I suspect you're right. But again, it'll be less of a common item and more of a specialty commodity, so presumably most people would only be buying books they're truly passionate about and interested in, and one can justify the extra expense when they really want to. And I'm sure intrepid innovators will find a way to keep the prices manageable. Perhaps they'll start using a durable, thin plastic for pages instead of paper, who knows?
I think the true strength of digital, aside from a wider saturation for less effort, is the variety of methods you can consume it. So I wouldn't single out e-books, but rather digital sales as a whole. Once digital sales outpace print, that's when the shift will really happen.
Wait, you're using "e-books" inclusively, aren't you? If so, yeah, I agree.
That's a concern of mine as well. Dedicating so much effort marketing to established fans has lead to a severe drop in new readers, and now the industry can't take any steps forward without the consent and agreement of us old bastards.....who hate change. It's a bit of a "rock//hard place" situation where comics can't afford to lose us, but our tastes and demands make it harder for new readers to come in, and comics always had a steep learning curve to begin with.
Eh, the world has always been full of asshats who only see what they want to see. They are, and I suspect have always been, nothing more than a vocal minority. Business will never satisfy everyone, and it's wasteful to try. All you can do is be smart about who you try to appeal to, and let the haters hate.