So tired of the 'Where do I start?' excuse to reboot everything.

[Choppa]

This only works for people who read comics just for the content. I collect comics. The comic book itself is important to me. I have many times read trades and found issues that were really amazing and then tracked down that single issue to add it to my collection. I love comic books, not just the stories they tell. A lot of times they're stories that I wouldn't even bother with if they weren't in comic books.

Likewise. And I think most comics readers are still also collectors.

Well I don't know what the official numbers are of people who like digital versus paper, but I think the attitude of liking the distribution method as much as the content is a really old-fashioned way of thinking. It sounds like preferring cassette tapes to CD's because you also enjoy fast forwarding and rewinding to get to your favourite song.

Personally, I never thought I would be into digital comics, but ever since trying it I haven't read a paper comic in literally years. In fact it would now seem weird to me to do so.

There are just so many advantages to digital, and with digital comics changing the way we read the stories, it's only going to make that mentality seem more antiquated than it already is.

[destro]

Well I don't know what the official numbers are of people who like digital versus paper, but I think the attitude of liking the distribution method as much as the content is a really old-fashioned way of thinking. It sounds like preferring cassette tapes to CD's because you also enjoy fast forwarding and rewinding to get to your favourite song.

Personally, I never thought I would be into digital comics, but ever since trying it I haven't read a paper comic in literally years. In fact it would now seem weird to me to do so.

There are just so many advantages to digital, and with digital comics changing the way we read the stories, it's only going to make that mentality seem more antiquated than it already is.

Cool if you prefer digital, but you're completely wrong.

You don't own your digital comics, you are just renting them. You are not going to have access to them in 10 years. Actually I find it unlikely that you will have access to them in 5 years.

Meanwhile I still have access to every comic book, CD, record album, cassette, video game, etc.. that I have bought a physical copy of. Unless they break/rip or whatever, with care I have them forever.

Now I realize that's not important to everyone. Some people just read a comic and then never want to read it again. But I'm not like that and I don't think a lot of other people are either.

The idea that everything on earth must be digital and it's the only and best way to do things is just plain wrong. It's better for some things. Not everything. Now offering BOTH versions is a great idea I totally support.

But the idea of physical copies of comics or any other form of entertainment being antiquated is just plain wrong. Why is vinyl as a format exploding right now? A lot of US pressing plants are working to capacity at the moment. It's because there is still a strong audience for physical formats of music and that goes into a lot of other forms of entertainment, basically into anything that people are interested in saving.

A lot of people bring up the dying of newspapers/magazines as an example of the death of the physical format, but that is a terrible example. Most people don't save newspapers to read again. They are meant for one day of reading, then you dispose of it. Therefore that's a great example of something that makes more sense in digital. Some people look at comics as disposable entertainment as well, but most people today who are buying them don't.

[Treqqor]

There are just so many advantages to digital, and with digital comics changing the way we read the stories, it's only going to make that mentality seem more antiquated than it already is.

I just sold a number of recent books on ebay that I have no intention of reading again and made most of my money back.

Can't do that with digital.

[Brannon]

The problem I have with the collector mentality is that it has the potential to put content, or "art", in a secondary position behind stuff that really shouldn't matter from a storytelling perspective. The speculator boom, that more or less ruined the mainstream comic industry, was the fault of collectors and mindless corporations feeding on the collector mentality.

What I like about digital is that I find that I'm reading more comics than I did even when I could easily afford to buy 7 or 8 a month in the late 80's and early 90's. Not to mention the fact that digital comics are much easier to read given that you can increase the size of the pages. This alone is a huge boon for me given the fact that my eyes are only going to get older.

Comics work for me on a laptop, though I still prefer to read books in physical form. This mainly has to do with the fact that there is little need to store thousands of novels on a portable device given the time it takes most people to read ONE book. The graphic art nature of comics just lends perfectly to digital technology.

[PwrdOff]

Digital comics need some guarantee of persistence if they're going to be really viable. You should just be able to download and keep a file rather than accessing it through a service that is not guaranteed to be around in a few years, and any form of DRM is really unnecessary since free "digital" copies are already readily available to anyone who wants to look for them. Alternatively, maybe digital comics can be redeemed for a hard copy at a nominal fee the same way that floppies have a digital code attached.

[CyberHubbs]

Most of my digital collection consists of titles that I found on sale. 99 cent stuff. I don't consider it a huge investment, but sometimes I want to try a book out and not drive to the comic shop to do so. So if I find it cheap on ComiXology, I like to think it works in my favor.

Honestly, I see no reason to believe that it won't be around in 5 or 10 years.

[Choppa]

Cool if you prefer digital, but you're completely wrong.

You don't own your digital comics, you are just renting them. You are not going to have access to them in 10 years. Actually I find it unlikely that you will have access to them in 5 years.

Meanwhile I still have access to every comic book, CD, record album, cassette, video game, etc.. that I have bought a physical copy of. Unless they break/rip or whatever, with care I have them forever.

Now I realize that's not important to everyone. Some people just read a comic and then never want to read it again. But I'm not like that and I don't think a lot of other people are either.

The idea that everything on earth must be digital and it's the only and best way to do things is just plain wrong. It's better for some things. Not everything. Now offering BOTH versions is a great idea I totally support.

But the idea of physical copies of comics or any other form of entertainment being antiquated is just plain wrong. Why is vinyl as a format exploding right now? A lot of US pressing plants are working to capacity at the moment. It's because there is still a strong audience for physical formats of music and that goes into a lot of other forms of entertainment, basically into anything that people are interested in saving.

A lot of people bring up the dying of newspapers/magazines as an example of the death of the physical format, but that is a terrible example. Most people don't save newspapers to read again. They are meant for one day of reading, then you dispose of it. Therefore that's a great example of something that makes more sense in digital. Some people look at comics as disposable entertainment as well, but most people today who are buying them don't.

I think you quoted me by mistake. I never said you owned digital copies of books, so I don't know what you're saying I'm wrong about. I also never said that digital is the best and greatest format available, but that it's probably the best route to go right now given the current trends.

I just sold a number of recent books on ebay that I have no intention of reading again and made most of my money back.

Can't do that with digital.

Lol, I'm not sure what your point is. I was just stating that there are a lot of benefits you don't have with paper comics. I'm sure there are negatives as well, but given the context of the discussion that example is nonsensical. The point Trallis made was that he likes the act of collecting the books, so why would you tout one of the benefits to paper being the ability to get rid of them?

[squashmaster]

So, aside from arguing with the universally accepted definition of the term, you're saying that you don't dedicate a significant amount of time and thought to comics.On a comics website on which you regularly post.OK...Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

No, I am a collector. But I could only consider myself a collector in the past year. Before that I was just a casual reader. It wasn't a "hobby", I just read comics from time to time.There are people who just read and it isn't a "hobby". The endless reboot cycle doesn't effect or matter to them, in fact, its better for them. They may be a small minority, but its the truth. And Marvel and DC will always try to gain new readership, and always use gimmicks and reboots to do that. Often times it works, many times it doesn't.

[Treqqor]

Lol, I'm not sure what your point is. I was just stating that there are a lot of benefits you don't have with paper comics. I'm sure there are negatives as well, but given the context of the discussion that example is nonsensical. The point Trallis made was that he likes the act of collecting the books, so why would you tout one of the benefits to paper being the ability to get rid of them?

I'm just pointing out that with a digital copy, you pay money for nothing to show from it. Money is gone and you have some code somewhere that may or may not be viable later on.

With a printed copy one collects, it's theirs to do WHATEVER they want with it. Keep it, collect it, lend it, cut it up, burn it, sell it, anything they want. Sure, it takes up space. But down the road, if they have no more space, they can potentially get something back for it at least. You have that option. You have a choice. With digital, you don't even have that option.

Just trying to keep the balance.

[Shingen]

You don't own your digital comics, you are just renting them. You are not going to have access to them in 10 years. Actually I find it unlikely that you will have access to them in 5 years.

I'm not saying this to be snarky or troll you, but: do you have any proof of this? Is it written in the Comixology ToS or anything?

[Huthaifa]

I pretty sum up Marvel Now as Marvel doing what it always does when it changes creative teams, just this time with a label and simultaneous promotion behind it. Look at Hawkeye and Captain Marvel. Those could have easily have been Marvel now books especially Capt Marvel. I dont get that worked up by it. Only downside for me is more 3.99 books which does the exact opposite of bring new fans in.

[tony ingram]

Cool if you prefer digital, but you're completely wrong.

You don't own your digital comics, you are just renting them. You are not going to have access to them in 10 years. Actually I find it unlikely that you will have access to them in 5 years.

Meanwhile I still have access to every comic book, CD, record album, cassette, video game, etc.. that I have bought a physical copy of. Unless they break/rip or whatever, with care I have them forever.

Now I realize that's not important to everyone. Some people just read a comic and then never want to read it again. But I'm not like that and I don't think a lot of other people are either.

The idea that everything on earth must be digital and it's the only and best way to do things is just plain wrong. It's better for some things. Not everything. Now offering BOTH versions is a great idea I totally support.

But the idea of physical copies of comics or any other form of entertainment being antiquated is just plain wrong. Why is vinyl as a format exploding right now? A lot of US pressing plants are working to capacity at the moment. It's because there is still a strong audience for physical formats of music and that goes into a lot of other forms of entertainment, basically into anything that people are interested in saving.

Yep. And to bring up a point raised earlier: I don't know about the US, but here in the UK, I've noticed vinyl is making a bit of a comeback. You can actually buy record players again! I think that's great!

A lot of people bring up the dying of newspapers/magazines as an example of the death of the physical format, but that is a terrible example. Most people don't save newspapers to read again. They are meant for one day of reading, then you dispose of it. Therefore that's a great example of something that makes more sense in digital. Some people look at comics as disposable entertainment as well, but most people today who are buying them don't.

I don't think most regular comics readers have regarded them as disposable entertainment for about thirty-five years, to be honest. Not since the rise of the direct market.

[Choppa]

I'm just pointing out that with a digital copy, you pay money for nothing to show from it. Money is gone and you have some code somewhere that may or may not be viable later on.

With a printed copy one collects, it's theirs to do WHATEVER they want with it. Keep it, collect it, lend it, cut it up, burn it, sell it, anything they want. Sure, it takes up space. But down the road, if they have no more space, they can potentially get something back for it at least. You have that option. You have a choice. With digital, you don't even have that option.

Just trying to keep the balance.

That's all well and good, but what does it have to do with anything? If people prefer digital then what difference does it make that you can sell paper versions?