Digital vs hard copy....what do you buy and why?

[Marvel/DC Fan]

The only digital service that I am considering is Marvel unlimited. Paying 3.99 a issue for digital seems like a ripoff in my opinion. Plus half the fun of comic books is collecting them and chatting with people at the LCS.

[Dark-Flux]

I would point out that that pretty much every publisher but the big 2 offer DRM free downloads of their digital books. So you do own those.

[JasonTodd428]

Neither do I. I 'tossed' an otherwise beautiful couple of Brightest Day hardcovers because I couldn't stomach Geoff John's violence in those. You don't have to keep everything: used book stores, yard sales, white-elephant gifting....the trash receptacle if the book was truly bad and you didn't want anyones eyeballs to get fried.

While that's certainly true I was referring to more recent purchases since moving to digital then about past physical copy purchases. Frankly I'm a deal happier with deleting from my tablet and then archiving issues I've tried out but didn't like over having physical copies laying around my house for months before I decide to do something about them. I got rid of my last batch a few weeks ago so now at least there will be less clutter in my house.

[Tony]

For the most part the cheap digital comics save you far more money than you'll make reselling the more expensive physical books. While comics start at full price the drop down pretty quick with 99 cent sales and whole trades for just a few dollars. I'll get the Superman books as published since $2.99 is worth it. Some DC will wait for the dollar price drop, and most books I have no problem waiting for $.99 sales.

So many publishers out there and comixology always has 4-8 sales going. I never run out of things to read that I enjoy.

Digital saves me a small fortune.

[Prisoner 6655321]

I would point out that that pretty much every publisher but the big 2 offer DRM free downloads of their digital books. So you do own those.

They're still not real enough for me. I want something that has physical qualities and takes up real space. Never digital for this reader.

[Prisoner 6655321]

Neither do I. I 'tossed' an otherwise beautiful couple of Brightest Day hardcovers because I couldn't stomach Geoff John's violence in those.

That seems kinda hypersensitive.

[Potanical Pardon]

Digital. I can lay down with a tablet clamped to a stand floating above my face only lifting a finger to turn a page. Physically, I'd have to sit, be careful not to bend, fold, smudge and still hold it open with one hand.

Also, less food for spiders, more space in the house, quick ability to reference/search/find/read, easier to avoid and ignore the ads, don't have to interact with huddled socially awkward clusters of people inconveniently always standing in the path of transactions with the weekly version of con-cough and glandular disorders.

I will buy hardcover trades and the occasional paperback trade to line bookshelves with because I love having a library of all books, though as far as reading, that too has gone completely digital.

[Sterling]

So everyone can see what an HD comic from comixology looks like:

Invincible-001-002

[Mike]

I read and buy only the print copies.
I hate reading comics on a screen.
I order all my comics online though.
Comic shops are extinct in my part of Ohio.

[Tuck]

Something to keep in mind: comics are still laid out with print in mind. They're designed to be read as physical copies. Images overlapping, panel layout, and double-page spreads, etc.

And while many - maybe most at this point - people read digital comics on a tablet, when taking laptop and desktop reading into account, laying out comic pages in landscape would be a better move.

[M@Bowers2014]

Something to keep in mind: comics are still laid out with print in mind. They're designed to be read as physical copies. Images overlapping, panel layout, and double-page spreads, etc.

And while many - maybe most at this point - people read digital comics on a tablet, when taking laptop and desktop reading into account, laying out comic pages in landscape would be a better move.

I understand what you are saying but I love being able to zoom in on each panel. You can see the artwork so much better. I read all of my comics on mynSamsung tablet & I love it. It's actually a more physical experience for me than a printed comic. I start reading ea comic portrait then turn my tablet landscape for panels. Zoom in read then swipe to the next panel zoom out for splash pages. It's really enjoyable for me & I keep this in mind when creating my own comic, MEMPHIS. since I can only self publish in digital at this point I strive for ea issue to be enjoyable in the digital format.

[Tony]

I have heard Dan Didio, to Ed Brubaker say they care most about paper comics that hit the shelves on wednesday. It's ok for people to feel that way but it is antiquated. I think all comic creators should think about how books they make will look on a tablet. It's not like digital is the part of the industry that's going to fade out. Double page spreads were almost always a waist of space, now they are an annoying waist of space.

[Sterling]

Double page spreads look great on my monitor.

[Lee Stone]

I understand what you are saying but I love being able to zoom in on each panel. You can see the artwork so much better. I read all of my comics on mynSamsung tablet & I love it. It's actually a more physical experience for me than a printed comic. I start reading ea comic portrait then turn my tablet landscape for panels. Zoom in read then swipe to the next panel zoom out for splash pages. It's really enjoyable for me & I keep this in mind when creating my own comic, MEMPHIS. since I can only self publish in digital at this point I strive for ea issue to be enjoyable in the digital format.

I agree.
First time I read Walking Dead was in guided view (panel by panel) and it really boosted the suspense by hiding the upcoming panels.
And I actually appreciated the art more.

[Overhazard]

I do both, I like buying and reading physical trades, but I also like buying digital versions of books I can't find in print, like the last few issues of Kyle Baker's run on Plastic Man.