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Neep posted:My hope is on the iPad. I really want one and I'm going to use it to read comics one way or another. So far, the offerings announced seem fairly crappy. I like Marvel's online service, but as a compliment to hard copies. It's a way to read things I may not have managed to find in trade or back issues or try new things that I may not want to spend the money on, but am intrigued by. I have never understood the viewpoint that ebooks are preferable to an actual physical book or magazine. What if you're on a bus? What if the power goes out? And reading a comic in bed is a very different experience than having to sit at my desk and do so. I'm an odd one, though, and know it. I'm the kind of guy that leaps on blu-ray but can't stand the iPhone. I love Steam but I prefer bricks & mortar shopping to Amazon. I do think digital is a method of delivery the Big Two (and the larger second tier companies) need to embrace, but I'll be very sad if they follow the music industry's lead and shift weekly sales totally in that direction.
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| # ¿ Feb 24, 2010 14:22 |
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| # ¿ May 18, 2013 18:23 |
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See, here's the thing, I don't like the idea of being tethered to my computer for a hobby that doesn't inherently need the computer. I wouldn't buy a pdf copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and throw away my print one, and neither am I happy to buy my weekly comics in a format that is a hell of a lot more hassle, to me, than print. What about DRM? What about inconsistent internet connections? What about fans that don't have constant access to the net? And another thing, those darn kids keep walking on my lawn! (Yeah, I know how I sound.) Edit: Here's a genuine query, though. What about kids? Is a 5 year old going to have an iPod Touch to read Tiny Titans each month? Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Feb 24, 2010 around 14:41 |
| # ¿ Feb 24, 2010 14:37 |
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I realize the thread kind of precludes this, but no-one sees any advantage to physical print formats?  (And I'm much happier lugging piles of books and reorganising them than dealing with something like iTunes telling me how I want things organised.) There's also the sharing issue. I can lend a few floppies or a trade to my friends now. The publishing industry hates this and actively wants to prevent it in e-books. Edit: I think what it really comes down to for me is not that I'm against digital distribution. Far from it. I'm against it wholesale replacing traditional print, for a number of, admittedly selfish, reasons. I like the feel of a book or issue in my hands. I like turning pages rather than swiping my thumb or tapping a button or clicking the mouse. I like the freedom in layout and formatting print allows. And I realise that digital opens new ways to do those, but then you get into the notion of if even trade collections work at that point. I'd prefer an equilibrium, not a takeover, essentially. More choice is always better than less. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Feb 24, 2010 around 16:22 |
| # ¿ Feb 24, 2010 16:15 |
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^^ See, I can't ever see myself buying a prose novel in ebook format. The Zot example is what I mean when I say that reinventing the medium to work primarily online could screw over even collected print forms. If the point of that the page can be any size and each section can vary in size, how do you produce a print version that's viable and still feels like the same work? In truth, I think I'd adjust to floppies becoming digital only, but I still feel like something would be lost. A tablet in your lap is not the same thing.
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| # ¿ Feb 24, 2010 17:02 |
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Uthor posted:If you're creating a "page" of any size you want and varying however is needed to tell a story, then why are you worried about collecting it in print? I don't get the argument against forms of the medium because they can't be changed into a different form. It's like saying "if the point of comics is to play with space and time, how do you produce a movie version of it?" Well, my point is that whenever digital comics come up, McCloud's thoughts on using the digital space differently are discussed. If the industry as a whole were to adopt that stance (which is unlikely) then not only would the weekly issue fall to the wayside, so would any trade or HC collection program.
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| # ¿ Feb 24, 2010 18:23 |
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The DRM issue leads into the sharing and borrowing thing, though. And digital copies are only superior if you discount the tactile element, which does seem to be something digital-only proponents are quick to push aside. There's also the assumption that anyone who likes comics (or books in the larger scheme) will buy an iPad or other tablet, or will be content to only read at their home PC. As it stands, I don't need to spend £300 on a special device to read my issue of Batgirl. If things shift over to digital only, I'd have to do so if I still wanted my weekly comics for my commute. And, to flip an example from earlier: if I wanted to give a bunch of comics I didn't like or don't wish to keep to a kid's hospital or something, I can't. (And woo, a book version of iTunes. Another program that will think it knows better than me how to organise things and have a horrible interface!) I think shifting things entirely to the digital is a waste. Use it to expand the market and give technophiles and Apple addicts another option, but why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Feb 25, 2010 around 13:28 |
| # ¿ Feb 25, 2010 13:22 |
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Neep posted:Let someone borrow your computer/ebook/iPad then? Why do they need a copy of the digital file to count as borrowing? (It isn't then, it's copying) Let them borrow your device. It's a bit more confusing and a bit more absurd since the reading device is more valuable and multi-purposed than a single book. But that's the nature of the beast. Giving someone the file is copying. The physical book equivalent would be photocopying/handcopying a comic, which is also absurd. And I'm going to reiterate it because the point is constantly being neatly ignored in this discussion. Kids. What about kids? Yeah, yeah, 'kids don't read comics anymore'. Maybe not, but that's a BAD thing. And shifting the market to a digital only one is just adding another obstacle and removing some of the fun from the hobby for that lost part of the audience. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'd have had more fun with a pile of random floppies than clicking through a folder when I was 6. quote:Buy a trade. The non-hardcore public does not buy or want monthlies. Or use a web browser interface if you're that desperate. quote:Things won't be entirely digital I'm sure, trades and HCs will stay. However, I do think that the monthly format will go all digital as ebook readers/iPads become common. The kindle is already a success and I'm betting the iPad will make digital books even more preferred. And those things are all great. But the Kindle is not a replacement for an actual book or magazine to me. Nor would it replace a trade or monthly. Clearly you find it just as rewarding. That's wonderful. All I'm saying is that that feeling is not universal, and to force that format on the entire audience, like it or not, is a bad move. I also concede that on at least a limited scale, you're probably right, and I'm going to have to adjust eventually regardless. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Feb 25, 2010 around 14:15 |
| # ¿ Feb 25, 2010 14:07 |
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Neep posted:The idea of borrowing will probably have to change. While I hope DRM will be non-existent, I think the model of showing a friend a couple of pages on my own device then having them drop a buck or two on the issue themselves if they like it isn't a bad one. Borrowing in a digital sense just doesn't really exist. It's copy or nothing. quote:Kids these days are growing up with computers, getting their first cellphones before they hit double digits. I won't be surprised if in 10 years kids use a ebook reader for their first books rather than a physical copy. I never used a typewriter, I started with a computer. It's the same transition. I don't think kids will have a problem, it's us adults.  Technology!" but the idea that a child might grow up not even turning a page in a book is abhorrent to me.quote:I'm not 100% sold on the idea yet but it sounds very promising to me. I also don't understand how people can be married to paper books when the usage of digital copies can be so easy and searchable. A lot of it does depend on the device and I think we're very close to a good one (probably iPad 3.0). Paper books will always be around but I think it they'll fade into the background like vinyl records. And I think this marks an impasse. I can't understand how people can abandon real books so easily. I'm a subscriber to Marvel's online archive, and I really like it. I also can only read maybe 2-3 issues in a single sitting before my brain rebels. I can read an entire Omnibus/Absolute in a single sitting depending on the material. Kicking back on my bed or a big chair and thumbing through each week's comics is a concept I can't translate mentally into using a tablet or laptop to replicate. Applebee123 posted:The main advantage to me of digital in general whether its comics , music or films/tv series, is the issue of space. Once you have filled your shelves with comics you can either devote more space in your house to them, or throw some comics in the bin. With digital storage and cloud storage you will never hit the storage limit in your life, with say just a shelf of external hard drives or with your old comics stored in "the cloud" and streaming acess to them. And for me personally, the external HDDs would be a hassle in a different way. Finding the book I want in a cupboard or bookshelf is as simple as scanning with my eye. If I have a dozen hard drives, I need to plug each one in in turn to try and recall where the thing I want, or to see what I still have. The colour comment is valid, but brings me back to the point that optimising things for a digital form is directly harmful to even maintaining any kind of trade publishing program. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Feb 25, 2010 around 18:21 |
| # ¿ Feb 25, 2010 18:17 |
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Reposting from Derailed because i forgot about this thread: Does the Android Comixology app have some absurd expectations of a wireless router? I mean, mine's pretty old and needs replaced (only goes up to 54MBps and no wireless-N or other bells and whistles) but that's good enough for everything else my new tablet does online. But soon as I try and download anything from that app, it gets about a fifth of the way in and then 'A network error occurred' and claims it'll continue when the connection's back. But it doesn't. And the DC app works fine on my Windows Phone. So... uh... the hell?
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2012 16:53 |
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Joe Don Baker posted:I really think at this point they should make the #1's of the popular titles free. That's a trade-off. Yes, those books have probably more than made their money back by now, but if you still charge a nominal fee, you may get less bites, but you still get revenue from them, as opposed to more downloads, but not necessarily more converted to paying customers, and no money coming in.
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| # ¿ May 4, 2012 13:51 |
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gogisha posted:As far as I can see it means nothing. Marvel's just getting a nicer browser storefront (which it's had for a while I think?) but the two accounts still won't play with each other. At least the few comics I bought on the Marvel app haven't transfered over. Really? I'd have expected it to work like the DC deal, where the app is now directly linked and you can use your Comixology account to link them?
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| # ¿ May 9, 2012 20:47 |
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I'm probably getting them, but it does behoove us to point out that, Conner/Palmiotti/Grey or not, that series is based on those animu-styled dolls and statues DC's been doing. So it's 'sexy anime Wonder Woman' and 'sexy anime Batgirl' and 'sexy anime Joker'. Yes, not Harley Quinn - Joker.
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| # ¿ Jun 5, 2012 23:19 |
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Sorry, sexy anime girl Joker.
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| # ¿ Jun 5, 2012 23:56 |
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The only problem with the Authority is people (possibly up to and including Ellis himself) not getting that they're not really the good guys. Just better than the alternative. But you ended up with a bunch of people complaining that Batman and Superman were pussies for not genociding Apokalips or firebombing the Narrows.
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| # ¿ Jun 14, 2012 19:17 |
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| # ¿ May 18, 2013 18:23 |
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Here's how Ellis himself describes NextWAVE. "I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity. (...) It's an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It's people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode." I can't really put it any better than that. I may not like all the man's work, but when he's right, he's right.
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| # ¿ Jul 10, 2012 14:33 |
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