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There was a blip on ABC News recently about how the digital revolution was changing the comic book.

With the tree-huggers of the world lamenting the destruction of our forests (a powerful lobby in the world not completely without merit) and everything these days going digital (movies/music) we may one day see a world where Marvel/DC/every other publisher does away with paper comic books...instead you can down-load the latest X-men on your IPod.

Thoughts/feelings on this? I'm sure this will stimulate many opinions on the medium...and how it would change your spending habits.

I like comic books as objects just like I love books, making things digital so they are stored in heat-producing machines isn't particularly ecological either. I guess I wouldn't mind that much, but a lot would be loss in the format, a digital split page will never be an split page.

Originally posted by Bentley
I like comic books as objects just like I love books, making things digital so they are stored in heat-producing machines isn't particularly ecological either. I guess I wouldn't mind that much, but a lot would be loss in the format, a digital split page will never be an split page.

Not to derail this topic so early (but it is my thread so flipfingers) but your location is France...are your comics in French?

I'm kind of a purist so I read in original languages if possible. My french -belgian, etc.- books are in french.

Originally posted by Bentley
I'm kind of a purist so I read in original languages if possible. My french -belgian, etc.- books are in french.

Actually it kinda ties into this thread. In regards to comics being collectible.

Remember the action figures produced when 'The Phantom Menace' came out? They came with those 'Comm-Tech' chips that let your action figure speak phrases.

I acquired several that spoke french only (I got them cheap...cast off's from Quebec no doubt). But they are more collectible than the english versions as they are rarer (more rare?).

Your french comics could (to the right collector) be more valuable than their mass-produced english counterparts.

But if comics go completely digital it won't matter. A downloadable translation will no doubt exist.

Originally posted by Bentley
I like comic books as objects just like I love books, making things digital so they are stored in heat-producing machines isn't particularly ecological either.

Flash drives don't produce any heat. Neither do some of the more recent digital readers.

Originally posted by Bentley
I guess I wouldn't mind that much, but a lot would be loss in the format, a digital split page will never be an split page.

Depends on the device you're viewing it on. Besides I doubt this idea would eliminate physical comics. Look at, say, the RPG industry. Everyone smaller than WotC has been obligated to offer their stuff in digital form. The better profit margins from PDF publishing resulted in hard cover books staying pretty much steady in price.

Honestly, i think some things should always be available on a format that you can hold in your hand. The internet, imo, hasn't had enough penetration yet where it's a viable option for every reader to get their comics online.

Is this going to be the end of libraries? They can do this to all books as well.
There better be paper copies of things when a crash wipes out data across the globe.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Flash drives don't produce any heat. Neither do some of the more recent digital readers.



Depends on the device you're viewing it on. Besides I doubt this idea would eliminate physical comics. Look at, say, the RPG industry. Everyone smaller than WotC has been obligated to offer their stuff in digital form. The better profit margins from PDF publishing resulted in hard cover books staying pretty much steady in price.

I supposed the idea was a massive service for distribution and possibly internet downloads, that's what I meant by heating. If you sold flashdrives or cards with comicbooks I guess you could get around it. Arguably distribution and gas costs would stay about the same.

There is the art side of the comic book that's neglected here, of course many original arts are done digitally nowadays, but original pieces are valuable and ink will always be different from pixels. This is a debate that's currently present in pretty much every media, but the consensus is that for the time being digital is a secondary branch of the originals. Physical objects tend to be more attractive to kids, which are a very important part of the market in the cb industry.

Originally posted by -Pr-
The internet, imo, hasn't had enough penetration yet.

Oh how wrong you are

Originally posted by Bentley
I supposed the idea was a massive service for distribution and possibly internet downloads, that's what I meant by heating. If you sold flashdrives or cards with comicbooks I guess you could get around it. Arguably distribution and gas costs would stay about the same.

A sever farm sending out digital comic books puts out a lot less heat than trucks traveling around the country delivering them and presses printing them.

Originally posted by Bentley
There is the art side of the comic book that's neglected here, of course many original arts are done digitally nowadays, but original pieces are valuable and ink will always be different from pixels.

It's not like artists will start burning their line art if this policy is put in place. And as I said, eliminating physical comic books entirely is unlikely even if that is the proposal. The cost should stay about the same, less demand + less supply = similar price.

Originally posted by Bentley
This is a debate that's currently present in pretty much every media, but the consensus is that for the time being digital is a secondary branch of the originals.

Unfortunately that model is getting less sustainable all the time. The profit margin for digital publishing is much better since there is no cost to produce the physical copies or ship them. The cost is lower for the consumers for the same reason, which results in more purchases.

Would the end of physical comics be tragic? Yes, probably. But I don't believe it's a likely outcome of an attempt to move the industry toward a digital model.

Originally posted by klintypooh
Oh how wrong you are

there's a joke in there.

I'm all for it. I just want an iTunes-esq service where I can get Marvel, Image, DC and whatever else from the same source and have it archived together, instead of the individual services they are offering now. I already download a digital copy of everything I buy, it only takes a about a minute and then once I have it on my computer they are just easier to find, easier to read and easier to organize (which I appreciate - I don't know about other people but I change the organization system of my long boxes from time to time and it can take days!!!). When I'm reading a back issue, sometimes I will be reminded of another issue or something will be referenced, and then I have to go through my boxes and hunt that issue down... it's a pain in the ass. I like an easily accessible digital archive to easily read.

I want videogames to do it to. I hate having to get up and pop a game into my PS3 when I decided I want to play something late at night. I want all my media accessible from a digital source whenever I want it, and I want it now.

I'm on the fence, but I wouldn't be extremely pissed so long as they still made trade paperbacks of story arcs and events.

Originally posted by roughrider
Is this going to be the end of libraries? They can do this to all books as well.
There better be paper copies of things when a crash wipes out data across the globe. Yup.

Can't retire with the library system in 30 years

Originally posted by roughrider
Is this going to be the end of libraries? They can do this to all books as well.
There better be paper copies of things when a crash wipes out data across the globe.
If something manages to irreparably wipe out data across the globe I think saving books would be the least of humanity's concern.

Originally posted by Doctor-Alvis
If something manages to irreparably wipe out data across the globe I think saving books would be the least of humanity's concern.
Not the greatest concern perhaps but certainly not the least either. If all digital media were suddenly destroyed we'd need to save our culture so as to preserve some semblance of continuity.

Originally posted by Omega Vision
Not the greatest concern perhaps but certainly not the least either. If all digital media were suddenly destroyed we'd need to save our culture so as to preserve some semblance of continuity.
Information is so spread out these days that I'm inclined to believe to destroy any percentage of data, permanently, you'd have to kill just as many people. And the kind of thing that could do that without killing people would probably scare me just as much.

And I don't mean just that people can access it anywhere, there are so many back ups and bits and pieces sitting on computers and flash drives.

Totally opposed personally.

Reading comics online completely lessens the experience IMO.

I'm lazy about getting to comic book stores, so downloading something online would make it easier to keep up with what's happening in comic book land. On the other hand, in the final analysis, I want something simple, tangible and low-tech I can hold in my hands and use w/o needing electricity or a device, especially if/when the power infrastructure crashes (eg, I could still read a comic by candlelight as I'm hiding out from Terminators).

Originally posted by Doctor-Alvis
Information is so spread out these days that I'm inclined to believe to destroy any percentage of data, permanently, you'd have to kill just as many people. And the kind of thing that could do that without killing people would probably scare me just as much.

And I don't mean just that people can access it anywhere, there are so many back ups and bits and pieces sitting on computers and flash drives.
A very powerful EMP could destroy a lot of electronic data without killing anyone (directly).

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
A sever farm sending out digital comic books puts out a lot less heat than trucks traveling around the country delivering them and presses printing them.



It's not like artists will start burning their line art if this policy is put in place. And as I said, eliminating physical comic books entirely is unlikely even if that is the proposal. The cost should stay about the same, less demand + less supply = similar price.



Unfortunately that model is getting less sustainable all the time. The profit margin for digital publishing is much better since there is no cost to produce the physical copies or ship them. The cost is lower for the consumers for the same reason, which results in more purchases.

Would the end of physical comics be tragic? Yes, probably. But I don't believe it's a likely outcome of an attempt to move the industry toward a digital model.


I agree with most of what you say, digital means better and easier distribution, but it doesn't make up for the loss of the comic book as an object. Right now storing comic book copies is the best way to keep up with new technologies, we just need to look at how many old films were lost because technologie was never meant and couldn't remain eternal and because of how much it costed down the line. Distribution would be cool, payment is effy though, if you need a credit card it would be finance/bank based and that's much less sustainable than Internet itself.