Digital vs Paper

I was once very against digital books. I like the feel of the paper and, lets be honest, books sitting on a book shelf looks so much cooler than a tablet. Then I ended up getting a Kindle, and I fell in love with it. I rarely buy regular books anymore, unless they are a great deal, or I need to get one that completes one of my small collections. It is so convenient to be able to carry hundreds of Lbs of books in a 10 oz device. Sure I miss the feel of a real book in my hand and that new book smell, but the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks to me.

When I saw that comic books have been making a huge push to really get into the digital market, I thought it would be a great thing. I ended up doing what I often do and started to

weigh out the positive vs negatives for me.

I like to be a positive guy so I will start with the positives.

Positives

Portability. As with books, it is nice to be able be able to carry hundreds of books with you wherever you go. Its nice to have extra room when you need it.

Convince. Instead of waiting at your LCS for your books, you can just download an app and have your comics in less than a minute after they are released.Cost Effective. Lets be honest, if titles run the same price for digital and for a hard copy, you would be saving money with digital...sort of. Yes you have to pay the initial cost of your iPad or other tablet device (which can be expensive) but after that you will save money on your weekly trip to your LCS(local comic store) because you wont have to pay for gas.

The Negatives

Art. In the books that I have downloaded, the art has not seemed to

translate as well as it does on the printed page. Because the art is such an important part of this medium, it is very difficult to overlook for me.

Loss of community. If you have read my blog, you know that I think that community is one of the most important thing to the growth of the comic industry. with the online store, there is no face to face interaction, no chance meetings of other people that share your hobby, and no shared excitement when you are sharing a great comic discovery that you have made, or vice-versa.

Loaning. I like to loan out my books and get people excited about a particular title, or even get them excited about comics in general. I find that I can tell people about comics till I am blue in the face, but if I can show them, they get excited. When I was a kid, I could trade comics with my friends, and that was part of the fun With the digital, that will disappear.

Loss of "free advertising". If you are on your tablet, no one can tell if you are reading a comic, watching a video or playing unhappy birds. The more people see others do something, the more apt they are to try it for themselves. We are the innovators

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In my opinion, hard copies of comics are the better choice for me. As for you, enjoy your comics in whichever way you want, as long as you are enjoying your comics

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