Will anyone be reading comics on the ipad?

[samurainoir]

Do any folks here imagine themselves getting their weekly comics fix downloaded onto their ipad?

The winds seem to be moving in that direction with Marvel jumping on board.

[The Toyroom]

I like paper and ink....

[saildog]

Admittedly, I was pretty late in coming around to the concept of a local comic book shop as opposed to being able to snag comics off of a rack at.....well just about any type of retailer.

Now that I have gotten used to going to the comic book store, it has become, for me, the experience my dad, uncles, and grandfathers had when they went to the barber shop. Barber shops are pretty much gone, so it is nice to walk into a place several times a month, see the same faces, and spend some time shooting the ****. I just pick up where I left off last time.

To take the social interaction out of the equation would pretty much end my dabbling in comics.

Now, I realize they aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but if enough people migrate to the electronic form, it would put a definite end to the LCBS and back issues would wind up in antique shops.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I prefer a good ol' book. Esier to fold up and put in a pocket, lighter, doesn't run out of power.... That in mind; my main goal is to read the book. To that end, I've read a lot of stuff digitally before, 'cos that's the only way I can see it. (As with a lot of online comics and obscure translations.) And it's not a big hassle for me.

Don C.

[thunderbolt]

Not me, I like to sit back on the couch and actually read it. Don't like reading comics on line, so that's about the same thing.

[jds1911a1]

While it'll be more convenient that comics on the PC I am a dinosaur I want to hold paper and ink in my hands (preferably on newsprint)

[Riffster]

how much are they charging for the digital? If they charge a buck for the digital copy it'll make it difficult to resist.
however, nothign is better then the physical copy

[spamn]

I bought comics weekly from 1984 to 2005. I switched to trade after that and only get about 5 books monthly. I was thinking that the ipad might be my chance to affordably start reading a lot more books again, but I'm really put off by the $1.99 per issue price tag. It's pure greed.

They have a chance to put circulation back into the millions with this platform. To put comics in the hands of kids who've surfed the net their whole lives and never picked up a newspaper, magazine, or comicbook. There's no reason they couldn't have set the price at $.99 or less.

I'm also feeling a little saddened to understand that if the iPad and devices like it become the primary distribution of comics, the age of the longbox is dead. There'll be no more rare issues or collecting, no chance finding of that rare copy. That's both good and bad, but it saddens me a bit anyway. An interesting faux Faustian bargain for success.

[megoscott]

I know this guy who's a hard core comic collector, but he only BUYS old stuff. For the new stuff, he just downloads illegal torrents--for free. That's messed up, but I think that's happening a lot and spells bad news for the industry. So maybe the iPad interactive quality will help give it a value that people will be willing to pay for....?

[kingdom warrior]

I like paper and ink....

Ditto!

[Toy Talk]

The day comics go only digital an no more ink is the day I stop collecting. Where is the value or fun in collecting software? Where is the nostalgia in turning on your computer to read a comic? Reading comics on the iPad may catch on someday, but not with this collector.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Not interested in this at all. I guess it takes up less space than a long box, but how can you get that old comic smell in there?

Chris

[ctc]

>Where is the nostalgia in turning on your computer to read a comic?

THERE'S a question: will they use a standard format, or go all fancy and come up with one of their own? If they do the latter, it could render your collection unreadable after a tech-shift or two. (I ask 'cos a lot of the folks who put old shows up online like to maintain "proprietership" by designing their own formats. I could see a big company trying the same.)

Don C.

[samurainoir]

Given the fact that it's apple/itunes once again leading this charge regarding tech, you have to ask yourself if historically their music and video formats have been rendered unlistenable or unwatchable after all these years of numerous upgrades?

The future of other e-readers on the other hand? Questionable now that 800 Pound Gorilla finally stepped into the ring.

Does anyone here own a Kindle?

[spamn]

The day comics go only digital an no more ink is the day I stop collecting. Where is the value or fun in collecting software? Where is the nostalgia in turning on your computer to read a comic? Reading comics on the iPad may catch on someday, but not with this collector.

I'm a comics collector because I bought them to read them and just never threw any away.

I grabbed a few vintage issues (or part 2s that I never saw) because I read them as a kid, but I (still) read comics because I like the stories, characters, specific writers, and the medium.

I wouldn't abandon them if they went all digital. That's like saying you're giving up reading because you can only do it on computer screens. If all the books in the world went away, I'd still be reading fiction on a computer screen, I promise you.

And at this point, I'd be happy to unload my entire collection if I could still read everything in it by going to the library or having a digital copy of it. I've already done that with regular books - I read a lot, and very quickly. Buying a book feels like a waste of money since I'm done with most in a few days. It seems silly to lug them around or let them pile up since you can find a copy of almost anything on Amazon or through the library system if you want to read it again. I'm ready to embrace that with comics.

Sort of.

Since there's the question of what happens to the used market if all copies are digital? Will they still do print runs? Will they be ultra limited deluxe hardbacks that only go up in value? It's an interesting question.