A thought occurred to me while reading David Brothers’ latest Digital Comics column over at Comics Alliance: Why do I think of digital comics as impulse buys?
I have bought my fair share of comics from ComiXology, as well as Marvel and DC’s individual apps, so it’s not like I don’t really use digital comics – but, for whatever reason, I think of them as some kind of “Well, I didn’t want this enough to buy it when I was at the store, but I’m kind of curious about it, and it’s only $1.99, so what’s the harm” way. It’s not intentional, and I know it’s not even vaguely intelligent, but it’s there: For some reason, digital comics seem less valuable or worthwhile than print comics, and so they’re something I tend to buy in addition to my regular store visit, not instead of.
(For example: I didn’t buy the recent Static Shock book at the store, but I did buy it through the DC app – for exactly the same price. I have no idea why, other than the fact that somehow, it seemed less of a big deal to do so.)
Am I alone in that? I wonder if, instead of print readers switching predominantly to digital (as has been discussed in the past, often in a “oh noes, we hope this doesn’t happen!” sense), the majority of customers in the current Direct Market set-up are going to remain firmly print, with digital becoming a parallel, second market. And so, I put it to you, dear readers: Do you buy digital comics – Please note the word “buy,” there; I’m not interested in your pirating habits – and if so, do you buy them in addition to, or instead of, print comics from the store? And, depending on your answer, why or why not?
June 20th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
I have little interest in subscribing to digital comics at this point. I prefer print to digital for most reading materials; I don’t like that you are totally dependent on the publishers and their Internet partners to read content – Waid was right that we want PDFs!; and the interface of sites like Comixology doesn’t feel organic. (It’s not a bad interface, but it could be a lot better.)
That said, DC knows I am not the audience digital delivery is aiming for. It knows I will keep going to the comic shop. This isn’t about me.
Then again, if DC offers a good digital subscription rate for something I want not sure I wanted to pay $3 for – Blue Beetle, maybe – I might reconsider.
June 20th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
This is the same though process that has turned digital music and the mac store into such a huge segment of the industry market.
There’s a lot to it, how we regard an “intangible object” that’s more intellectual property then comic book.
June 20th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I do not currently buy digital comics as I think the price point is too high currently.
I do have a genuine question about them though. Are there ads in the digital single issues?
June 20th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
I love digital comics. There are a few Marvel titles that I’ll always want in paper form as a collection (not for money, just for “having”), but I really would rather have less paper in my life. Comics on the iPad are just about perfect. You can take a heap of comics with you anywhere and read them whenever you want. And….the art looks better displayed digitally than on the crappy paper that the publishers use.
Most of my purchases are through the publisher specific apps because I have faith that the publishers would continue to honor my purchases even if they changed the software that is operating their app (most are on Comixology right now).
I use to want a PDF, but have gotten over that.
June 20th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Although the majority of the comics I’ve purchased are the traditional printed format, I do buy a few digital on occasion in addition to my weekly purchases from the local comic shop.
What I most like about buying digital is the comics don’t take up space in my home! Secondly, you can read them panel-to-panel and never spoil the story by seeing artwork on the adjacent page.
I would prefer to switch over almost completely to digital from print, but have been prevented by the fact that I usually can’t buy it on the same day it’s available in print. I simply can’t wait for weeks or months. DC’s upcoming same-day initiative will probably have me buying more comics from them. That’s good news for DC, but bad news for my local dealer. However, my local shop is pretty much your stereotypical dank cave, so I’m not a huge fan of going there.
June 20th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
I’m pretty much 100% with Eddie. Although my pull list is predominantly DC. Which means come September I’m just gonna go straight digital all the time.
For me it began with Irredeemable and Incorruptible. Love those books. Decided to take the plunge and read them digital, despite the 2 month wait.
The reading experience is comparable. And, like Eddie says, they don’t take up space! I live in an apartment. I have limited storage.
June 21st, 2011 at 2:49 am
“Why do I think of digital comics as impulse buys?”
Because you’re old. And by “old” I mean that you’re over the age of 26.
Not that I know you, of course, I can just tell by your attitude. Anyone who is, as of 2011, over the age of 26 feels that digital media is “fake”… it’s ephemeral, it’s intangible, it’s 1′s and 0′s that you can never hold. Print media is “real”… it’s concrete, it’s solid, you can throw it around or lose it in your apartment.
The thing you have to understand is that the future of digital media isn’t for YOU. It’s for the kids who use Facebook and e-mail from the time they’re in preschool. To them, print means less and less every year and digital is as real as media needs to be. Stop thinking about it from your own perspective, which is already dated, and start thinking from the perspective of YOUR KIDS. They won’t give a damn about wood pulp… sell THEM the comic, not to me. I’m 28 years old, I bought comics on a damn spinner-rack, I’m yesterday’s news.
June 21st, 2011 at 4:04 am
Unfortunately Simon, there may come a time when Comixology closes down. These are uncertain times we live in and even if they still wish to honor those purchases you make, if the money isn’t there they may just close the service down. What if all the stuff you’ve bought is lost? Having a hard copy in your hard drive is the only thing that would make me positively inclined to buy comics online. If they wish to keep them in the cloud, then offer me a standard subscription and allow me to read anything I want. Or scale that subscription allowing me access to varying sizes of “vaults”. But making me pay $3 for a comic book that in 5 years might not be there is frankly ridiculous. I might consider it for a dollar for stuff I’m not that interested in but the price is honestly ridiculous when you don’t even have the distribution issues, the price of paper etc.
June 21st, 2011 at 4:43 am
I get the feeling that if Comixology or any other distributor were to close down, they would let you access your collection on someone else’s servers or figure out some way to refund the value of your collection.
And, anyway, I don’t want a comic book collection anymore. There might be an entire generation of people who are just interested in reading these things, not necessarily collecting them. I’m more than willing to treat it like a movie rental where I pay you, I get the pleasure of enjoying the thing I’m looking at and if I don’t get to own it for perpetuity, who cares? I don’t need to hoard everything in life just to enjoy it and I don’t even read many comics more than once. Buying them to own and re-read them is a waste for me, much of the time.
June 21st, 2011 at 6:22 am
I already buy all of my Image books on Comixology, and will be buying Blue Beetle (the only DC book I will be reading) there as well. A few Image books are day & date, and the rest are 2-3 weeks after release, which I can wait for, since nobody really talks about the latest Morning Glories, etc. in my shop. If or when the rest of the publishers start going day & date, or at least a few weeks after, and stop with the iOS exclusivity, I will switch everything over. I simply do not have enough room in my house for boxes of comics. Every time I fill one up, I give it to my local comic shop just to get rid of it as it is. With Comixology, at least I’d have a backup copy if I ever wanted to re-read it, which would be rare.
June 21st, 2011 at 2:52 pm
D. Peace said “I don’t need to hoard everything in life just to enjoy it” — and I’m completely in line with this: I listen to SirusXM, LastFM, Pandora and Grooveshark way more than my iPod nowadays (except for audiobooks), and I love digital comics on my iPad… BUT, BUT… I don’t know if I can ever kick the collector habit. Man, I’ve got dozens of short-boxes out in the garage, which I never go through (I can’t even keep up with what I’m buying new), but I just get a weird enjoyment looking at my stacks and knowing I can get my Frank-signed Dark Knight Returns #1 out whenever I want… I’m sick and sad, I know.
When it comes to DCNu, I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing the double-dips: the paper+digi books. And you’ve gotta say this about digital — they can’t get away with those foil, die-cut or other gimmick printing covers any more (or can they?)
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Unfortunately both Midtown comics are out of my way from where I work. I do have to make an out-of-my-way trip to fairly people trafficed areas and I really despise going on Wednesdays for the sheer fact I want to punch every guy reading a comic right up at the wall rack but I think those are the kind of guys who will keep going to the stores. So I am looking forward to buying digital. Heck I just got my Ipad and spent about $20 on a few books I wanted to read the first hour I got the apps.
I think comic stores are still going to be ok. As they are now predominantly for old school readers and collectors and in Midtown’s case (the one on the westside) for tourists. Also for those annoying guys who like to go in and read books they follow but never purchase XD
June 22nd, 2011 at 4:03 pm
I have a question for all of you: Assuming Comixology is the “best” software out there for digital comics (a rocky assumption, I know), what is it that would make it’s platform better? This question is for those regular readers of digital comics as well as the the traditionalists such as myself.
June 30th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
I think the switch will largely depend on the demographic and if there’s a LCS in their town. While I live in a comic shop saturated area (Seattle) I work full time, have a 1 1/2 year old, am a reader as opposed to a collector, and I don’t reread my comics. Paper comics take up a ton of space in my house and I’m always looking for ways to get rid of them (let me know if you want anything and live around Seattle). Same day digital will alleviate a ton of hassle and time for me. Plus I’ll get more time to hang out with the wife, kid and dog.