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Post by impulse on Oct 6, 2021 17:20:25 GMT -5
I follow the general sentiment here. In the moment and absent context, I prefer reading a physical comic book versus digital, but beyond that digital is more convenient in almost every way.
Storage, access, speed to browse, ability to zoom, storage, did I mention storage?? Not having to store comics is amazing. If I could summon a physical reading copy as easily as I can pull up a digital one and also not have to store it, that would be ideal.
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Post by MDG on Oct 7, 2021 9:11:20 GMT -5
I follow the general sentiment here. In the moment and absent context, I prefer reading a physical comic book versus digital, but beyond that digital is more convenient in almost every way. Storage, access, speed to browse, ability to zoom, storage, did I mention storage?? Not having to store comics is amazing. If I could summon a physical reading copy as easily as I can pull up a digital one and also not have to store it, that would be ideal. All this, plus the ability to read anyplace in the house whether or not the light is good (or outside on the porch at night). Being able to borrow digital stuff through the library (newer books) and purchase cheap PD collections (old books) has provided th opportunity to read a lot of things I'd never have considered buying.
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Post by brutalis on Oct 7, 2021 9:43:33 GMT -5
Being able to borrow digital stuff through the library (newer books) and purchase cheap PD collections (old books) has provided theopportunity to read a lot of things I'd never have considered buying. [/quote]
Yeah, this makes digital collecting so much fun and reinvigorating for me. Being able to read comics from before I was born is mindblowing. Having 1940/1950 DC, Atlas, Fawcett I could only see panels of or the occasional story reprint is pure joy. That for a single $10 bill I received 243 issues classic Flash comics from early Jay Garrick to the complete Barry Allen Flash makes me a very happy collector/reader.
And this the point I hope to emphasize most loudly here... READING and experiencing the fun and pleasure of comic books. I am NOT in this collecting for turning a profit or boasting of WHAT I HAVE collected. I am all about READING what I own. Egads is it great to read these comics I had no hope of ever seeing in print or ever owning. Child me on reading his 1st ever comic book never had any idea or imagining that adult me would remain hooked (read as addicted) to what my parent's believed were a silly, stupid waste of time and money.
Yay for digital scans keeping my comic book enthusiasm high and strong.
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Post by james on Oct 8, 2021 15:57:58 GMT -5
I don’t know if this has been mentioned but I have tried to get into digital comics over the years and I just can’t stick with it. I think My main problem is they still cost the same as traditional comics. For 4.99 I might as well have the physical copy. Am I the only one that feels this way?
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Post by badwolf on Oct 8, 2021 16:22:35 GMT -5
Simulations of items should always cost less than their real counterparts.
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Post by james on Oct 8, 2021 16:30:56 GMT -5
Simulations of items should always cost less than their real counterparts. Couldn't agree more. At 1.99 a pop I may have stayed with digital
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2021 17:19:37 GMT -5
I don’t know if this has been mentioned but I have tried to get into digital comics over the years and I just can’t stick with it. I think My main problem is they still cost the same as traditional comics. For 4.99 I might as well have the physical copy. Am I the only one that feels this way? The stuff I read digitally is either... a)subscribing to a library such as Marvel Unlimited where for my monthly (or in our case annual) subscription fee I can read as many comics as I want. If I read more than 25 comics in the year, I have made the $3 per comic minimum price of current comics. I will read far more than 25 in a year...I've had it for 5 or 6 years now and have never once not gotten my money's worth. b) through a library service like hoopla that I receive through my public library system where my only pay in is the portion of my tax dollars allocated to the library system that I will pay whether I use their services or not c) I bought a physical copy that comes with a code for a free digital copy d) is a public domain comic archived somewhere on the web for free that I can read e) is only available as a web comic or is digital first and usually pay what you want or donate to read (from places like Panel Syndicate or webtoon hosting sites) I choose not to buy individual digital issues also available in print. I do use digital for exploration and discovery (if I find a series I really like I often pick up trades or collected editions to have in my library). So yes, the price tag of individual issues is a bar to me buying individual issues digitally, but it is not an obstacle for me reading comics digitally through other means. -M
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Post by The Cheat on Oct 9, 2021 12:57:42 GMT -5
Digital's great in some situations. Paper is nice in others. I'm just grateful that we live in a time where we've got the option to choose. I don't get people who just point blank refuse to try it, as if they're afraid their paper collection is suddenly going to disappear in a puff of smoke the minute they load up their first page on a tablet.
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Post by badwolf on Oct 9, 2021 18:37:11 GMT -5
Digital's great in some situations. Paper is nice in others. I'm just grateful that we live in a time where we've got the option to choose. I don't get people who just point blank refuse to try it, as if they're afraid their paper collection is suddenly going to disappear in a puff of smoke the minute they load up their first page on a tablet. No, but the service could disappear in a puff of smoke at any time. Or the selection it offers. (Same with movies, music, etc.)
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Post by brutalis on Oct 9, 2021 18:53:34 GMT -5
Digital's great in some situations. Paper is nice in others. I'm just grateful that we live in a time where we've got the option to choose. I don't get people who just point blank refuse to try it, as if they're afraid their paper collection is suddenly going to disappear in a puff of smoke the minute they load up their first page on a tablet. No, but the service could disappear in a puff of smoke at any time. Or the selection it offers. (Same with movies, music, etc.) yeah, that is a major problem. If I pay to "own" something I like to know I have it for as long as I want it, not how long somebody else "allows" me to borrow it. This is why I do like purchasing the DVD-ROM scanned discs as I have them available when I want. If I load onto my Kindle and it is stolen (true story), then I simply load again onto my new Kindle. If my issues loaded on my laptop are lost when it breaks down, then i will load onto my new laptop. Like Daffy Duck would say...mine, mine, mine! All mine! Cuz' I'm a greeeeeedy little duck!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2021 20:16:07 GMT -5
Digital's great in some situations. Paper is nice in others. I'm just grateful that we live in a time where we've got the option to choose. I don't get people who just point blank refuse to try it, as if they're afraid their paper collection is suddenly going to disappear in a puff of smoke the minute they load up their first page on a tablet. No, but the service could disappear in a puff of smoke at any time. Or the selection it offers. (Same with movies, music, etc.) Depending where you live, same could happen to physical media-how many collections wee lost in the California wildfires or the severe flooding in the American south? There are pluses and minuses, and risks to every form of media. I see folks in other forums at least once a month looking to replace toys, comics, rpg materials, etc. lost in some kind flood, fire, natural disaster, theft, home accident, storage facilities being foreclosed on and customers not being able to recover items stored there, etc. etc. Physical copies really are only marginally more secure than digital ones and far harder and more expensive to replace when something actually does happen. -M
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Post by The Cheat on Oct 10, 2021 12:54:48 GMT -5
Digital's great in some situations. Paper is nice in others. I'm just grateful that we live in a time where we've got the option to choose. I don't get people who just point blank refuse to try it, as if they're afraid their paper collection is suddenly going to disappear in a puff of smoke the minute they load up their first page on a tablet. No, but the service could disappear in a puff of smoke at any time. Or the selection it offers. (Same with movies, music, etc.) That's why you make offline copies of everything you buy. Storage space is dirt cheap. I'm sure it's probably technically against the terms of service, but morally, if I've paid for it, downloading a copy for offline viewing isn't going to trouble my conscience any.
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Post by badwolf on Oct 10, 2021 21:10:07 GMT -5
No, but the service could disappear in a puff of smoke at any time. Or the selection it offers. (Same with movies, music, etc.) Depending where you live, same could happen to physical media-how many collections wee lost in the California wildfires or the severe flooding in the American south? There are pluses and minuses, and risks to every form of media. I see folks in other forums at least once a month looking to replace toys, comics, rpg materials, etc. lost in some kind flood, fire, natural disaster, theft, home accident, storage facilities being foreclosed on and customers not being able to recover items stored there, etc. etc. Physical copies really are only marginally more secure than digital ones and far harder and more expensive to replace when something actually does happen. -M I don't live in a California wildfire. It's not even remotely the same thing.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2021 21:22:37 GMT -5
Depending where you live, same could happen to physical media-how many collections wee lost in the California wildfires or the severe flooding in the American south? There are pluses and minuses, and risks to every form of media. I see folks in other forums at least once a month looking to replace toys, comics, rpg materials, etc. lost in some kind flood, fire, natural disaster, theft, home accident, storage facilities being foreclosed on and customers not being able to recover items stored there, etc. etc. Physical copies really are only marginally more secure than digital ones and far harder and more expensive to replace when something actually does happen. -M I don't live in a California wildfire. It's not even remotely the same thing. Sure it is. You cite the security of physical over digital in being able to protect your possession of a copy as a reason physical copies are better. There are just as many threats to your physical issue as there are to your digital copy and they are no less likely to happen than the litany of threats people roll out about digital comics to rationalize their preference for physical copies. The frequency of threats to both is negligible, but the fear mongering about threats to digital comics continues apace, usually reliant on anecdotal evidence but referring to things that occur in quantities/frequencies that are statistically insignificant. It is a tired trope with little validity. Sure computers or hard drives get fried, or digital services go out of business, but so do gas main explosions, broken water pipes, wind storms, house fires, burglaries, and other events that result in loss of physical copies of comics. There are as many risks to one form as the other, but you want to highlight statistically insignificant anecdotal evidence on one side but dismiss it on the other. No matter what form your comics are in, shit can happen that leads to you not having them anymore. Choosing one form or the other does nothing to minimize the risk more than the other. Any security someone feels about one form over the other is an illusion stemming from personal bias not reality. And that is what it boils down to. Personal preference. Neither is objectively better than the other. -M
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Post by impulse on Oct 10, 2021 21:36:23 GMT -5
<style>0</style><style>0</style><style>0</style><style>0</style> I follow the general sentiment here. In the moment and absent context, I prefer reading a physical comic book versus digital, but beyond that digital is more convenient in almost every way. Storage, access, speed to browse, ability to zoom, storage, did I mention storage?? Not having to store comics is amazing. If I could summon a physical reading copy as easily as I can pull up a digital one and also not have to store it, that would be ideal. All this, plus the ability to read anyplace in the house whether or not the light is good (or outside on the porch at night). Being able to borrow digital stuff through the library (newer books) and purchase cheap PD collections (old books) has provided th opportunity to read a lot of things I'd never have considered buying. I almost included backlighting as one of the pluses, but I just barely left it out due to arguments over eye strain, but you're 100% right. Not having to deal with perfect lighting locations is a huge benefit. And let's be honest, at most of our ages, our eyes will be strained at some point in the day regardless. I don’t know if this has been mentioned but I have tried to get into digital comics over the years and I just can’t stick with it. I think My main problem is they still cost the same as traditional comics. For 4.99 I might as well have the physical copy. Am I the only one that feels this way? 100% agree with you with regards to single-item purchases. It's way too expensive and IMO a lesser value than the physical counterpart. At a minimum, you could in theory sell the original (even if no one would buy most random modern single issues for much of anything). As others have said, the real sweet spot is not in using it to replace buying traditional monthlies but to utilize the subscription services, free services like libraries, or the fabulous sales you can sometimes find on sites like Humble Bundle. At some point I snagged the entire The Walking Dead TPB collection there for something like mid-twenty dollar range? It was a pittance. But yes, free, borrow, or rent are the sweet spots for digital content. Depending where you live, same could happen to physical media-how many collections wee lost in the California wildfires or the severe flooding in the American south? There are pluses and minuses, and risks to every form of media. I see folks in other forums at least once a month looking to replace toys, comics, rpg materials, etc. lost in some kind flood, fire, natural disaster, theft, home accident, storage facilities being foreclosed on and customers not being able to recover items stored there, etc. etc. Physical copies really are only marginally more secure than digital ones and far harder and more expensive to replace when something actually does happen. -M I don't live in a California wildfire. It's not even remotely the same thing. The California wildfire thing is just one example. Most areas are subject to some potential natural disaster or other, or any other myriad ways physical books could be destroyed. Flood, fire, theft, hurricanes, tornadoes, a burst pipe. How many collections were lost to the whims of a parent cleaning out the closets or garage and deciding those old rags had to go? Shoot, just simple time sometimes. If there is some failure in storage procedure or materials your books can be damaged. In some ways, I would argue physical comics are less secure than digital, if only because in theory a digital collection is much easier to replace if something happens to them. Throw a copy on a portable HD somewhere. Store them on the cloud. Most copyright laws include a clause permitting a personal backup for just such an occasion. In general, I use the digital streaming services for day to day use, but I also buy a copy of the thing if I actually care about it and want to own it (digital media in general, not specifically comics). For music for example, I use Spotify for 99% of my listening, but some bands are automatic buy the CD when it comes up and rip it, file the CD in case I need it, etc.
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