Digital Comics

So now that we are officially in the WORLD OF TOMORROW!!! I thought I would talk about something that really started to come to prominence in the last year or so, Digital Comics.



Those few that are unfamiliar with the concept, digital comics are basically an image file of a comic you can download for your tablet computer (also know as an IPad), mp3 player (IPod Touch), ect. (illegal download). The most popular (legal) way to do this is with an app know as comixology.With this app you can find Marvel, DC, and other publishers books. Not all the issues that come out on Wednesdays are found here, and that is one of the issues facing digital distribution. Only select titles are available day and date of release. This is my first point of contention for the digital medium. What is the point if you still have to physically get most of your books? How is that convenient? On top of that most of the digital versions are the same price as the real book, personally I would much rather have the actual book if I am paying $2.99 and up for an issue any damn way.

Another problem I have with this is the fact that, in theory, you would soon not even have to make the trip to the local comic shop. Now I know that in most comic joints around the world there are those in which you don't want to talk to (or smell)

But the other side of that coin is that you now get even less interaction with humans. I have met some really cool folks while I was walking the shelves of comic shops. Plus they have the same general interest as you, which makes meeting a potential drinkin' buddy that much easier.

I also enjoy collecting comics, and I have lots of them. I understand storage problems when it comes to comics. Longboxes never really look good sitting around and they do begin to yellow at some point. That said, I don't think I could ever just read digital comics. I like the tactile feel of a comic or graphic novel, and I love when you turn the page and get slammed with a gorgeous splash page. How do those work on an IPad?

That brings up the price point for a device to read digital comics.
That sucker starts at like $500.00. That is really expensive for a reader. If you are doing other things of course it may be worth it to ya. I however have an IPod Touch now, and it does everything I would use this thing for. Except read comics. There is no way in hell that I would even attempt to read a comic on an IPod.

Now even though I own and love my Kindle, I still buy physical books. If I like a book I read on my Kindle I tend to buy a "real" copy of said book. So I can imagine I would tend to do the same if I ever started reading digital comics. The difference being that books on the Kindle tend to be cheaper than the hard copy, not so with the majority of comics.

So let us know what you think about Digital Comics in the comments and welcome to 2011!