I mentioned
before that I thought digital delivery of comic books was the wave of the
future. Well, since that time I have
purchased a tablet computer and have begun to read my comics this way. I have to say, it’s everything that I thought
it would be. The art is crisp, the
delivery is quick and they are easy to read.
You have the ability to zoom in as far as you want and some comics even
have a built in option to only display one panel at a time. The amount of content out there is also quite
staggering, and it’s not just new comics.
There are comics available that go all the way back to the 30’s &
40’s. Not all of them are available,
mind you, but I can see that as a possibility.
As far as
pricing is concerned, from what I’ve seen it is definitely a bargain,
especially if you don’t mind waiting a month for your new comics. DC Comics, for example, releases their
digital copies the same day as the print version, and at the same price of
$2.99. However, once the new issue is
released, they drop the price on the preceding issue by $1, so if you wait a
month you can get your new comics at $1.99.
That savings can really add up over time, and you might find yourself
browsing more titles since you have a little more money to spend.
I haven’t
purchased any comics, though. In right
around 3 months of using the tablet I have not come close to exhausting the
free content that is out there. I have
the apps for DC, Marvel and Comixology, more for my own sanity in deciding
what I want to read that anything else, and there is just a huge amount of free
issues out there. On the plus side is
that I’m reading comics that I wouldn’t have given a second look at in my FLCS,
but since they’re free I figure “What the hey, let me check it out.” Typically these will be first issues, or the
start of a big story arc, to try and suck in new readers, which makes plenty of
sense from a marketing stand point.
What’s the
downside, you ask? Basically, it’s the
Wal-Mart problem. Delivery, price and
quality of digital copies of comics is such a great thing that they typical
FLCS will be really feeling the pinch, if they aren’t already due to the
economy. Obviously the purists out there
will want the print copy, but I never really collected comics for their
value. I was more interested in the
stories and art, which digital gives me without the need to store the dang
things. Plus, digital issues make it
easy to switch between comics than digging through the 7 boxes that I currently
have in storage. Once I start actually
paying for these comics, I’m probably going to include replacing a few issues
that I currently own with each purchase, and eventually go all digital.
Are there PC versions of these app's I hate it when phones and tablets get functionality that PC's don't
ReplyDeleteYou don't need an app since you can read them right off of the websites. Just click on the DC, Marvel and Comixology links above and sign up for a free account. It's the same log in as the app, so if you get a tablet later you can carry everything over.
ReplyDeleteBe warned, that even though it's a free account you will have to pay if you want some addition content. (Sorry, I couldn'y resist.) :)