleves can make money off of it. Fighting people in pointless lawsuits will change nothing. Use the digital age to your advantage, embrace it.