hmmm, a very large section of my post got eaten by the internets! lets try again…

Here’s my opinion: i LOVE reading comics on the iPad. It is this close (imagine holding up a thumb and forefinger with a small space in-between) to “being there” (reading an actual book ~ and in some ways, the art looks even better.), but IMHO, $1.99 is too much for a digital book ~ at least for ‘back catalog’ material.

if the books were priced at $.99, i would probably get one almost every day. So, I’d be spending $300-400 a year. At $1.99, i’ve gotten about 8/10 since the iPad launch (almost 3 months). so i’ve spent less then $20 instead of a potential of more than $80.

i don’t know why, but $2 is just a mental barrier for something i don’t really “own”. I’d suggest moving to a tiered system, where newer stuff is $2.99, then after 6 months/1 year drops to $1.99 and anything release over 2-3 years (maybe even 5) ago is $.99. That would minimize the cannibalization of physical trades and singles, and I feel they’d WAY make up in volume what they are missing out on in unit price.

actually, you reminded me, another point that I forgot to make was that they need to offer ‘Digital trades’ that let you get whole stories in one shot for a bit of a discount (even if in the background it’s still just the 4-5-6 separate files still)

I still have little interest because of the pricing. I get a 25% discount at my LCS, so a $2.99 book only costs me $2.24. So, I could buy a digital copy for $1.99 or for 25 cents more, own the real thing? I’ll take the real thing every time.

Down the road, if the entire DC library were digital, I could possibly see myself (maybe) paying 99 cents an issue for a lot of the back catalog (Gold/Silver Age stuff).

As a relatively new iPad owner (just over a week and a half now) I have really enjoyed the comics available on the iPad. I haven’t bought anything “new” that I would have purchased at my local comic shop instead. Rather I’ve been picking up some older issues/series that I passed up in physical form due to space or financial reason at the time they came out. I’ve also actually double-dipped on some stuff just to have the portability (got all 6 Tiny Titans issues this morning, bought the 4 issues of Dreamland Chronicles that are available, and will be heading over very soon to get The Walking Dead (which is available in a “Digital Trades” format, by the way artiepants, for a pretty good price) both of which I already own in hard copy but would love to take on the go. The price isn’t a real problem for me at this point as it is anywhere from 33% to 50% off most cover prices. And if a comic happens to have been deemed a “collectible”, then the savings is even more.

Now if only Dynamite and Dark Horse hop on the bandwagon, Archaia adds more titles, and Boom adds their kids titles (like Disney and Muppets), I’ll have comics to entertain the whole family on any length of car ride (or waiting in lines at SDCC).

I’m in a different boat than most.

I loved my comics, still look at the sites like Newsarama for the latest news, but quit collecting because:
1) I don’t have room for long boxes with a family
2) With two little kids (too small to read themselves), I don’t have the pocket book or time to get to the comic store like I used

There’s no point in spending $3 on something that I’m just going to throw away. It’s the reason the magazine industry is dieing.

I’m thrilled with DC and Marvel’s backing of the iPad.

While money and pricing are still a concern, I think this is a great consideration to the non-collectible market of readers.

We want the convenience of having it there at our fingertip and care little about the collectibility of the item other than we can conveniently re-read it when we want. I think digital comics, like trades, actually offer a higher re-readability concept. You don’t have to dig single issues out of boxes and uncover plastic and boards and have it wherever you go in a beautiful presentation.

Is there anyone who feels, because the medium of the art is now digital, that print actually leaves something to be desired instead of the images offered digitally?

“the Walking Dead (which is available in a “Digital Trades” format, by the way artiepants, for a pretty good price)”

ooohhh, i didn’t now that, i haven’t delved much into the “Comics” app yet, mostly just the Marvel app, thanks for sharing…

@whozat ~ I dunno, in a way the publishers are as much a “brand” as the comics themselves, and since the apps are free and backed by ComiXology, i don’t see it as a huge problem. BUT! if you had a ton of books, it could get unruly down the road… So i agree with you to an extent.

are all of the Marvel books available in the Marvel App also available in the Comics App? I know some are, but not sure if they all are…

As much as I love the idea behind it I need my comics to be paper. Nothing and I do mean nothing will ever beat walking into the comic book shop on wednesday afternoon, talking to the clerk that i’ve seen once a week for the last 8 years, and picking up my weeks haul,
If I ever am blessed with the almighty Ipad I will with out a doubt get this app, but it will be used to stock up on graphic novels to read whilst on a road trip or some such. but even with that app and the ipad the main bulk of my comic book shopping will be done in the shop, even if it would be cheeper to use digital. Price shouldn’t matter because you can never spend to much money on a passion.

Another good article discussing open standards for digital comics: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26199

@Michael ~ re: double-dipping – hopefully, down-the-road, comics will come with a code allowing us to download the electronic version for free, if we’ve purchased the physical version.

Again, using the music industry as an example, I shouldn’t have to purchase the mp3s if I purchased the physical CD.

Hey David

What I want to know is when this will be available for other devices besides Apple ones? I have a Palm Pre, so I’m interested in seeing/knowing if there are plans for that device and others as well….

gives use a wonderful web site decent Gives with thanks for the work to help out me

Too bad Toshiba is unsure of themselves on what should be a complete iPad killer: Libretto W100!

Longbox has fumbled a bit, loosing momentum off the line and allowing the competition to get to market faster. However, they have what at least I feel is the better platform with DVD extra-like features and a far more secure file format to combat piracy (important for publishers big and small). So, I wouldn’t count these guys out just yet.

Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different subject but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!