Digital Comics vs. Traditional Comics...which is better?

[charl_huntress]

I don't know if there is a thread for this already (sorry if there is), but I was wondering how people feel about digital comics vs. traditional comics.

I recently purchased an iPad and decided to buy one of the comics from the DC app. I was blown away! I don't know if DC made a change to their software, but the comic read much easier then previous digital comics I have tried. Yet, I'm still undecided on how I feel about digital comics in general. In addition to still liking the comic book store experience, every now and then... I don't know. Digital comics feel wrong somehow..or maybe I'm just old fashioned...lol

Thoughts?

 

[flickchick85]

I personally wouldn't be into comics like I am now if it weren't for digital comics.

I was a big fan of superhero cartoons and movies growing up, but never touched a comic. Then, a few years ago in college, some friends gave me some Alan Moore GN's to read, and I loved them (particularly Watchmen). But still never picked up any regular comics. I read a few digital comics in the intervening years, but it wasn't until I got my iPhone last year and downloaded the ComiXology app on a whim that I got hooked. And I mean hooked.

The thing is, I've never been in a comic book shop at all, and I still have no particular desire to seek one out...but I download and read comics every week (not just on my phone, but on my laptop as well). I can't get enough of 'em. Every time I read about some great series or arc on these boards that I haven't read yet, I immediately just hop on over to ComiXology and buy it. It's just so damn convenient. So I've gotta give a big YAY for digital comics. Without them, I'd still be basing my entire knowledge of Batman, Superman and Spidey on their animated series, lol.

 

[Arach Knight]

Honestly, storing and maintaining paper comics is a huge pain. I get tired of buying long boxes, bags and boarss. I suppose if I were a collector, Iwould care more. I a, only interested in the stories, therefore I am most concerned with the convenience. Prices drop quickly for old back issues. I just bought each issue of the Spider Island saga in ASM for $1.99 a pop. I am fortunate enough to be no more than thirty minutes away from five different comic book vendors, including 4 Color Fantasy and Frank and Son Collectible Show (which itself houses dozens of smaller vendors that have their own brick and mortar locations). Still, I get tired of the drove, tired of pull lists, tired of paying tax. Digital comics have been a huge win for me. I likely would not be reading anymore if not for digital comics.

 

[charl_huntress]

I personally wouldn't be into comics like I am now if it weren't for digital comics.

I was a big fan of superhero cartoons and movies growing up, but never touched a comic.

That is very interesting. I started with comics. My brother used to read them and leave them lying around....EVERY WHERE. I saw some very cool art one day on the cover of....LOL....a Spiderman comic and was hooked. Though, I was a Superman fan from way back, so I quickly ditched Marvel and came home to DC. I still love DC and think they are the best.

The thing is, I've never been in a comic book shop at all, and I still have no particular desire to seek one out...

Convenience is a big thing. Though, you should try the comic book store experience....at least once I still go to the comic store because it's one of the few places I can buy anime and Kung Fu flicks. My comic book guy used to bag all my favorite reads, so I didn't have to search, and I have had some of the best nerdy convos at the comic book store. t:

Honestly, storing and maintaining paper comics is a huge pain. I get tired of buying long boxes, bags and boarss.

Still, I get tired of the drove, tired of pull lists, tired of paying tax. Digital comics have been a huge win for me. I likely would not be reading anymore if not for digital comics.

This is my biggest issue. I'm in the process of buying a house, so I'm getting ready to move. I had NO idea how many comics I had accumulated over the years. I don't want to throw them away because I have some really great issues, but after buying a few of my favorites on the iPad I almost want to start replacing them like I did when I upgraded to blu-ray. Yet, that is expensive and some have not been digitalized.

I do understand about the drive. I am loathe to drive anywhere. I have actually considered having my groceries delivered. Though, I live in California where traffic is a daily grind.

 

[Arach Knight]

I can relate. I may not be buying a home (yet), but I have simply had to move one too many times in the past four years; over seas, at home and on campus. I have a new appreciation for mobility. I use an iPad for mobile computing, a Mac Mini for my home computer. I convert my DVDs to digital formats using Handbrake. The less I have to shuffle around, the easier things are for me. Comics have simply fallen in line with that need. i love digital books.

 

[charl_huntress]

Yes, I have the iPad, but I have a Nook for my reading needs. I haven't lugged around a book since buying my Nook.. Unfortunately, Barnes and Nobles hasn't really expanded their digital comics and their isn't yet a Nook app...which sucks.

 

[Arach Knight]

I thought I remember there being some fuss about B&N pulling DC trades pff their shelves because B&N wanted to push more digital books. Didn't that end with a new digital deal, or am I mistaken?

 

[charl_huntress]

I think the deal was with Marvel, but I'm only saying that because I cannot find any DC comics on my Nook.

I have been looking for an App, but there isn't one. It could be because I have a Nook Color and not the Nook tablet. Though, I haven't checked in a while. I'll look again tonight. As far as the Nook store is concerned, the last time I looked there the only comics they had were Marvel. No DC whatsoever. The DC app on my iPhone and iPad is the only place I can buy DC comics.

 

[[rono]]

Digital comics will (hopefully) do what the newsprint $0.75-$1 comics used to do for the industry, in the early days: appeal to kids, sell more copies, widen readership.

Provided the industry advertise them enough, and publish good stories.

 

[Baramos]

I think the digital comics need to have a steep price drop, otherwise there's little appeal to me. I'm thinking .99 honestly. Even if that is the price after a month or whatever, that would be better than 1.99 after a month.

Comics are an odd beast. It takes so long to draw them and color them that that is the reason for the high cost, and yet it's difficult to justify the cost versus the fact that they are only around 22 pages of actual comic panels when you remove the ads. Digital distribution should have brought the price down to .99 since there is no longer the cost of printing, physical distribution, etc. but presumably the big two are in such dire economic straits that they need all the profit they can get, so the just pocket whatever savings came their way from going digital. That has to be the only explanation why the price is the same for both the print version and the digital version.

 

[charl_huntress]

You bring up a good point about the price. I just recently found DC comics on my Nook color. Apparently they were added sometime recently, but the price of some of these titles is a little...off-putting. Plus, there is a clear discrepancy between comics bought via the iTunes app. I just recently bought HUSH for about $5 via DC iTunes, but the same comic $14.99 through B&N. Doesn't make any sense...

 

[Lord Fanny]

It's worth keeping this in mind, just because they no longer have to worry about printing costs, doesn't mean they don't have to worry about something else. I mean, do you guys think that Comixology, Graphic.ly, or all of these other websites put these comics up for free? Not to mention the cost of bandwidth and such. I don't pretend to know what these costs are in comparison with printing costs, but I know they exist, so I don't know if full comics for .99 is as feasible as we like to believe.

Anyway, I'm growing a little more on digital comics. I got a Kindle Fire recently and have been using it to read comics. It was kind of odd, at first, truthfully, but I quickly got us to it. I even sideloaded the Dark Horse app and have been reading some comics from them. I still think, when push comes to shove, I prefer print, but I could see myself switching to digital more full time at some point.

 

[Duke]

Personally. I like the innovation of digital comics, however I like to handle "real" comics, flip through the pages, plus just grab & read whenever I want.

 

[Arach Knight]

It's worth keeping this in mind, just because they no longer have to worry about printing costs, doesn't mean they don't have to worry about something else. I mean, do you guys think that Comixology, Graphic.ly, or all of these other websites put these comics up for free? Not to mention the cost of bandwidth and such. I don't pretend to know what these costs are in comparison with printing costs, but I know they exist, so I don't know if full comics for .99 is as feasible as we like to believe.

At first I was bothered by the fact that digital books cost the same as print books. Then I considered the fact that digital editions have no advertisements. That means digital copies don't receive ad revenue, unlike the print copies. It doesn't completely justify the lack of a lower price, but ai can understand the retail price being hier than expected for digital material.

 

[Baramos]

You bring up a good point about the price. I just recently found DC comics on my Nook color. Apparently they were added sometime recently, but the price of some of these titles is a little...off-putting. Plus, there is a clear discrepancy between comics bought via the iTunes app. I just recently bought HUSH for about $5 via DC iTunes, but the same comic $14.99 through B&N. Doesn't make any sense...

Seriously? I think 14.99 would be the cost of the softcover graphic novel compilation...if it's seriously 14.99 for the digital I have to question their pricing structure.

On the other hand, B&N always charges more for most everything, so...

 

[flickchick85]

Convenience is a big thing. Though, you should try the comic book store experience....at least once I still go to the comic store because it's one of the few places I can buy anime and Kung Fu flicks. My comic book guy used to bag all my favorite reads, so I didn't have to search, and I have had some of the best nerdy convos at the comic book store. t:

Yeah, convenience is a huge thing. The drive I'd have to make to get to one is definitely a major deterrent. I mean, there IS another one closer, but it's right in the middle of our main tourist area, and that's always so congested I tend to avoid that area like the plague. It's just so nice to be able to click over to ComiXology (wherever I am) and instantly have a new comic to read.

And it's funny, my brother just recently got into comics as well (with my help, as we both have always loved the superhero cartoons and movies), but he actually DID seek a comic book shop out, and just asked the guy there to recommend a good Marvel book to pick up. The guy recommended Avengers vs. X-Men of all things. When he told me about that later I was just like, "no, that guy sucked." I mean, I'm more of a DC girl (on the comics front; with the movies I don't prefer one brand over the other), but even I know from all my Marvel-loving friends that AvX isn't a great Marvel starter comic. Or a great comic. He's several issues in and seems confused as ever, haha.

So now, even if I do make it into a comics shop, I'm gonna be wary of their recommendations, lol. But I dunno, maybe next visit I have with my brother, we'll make a point to check out a shop together so I can get the experience at least once. And I can stop him from making any more stupid purchases.

 

[bonoferox]

With the option of having a comic shop right across the street from my work and frequent trips to Half-Price Books for trades, it's easy to obtain traditional comics and I do enjoy having my own library.

That being said, the digital comics do have their benefits, but I just don't like relying on a power source to read printed material.

 

[Lord Valumart]

I've downloaded a few free books from BOOM and DarkHorse and they've been ok. I mean I'm just using my phone so I guess a bigger screen would help recreate the comic better.

At this point I prefer real comics. I like to look up at my shelf and see my trades, or ficking through long boxes at cons. There's something to be said about it, but I'm not sure what it is...

 

[Baramos]

I think it depends on the comic books shop whether the owner knows what they're talking about, I had a bad experience too in a couple of years ago when one opened near me, the guy recommended I buy Batman: The Dark Knight and...that was not a good comic book. I also bought the new Batman Beyond and enjoyed it way more. I tend to just go with my own instincts and whatever I can glean from internet reviews as far as aiming for comics to buy.

Plus this guy was pretty shady, he went out of business within months. I did a Google search on him and apparently he had served jail time for fraudulently writing checks off of someone else's check book to open his original store back in the day. This new one was him trying to restart again and it did not succeed--partially because he had some bad practices (I remember trying to go to the shop on a Saturday afternoon over a holiday weekend, which one would assume would be high time for him to be open because there would be an increase in customers, but got there and was met with a cardboard sign that said he was close that weekend because he was going out of town. This was seriously, I think Memorial Day weekend. So he just had bad business sense as far as something like that goes, especially since had prime real estate next to 1. a theater and 2. a Toys R Us. I remember my exact thought process was "hey, I can buy some comics to read before I see this movie". How many other people had the exact same thought? He lost a lot of business on just that one day alone, I can't figure out how much more he probably lost on other days...).

Anyway, I took advantage of Comixology's Labor Day sale to buy digital copies of all the new Valiant comics for .99 cents a piece. I also noticed they have a tab at the top entirely dedicated to "Free Comics"--pretty neat for getting the first issue of a series you might be interested in, as it seems to be full of many of those. Or they just have random comics free for some reason (like I think one I got was a Batman comic from 2002 or something). Nothing wrong with that.

 

[shiva666]

Is central heating better then a fire place?

digital comics have great potential , but it's mostly untapped (companies are just putting made for print content online)

Material comics have certain unique features that cannot be replicated by a screen, but i've seen few uses of anything other then cmyk on white paper...

There's another venue that could be a digital comics that you could print on demand (choose pages, all favourite hero appearances, a compiled event)

 

[charl_huntress]

Seriously? I think 14.99 would be the cost of the softcover graphic novel compilation...if it's seriously 14.99 for the digital I have to question their pricing structure. On the other hand, B&N always charges more for most everything, so...

Yes, seriously. I purchased each of the issues for HUSH via the DC iTunes app for .99. The total cost was about $6. On B&N, you can only purchase the full graphic which is $14.99. I was shocked at the difference to say the least, but I purchased both just see what the difference is. Unfortunately, there is no difference, so I wasted 15 bucks.

Material comics have certain unique features that cannot be replicated by a screen, but i've seen few uses of anything other then cmyk on white paper...

What unique features? I'm curious. Plus, what is CMYK?

To be honest, I thought the zoom feature offered via my iPad, iPhone and Nook Color offered a much better view then my normal eye could zoom into via a traditional comic. I do have bad eyesight though.

There's another venue that could be a digital comics that you could print on demand (choose pages, all favourite hero appearances, a compiled event)

I'm not sure what you mean. Could you please explain more?

I do hope DC puts all their catalog, including older comics, in digital. I wouldn't translate all my comics to digital, but the benefit of being able to carry around the equivalent of hundreds of books and hundreds of comics is appealing. I was recently on a plane for 6 hours and I would have loved to have some of my favorite old time comics on hand to pass the time. As it is, I just read HUSH, since it's the only one I have on my Nook so far. I have more on my iPad, but I don't bring my iPad with me when I travel.

On other question I have is for anyone who has used Calibre books, do you know if you digital comics translate well?

I've downloaded a few free books from BOOM and DarkHorse and they've been ok. I mean I'm just using my phone so I guess a bigger screen would help recreate the comic better.

At this point I prefer real comics. I like to look up at my shelf and see my trades, or ficking through long boxes at cons. There's something to be said about it, but I'm not sure what it is...

I'm not sure what it is either, but I love the experience of flipping through comics. I kind of fill like I am flipping through history since things like covers can tell you a lot. Plus there is the added benefit of just pulling it out and reading the entire comic while you stand there. I have read many a comic from front to back cover and still purchased it because I know I need it in my collection.

 

[shiva666]

You have to understand that this are possibilities and not something dc-marvel do right now.

Printed books are material, an example would be printing the fantastic four where the invisible woman would be just varnish on paper (no actual lines just a shinny silhouette), human torch could be fluorescent and the thing could be embossed (bas relief). Iron man could actually be metallic... Then there's the paper that can be matte, or of any color, imagine a Mephisto tome with a black embossed cover with intense red pages...

CMYK is the printing process used for most color magazines, books, photos...

A print on demand example would be you going through the titles you own and wanting to print every page daredevil makes an appearance, you ask for it and you receive a trade paperback unique to your collection.

 

[CConn]

If you have an iPad or Kindle, digital is definitely the way to go. In most cases, it's much cheaper, you don't have to worry about anything ever being sold out or going out of print, you can have your entire collection of thousands of issues at your fingertips in an instant, you can instantly take screenshots of any pages you want... The upsides of it are virtually endless.

 

[shiva666]

The upsides of it are virtually endless.

Except for collection value ( both monetary/exchange and sentimental/personal), the formats used are already old and will feel vintage in 3 years or so.

When they start Upping interaction (think al gore's earth book) then we will see the endless upsides till then is just a cheap imitation of a real book, in format at least.

 

[charl_huntress]

Hmmmm...that is a very good point. Traditional comics will always have a collectors value. Digital....not so much.