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?!
You’d have to be a seasoned comic art aficionado to recognize the name Alex Niño. Even when he was his most prolific you’d have had to be reading comics like Heavy Metal, Creepy, and The Savage Sword of Conan in the 70’s and early 80’s. Unfortunately all the innovative comic art at that time was pushed to the fringe titles. And Niño’s work was clearly before his time.
This November the Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn (of all places) is hosting a month long exhibit dedicated to his work. I’m hoping to trek out and catch some of this amazing work first-hand.
November 4th - 30th
Opening reception November 4th - 2-4pm (no mention if the artist will be present)
Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, CUNY
Art Gallery - Arts & Science Building 2001 Oriental Blvd, Brooklyn, NY
I caught a little blurb for this in this month’s Wired.
Surface View is a UK company that has licensed various photo and art collections and made them available as customizable wallpaper, blinds, or pre-sized canvases.
The comic panels caught my eye, but there are many other amazing collections ranging from the Royal Photographic Society to The National Gallery to Getty Images.
Maybe I can convince the wife to get one of the Silver Surfer ... for our son’s room, of course.
A few weeks ago QuickSilver Software Longbox, Inc. announced that their LongBox Digital comics reader would be forthcoming. Longbox is being called the iTunes for comics.
Demand for this type of service is being generated by several factors.
Printed comics are expensive ($2.99 and higher). LongBox issues are .99
Your local comic shop can’t carry everything. And some comics quickly sell off the shelf.
Customer expectation. Everything is becoming available digitally: music, movies, TV, books, news.
A few weeks ago I met the first person I know who reads all his comics on his computer. He truthfully told me that he downloads them all illegally as he can’t afford the print editions.
Longbox has its own proprietary format (LBX), but it will also support the CBZ and CBR open formats. Meaning that my acquaintance will still be able to read his bootlegged copies, but maybe he might consider purchasing legal ones that now cost a third of the price.
I have to be honest that between being a collector in my younger years and now a casual reader, it’s hard to imagine replacing the experience of visiting the comic shop and the tactile experience of flipping through a beautifully printed edition with a computer screen.
But Longbox’s announcement combined with the success of the Kindle and the recent rumors of the Apple tablet are clearly signaling to me that digital comics’ time has come (or near enough).
And while hesitant, I think I’ll be a convert.
Cnet has a good write up. Interesting to see the user comments there too.
