Digitial vs Print?

[jericko]

I am sure this has been discussed before, but wanted to get some opinions on this topic? I am torn between the two,

I travel a lot for my job, and have a 10" tablet and recently bought some digital comics while on a business trip to kill some time sitting in airports. I found it to be a pretty good experience. My issue is buying these, I really do not own anything, and I am not supporting my Local Comic store which has been really good to me. On the flip side, in the 8 months I have been reading, I have already filled a short box and a half of comics I doubt I will ever read again. I am stuck in that mentality to keep the comic in pristine shape, and bag and board when finished. I just enjoy reading the stories, and do not consider myself a collector.

What do others think regarding topic?

[Dark-Flux]

I buy both. Both have obvious pros and cons but i dont think digital comics have truly reached their full potential yet. Marvels Infinite comics initiative is a step in the right direction. The experience is also a lot better on a tablet.

Digital comics should be cheaper though.

[Hatiko]

I start to think of it how tv and movies vs theatre and live on stage things, there are pros and cons to both, and both can deliver a different experience, it's just that digital comics haven't reached the point where they deliver a different experience yet and since I don't have any devices that can utilize these besides a pc (my phone is still a flip-phone from when Cingular was still around, so any "new" tech is out of the question) I just buy physical, but I do agree with the space issue, although I don't feel any need to keep these in good condition, although I don't destroy them on purpose.

[Rory426]

I live in the UK and I don't have a comic book store that close to me so I order my comics from website that offers a subscription service and delivers them to my house. I prefer to do it this way, because even with the iPad app I prefer looking at a full page in print than on a screen. However, for some less popular comics that the website I order from doesn't have, or didn't have when they started or whatever, I use Comixology on the iPad. Atomic Robo and Near Death are two that I've been following on iPad, for example. I also always check out the sales on Comixology.

[mistergoodman]

in the 8 months I have been reading, I have already filled a short box and a half of comics I doubt I will ever read again. I am stuck in that mentality to keep the comic in pristine shape, and bag and board when finished. I just enjoy reading the stories, and do not consider myself a collector.

This are pretty good reasons to go digital, at least for comics that you don't expect to reread. Personally though, I'm fairly certain that the big companies will at least continue to provide support for purchases through their own branded apps. I've actually gone completely digital and I love it.

[capuga]

I've said this in another thread, but I absolutely hate reading comics digitally. The day that comics go 100% digital is the day my 80+ titles a month pull list drops down to about 5 titles that I just can't live without. It's a horrible reading experience. You either get a smaller view which takes away from the art and readability (particularly on two page spreads) or you go guided panel which is just terrible. You lose the overall impression of the page and the artists' layout by only looking at one panel at a time. It really detracts from the art and experience for me. And that's reading it on my computer screen, I can't even imagine what it looks like on something like a smart phone. It's a lower level of experience for me and would pretty much completely kill what is now a hobby that is a huge part of my life and spending.

[Last1oftheJedi]

To paraphrase Beast from Wolverine and the X-men (tv), "Who doesn't love the feel of a good (comic) book in thier hands?"

[needler420]

What can I say about digital. Without going in to too much detail anyone who likes digital is doomed for the worst paper cuts in life. Its true.


Crap I meant digital not print accident. Digital sucks.

[nosocialize100]

I read comics in print for a good 15 years. Just started comixology 4 months ago and love it. I use a webbrowser. I just started reading on an ipad yesterday and the experience is a little bit better on the tablet.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Love them both but digital is what I'm using nowadays and it's glorious!

Plus, the new ipad, nice size to read comics plus higher resolution.

[nosocialize100]

I have to say I prefer the space I save and the understanding I won't have to worry about moving heavy boxes.

Also you save trees!

No resale value though.

[Henry Jones Jr.]

I buy mostly digital at this point. My plan is to go completely digital sometime this summer. For this reason, I hope that Spawn starts releasing digital soon. I own every issue of Spawn and would like to continue, especially since the series is quite good right now.

[nosocialize100]

I'm surprised every single comic isn't digital same day as print. You can reach more folks, there's no shipping or cost to print...the only worry is it's technically easier to steal.

[jericko]

For those that say reading Digital on Laptops/PCs or a smartphone sucks, I 100% agree. But on a 10.1" tablet, its actually pretty nice. You can see the entire page at once without scrolling, I do agree 2 page spreads are a bit more difficult. I do like paper more, but digital just fits my lifestyle more. I can load my tablet up and while sitting in airport/hotel I have access to almost any comics I want. I am traveling all next week for work, and I am going to buy some digital comics I have not had a chance to check out yet.

[nosocialize100]

For those that say reading Digital on Laptops/PCs or a smartphone sucks, I 100% agree. But on a 10.1" tablet, its actually pretty nice. You can see the entire page at once without scrolling, I do agree 2 page spreads are a bit more difficult. I do like paper more, but digital just fits my lifestyle more. I can load my tablet up and while sitting in airport/hotel I have access to almost any comics I want. I am traveling all next week for work, and I am going to buy some digital comics I have not had a chance to check out yet.

Nice word choice Jericko. Lifestyle. It definitely fits better, especially how fast it is to get the comics to your eyeballs.