No problem. Great answer to the other question. I will che k into that. Thanks!
PMs will be great for this kind of communication if we eventually get that feature. Thanks again.
Digital. Here’s my perspective (it’s a long read):
I was big on print with a smidgen of digital here and there (free books) up until earlier this past spring. The comic store I’d been a regular at for the past few years got to be boring and lost some of its pop and pizazz. That and a burgeoning interest in buying new single issues digitally led me to digital and away from my comic store.
At first, I was only going to buy new singles digitally and keep all back issues and trades/GNs print only. That only lasted a couple of months as the awesome sales on digital trades were too good to pass up, as was the pricing and ease of obtaining digital back issues.
My print fix now comes from back issues that aren’t yet available digitally, omnibuses ( I rarely buy them, but there are a couple neat ones coming out next year I might get) and the Walmart 100 Page Giant comics. Those are actually the only new print books I’ve bought since switching to digital, they’re alot of fun.
I’ll always love print and comic stores but digital just has so much more going for it. Such as availability. With digital, there are no shortages, no missed pulls by store employees, no pull list upkeep mistakes by employees, no surly, know it all, look down their nose at you employees, nothing sells out, you can buy your books at midnight on Wednesday or whenever, you don’t have to wait on pre-orders that may not come in by their release date, you don’t have to wait on special orders to come in, don’t need to have a comic store near you or the time necessary to go to a good one if there isn’t one by you, and you don’t need to adjust your schedule if a store’s hours aren’t convenient for you. There’s also the fact that digital has a gigantic availability edge over print. For print there’s what, a couple thousand comic stores in the world along with online mail order, subscriptions on select titles from select publishers plus other outlets like bookstores and select Gamestop stores that sell new single issues. Only so many people have regular access to those outlets for new material; people the world over have access to digital at any moment via the apps and websites that sell it. Far more people have smart devices, computers and tablets that allow instant access to digital than have a reliable print outlet for new comics.
Then there’s the convenience angle. Alot of the availability points apply here too, but there’s also the included variant covers, the fact that digital takes up no physical space like boxes of print books do and you don’t have to lift heavy boxes and thumb through lots of comics to find a certain book, series and/or storyline (this comes from someone who likes to do that up to a certain extent); just a few swipes on the screen and bingo, you’re all set.
Then there’s pricing. Alot of books drop in price after they’ve been out for a while (as I only read DC, I don’t know if this applies to the other publishers). I don’t know if this is still a current thing in the Rebirth era but it applies to New 52 and before for many titles. Plus, you can buy tons of Golden and Silver Age books whose print editions are ridiculously out of our price range for a couple bucks or less. Yes, I understand the digital edition isn’t how the book was originally published, has no collectibility and no resale value but I don’t care. I want to read comics. I have no interest in investing in them.
Digital books offer a substantially more immersive experience too. When you read them on large TV and computer screens it’s amazing. I like Absolute Editions just fine but cool as they are, they pale in comparison to reading any digital book on a good sized monitor.
So yeah…digital. That’s my choice and I’m stickin’ to it.
2 Likes
As someone who collected for 30 years, the magic of physical comics can not be replaced. BUT digital does come close. They are cheaper, take up less room, don’t get damaged and won’t deny reading a panel by panel version of the comics on my TV is definitely a fun way to read that does enhance a lot of the comics.
2 Likes
One, I’m a soldier so I move around a lot, and two I have young kids. Therefore, in order to keep from having a heart attack everytime my two year old decides to try to climb the book shelves as well as worrying if the moving company is treating my comics the right way I usually go for digital. Its just easier to sleep at night that way, lol.
1 Like
I am 54 years old. I collected comics off and on a good part of my life. About five years ago I decided to unclutter my life. I sold nine long boxes of comics for a total of $250. I travel a lot and like to read comics as well as books. It is super convenient having it all on my iPad. No more lugging heavy books around. Also the colors, to me, seem more vivid on the digital comics.
I love physical books and will always get a Justice League title as a physical book. However, digital is more convenient to carry a lot around to read.