I’m not a comic book collector, but I am a reader — the distinction being that I do not go out and buy single issues. I don’t have the desire to collect single issues or the space to store them. Instead, I wait for story arcs to be collected in TPB’s (trade paperbacks).
I’m far from a fanboy. I consider myself a casual reader. I go to the comic shop every once in a while mostly for fun, but do most of my buying on Amazon. As such, I’m behind enough on the titles I’m reading so I don’t have to wait for the next TPB to come out.
Thing is, some of these series got me hooked. Really hooked. Several times I’ve found myself all caught up and very tempted to start picking up the singles issues. I’ve never given in though.
Enter: digital comics.
A few comics publishers and third parties have created digital platforms for the PC and mobile to buy comics digitally. Now, this has me excited. The problem, however, is that not all titles are available, and almost all trail far behind what you can buy in the stores.
The great news is that there is a way to get your comics digitally and it’s free! The latest issues of just about every title get uploaded to torrents immediately following their release. Now, we’re talking! The problem here is that I really don’t have the time to troll torrent sites. And then there’s the fact that it’s illegal and you’re screwing the creators.
Now if only the music industry, movie industry comic book industry would just get their act together and provide timely, affordable, digital copies of their publications they’d have me - and a whole helluva lot of others I think.
This week I bought the entire eight issue run of Kick-Ass on my iPad — the image quality was amazing, and the form factor of reading them on the iPad was perfect. I also purchased each issue from the comfort of my bed.
Pricing still needs to be worked out too. Today’s paper issue prices range from $2.99 to $3.99, while digital are relatively high at $1.99. The eight issues of Kiss-Ass cost me $16 plus tax — a few bucks more than the discounted hardcover price on Amazon, but likely much higher than the paperback version that will eventually come out. Marvel has a great deal at $60 a year for unlimited access to their library, but you don’t own the copies, and again they’re not current.
One other thing worth mentioning is the potential long tail of digital comics. There are tons of titles that never get collected into trade paperbacks due to perceived demand — meaning that guys like me don’t even know they exist. Make these titles digital, and intelligently suggest them based on others readers are purchasing, and publishers would be looking at a gold mine.
Hello, comic book publishers. My wallet is out. Does anyone want my money?!
This TED Talk is over two years old, yet still feels very relevant today. In just eighteen minutes Lawrence Lessig manages to masterfully crystallize the impact of the democratization of the tools of content creation and its distribution on the way we communicate. Or more specifically, how today’s “kids” are communicating. As the title of this video suggests, this presentation is about how copyright law lacks the common sense to allow the reuse and distribution of digital content for non-commercial use.
As presentations go, this one is just ... awesome. I love the fast pace of his slides and their simplicity. And his narrative just pulls you in.
It’s finally here. The ultimate device that we’ve all been waiting for, right?
The iPad is probably the most controversial and polarizing piece of consumer technology to date. Never has anything been hyped this much before its announcement - not the iPod, not even the iPhone. And with such a monumental build up, shattered expectations could only follow.
All this, and so few have even touched this thing.
I have to admit, when I saw Steve Jobs unveil the same over-sized iTouch that all the Photoshop retouchers had predicted with such a lack of imagination, I was disappointed. We expect more from Apple. I mean, don’t I already have the Internet in my had with my iTouch?
It all really clicked for me, however, when Steve played the promo video - seeing the device on the coffee table and on the couch, watching people having a shared experience. I really think Apple has reinvented the computing experience here. Surely they have on the UI, but much much more on the where and how we interact with the computer. Apple has un-glued us from our desks, un-cramped our hands from the laptop, and shown us how the computer can more seamlessly and naturally be integrated into our home.
And man are we pissed. Why do so many people want this thing to fail? We all look to Apple to innovate, and when they do we’re criticizing them for going too far (or not far enough if you ask others) - “it does too much”, “it doesn’t do enough”.
All of us who live in this (tech) world tend to forget that using a computer is not a pleasurable experience for the average person - Macs included. The iPad just might change that. Apple’s talent is in stripping away the features, not adding them. Do fewer things, but do them right. That was the magic of iPhone 1.0.
There’s a lot of debate over how the public will perceive needing a device like this. Many are calling it a luxury device. Need is a relative and ever-changing thing though. At what point did you realize you needed a smartphone, or a netbook, or a Kindle, or an mp3 player? I distinctly remember turning the corner on the Kindle - going from “that’s too expensive” to “that would make my life easier and more enjoyable”. Many said the Kindle would never succeed - it’s too expensive and it only does one thing. I was one of those people. Turns out we were wrong.
But rather than ramble on further ... My thoughts on all this are probably best summarized in a response I posted on a friend’s blog - which I’ve re-posted below. It’s probably best to read his post first. He’s skeptical, I’m optimistic. We’ve bet a bottle on it.
Over the past couple of weeks two proof-of-concept videos have been making the rounds that give a glimpse at where a tablet-centric magazine experience might go.
When doing some financial research recently, I came across a bank that I had never heard of before: Ally Bank.
I was impressed with how frank and human the language on their site was. I was even more impressed with the interest rates and terms they had for their banking products.
Thinking that this was too good to be true, I decided to do some digging. Turns out Ally is the newly-rebranded GMAC. GMAC as in General Motors, as in the bank that’s received two government bailouts.
I also then made the connection to the sponsor of one of my regular podcasts, NPR’s Planet Money. Well, the other shoe finally dropped, and Planet Money decided to do a program on GMAC last week as they’ve gone back to the government for a third bailout.
Kudos to the team for tackling the tough issue of critically reporting on a major sponsor.