I'm sorry because I'm sure this subject has probably been discussed before but I couldn't find it anywhere when I tirelessly searched the first page of active topics...
I downloaded 2000AD's freebie comic for the iPad from the webstore and have to say I was very impressed. The images were so crisp and clear and the colour was fantastic!
One problem is that I like owning things and I have trouble with this whole new fangled culture of streaming films, downloading music and now potentially comics. I worry that if I don't have something I can feel and touch that I will forget it is there and not use it! Much to the amusement of my teenage nephew I still buy CDs and DVDs but I'm proud of my collections and that goes for my graphic novels which are all nicely displayed in a cabinet.
The other thing is that I do like the feel and smell of paper. I don't know if that is weird...
How does everyone else feel about this? Is there anyone that had gone for a completely digital library?
As someone who has been 99% digital since Nov. 2012, I can positively say I do not miss bagging, boarding, and storing massive piles of paper.
Digital isn't all roses, as juggling various formats and apps can get a bit tiresome. But even print comics have various formats you have to juggle, it's less of a hassle with digital because at least its weightless.
Digital isn't going to appeal to collectors, or those who like to display their gains, but if all you care about is content, and reading. It's superior.
Currently the only physical media I still buy are Blu-rays. Because the limitations of online streaming lead to a quality downgrade. If that ever changes in the future I wouldn't be against switching. Because it's not the format, it's the content that matters.
hi guys.. dont post that often,but on this subject felt i needed too. same as the bissler on this one. Cant stand digital format.. this maybe due to personal history of collecting from an early age. the upside to owning paper is after sales value.( walking dead #1 for example..) thats my 2pence worth on this subject.. TTFN.
I see after sale value as a perk, and since it's such a crap shoot its something I live without. Especially since I'm not buying the books to flip in the first place.
I've been working to sell off most of my print collection as I switched over to digital, and frankly its been a bit of a nightmare that's rarely worth the effort.
I used to agree with the idea that owning a digital copy of something doesn't really feel like you own it at all. But I also believe that if you collect thousands of comic books, you need to store them, catalog them and when you finally snuff it, some poor sod has to lug them to the tip. Digital has the upsides of your whole collection taking up no more room than a single graphic novel. Everything is accessible instantly. And you can take your whole collection with you anywhere you go. If there is a fire, you just buy a new iPad and re download everything. And when you do finally snuff it, someone just wipes your iPad and fills it with new crap. As much as I love books and the feeling of holding one in your hand, I do believe that digital is the future, like it or not.
As for forgetting about stuff, I nearly got a game on the weekend from a shop and then realized I downloaded that in the Steam winter sale and have only played it for about 5 minutes. Saved myself $35.
Digital is rubbish and anyone who disagrees is wrong.
MODS: Please now lock this thread.
I am a paper snob. New graphic novels smell great. The light his the page differently, I have been known to turn a comic or GN to get different light on a page.
I do not get the same enjoyment reading a digital comic.
I do see digital as useful in some ways. Easier to access back catalogue. Particularly for grabbing that issue with that story that you suddenly need to read. For me if I had everything digitally researching for my blog would be a ton easier.
Light striking paper differently is a new one to me. Frankly light sticking the page has always been a hindrance to me with light glaring off the page when at bad angle obstructing text and artwork.
EDIT: Or light being uneven due to the page gutters.
Back-lit screen, no more glare. And digital colors exactly as the artist intended.
Benefits (for me) for moving to Digital;
1. I simply couldn't house my comics any more...hence they are out there somewhere trying to be sold!
2. When I travel (which is too much) I can DL the new prog every week and have access to GN's if I want.
3. You can delete and reload the comics and GNs if the iPad (or whatever) gets full and reload later
4. It is SO easy to access comics (2000ad, DC, Marvel, etc.) when you want...although dangerous (i.e. expensive) if done after a few drinks
5. You can read them any where - not so easy to lug a load of progs, etc. around with you
Think you need an iPad type screen to really get the most out of it though, Mini size would be too small for me.
Oh yeah, you really need a tablet. iPhone or computer screens are not ideal experiences. I had two* false starts switching to digital (in 2008 with 2000AD on PC via Clickwheel) and iPod Touch (in 2010 with various ComiXology purchases).
Without a screen of near print page size... its just not ideal.
But god damn if it ain't ideal with the right hardware.
*I almost, ALMOST started reading Crossgen Digtal waaaaaay back in 2002. But thank god I didn't do that, the technology just wasn't remotely there yet. RIP Crossgen.
EDIT: OH MY GOD REMEMBER CROSSGEN COMICS ON DEE VEE DEE!? (http://www.amazon.com/Meridian-Volume-CrossGen-Digital-Comic/dp/B0000CAOS9) :lol:
Quote from: The Adventurer on 27 March, 2014, 09:27:54 AM
And digital colors exactly as the artist intended.
Ha ha, rarely...
Digital has allowed me to subscribe to the prog again as these days I just don't have the space or the inclination to clutter what little there is. I can see the benefits of either side - ultimately the work's the thing, no, regardless of platform?
One thing though, I'd have thought people who regularly enjoy a sci-fi comic would be happier about living in the future. ;)
QuoteOne thing though, I'd have thought people who regularly enjoy a sci-fi comic would be happier about living in the future.
No crap, it baffles me sometimes.
Maybe because they're disappointed that we're not living in a macro analog future?!
I'm considering going digital this year. I've got an iPad so should be able to get the most out of the medium. 37 years of progs, annuals, megazines, monthlies, collections etc are starting to dominate all storage space and as I can't afford a bigger house I think this might be the solution. interesting to read everyones thoughts and experiences.
Other advantages of Digital.
Never be spoiled by events on the right-hand page again!
While reading book digitally doesn't bother me to much on my Kindle. I do still buy the odd hard back because there is something special about owning a book, I get the same feeling for comics/graphics novels. I did buy Underbelly digitally and read it on my 10" tablet. It just didn't feel the same as reading paper comic. I am slowly buying all the Judge Dredd case files and other prog collections to have a decent collection of the old progs. But guess at some point I will have to embrace the future and go digital for pretty much the reasons the guys state above, until then paper trumps digital for now.
I am a 100% pure bred Jurassic. The very thought of digital gives me horrible cold sweats.
Just remember, if you go all digital you can never take part in Spine Chat ever again, ever!. It's hard to show off a collection if its only a single e-reader.
Other advantages of Digital...
Never take part in spine chat ever again.
I'd have thought I'd have gone digital by now but I'm still to find a platform that really engages me. A ten inch screen doesn't quite do it for me. I'm still holding out for a decent, light 12 incher. I can defo see some considerable practical advantages to an digital collection. Ease of access etc amongst them BUT if you download them rather than store them with a third party aren't you just switching one storage problem for another? I've over 6000 comics and trades, amounting to the equivalent of some 9000 comic stories - that's going to take a LOT of disc space?
Even when I do move I don't think I'll be transfer many of my older comics to some online format. I really like the adverts and other stuff that don't (I assume) exist in the virtual version as it places a context around the stories, gives them a greater sense of the time and place they were created. Letters pages and editorial also add to the whole package. Hence when I can I buy original comics rather than trade collections - though it has to be said trades are taking an increasing proportion of collection as they are cheaper, easier and take less room (I hear digital singing I know).
So yeah very much physical at the moment but very aware of the fact that at some point I will go digital in some aspects of my collecting.
Given that I have a 32GB storage card that is smaller than a postage stamp and 3 years worth of digital progs and Megs (and a few other purchases) have barely dented it, I don't think digital storage problems are in the same league as finding shelving for 9000 comics. You could still fit all of the memory cards required into a wallet. And even a more robust hard drive solution is no bigger than a paper book.
I don't think the trend is for tablets to be getting bigger - they seem to be bringing 7 inch versions out. My Samsung is 10.1 inch - not perfect but pretty darned good. I wonder if one of those laptop thingies where the screen is detachable and it works like a tablet has a bigger screen.
My happy medium is going to be a digital purchase of the prog and megazine with hard-copy purchases of the trade paperbacks. Is rare nowadays that I look back through old progs (with the exception of occasional re reads of the pre-prog 500 issues) so I'm not sure what I am stockpiling all these back issues for. I'm far kite likely to pick up and read the trades. Added bonus is I can fit everything on one bookshelf.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 27 March, 2014, 12:22:11 PM
I'm still holding out for a decent, light 12 incher.
-snigger-
I know what you mean though Colin, it would be nice to have an ipad that is equal to the prog page size but even then you still have the double-page spread issue. I think it will be a sad day when we see pictures of your mancave with all the shelves empty and just an ipad on the table. :'(
People often discuss digital comics alongside music or movies but there are some important differences. If I watch a good quality digital movie or DVD on my TV then there is no real difference in the experience for me -midway through the movie, I cannot tell the two apart. Music is very similar - if I listen to a CD or MP3 in my car there is no noticeable difference in my experience. What separates books and comics is that there is a very clear difference between reading on paper or an ipad. Both look good in their own ways but they are not the same.
In my opinion, the digital prog looks very good but at the moment the winner is still the paper prog.
I don't see that it's an either/or game myself. I have my hardcopy editions of Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Dark Knight, From Hell, etc. and I have digital copies of the same on my iPad. (I even have a digital copy of Kingdom Come because I long ago misplaced my hardcopy issues and have resisted buying them again in case I ever found them.) Then there's the first five or six Case Files, VCs, AMoore's Future Shocks and Halo Jones volumes I have in digital to compliment my original Progs and save on unbagging them every time I want to read a story. It's the best of both worlds as I see it. That said, I'd never pay full price for a digital comic if I could avoid it, so all these titles have been bought in various sales.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 27 March, 2014, 12:22:11 PM
I'm still holding out for a decent, light 12 incher.
http://www.samsung.com/nz/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/tablet/SM-P9050ZWAVNZ (http://www.samsung.com/nz/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/tablet/SM-P9050ZWAVNZ)
Hold out no longer. 12.2 inch screen and 750g. And supports up to 64 gig of expandable memory. Looks like as good a time as any to go digital...
Holding out against 'progress' too.....
10 inch screen (the best reading size, agreed) can't compete with the feel of trees. Same goes for books.
As far as spoiler right-hand pages goes, the problems with digital double-page spreads is a bigger annoyance? Plus I'm getting pretty good at reading left to right these days :)
I've tried digital, and didn't really get on with it - if Apple come out with a 12/13" tablet - maybe I'd consider it for TPB replacements.
It doesn't really work well for DPS, and at a size smaller than the TPBs I'd ideally want something larger.
It would save a nice chunk of shelf space though.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 27 March, 2014, 12:22:11 PM
I really like the adverts and other stuff that don't (I assume) exist in the virtual version as it places a context around the stories, gives them a greater sense of the time and place they were created
I thought I was the only one. Adverts for Cherry Coke on the back of progs I've read a thousand times are as much part of my memory of the time when I read
2000ad as if it was The Bible as the stories themselves, as are memorable readers drawings and letters. Got Milk?, anti-drug campaigns, and adverts for wretched US soft rock outfits perform a similar function for nineties Vertigo titles, and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison's replies to readers' letters were worth the cover price of the comics by themselves.
I can't see myself buying a paper version of a monthly comic ever again, though.
Interesting discussion. Good to see others struggling with the dilemma too.
I read a lot of my comics, including the Meg, on the tablet and love having all my back issues with me everywhere I go.
I still buy the physical prog though, but that has as much to do with the weekly trek to the shop where I have it on order and where I have a chat about crap 1980's sci-fi movies with the newsagent who's been reading Dredd (and Dredd only) since Prog 1. I guess when he retires I'll go full digital.
He must have read prog 1 quickly then.
For me, there's also the nagging thought that it just hastens the demise of the printed issue.
I feel bad enough about being on subscription so it's one less person buying it in the newsagents.
About a year ago I was full physical. Now mostly digital when I had a lump bonus and splashed out on a decent tablet (I only buy classic comics and Spider-Man physically and I redeem the code included in the spidey titles and read it digitally, I only buy them to keep my spidey long boxes going, nice full runs I can eventually donate to my kids or they can sell on) and the benefits (complete collections in your hand, no storage needed, so cheap) outway the negatives (ownership).
I like to read a lot of floppies so was getting to the point were I had longboxes full of stuff that I would probably never read again so would have to mess around ebaying off. With digital these things I have the option of returning yet dont need umpteen longboxes. Can't tell you how many 99c comics I've picked up through comixology, it's great.
Glad to see it isn't just me then that is struggling with this dilemma! Really interesting responses, and I'm still torn but thinking that it might be better to go for the prog digitally while sticking with paper for the Graphic Novels. Hmm...
I do feel it is a choice of one or the other, solely because I'm not up for paying out for the same stories twice. Ideally comics might start following the "Ultraviolet" route that films have been taking where when you buy the physical product you are also gain a digital copy to use as you please (apologies if I have misunderstood this in any way).
Quote from: Fungus on 27 March, 2014, 06:22:54 PM
He must have read prog 1 quickly then.
Ha! Fair point!
I'm well into digital and may well never buy a paper comic again. I only occasionally buy 'premium' physical media - deluxe hardback collections or steelbook/boxed set Blu Rays of stuff I really love and will read/watch multiple times.
Moving abroad actually forced me to seriously consider getting rid of ALL of my physical media, but decided to just slim it down for now.
My flat would look scarily empty had I done so.
Quote from: sauchie on 27 March, 2014, 05:45:07 PM
I can't see myself buying a paper version of a monthly comic ever again, though.
So that's why we never see you on The New Comic Day Mega Thread, eh?
Like most comic readers under the age of 97, I like a bit of digital, but still buy physical singles / trades too.
Think I'll always purchase a mix of formats, although I doubt I'll ever go digital Prog.
Ther are a bunch of us who are digitally only in the New Comic Day thread.
Fair point Adventurer.
I generally try and wait for the 1+ month price drop / sales for digital, stingy fecker that I am.
Paper only for me, please.
Digital is the way forward for the survival and expansion of comics though, and while I only read paper comics, I have being more than happy to use digital version of fanzines etc when needed.
There is a place for both, so long as there is readers, it may come to a point where one wont survive without the other. If in the future it come to where comics are available digital only, I think they will be vastly different to the comics we read now.
It's interesting to see the (often quite spurious) reasons people give for being averse to digital media, especially comics.
I often go through the same arguments in my head and I think I've worked out why. There's a sensation of being in too deep - the feeling that I've spent such a horrendous amount of time and money amassing all this stuff, and to have it being all for waste feels a bit threatening somehow.
QuoteIt's interesting to see the (often quite spurious) reasons people give for being averse to digital media, especially comics.
'The Smell' is easily one of my favorites of these.
Quote from: radiator on 28 March, 2014, 06:20:22 AM
It's interesting to see the (often quite spurious) reasons people give for being averse to digital media, especially comics.
I often go through the same arguments in my head and I think I've worked out why. There's a sensation of being in too deep - the feeling that I've spent such a horrendous amount of time and money amassing all this stuff, and to have it being all for waste feels a bit threatening somehow.
That's a fairly good reason though, selling or donating a shelf full of trades to replace with digital (at significant cost) is a fairly big step.
Even at just rough count, there's 70+ trades on my shelf at an average of a tenner a pop. To re-buy in digital format (which doesn't currently offer an improved experience, just more convenient), is a bit different to just ripping your existing CD collection.
I'm digital only for individual issues on some OOP GN's. However, I still buy physical GN's mostly.
Quote from: radiator on 28 March, 2014, 06:20:22 AM
It's interesting to see the (often quite spurious) reasons people give for being averse to digital media, especially comics.
I often go through the same arguments in my head and I think I've worked out why. There's a sensation of being in too deep - the feeling that I've spent such a horrendous amount of time and money amassing all this stuff, and to have it being all for waste feels a bit threatening somehow.
I feel the same!
I have thousands of these things filling wardrobes......I'm living in hope that my kids eventually take an interest and that it will serve some future purpose beyond me just "having them". I don't recall ever going back to a prog or negative that I have bought in the last 15+ years so I am just effectively stockpiling for no good reason. Its not as if it is even appreciating a monetary value really.
I love the trade paperbacks and my old titan album collection and these take up a fraction of the space to store. For this reason alone it makes sense to go digital and just by the physical trades but I have been feeling this way for at least a year and I'm finding it hard to take the actual jump. Old habits die hard.
"megazine" not "negative". Usual auto correction nonsense on my phone.
There's a kind of philosophical, quite dark element where you start to realise everything you own will eventually just become a burden for someone else to get rid of. I think that's why I'm quite ruthless nowadays - I only want stuff I'll get a lot of use out of, and I have no time at all for collectibles and that kind of thing.
Oh, I'd hate to go completely digital.
Not for me, no siree.
I've dipped my toe into the digital waters, and its come in handy for what I wanted. And I can see the pro's and cons of both sides of the argument, but I'd like to stick with the 'physical' thanks.
Personally, nowt beats that.
Paper please.
I don't like reading from Computer screens for extended periods of time, and to be honest when I do read from a screen I feel a bit 'disconnected' (for want of a better phrase) from the whole reading experience.
Cheers
I'm somewhat similar, in the sense my day job involves writing at a screen, often about things with screens. I like paper as an alternative, and it's less strain on the eyes. That said, digital's something I use to test the waters (i.e. buying dirt cheap as a kind of demo), or for series I want to read but doubt I'll read again (such as the new Furman Transformers run).
One negative I've found with digital is actually almost a positive. Because everything is 'hidden', I often go for ages without reading mags I'm subscribed to. It's a good indicator I should just stop. With paper equivalents, I feel more guilt because of resources and space.
For now, though, I'm sticking with paper for 2000AD and the Meg, because it's more pleasurable for me to get the weekly paper product than a notification on my iPad. Dredd vs Mars Attacks, however, lives only inside my iPad.
I have no idea whether it's the paper stock currently used, repro quality, or the fact so many artists are working digitally nowadays, but artwork that looks great on my laptop often looks a little ropy in WH Smiths.
Yeah, there's a huge difference in how the colours are mixed. Digital colour is additive, so it gets brighter as you mix primary colours together. Whereas print is subtractive, so the same mixed colours become darker. This can occasionally cause huge problems, especially when the artist doesn't work or check the work in CMYK mode (for print. Digital art is usually prepared in RGB mode). Preparing art to look great on paper is a complex and skilled job, for artist and printer. The print process and the paper obviously have a huge influence too. Whereas with digital what you see on screen is what you get, as long as your monitor is properly calibrated.
It doesn't always looks worse on paper though. Sometimes the printing process gives the art a little more body and substance. And an experienced artist will prepare the work to look its best on paper - and look great in either medium.
I have only ever bought the physical comics and have a question regarding the digital ones.
Are they the same as the paper ones? (Different colour reproduction aside).
When I compare the cover with the one the 2000AD Homepage it looks like the paper one has been cropped a bit - if you look closely at the pattern on 1874, you can see extra bits on the one of the Web page.
Quote from: Magnetica on 30 March, 2014, 07:33:20 PM
I have only ever bought the physical comics and have a question regarding the digital ones. Are they the same as the paper ones? (Different colour reproduction aside). When I compare the cover with the one the 2000AD Homepage it looks like the paper one has been cropped a bit - if you look closely at the pattern on 1874, you can see extra bits on the one of the Web page.
There are white borders around the edges of every page inside the comic. For all I know, Tharg is cheating me out of millimetres of that white space with every digital prog, but all the panels are reproduced as they are in the printed editions.
Quote from: Magnetica on 30 March, 2014, 07:33:20 PM
I have only ever bought the physical comics and have a question regarding the digital ones.
Are they the same as the paper ones? (Different colour reproduction aside).
When I compare the cover with the one the 2000AD Homepage it looks like the paper one has been cropped a bit - if you look closely at the pattern on 1874, you can see extra bits on the one of the Web page.
Artists always leave an area of space around the art that may or may not make it onto the page. Printing onto paper is rarely an exact science, and the printer and artist generally don't communicate. It's the reason we have a white border round the art, but on covers or panels that go off the page it'll be colour art. Non essential stuff, obviously, but still a continuation of the painting. So when you compare a digital and printed version of the same page you will sometimes get slight differences in what is visible at the edges.
I went digital just a few months ago, and I'm absolutely loving it. Really didn't see the appeal and didn't think I'd like it anywhere near as much as a physical product, but space in the flat for comics became such a problem that there genuinely wasn't anywhere for any comics to be stored, so I switched out of necessity.
Got a Google Nexus 7, so not a huge screen by any means, but Comixology's guided view means that doesn't even matter, and I find that a really good way to read them. For things Comixology don't have (like 2000AD for instance) I just use a comic reader (I forget the name of it, someone on here recommended it to me!), hold the tablet in landscape and pan down the page.
Stuff looks really good and I'm finding I read a lot more because of the convenience of having them in my pocket and the ease of being able to browse the comic shop and try things out (I've been sitting bored on the train before and just connected to the wi-fi and bought a couple of comics to pass the time, it's really great). Big barrier for me in trying new series or following them consistently was that I'd miss issues, but they're all there digitally.
Plus the prices are obviously better (usually). The new Case Files was half the price digitally as print (that collection was actually the first major dilemma I've had since going digital, I really struggled with the idea of whether to keep going paper with the Case Files before convenience won out) and I just got a ton of Walking Dead collections for a couple of quid each because of a sale on Comixology. Loving it.
Thought I'd really miss the prog dropping in the post (and I do a bit) but the first Wednesday that rolled around where I realized I could just grab it on the work wi-fi and read it on my lunch break was a revelation. I got quite giddy.
Any sign of 2000a appearing on android devices?
You'd have thought 2000AD would be a natural for going 'droid.
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 01 April, 2014, 02:41:33 PM
Big barrier for me in trying new series or following them consistently was that I'd miss issues, but they're all there digitally
Hell yeah. I used to get the train through to Glasgow or Edinburgh every five/six weeks for comics, and if the first place I went to didn't have an issue I'd traipse around all the other stores looking for one bloody comic. I spent years combing boxes of back issues in stores the length of Britain trying to find the second issue of the original Epic Marshal Law series, for example, because that and other comics were too late, too early, or I was too busy sitting my standard grades at the time.
Thanks to digital comics, books and music, the misery of having to leave my house and interact with the real world is over. Even individual issues of
2000ad I missed thanks to my newsagent - like the episode where McGruder stepped down - which I had just accepted I would never be arsed tracking down, are suddenly magically only a click away. I'm grateful to the guy with the wooden leg and eyepatch who allowed me to read that issue, but I would rather have bunged Tharg a quid for it.
Quote from: sauchie on 01 April, 2014, 05:51:59 PM
I had just accepted I would never be arsed tracking down,
I'm surprised ...you should see the amount of time I have spent tracking down a copy
every single week. On holidays as a kid it was my one and only concern..find a newsagent that sells 2000AD and drag my parents round for hours until a copy had been bought. :)
I am now however getting concerned that all the newsagents I know that sell it have now closed down apart from WHSmith in my local high street and the one in the station. Indeed I know lots of Smith's that don't actually stock it. I actually had to go all the way into Orbital Comics off Charing Cross Road to get it the other week...a worrying trend.
If it comes to it I think I will subscribe to the paper version before going digital.
Quote from: SteveMillar on 01 April, 2014, 04:55:32 PM
Any sign of 2000a appearing on android devices?
It does. I get my weekly Prog and Megs from the shop and down load them to my android tablet.
Yeah my tablet is Android too and I read the prog just fine! There's no dedicated 2000AD app like there is on Apple, but I grab mine from Clickwheel and as Tips says the 2000AD store is another option.
I have moved to Digital ( Kindle Fire ) for all my books, and several Graphic Novels as well......I think I'm likely to continue using both formats, certainly for the foreseeable future anyway....
I don't mind Novels being Digital, as you fairly quickly get used to the format, and for Holidays and travelling it really is a boon....
However, for Graphic Novels I will continue to stick with the TPB versions as I far prefer the physical feel, smell and the fact that I can display my collection...............See Colins' thread about the joys of shelving your GN collection....Not quite the same on a Tablet, is it ??
But......Thinking forward a few years, what will happen to the 'original artwork' so many of us collect and cherish ???....A lot of us here, own pieces of original artwork...........As more and more artists move to digital, there will be fewer and fewer pieces of artwork to collect and own......and for me that is really just sad......
Cheers
Quote from: Sideshow Bob on 07 April, 2014, 10:24:07 PM
As more and more artists move to digital, there will be fewer and fewer pieces of artwork to collect and own......and for me that is really just sad......
Start collecting Simon Davis's
Sláine pages now, neebs.
Artists will be able to sell prints of their original artwork easier, which means it'll be easier for fans to own their own copy of it for display.
Quote from: The Adventurer on 07 April, 2014, 11:01:09 PM
Artists will be able to sell prints of their original artwork easier, which means it'll be easier for fans to own their own copy of it for display.
..
Sorry Mate, I accept your point and while I do own a few prints of my own, it's just not the same as having the
'one off, totally unique' piece of original published artwork....
It's not just the joy of owning a piece of original artwork, it's also the fact that no-one else has the same piece, and that is not likely with prints ( even if they are limited edition )...
Cheers
Look on the bright side. It'll make your one-of-kind collectibles even more collectible. Frankly I don't care. Going digital has broken my obsession with collectibility. Accessibility is more important IMO.
I agree that accessibility is very important, and going digital has done that ( I think ), as regards the comics medium...
I don't know what the numbers are for digital downloads of comics ( perhaps some of the 2000AD guys can let us know if they have seen an increase in sales ? ) but the point I was making was that, with the increase in Digital Artwork, the number of original hardcopies diminishes......and may eventually cease altogether...
For those of us that collect Original Artwork, it may long term, result in our collections becoming rarer and more valuable, but I'm not in it because I want to make money, I'm in it because I love the artwork I've got and I think it's sad that the opportunity to own / collect 'real' on paper, painted artwork decreases as the 'source material' goes digital...( and honestly a print just isn't the same )....
Any working artists care to comment ??.......Will you continue to do splash pages / covers in acrylics and do interior pages in digital ??....Is it a time constraint thing ??....What is the general feeling amongst the Artists out there ??
Cheers
Anyone know which is the best comic reader for using on android?
Quote from: SteveMillar on 08 April, 2014, 08:15:47 AM
Anyone know which is the best comic reader for using on android?
Comic Rack
Quote from: radiator on 29 March, 2014, 03:45:13 AM
...everything you own will eventually just become a burden for someone else to get rid of...
Radiator's post from a week ago has had a profound effect on me. I've spent the week glancing at the shelves of books and TPBs at home and thinking of the file boxes of old progs in the attic. I then look at my kids for whom I'm ostensibly saving all of this and now understand that they will likely see it as a a load of crap when I'm gone.
The cake is a lie.
Sorry, that was a bit morbid, wasn't it. :lol:
I've been thinking about this stuff lately, especially as we've had to get rid of about 70% of our possessions to move, including lots and lots of my girlfriend's stuff, which used to belong to her grandmother who passed away 10 years ago, which she's been carting round for years in huge boxes. Even if you inherit a load of stuff that has some resale value, the amount of time and work involved selling it all on can be far more hassle than its worth. Just before we left the UK I was giving away and binning stuff left right and centre in blind panic - it makes you think how transient and ultimately worthless it all is.
It just kind of weighs you down. I used to just buy stuff for the sake of it, but try to curate my collections these days - ie if I buy something I'll try to get rid of an equal or greater amount of something else. I suspect the very concept of having physical collections of things will be laughably quaint to the new generation born post-2010.
The iPad has been a complete revelation to me - and I buy very few physical books and comics nowadays. I even seriously considered getting rid of all my Dredd and 2000ad books and replacing them with digital versions - and tbh probably will do once storage on tablets is no longer an issue.
I'm certainly teetering along that point of replacing the bulkier collections with digitals. I must have bought a lot of (and given away) books in my time, and I've never been much into collectables.
The plus side of living in a small place with little storage is that I simply don't have the room.
It will be interesting to see what future generations make of physical stuff.
Quote from: Steve Green on 08 April, 2014, 08:29:36 PM
It will be interesting to see what future generations make of physical stuff.
Yeah that's one thing I'm thankful for with my children. They are still little 'uns (2 and almost 5) and I reckon will be part of the first generation that will live their lives becoming increasingly unburdened by a lot of physical stuff of their own but looking at our (their parents) stuff and wondering what the hell we are still doing with it all!
One factor to consider is that at least you or your children can still easily read a paper comic bought today in twenty years time. There's no obligation or likelihood that whatever format of digital comic you're dowloading now will be practically accessible to read on the computers, operating systems, and apps of 2024. Not to mention that the average life of a hard drive is about ten years.
QuoteOne factor to consider is that at least you or your children can still easily read a paper comic bought today in twenty years time. There's no obligation or likelihood that whatever format of digital comic you're dowloading now will be practically accessible to read on the computers, operating systems, and apps of 2024. Not to mention that the average life of a hard drive is about ten years.
These are all bull arguments. First of all, your Hard Drive example is a non-issue since A) anyone with anything worth keeping keeps back ups, B) off site cloud storage is growing in usage, and C) redownloading purchased content is pretty standard across sales sites.
Secondly, comics are image files. There is nothing to suggest that image file support will ever go away. Ever. And tablet usage is only growing, so optimum viewing devices aren't going anywhere any time soon (although....... how rad would it be for 'Google Glasses' type devices to become standard, and you can just read comic pages projected in front of your eyes? Rad as hell is how rad!)
Third, while there is some fear that a DRM-locked digital retailer going under could result in the lose of all your past purchases (very VERY unlikely. Especially 10 years from now in a growing market). That's a complete non-issue where DRM-Free content is concerned. Which is why its always important to support DRM-Free.
Print comics can be destroyed in flood or fire. They can be simply lost. They can be stolen. These are not valid arguments why you shouldn't read print. Why should 'act of god' be any different with Digital?
I think we have a rather different conception of just how much computing is going to change over the next twenty years, Adventurer.
And all your cloud computing and backing up. You're welcome to it, sir. Personally I like to just pick stuff up and read it, particularly when the point is relaxation. I've made my living from computers for years. The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is load another .pdf and stare at the screen.
I just don't see any difference between archiving something in digital medium or on a shelf. They both take a certain amount of effort to maintain. All I know is moving files around is a lot less of a hassle then lugging long boxes around, then bagging, boarding, and alphabetizing 5 or 10 comic books a week.
As for the screen thing, I don't know what to say. I guess it just doesn't bother me. And I use computers constantly throughout my day. I finding loading up a new comic no less of an effort then digging one out of a long box.
Quote from: The Adventurer on 09 April, 2014, 10:10:38 AM
QuoteOne factor to consider is that at least you or your children can still easily read a paper comic bought today in twenty years time. There's no obligation or likelihood that whatever format of digital comic you're dowloading now will be practically accessible to read on the computers, operating systems, and apps of 2024. Not to mention that the average life of a hard drive is about ten years.
These are all bull arguments. First of all, your Hard Drive example is a non-issue since A) anyone with anything worth keeping keeps back ups, B) off site cloud storage is growing in usage, and C) redownloading purchased content is pretty standard across sales sites.
Isthis is strictly true?
I backed up all of my ZX Spectrum games to tape but now have no easy access to the content. My ZX Spectrums have bit the dust, not every game I want to play is available on an emulator. Technology changes and what you back up to day will necessarilly be downlodable tomorrow.
Hell, even stuff I backed up on my PSION is useless now because it only reloads on PSIONS - where am I going to get one of them?
And my back ups from my PALM (my short lived PSION replacement -just before really SMART phones) are almost equally useless.
My pen and paper address book though? Still going strong.
This is all very true. And all stuf i've bore in mind. This is why I double dip on physical TPB's for stuff I really like.
Technology advances exponentially. To be a little playful for a moment, in twenty years we'll either all be ingesting nano computers to read tactile 3d pages with neuron control, or we'll be hunched indoors with candles and wind up radios wondering how it all went wrong when the fuel ran out. Either way, the Titan hardback of Death Sentence ( on amazon now >cough!<) will provide fine entertainment for me and my brood.
The comixology downloads on my iphone? Not so much.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 09 April, 2014, 08:32:31 AM
Quote from: Steve Green on 08 April, 2014, 08:29:36 PM
It will be interesting to see what future generations make of physical stuff.
Yeah that's one thing I'm thankful for with my children. They are still little 'uns (2 and almost 5) and I reckon will be part of the first generation that will live their lives becoming increasingly unburdened by a lot of physical stuff of their own but looking at our (their parents) stuff and wondering what the hell we are still doing with it all!
I think we are currently in a peak. Older generations can remember a time when they had a lot less, so they become reluctant to let things go and some end up with rooms full of newspapers. Most of us have lived through better times so tend to hold on to things less. Younger generations almost seem to see everything as disposable.
But beyond this, there is a difference between a hoarder and a collector. Having all sorts of junk filling up the cupboards with no real purpose is not a good way to live. But, having an organised and cared for collection is a different matter. There is as much serenity in Colin's organised shelves of comics as an empty room.
Quote from: Recrewt on 09 April, 2014, 04:27:17 PM
Having all sorts of junk filling up the cupboards with no real purpose is not a good way to live. But, having an organised and cared for collection is a different matter. There is as much serenity in Colin's organised shelves of comics as an empty room.
Sums it up for me.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 09 April, 2014, 12:47:27 PMI backed up all of my ZX Spectrum games to tape but now have no easy access to the content. My ZX Spectrums have bit the dust, not every game I want to play is available on an emulator. Technology changes and what you back up to day will necessarilly be downlodable tomorrow.
Quite. I think people have short memories when it comes to the life of formats. Many are encumbered by patent issues, and although some survive for many years, others come and go with alarming frequency, notably video. People look at PDF, JPEG and MP3 and argue they'll be around forever, but there's no guarantee of that, nor any guarantee what a format turns into in the future will be able to deal with content from the distant past.
To some extent, the cloud helps, at least removing the problems of physical media (quick note: if you've 5.25-inch disks from the 1980s lurking, it's probably already too late to convert those to digital), but even then you're reliant on the service still existing, the vagaries of DRM, and even the nature of computing itself, in terms of means to access said content.
I personally worry that we're entering the first age where massive chunks of media history will simply vanish. Games reliant on networks will simply be unusable in a few decades, unlike emulated fare from the 1970s and 1980s; photographs, no longer printed, will simply vanish; and written works will become increasingly fragile, reliant not on the ability of a printed tome to not be damaged, but on countless coincidences and conveniences to contrive to allow its survival.
Anyone thinking of getting a Nexus 7 this link arrived in my inbox today. Even I'm tempted despite already owning the gen 1(although to be fair the gen 2 is quite a significant upgrade) and being broke.
http://m.thehut.com/tablets/asus-nexus-7-inch-tablet-32gb-black/10929648.html?utm_source=EBM-_THG-Deals_Apr09&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBM-_2095397025&affil=thgemail
Sorry spoke prematurely. Looking at the spec I'm pretty sure they're flogging a Gen 1. Although its a good gadget in its own right...
Not at all bad for the cash, but I don't think I'd ever go near such a low-res screen again. I've even held off buying new Macs due to the promise of high-res displays across Apple's line. With tablets—and especially for comics reading—more detail FTW.
Quote from: Recrewt on 09 April, 2014, 04:27:17 PM
But, having an organised and cared for collection is a different matter. There is as much serenity in Colin's organised shelves of comics as an empty room.
Its only bloody serene cos I never bloody well get time to go in there!
With an imminent house move, I am facing this dilemma at the moment, as I have 18 boxes of Progs, Megs, Specials etc. that all need to come with us.
With all the Progs now out of the loft and ready to hand, I have been digging in and loved re-reading the first Bad Company series and The Pit over the last few days.
As others have said, I have quaint notions of passing all this Thrill-Power on to my heir, but it is likely they would scoff as I did when Dad offered me his James Last tapes.
I would consider getting rid of the whole lot (and going digital for new issues) if there was a legitimate digital archive I could buy so as to replicate the hard copies. Does such a thing exist? If not, are Rebellion considering it?
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 10 April, 2014, 08:33:03 AM
Quote from: Recrewt on 09 April, 2014, 04:27:17 PM
But, having an organised and cared for collection is a different matter. There is as much serenity in Colin's organised shelves of comics as an empty room.
Its only bloody serene cos I never bloody well get time to go in there!
;)
"Colin sleeps soundly in his bed, unaware of the mice nesting in his comic room, eating through his collection".
Somewhat more than 20 years ago I found myself randomly sharing a breakfast table in a B&B with the then-chief opthalmic surgeon of the W.H.O. (a holocaust survivor) and a rather scraggly New Zealand Egyptologist. To locate us in the flow of IT time, the opthamologist carried a portable typewriter, my then-GF's final-year dissertation was newly saved to stack of 5 1/4" floppies with hardcopy maps hand-inked and letrasetted by yours truly, and I had no PC of my own, but I did have a nascent e-mail account on a university VAX system, and an unhealthy interest in Star Trek ListServ discussion lists.
However, to get to the point of this story, my new Kiwi breakfast buddy was a noted pioneer in statistical applications in archaeological analysis, and some years previously had compiled his doctoral thesis on the globally-scattered contents of a tomb of (IIRC) a lesser Rameses on a computer, using state-of-art technology. Which meant that it amounted to two wooden cases of innumerable cardboard punch-cards, which no computer extant at the time of our meeting could read, which even then seemed utterly laughable. Ha-ha: just a few years later the GF and I were scouring markets and junkshops looking for a 5-inch floppy drive.
One of my current projects is providing maps and charts for the publication of an archaeological excavation from the late 70s, the results of which were being actively worked on into the '90s prior to the untimely death of the excavator. Now it's definitely easier these days to make the leap from obscure early-90s Apple databases and WP files in archived format, but time and again we find ourselves going back to the handwritten 70's records to clarify something apparently lost to formatting, or for files that are simply beyond recovery. There is simply no substitute for well-maintained physical copies. OTOH, I've recently got hold of legitimate PDF copies of a large number of the work-related books that surround me, and I find myself eyeing their space-hogging but ultimately lovely forms and wondering what I'd get for them..
This has little to do with the idea of digital comics, but it does perhaps illustrate the accelerating pace of change and the limitations that still remain. Personally I don't mind digital comics and books, but ultimately I have to agree with MontyNero: I spend large amounts of my time staring a screen, and the last thing I want to do when I finally turn it off is to switch on another. When I pick up my prog or my novel, I know I'm no longer at work or in contact or whatever, and I can lose myself it its soothing single-purpose textures.
More fundamentally we may the last generation to leave a physical record trace. Never mind my comic collection; I have boxes in the attic with old holiday photos, letters from ex-girlfriends, homemade zines, stupid handmade postcards from friends, old diaries I've kept for years, drawings, sketch books, letters and newspaper clippings from my dad.
What are the chances my kids will ever have a stash of memories like this? At least after I've been Sent to Resyk these file boxes will give them four hours of nostalgia about their old man before they throw them on a skip.
F#€k. This thread got morbid quickly.
I think you're missing the big picture there, 20th C boy.
Far from their memories of you only being tarnished by carting your old Mayfairs to the skip, your every online indiscretion, rant and imprecation will be theirs to cherish and access eternally. Including this one.
Quote from: TordelBack on 10 April, 2014, 12:19:33 PM
I think you're missing the big picture there, 20th C boy.
Far from their memories of you only being tarnished by carting your old Mayfairs to the skip, your every online indiscretion, rant and imprecation will be theirs to cherish and access eternally. Including this one.
Ha Ha!
Until the massive solar flare wipes every electronic device clean and we're living in After The Vengance.
It seems there are a few posts in this thread where people are combining the problems with formats and the problems with hardware. JPGs are 'safe' because even if another format does evolve to replace them then you can always convert them. I can't think of much that I have come across digitally that I can't convert - the only thing I can think off is something specific to a particular program that has disappeared. JPGs are not specific to one application, so there is no problem there.
The problem with hardware is the bigger issue. I recently transferred some video tapes to my PC and out of copying the films, choosing the video format and quality, editing and distributing - which was the biggest challenge? Getting the data from tape onto my PC - like many, I no longer have a VCR in the house.
JPEGs are lossy. You'll be wanting to use TIFF.
Quote from: Recrewt on 10 April, 2014, 01:08:28 PMJPGs are not specific to one application, so there is no problem there.
But that assumes JPEG will be popular enough for that to still be the case in the future. I don't doubt that'll be so for five years. But what about 10 years? 20? 50?
QuoteThe problem with hardware is the bigger issue. I recently transferred some video tapes to my PC and out of copying the films, choosing the video format and quality, editing and distributing - which was the biggest challenge? Getting the data from tape onto my PC - like many, I no longer have a VCR in the house.
And there are also format issues. I have all sorts of carts in the loft, and various types of video—VHS; BetaSP from my uni work; DAT; Hi-8. All that stuff's just going to be lost.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 10 April, 2014, 02:52:06 PM
Quote from: Recrewt on 10 April, 2014, 01:08:28 PMJPGs are not specific to one application, so there is no problem there.
But that assumes JPEG will be popular enough for that to still be the case in the future. I don't doubt that'll be so for five years. But what about 10 years? 20? 50?
The future does not really matter in that respect - JPEGs are popular enough now to ensure that if they ever are replaced then there will be the means to convert them as people will want to convert all the JPEGs they already have.
Quote
QuoteThe problem with hardware is the bigger issue. I recently transferred some video tapes to my PC and out of copying the films, choosing the video format and quality, editing and distributing - which was the biggest challenge? Getting the data from tape onto my PC - like many, I no longer have a VCR in the house.
And there are also format issues. I have all sorts of carts in the loft, and various types of video—VHS; BetaSP from my uni work; DAT; Hi-8. All that stuff's just going to be lost.
You can easily find a USB adaptor that will read all of those formats and store them on your PC. The real ticking time-bomb there is how long your betamax/vhs player will last. Once that is broken then you have to start hunting round ebay for a replacement.
I can't really see how keeping some old stuff in the attic is better than converting it to digital where it can be distributed to various places and effectively last forever. Ignoring that those carts will erode over time anyway, all it needs is a fire in your loft and then all is lost.
Well, that's the problem, isn't it? I don't have a BetaSP player (that's the professional format, not the consumer one), and renting one is pricey. Multiply that out by all the other formats and take into account digitisation time and—feh. (I have been planning on converting this stuff for ages, but... well, time.)
Depending on how many tapes you have, there are some companies out there that will convert them to DVDs for you. I noticed the local Max Spielman had a poster saying they convert VHS/Betamax so you could ask them if they also do SP.
I've started a separate thread about this as it is pretty big news (I guess) but Amazon have bought or are in the process of buying Comixology... discuss!
http://comicsbeat.com/a-few-more-details-on-the-comixologyamazon-deal/ (http://comicsbeat.com/a-few-more-details-on-the-comixologyamazon-deal/)
Well end of a era,I have just rung Denise at Rebellion and cancelled my subscription to the weekly and meg,going to start getting them digitally from now on...bought a back issue and a couple of casefiles and have decided it's the way to go...
Wait till next Tuesday night. Waiting for that ping just after midnight that says your prog is available to download - better than queuing at WHSmiths.
Quote from: smell on 17 April, 2014, 02:02:06 PM
Wait till next Tuesday night. Waiting for that ping just after midnight that says your prog is available to download - better than queuing at WHSmiths.
But not as good as hearing it drop through the door on a Saturday morning ;)
I read a lot to my son who's not long turned 4, his books vary from Hot hippo to Iron man (Early readers kind of stuff DC and Marvel),Also I read his comics to him. Avengers and Ben 10. I have also brought him some Adventure time comics from Kaboom. He loves them, books and comics the whole shebang.
I can't see how trying to read a book/comic to him on an tablet would be better, considering the amount of fun we have reading them, and my 21mth daughter has taken in interest in Spiderman and Adventure time. So last night she sat next to her brother while I read his one of his books and then comic. Its defiantly not something I think would be much fun using a tablet, although my son has asked when he can read properly, if he could have a kindle :lol:
So I think the paper will be with us for a very long time.
Quote from: Moggot Lover on 17 April, 2014, 04:59:56 PM
I read a lot to my son who's not long turned 4, his books vary from Hot hippo to Iron man (Early readers kind of stuff DC and Marvel),Also I read his comics to him. Avengers and Ben 10. I have also brought him some Adventure time comics from Kaboom. He loves them, books and comics the whole shebang.
I can't see how trying to read a book/comic to him on an tablet would be better, considering the amount of fun we have reading them, and my 21mth daughter has taken in interest in Spiderman and Adventure time. So last night she sat next to her brother while I read his one of his books and then comic. Its defiantly not something I think would be much fun using a tablet, although my son has asked when he can read properly, if he could have a kindle :lol:
So I think the paper will be with us for a very long time.
This is real parenting right here. Good work :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bat King on 27 March, 2014, 09:09:42 AM
I am a paper snob. New graphic novels smell great. The light his the page differently, I have been known to turn a comic or GN to get different light on a page.
I do not get the same enjoyment reading a digital comic.
I do see digital as useful in some ways. Easier to access back catalogue. Particularly for grabbing that issue with that story that you suddenly need to read. For me if I had everything digitally researching for my blog would be a ton easier.
I'm totally with Bat King and The Bissler on this: I will never be able to give up my love of the paper format.
I like to look at it this way, when my son and daughter grow up and they see my comic/ book collection on the shelf, they might come across a title which perks their interest and they fall in love with it, and just as I did, they too might uncover a whole work by a particular artist or writer thanks to it. The joy of discovery, finding something exciting and so on. Whereas with my digital stuff, the same doesn't apply as a story no matter how good would probably be stored on a memory stick or laptop out of sight.
I do not deny that a lot of the digital comics nowadays are really exciting (I'm currently reading Simon Bisley's 13 Coins which showcases what could be possible via digital format). But holding a much sought after title in your hands, or a beautiful hardcover book such as Craig Thompson's wonderful Habibi, holds an extra thrill for me which a digital comic can never replicate.
As long as it continues I will get physical issues of the prog and megazne to keep my collection whole. I also get my weekly prog digitally from clickwheel, because my newsagent here in australia gets the progs months behind the UK, I have just picked up prog 1862, so digital is the only option for me to keep up to date. I also get the chance to re-read when the paper issues come in.
I personally think digital is the way forward and that it has not yet reached its full potential. As digital storage space is getting less expensive, digital comics can have higher resolution scans improving the quality ( although I have no problem with the quality of digital as they are now). The problem between the formats as I see it, is that they are too similar in content for most buyers to move away from what they are used to. Digital comics have the potential to offer a lot more content as they could have the original art, colouring, lettering and even script and miscellaneous production files and scans tagged onto them for added value. Which would be a great source of creative learning and inspiration for future creators. After all most of the production material is converted to digital files ready for print regardless of it being old school pencil & ink or fully painted. With the addition of such files the move to digital would be hard to resist, especially when you can store a couple of thousand comics on a hard drive that costs less than storage boxes, bags, and a bloody decent ladder for the loft.
Wrote most of this three weeks ago. Just thought I'd resurrect this thread to repeat stuff everyone's already said in a fairly longwinded manner.
Travelling home last weekend, I was rereading the first five parts of Jaegir on my iPad. I arrived to find a stack of eleven Progs waiting for me, with that day's top of the heap. I was shocked by the difference. Everything was bigger and bolder. There seemed to be vast expanses of space in each panel; the artwork was open and expansive where it had been cramped and claustrophobic. I exaggerate, but only a little. Obviously, it's a matter of chance (or possibly some logical, thought-out, ergonomic design guff) that the standard tablet is pretty much the same dimensions as an American comic and I've always preferred the proper size of Tharg's Mighty Organ but it was a real eye-opener to feel the difference so viscerally.
I'm a couple of months into my iPad ownership and digital comics experience and it has its good side and its bad. Obviously, ease of access, physical space requirements, choice and accessibility are off the hook. I'm currently working abroad (not sure if I've mentioned that before) so being able to get my weekly Prog without it costing an arm and a leg is a magnificent. Despite the apparent need for multiple platforms, the ease with which you can pick up stuff has definitely led to me spending more on comics than I otherwise would've. For example, I'd only ever read the first Hellboy mini-series and thought it was pretty poor stuff. However, given the opportunity to buy every Hellboy comic ever for $50 (the monopoly money effect of pricing in USD is a great benefit to people trying to sell me more crap I don't need) I snapped them up. Quite enjoyable, although I assume I'm missing a lot by never having read any BPRD. Hmmm, I wonder if that was their plan all along...
I digress. Suffice it to say the practical benefits and convenience are inarguable. Which leaves the reading experience itself. I have found this to be unsatisfactory in a way which I find hard to put my finger on. One part is certainly the need to read different titles in different apps which, unlike their deadtree equivalents, all behave in subtly different ways, but that's not it. I am an inveterate flicker: when I sat down to reread, say, The Ten Seconders there were images and references in the last series which had me rifling through the first in search of half-remembered recurrences. This is something I found far easier with paper Progs than I would on the iPad. I admit this is a pretty edge case and has little to do with actually reading an individual comic but hey ho.
What's causing me the problem is not necessarily the physicality of it but just the way it changes how you experience the flow of the comic. A comic is designed to be read two pages at a time and, while you can do that on a tablet, it means putting up with art (and text) zoomed down to an uncomfortable level. The act of switching between single and double page views (assuming you even can, Comiczeal) breaks up this natural flow meaning you are cut off from things you should be aware off on the right hand page and spoiling the impact of splash pages.
I guess these are as much opportunities for creators to think about the way they tell the story as they are obstacles for pensionable old codgers like me to overcome. Nor do I think the way I approach something is necessarily the "right" way or how I expect kids to look at it. Acknowledging that things can and do change doesn't necessarily mean enjoying that change nor should that be ignored. Ultimately, the good points outweigh the bad but, at least for the moment, I can see me going entirely digital for the Meg for convenience but certainly not the Prog.
Interestingly (for a given value of "interesting") I've been using the Kindle app on the iPad for the same amount of time and I have no problem with that, so it's definitely not all some old-fashioned object fetishist issue I have. Well, I say I have no problem with it. The one thing that infuriates me is that it doesn't show the page number, but a "location" ID. I guess this makes sense when people can zoom and orient the text to different sizes but it's not a lot of fucking use when the index remains resolutely static. Surely that's an insurmountable problem, is it?
TL; DR. I dunno. It seems alright apart from the shit bits.
Are you Thrylseekr in disguise?
I agree totally regarding how useless digital comics are for reference purposes. Last night, radiator was trying to remember the mention of an in vitro Dredd clone during Tour Of Duty. I flicked through a paperback collection of that story and found the page in question just in time to return here and find he had done the same thing only slightly quicker. If I'd been faffing about with stuff on my hard drive, I would have found that panel around the same time Farage was delivering his victory speech.
Il love reading digital comics, but I'm not done buying books just yet.
Very interesting assessment Cosh (the), though I suspect too late to save me as recent reviews of the 12.2 Galaxy tab have convinced me to put aside my original art habit for now, sell some vinyl and delve in when I 've raised the cash. All those peopl who wonder why I don't yet read the Meg... The wait might soon(ish) be over... Well if I can find the time to get to eBay again...
QuoteI arrived to find a stack of eleven Progs waiting for me, with that day's top of the heap. I was shocked by the difference. Everything was bigger and bolder. There seemed to be vast expanses of space in each panel; the artwork was open and expansive where it had been cramped and claustrophobic.
A few months ago I attempted to do a reread of Progs staring back in 2004, which is when I started reading 2000AD. And I admit at almost a year and a half of the digital progs I was surprised at how noticeably larger the print comics were. And the reproduction quality was a bit better then the compressed digital images*.
It was an interesting experience, but not so much to sway me from my digital choice.
*that said I feel that current 2000AD print quality isn't quite as good as it was 10 years ago.
Since I have got my galaxy note tablet and gone digital I have bought loads more comics,stuff I would never have got around to buying in print,a few case files and the rogue trooper books that were reduced, and away from 2000ad,marvel zombies and the two large reprints of the walking dead....by the way is xmen age of apocalypse any good ? I notice it is cheap on comixoligy at the moment and wondered if it's worth getting. ?
Quote from: SteveMillar on 26 May, 2014, 10:05:13 PM
by the way is xmen age of apocalypse any good ? I notice it is cheap on comixoligy at the moment and wondered if it's worth getting. ?
It's amazing Steve, but probably helps if you have some prior knowledge of the era / status quo it overwrote and subverted.
Try the first chapter- 'X-Men Alpha', if you dig it try 'Astonishing X-Men', 'Weapon X' & 'X-Man', the three best titles of the series.
Age of Apocalypes blew 14 year old me away. At the time I was really into 'What if?' and Alternate Realities in general. Particularly apocalyptic/distopian ones. It was probably the most interested in X-Men I ever was. and because its alternate reality, no character is safe (see: Generation Next)
Also my favorite mini-series in the AOA event was X-Universe. Were we got to see the fates of all the non-Mutant Marvel super-heroes. Its only two issues. But I loved it. Who knew Gwen Stacy could be so badass?
That said... its so 90s it hurts. Physically. Deep inside. I honestly can't say its worth $50 in a single whack. Probably. Maybe.
Quote from: The Adventurer on 26 May, 2014, 10:32:02 PM
That said... its so 90s it hurts.
Hurts so good.
It's far, far superior to the current guff Bendis is spewing.
I forgot to mention Warren Ellis' contribution- the 4 issues of 'X-Calibre' are intriguingly different.
Plus, you get to see Nightcrawler teleport Deadpool's head off.
I might give it a try,used to read xmen a lot around the time of mutant massacre and when apocalypse first appeared.... Showing my age now...
Quote from: The Cosh on 26 May, 2014, 05:55:07 PMHowever, given the opportunity to buy every Hellboy comic ever for $50 (the monopoly money effect of pricing in USD is a great benefit to people trying to sell me more crap I don't need) I snapped them up.
See also: Humble Bundles for comics, which recently have included IDW's Doctor Who run, and a ton of Image trades. Digital's great for one-offs; for stuff I'm likely to re-read or want to maybe hand on to a probably not-that-interested mini-Grannell, paper's still the way to go though. (And then, on Hellboy, there are the beautiful Library editions, which I splashed out on for silly money, because they're just gorgeous.)
Although I would prefer paper issues when it comes to my comics, I have to admit that price, space and difficulty finding older comics,
along with wanting to just try new(old) titles has me looking to digital collections.
And what could be better than hundreds of free digital comics that ordinarily I might not look for.
Has anyone else tried ---
http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/
or
http://comicbookplus.com/
I've found some enjoyable reads. And my digital collection costs next to nothing, while at the same time I am "getting used to digital".