Pros and Cons of Digital

[ultimate jezebel]

I still don't care for digital if I can own the actual comics, although I have used digital to decide if I'd want to buy hardcopies, ie the actual comics after. So in that sense, there is that 'pro' for digital. Unless it's a back issue. If I buy books on Ebay or in a comic store that sells back-issues, the publishers don't benefit from that sale.

If others prefer the digital format, that's cool....it's just not for me.

[Starchild]

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely NO downsides or cons when it comes to digital. People rarely go to comic book shops anymore, they are a dying breed. It's one of the reasons why I quit my job at the comic book store, business hasn't been the same there in a long time. Comic book shops will eventually die out like arcades and video stores. I have a busy life: I have a niece to look after, I'm a cook at IHOP and I go to school. So I wouldn't have time to visit the comic book store. But I always have my tablet with me and it's very efficient when it comes to buying and storing comics. Whenever Comixology has bundles similar to the recent Supergirl one, I always take advantage. I only stop at the comic book store to buy trades and is once in a blue. Digital is the future guys. Don't fight it, embrace it.

[Cold Water]

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely NO downsides or cons when it comes to digital. People rarely go to comic book shops anymore, they are a dying breed. It's one of the reasons why I quit my job at the comic book store, business hasn't been the same there in a long time. Comic book shops will eventually die out like arcades and video stores. I have a busy life: I have a niece to look after, I'm a cook at IHOP and I go to school. So I wouldn't have time to visit the comic book store. But I always have my tablet with me and it's very efficient when it comes to buying and storing comics. Whenever Comixology has bundles similar to the recent Supergirl one, I always take advantage. I only stop at the comic book store to buy trades and is once in a blue. Digital is the future guys. Don't fight it, embrace it.

Maybe there are no downsides or cons when it comes to digital for YOU.
However, that's not the same experience for everyone else.
Some people like have the paper in their hands so they can run their fingers over the art work, or see the artwork close up and right in their face. To me, digital can pull away some of the tangibility of the visual effect of the art in comics. <---This is more so when I read them on my kindle. If I read them on my computer, well, I personally hate having to sit at my desk and read comics.

[t hedge coke]

Maybe there are no downsides or cons when it comes to digital for YOU.
However, that's not the same experience for everyone else.
Some people like have the paper in their hands so they can run their fingers over the art work, or see the artwork close up and right in their face. To me, digital can pull away some of the tangibility of the visual effect of the art in comics. <---This is more so when I read them on my kindle. If I read them on my computer, well, I personally hate having to sit at my desk and read comics.

I can understand this, but at the same time, with digital, in general I can blow up the art bigger if I want to except with Amazon purchases on my Kindle, which makes it more of a technical issue with one format/viewing than digital overall.

[Cold Water]

I can understand this, but at the same time, with digital, in general I can blow up the art bigger if I want to except with Amazon purchases on my Kindle, which makes it more of a technical issue with one format/viewing than digital overall.

Oh, yes, you can, but sometimes (on older stuff), it doesn't look right zoomed in.
Digital is a last resort for me, but I do use it.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I still don't care for digital if I can own the actual comics, although I have used digital to decide if I'd want to buy hardcopies, ie the actual comics after. So in that sense, there is that 'pro' for digital. Unless it's a back issue. If I buy books on Ebay or in a comic store that sells back-issues, the publishers don't benefit from that sale.

If others prefer the digital format, that's cool....it's just not for me.

And publishers do benefit from digital back issues, so that's another pro if that's a priority.

I can understand this, but at the same time, with digital, in general I can blow up the art bigger if I want to except with Amazon purchases on my Kindle, which makes it more of a technical issue with one format/viewing than digital overall.

And if you get a big enough tablet, like my new iPad pro, the comics are bigger than the print versions. It's pretty sweet.

My story? I have at least 60/70 longboxes of print comics. It's a literal ton and I store it in a storage building, which it warped because it was so heavy and I didn't originally spread it out so properly. Storing it is a pain. Moving it if I move to a new place is a major operation. Finding an individual comic in it requires considerable heavy lifting and searching.

I like my collection, but I couldn't keep adding to the horde the way I was. Digital comics have been a great answer. I can keep reading and building a library with none of the drawbacks mentioned above.

[ultimate jezebel]

People rarely go to comic book shops anymore, they are a dying breed.

I didn't know people were a dying breed.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Also, I've never been one for the weekly pull, so digital is cheaper for me because I'm patient.

[JackDaw]

Comixology is owned by Amazon now, so there's a lot less worry about it going out of business and shutting off its servers. If Amazon goes out of business, you're going to be too busy fighting the radioactive supermutants to worry about your digital comics collection.

I wondered if Amazon had taken over Comoxology...when I bought a few comics a few days ago noticed that there was option to pay via Amazon account. (Might have been there for months...I'm not exactly as observant as Sherlock Holmes, and also probably first time I've bought any comics for a few months.)

Agree with you, that it's a good sign.

As years roll by wouldn't be that surprised if ownership rights on digital goods change substantially to benefit of purchaser. (There are already people agitating for right to leave digital goods to their nearest and dearest.)

[Lee Stone]

After five years of buying digitally, I now have 1930 digital comics from Comixology. Some were free (like the 600 Marvel first issues and the DCYou Sneak Peeks).

According to Yahoo Answers,
The little comic box can fit approx. 100-120 comic books (including plastic sleeves and cardboard backing) and the longer box can fit approx. 200-233 comic books (including plastic sleeves and cardboard backing).

So if these were all in print, they would fill about nine longboxes.
This is using 217 as the average number of comics in a longbox, and assuming they're all comic-sized (as a few are collections or digital TPBs).

And 287 of them are DRM-free comics.

This doesn't include the comics I've downloaded from Digital Comics Museum, btw, which are also all free.
Those would likely require another box as I've been building a Quality Comics collection.

[adameastment]

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.

This is generally how I feel, generally books go up on Comixology at around £2.99 when I can get a physical copy (and the bonus digital edition) for around £2.30 at subscription price. Although, I'm definitely not in the hobby to sell it on for a fortune, I just like reading them.

[Starchild]

I didn't know people were a dying breed.

I never said that people were a dying breed. Comic book shops are.

[Shawn Hopkins]

After five years of buying digitally, I now have 1930 digital comics from Comixology. Some were free (like the 600 Marvel first issues and the DCYou Sneak Peeks).

According to Yahoo Answers,
The little comic box can fit approx. 100-120 comic books (including plastic sleeves and cardboard backing) and the longer box can fit approx. 200-233 comic books (including plastic sleeves and cardboard backing).

So if these were all in print, they would fill about nine longboxes.
This is using 217 as the average number of comics in a longbox, and assuming they're all comic-sized (as a few are collections or digital TPBs).

And 287 of them are DRM-free comics.

This doesn't include the comics I've downloaded from Digital Comics Museum, btw, which are also all free.
Those would likely require another box as I've been building a Quality Comics collection.

Same boat. I have 2328 Comixology, a couple hundred Dark Horse, a few hundred from Humble Bundle, and a few thousand from the GIT Corp DVD-rom collections. My storage building would be even more ridiculous if these were all physical.

[ultimate jezebel]

I have 0 from comixology...I'm just good old fashioned and want my comic book in my hands.

[Cloysterpete]

One of the things I love about collecting comics (collected edition only) is that at any time I can glance up and see the results of ten years of collecting staring back at me, I love seeing all the big chunky Omnibus volumes lined up, I love the tactile sensation of running my finger along the spines as I decided what to read next. I imagine I'm living in a big centuries old English Manor House with a roaring fireplace and huge library of volumes lol.

Digital is fine but I wouldn't put any value on it like I do my physical books, every day or two I'll randomly pull a volume off the shelf and have a flick through for twenty minutes, I couldn't see myself doing that with a virtual bookcase. Of course if the worst comes and I get made redundant or something then I know I have enough rare volumes to use as a safety net if it comes to that.