Physical vs Digital OR both

[Colin YNWA]

Over at the rather lovely 'Why I love comics' Facebook Group* there is an interesting discussion going on around that perennial question. Do you prefer your comics physical or digital. What I'm finding very interesting while the answer as a binary question is unsurprisingly still physical, the number of folks who are giving more pragmatic answer, similar to my own of:

Well I prefer physical but I'm buying a lot - or even more - digital. For reasons of space / cost (that's me) / who cares about format its about the story / easier to travel with / I can't get the comics I like physically as easily and / or others.

So I though this old favourite might deserve a dust of here. Let's assume overall we still prefer physical (there will of course be acceptions) are more folks moving towards digital, at least in part. And if so what are the motivation for doing so, or indeed for not doing so?

*If you don't know this Group and do indeed love comics more generally beyond 2000ad and do the Facebook thing AND (final one I promise) like to hang out in a group with a LOAD of world class creators this group is well worth checking out.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/425437221249708/&ved=2ahUKEwjam6WEmMrpAhURQxUIHc-iDcEQFjADegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw3Hrg2iKbPk98Xp7iITVEbb

[CalHab]

I'm a lot more willing to take chances on digital stuff and I'm a sucker for Comixology and Humble Bundle sales, so most of my comics reading is done that way. However, given the choice I'd always prefer paper and will get it for stuff that I'm excited about. I also like visiting and supporting my local comic shop.

I read the prog on paper partly because its a ritual. I enjoy it landing on the doormat and taking the time to go through it. It's something I look forward to.

[IndigoPrime]

My buying habits have shifted this past year. Too many of my trades were warping from being on shelves unread for ages, and I figured they lacked longevity. So I started offloading the better condition stuff and rebuying in HC series I care about, along with interesting new-to-me things. This has also resulted in me buying quite a lot of Image books. I do also grab digital copies in sales of things I'm unsure about, or that I know I'll probably only read once.

Physical comics are something I buy in fits and starts. I never really had any interest in monthlies for things I knew I'd buy in trade, but I did grab a bunch of UK reprint for a while — several Marvel Panini comics, and Titan's Doctor Who. I lapsed the latter because of its ridiculous schedule and Titan's appalling customer service (I'm still owed an issue they refuse to send me because I cancelled my subscription!); the former just became really boring (the usual Marvel treadwheel), bar Mighty World of, which they cancelled just prior to running Immortal Hulk. Bah.

The Prog and the Meg have been exceptions — I had some kind of subscription (either direct or via a newsagent) since 1989 to the former, and since around vol 4 for the latter — but are what I'm now struggling with. I will continue to buy them, no matter what, unless Matt Smith goes mad and commissions an endless run of Big Dave across both titles. But I look at how many comics I now have (basically, full runs of those titles), and I do a bit of a Kondo: are they bringing me joy? Or are they just boxes taking up the entire space under our spare room bed, which will basically run out within the next couple of years? And if I don't plan to revisit them again, what's the point? In fact, many of the older issues of 2000 AD I bought long ago have never been read.

Things changed a lot when we had a kid. Time has just vanished. It's not a lot, but that odd couple of hours that has just gone was previously quite often faff time. I'd sit and read comics or books. And as mini-IP gets older, I know the evenings will be eroded further. So although I still have time for new stuff — my weekly Prog — I don't so much for revisiting old, and certainly not for a trudge through 2000+ issues of 2000 AD. Hence I'm increasingly tempted by the notion of offloading my entire print collection of floppies, and kicking things off with digital subs. But whether I'll actually do so, knowing getting a complete collection back again would be very unlikely, is another thing entirely...

[sintec]

I've only relatively recently returned to comic reading after a abandoning them in my late teens in favour of music and beer. Money was always tight up until relatively recently (mainly due to my record buying habit) when the Hachette Ultimate Collection helped bring me back to the fold.

About 6 months into the Ultimate Collection I decided to check out the Prog, think we were getting a flight somewhere and I grabbed a copy in Smiths. For the next 6 months (ish) I bought physical copies and grabbed one of the Thrill Power Containment Units to store them in. As the binder filled it dawned on me just how much space these would quickly consume and I decided that going digital was the only real long term option. Space is becoming a real constraint on my collection habits and I just couldn't justify it, not on top of the ongoing Hachette collection, plus existing collections of ~2000 vinyl, ~2000 CDs, and 3 bookcases of fantasy and sci-fi novels. Boxing everything up for a recent house move really bought this home and my collection of physical progs was gifted to a work mate.

Current plan is to get trades of the things I'm likely to re-read and use digital for the prog and meg and checking out new things. I have neither the space nor the funds to invest in 32 volumes of Walking Dead so short of borrowing it from a library digital is likely the only way I'll get to read it. Same for the recent Locke and Key and Humaniods bundles. I'm trying to break my addiction to physical music too - if the art is good then I'll likely still grab the vinyl but otherwise I'm tending to go for digital these days.

[IndigoPrime]

Mm. Even 'premium' books might become an issue in our house. I mean, Mrs IP is VERY forgiving of my habits in that area (and is pretty geeky too), but our TV room increasingly resembles a small branch of Forbidden Planet.

Oh, and she's just thrilled I've got mini-IP into comics!

[Funt Solo]

Physical wins the competition when it comes to sitting back in a comfy chair and reading a comic, or deciding to display it on the wall because the cover's so beautiful.

Digital wins all the other competitions: storage, ease of reference, accessibility (I live in the US) & cost.

I own progs 1-1683  (and megs 1-297) as hard copy, but referencing them & storing them involves a lot of work. If I could swap them out for digital, I'd do it in a heartbeat. (Well, not prog 1.)

[Colin YNWA]

Yeah I'm finding its space and money that are the driving factors these days. As the girl child and the boy child are getting older I'm getting more time to read back strangely. As they get more independent I find there are times when they want to play less and do their own things. Lots of the things they like to do involve me being a taxi BUT having loads of time to read while they do whatever - arh remember when the girl was swimming 3 or 4 times a week seems like a lifetime ago! TV and mvies are becoming more seperated to. So I'm actually getting time to read back.

Space though is filled with other things - Lego seems to be creeping into all corners of the house (no bad thing!) and while I'm very luck - I still have my nerd cave - I can't keep just expanding my four colour dominion.

With digital and things like Humble Bundles and some insanely good digital sales, mean I can buy whole runs of stuff for bobbins and not worry about the fact they are lying around waiting to be read - I mean yes there are a lot of comics still lying around waiting to be read, but I feel less guilty about the virtual ones. After all they are literally just a line on a spreadsheet until I download load them. If I don't like them I can tosh them aside knowing more often than not I've spent a lot less than 50p - often less than 25p depending on the deal - in each one.

When I like something I still hanker after owning it physically but I control that... though Stray Bullets I will get soon - I know I will...

[sintec]

Mrs IP is VERY forgiving of my habits in that area (and is pretty geeky too), but our TV room increasingly resembles a small branch of Forbidden Planet.

Yeah Ms Sintec (we're not actually married but after 21 years that feels somewhat like a moot point) is also incredibly forgiving. Even so there are only so many walls to accommodate book cases, shelves, and cupboards for storage. Plus we're currently renting while seeing if Newcastle is where we want to settle long term so the prospect of at least one more house move looms in the future. Knowing that everything I buy in the short term is just adding to the heap of things I'll have to box up and move when that happens makes digital seem even more appealing.

[sheldipez]

A good few years ago on here I replied to the same debate that I was very much on physical comics fence but in the last couple of years I've been through a marriage breakdown and had to move in and out of houses like it's going out of fashion. Since then I've fully moved over all subs to digital including the prog and meg; I just cant bring myself to move boxes of stuff about any longer. Most things I'll be keeping is the special stuff like signed Watchmen etc. rest of the stuff has been going by ebay and re-acquiring digitally.

In retrospect this choice massivley depends on your personal circumstances, right now the thought of moving again and having just to take my tablet to move most of my comics collection takes so much weight off my mind.

If I'm honest though it was already getting to the point where I was reading so much stuff that I had a small library. Having a full run of comics at the click of a button whilst crashed on the couch is a slobs joy.

[Rately]

Mostly digital now, other than the Ultimate collection, and using Ebay sporadically to catch up on the Mega Collection. I've bought lots of physical editions of 2000AD collections, the likes of Luke Kirby, Zenith etc. but am entirely content now to realise that its most likely all digital in future owing to space, cost, having got married. Mind you, the digital purchases are mostly collections, and even then, I definitely don't purchase as much as I used to.

We had our loft converted into a small cinema room, with a bookcase, and two Billy cases laid on their sides on either side of the room to provide temporary space to store books, comics, DVDs and Blu-rays, but I can easily see myself selling all but a few items over the next few years.