Pros and Cons of Digital

[JackDaw]

Apologies for starting a new thread...pretty sure others have started similar threads before...did a search for them but couldn't find them. (Sure that's down to my shambolic search "prowess".)

Decided to stop collecting physical comics earlier this year...and after advice from geezers on this forum...decided to use a iPad air with comixology.

For me, move has been a big success. I'm never again going to read comics in numbers I did years ago...but moving to digital and using the comixology sales has led to a mini-renaissance in my comics reading. Just now I've got Ed Brusker Catwoman run and Archie Goodwin Batman Tales in sales for example. And in last year have got a lot of good stuff that way...complete Ultimate Spider-man run, and Greg Rucka Lazarus for example.

The big pluses for me, have been:-

1/ The speed and low-ish cost of getting a reasonable range of material.
2/ Removing storage issues.
3/ The frame by frame facility.

Downside?? Nothing that worries me greatly...but I can see that there is at least a theoretical risk of my electronic comics disappearing into the electronic aether. And choice...although wide...is not as wide as in physical comics.

Anybody else got a view on major advantages/ disadvantages??

[Bri]

If you want brand new comics price is an issue. If you want your new comics on Wednesday then you have to pay full cover price, with no way to get a discount. As you correctly point out if you are willing to wait you can get some good-deals, but there is no way to guarantee that the book you want will be available for a discounted price.
There is also no hope of ever reselling your digital downloads. I have financed a good deal of my personal collection (not to mention my new truck!) by "flipping" various collected editions.
I am not sure what you mean by the risk of your digital issues disappearing. Once you buy them they are yours forever. You can download back ups, so even if Comixology goes out of business you will have your own cbz. files.

[Rich]

Digital prices are far too high for me to take seriously, they should be half of the book price at the most. I like my collection of hardcovers and trades and I prefer to read a physical book. It is also nice knowing if I lose interest in the hobby I could sell my collection for a small fortune, especially some of the oop omnis.

[JackDaw]

Digital prices are far too high for me to take seriously, they should be half of the book price at the most. I like my collection of hardcovers and trades and I prefer to read a physical book. It is also nice knowing if I lose interest in the hobby I could sell my collection for a small fortune, especially some of the oop omnis.

Most of stuff I've bought has been about a third of the price of the same physical book/ comic. But that's down to be always buying in the comixology sales...I just have a look at what's on offer nearly every week, and buy stuff that really interests me...I might buy stuff two three times over a three month period. Clearly that wouldn't suit most people...it wouldn't have suited me a few years ago, when I actually enjoyed tracking down specific runs.

Like Bri I used to buy comics to read, read them and sell them to finance next purchase...but I read far fewer comics now, and it all got to be too much faff.

[Dark-Flux]

Id just butt in to recommend Marvel Unlimited too. Ive not touched a Marvel book on Comixology since setting up an account.
Its not as polished, but theres sooooooo much stuff just sat there waiting to be read.

Also, 2000AD. Always 2000AD :P

Anyway, yeah. Comixology is great if your willing to wait a month for a lower price point. Sales are a bonus.
Just glad Dark Horse finally jumped onboard...
Love guided view and comics pages in HD on a retina display really pop.
Not to mention the saved storage space.

I still collect a lot of HCs. But digital is boomin' y'all!

[Hellboydce]

Do you get free stuff digitally to try it out?

And do Valiant do stuff digitally?

Oh well, worth a try, joined comixology, tried to dl some free books to my iPad but all I got was safari cannot open page as address is invalid? Back to paper then

[Bri]

Do you get free stuff digitally to try it out?

And do Valiant do stuff digitally?

Oh well, worth a try, joined comixology, tried to dl some free books to my iPad but all I got was safari cannot open page as address is invalid? Back to paper then

Comixology has loads of free stuff, and a full range of Valiant comics. I check back regularly for free books, and the free previews have turned me on to series I would not otherwise have bought. Of course I usually buy collected print editions so Its really not working out as Comixology planned. The only time I buy digital is when I can't find collected editions or for some event I just can't wait for. Secret Wars being the most recent example.

[90sChild]

The major disadvantage and the main reason I will never buy digital - You have no re-sale value on any of your purchases, thus you get none of the fun of investing/speculating, and it doesn't really feel like a collection either. If your only goal is to read the actual comics, then I'd agree digital is the best way to go.

[Mundungus]

Yeah, I really have no motivation to sift through my many comics and decide which ones to resell. I've considered it before and some day I might give it a serious push but I'm really just a buy to read person. That said, same-day digital release is too expensive when I get a 20% discount for having a subscription at my local comic shop. If Comixology offered a 20% discount on subscription services then I would be all over that. Comixology is great for sales though. I've built a pretty big digital collection that way. For me space is definitely a thing.

I've been interested in making the switch to complete digital (with the odd collected edition or graphic novel for the shelf).

One recommendation I have right now is if your shop offers a 20% discount like mine (or anything greater than no discount) but you still want to buy digital on a weekly basis. At least buy your Marvel comics physically because they come with the digital code so you get two books in one (or use the codes to trade for other Marvel codes).

Also, Marvel Unlimited is a beautiful thing and is only getting better. I'm dying for DC to make their own Unlimited app. I don't know what the hold up is. I still buy Marvel comics on a weekly basis and the app allows me to catch up on books I wasn't confident enough to spend money on as well as build an appreciation for their extensive wealth of characters. I've always been more Marvel than DC, but I love both and I would love to be able to deep dive into DC's catalogue in a way I've been able to with Marvel. Get on it DC!

So yeah, my desire is to go full digital but the financial structure is just not there yet.

[Dark-Flux]

Do you get free stuff digitally to try it out?

And do Valiant do stuff digitally?

Oh well, worth a try, joined comixology, tried to dl some free books to my iPad but all I got was safari cannot open page as address is invalid? Back to paper then

Were you trying to read through a web browser? You gotta use the comixology app.

[JackDaw]

The major disadvantage and the main reason I will never buy digital - You have no re-sale value on any of your purchases, thus you get none of the fun of investing/speculating, and it doesn't really feel like a collection either. If your only goal is to read the actual comics, then I'd agree digital is the best way to go.

I'm a pure reader now...and a pretty limited one (e.g. interested in stuff from 80's onwards from a few favourite writers/ artists). At moment don't even comics read enough to make Marvel unlimited tempting...though pretty sure will try it at sometime in future if I get stuck at home for a week or three.

So it works for me. BUT in a pure hypothetical position where the original comics, a trade paperback, and a iPad with the digital comics were all available in same room...then for some unknown reason, I would still prefer to read the original comics. No idea why...maybe as simple as that the way I started reading comics many years ago, and I've got used to it.

Oh....just got back home from Christmas at sister's place....so too late to wish everybody a Happy Christmas now, but best wishes, of course, for the New Year.

[Lee Stone]

The major disadvantage and the main reason I will never buy digital - You have no re-sale value on any of your purchases, thus you get none of the fun of investing/speculating, and it doesn't really feel like a collection either. If your only goal is to read the actual comics, then I'd agree digital is the best way to go.

To me, this is a plus.
The sooner speculators leave comics, the better.
No one buys novels for their "investment" value.

[t hedge coke]

Digital has been a big help to me since I've moved countries and gone from houses to an apartment. There's just not a lot of room in a one bedroom apartment and moving the stuff internationally was cost-prohibitive. Digital, though, especially cloud-based, can go with me. And, as a bonus, I don't need a backpack full of comics (and books and movies) for long flights and layovers, because it all fits on a Kindle or laptop or can be called up readily.

And, I do feel that getting away from paper, in general, is good for our planet. Deforestation is still ridiculous.

That said, there are plenty of comics I still buy in print form, because the size, the way it reproduces on the paper, or other factors make them wondrous.

[Wollodrin]

The cloud is not exactly healthy for this planet either... all those hard drives that run day and night...

[Lee Stone]

I'm a pure reader now...and a pretty limited one (e.g. interested in stuff from 80's onwards from a few favourite writers/ artists). At moment don't even comics read enough to make Marvel unlimited tempting...though pretty sure will try it at sometime in future if I get stuck at home for a week or three.

So it works for me. BUT in a pure hypothetical position where the original comics, a trade paperback, and a iPad with the digital comics were all available in same room...then for some unknown reason, I would still prefer to read the original comics. No idea why...maybe as simple as that the way I started reading comics many years ago, and I've got used to it.

Oh....just got back home from Christmas at sister's place....so too late to wish everybody a Happy Christmas now, but best wishes, of course, for the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

I love digital because my boxes of comics have stopped multiplying like rabbits.
I had to move in the rain one year... 50 miles away... and one load was just comics.
Not doing that again.

I also like to read older comics from the Golden and Silver Age.
Digital Comics Museum is my go-to place for non-DC Golden Age, and they're free. I'm a big fan of Eisner's Spirit.
And the Silver Age Marvel and DC (what's available) are $2 at the most, where physical copies can be in the hundreds or thousands of dollars.

For more recent stuff, my library uses Hoopla, which has all the Hellboy, Walking Dead and Saga trades among their selections.
I can check out ten items a month and keep each one for 21 days.

I mostly buy older comics on Comixology, as I became disinterested in newer stuff and began digitally replacing physical comics.
I'm currently working on the Alan Moore Swamp Thing. I'll probably give my physical trades to a friend once I'm done.
My goal is to have no more than one small box of physical comics and the rest in digital.

Plus, I think $4 is too high for comics. But that's my personal opinion. I also think they're overprocessed now, which requires more staff to pay, but also my opinion.