The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a couple of weeks ago, but a product there just dawned on me — Sony’s new E-Reader. This is a really thin, nicely sized e-book that will allow you to load up to like 80 books and turn the pages 7,500 times before draining the battery. But I was watching InDigital and they briefly showed someone using it, and they were reading manga!
So, the inevitable question is, would you read a comic book/graphic novel on an E-Book?
I looked for a while and couldn’t find a picture of a comic book on the Sony e-book, but couldn’t find one — but I did find this review that mentions, of course, TokyoPop titles are are already available in Japan for the E-Book, so is it really that far off for Marvel or DC to load old and new books in this format?
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Ya know….I seriously doubt it. The screen looks like it’s barely holding up to the black and white text, and we all know Comic books consist of a multitude of colors and images.
But if it can view images, then it could. But I doubt it.
I don’t know about the E-Reader, but I would very much like a tablet like they have on ’24’ this season.
Yep – it can handle images
Imagine carrying all of The Complete Bone or every issue of Strangers in Paradise or Maus, around with you in something maybe 1.5 inches thick..
tablet PCs are weird – they seem cool when you see them, but practically, they’re a joke – I don’t know why.
In that case, the eReader sounds pretty cool.
Reading the report on Microsoft’s keynote speech at CES made the tablets sound pretty cool. Why do you think they’re a joke? How else are you going to show mug shots to Buchannan?
I think he means that the greater techy population on the web pretty much consider them a joke. I’ve never used one, and I don’t know anyone who has, and they’re never ever talked about as objects of desire, so there must be something bad about them right?
And of course MS is going to make them sound cool, and maybe they will be eventually, but they have a stake in selling them.
As long as the image was good quality, and I didn’t have scan around the page due to bad formatting, I’d be open to comics on eReaders.
But honestly, I don’t think it matters what we think, because eventually, all reading will be done on this kind of thing. Paper will go, just like paper money will go. It might take 50 years or more, but you’re seeing the end of it now as a medium of mass conveyance I think.
I seriously doubt it. Between work, school, Ipod, movies, Smallville, Netflix, and Everwood, I spend far enough looking at screens and monitors. Plus, nothing like the smell of a new book or comic book.
Dude’s got a point.
Comics don’t smell anymore
not like they used to – I was flipping through back issues in my store and I was looking at old Uncanny X-Men issues – around issue #200 or so – man, those smell great.
ok it just got weird, didn’t it?
Yes, it did.
You didn’t answer my two points.
1. Why are the tablets a joke?
2. How else are you going to show mug shots to Buchannan?
sorry – didnt meant to dodge your questions
1. Ever since Tablet PCs were introduced back in the late 90’s, it was always as “this will be the future!” and its just never come to pass. Microsoft has wrestled with the OS and how its affected by a tablet PC, the hardware manufactuers have wrestled with the form factor and how to make it work – its just been an on-going joke – look here, an article from 2002 asking “is this the year of the Tablet PC”- http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-868773.html – and here we are – 3-4 years later and its still a joke. Of course Microsoft and HP and all these companies love the concept, because its sexy – but they have yet to release a practical product that is usable to mass appeal.
2. I sent over the mugshots to Buchanan’s socket 2 hours ago – God, update your protocols, will you? *eye roll*
1. I’m not saying they are cool NOW. I am saying they have the potential to be cool.
2. What if he’s not at his desk because Samwise has booted him out?
It’s like I don’t even exist….
I don’t think paper will ever completely go away. Not in our lifetimes, anyway.
Like I said, it might take 50 years or more, and I’m sure it will not go away completely, but in regular day to day use, I think that by the end of our lives, it will become a rarity. Because for one thing, there won’t be any trees left, and the extreme heat of the atmosphere will cause it to burst into flames almost instantly.
I’ve installed a specialized image reader for “CBZ” and “CBR” files that allow me to scroll through “scanned” comics compressed into ZIP or RAR format. *grins* It’s how I get my adult manga.
(And I’m not bringing this conversation back to porn! I swear!)
I don’t know. The computer screen isn’t condussive to the page itself. I would be interested to hold and try reading one of the Sony’s. I have to admit, I’m reading more online that I used to. In the past, I would print it off and read on the page instead of reading at the screen if it was too long.
Heh. I’m reading a novel online right now.
you know that’s the one medium online I haven’t started checking out – comics – I know they’re out there. I’ve “heard” about them coming up when “people” search for “things” via bit torrent – but I’ve yet to check them out.
Is it worth it Toga?
Yeah Connor, it is. Give it a shot; It’s great for trying out comics you’re hesitant to buy.
I think you mean Ron! 🙂
Jeez….I keep screwin’ up all over the board this week.
BUT YES, I MEAN RON.
Check out Super Frat It’s pretty funny
http://www.silentdevil.com/
In my constant crusade to turn as many of my friends into comic book readers (I’ve unfortunately turned on poor girl in Texas who doesn’t have a local comic shopt near her at all), I downloaded Frank Miller’s Ronin, because it was hard to find in print.
I liked reading it again and she enjoyed it.
I’m a part of a few groups in LJ that post stuff. I recently discovered fulldaily_scans who does the whole book. It’s still a question of bandwidth.
I use eMule as my sharing software of choice. I managed to download the first two hundred comics of HELLBLAZER.
O.o
I want to know how scanned these.
My reading software’s on my other laptop (I just got a new one). I’ll send you a link and you can check it out yourself.
Frankly, it’s the best way to read comics at work. 😀
Found it!
http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay
I can YSI some Ultimate FF so you can test it out!
whoa, very cool – email me and YSI me something – maybe Ronin? 😉
I condone none of this! None!
Uh… yeah.
Quoi? Is there problems?
Possibly there are some legal issues…
Legal Schmegal – this rules! Finally, an excuse to rotate my widescreen LCD monitor 90 degrees to the right (long way)…to read comics!
“I will make it legal!”
“Legal Schmegal”? I expect that kind of talk from someone who does not flinch at the mere uttrerance of the name “Adebisi.”
See, I’m wondering what the legalities are on this. I’m not making a profit. I used to own a copy of the book, though leant it out never to see it again. And as far as I can tell, it’s out of print.
Frankly, most of the stuff I find available for download is older stuff. It’s not taking food out of the mouths of artists or companies, per say.
And proper credit is given.
The Legalities are this:
You are allowed too have a digital back up copy of an original, hard copy book. So, for example, if you have Amazing Spider-Man 200, and you’ve already paid for it, they have no right to infringe on where and how you store your copy of the book.
Older Stuff, and is out of print AND uncollected, such as ‘Madrox’ or an obscure issue of ‘New Mutants’, it is also legal, because it is not available anywhere else.
So, by what you’re saying it’s totally legal.
Thanks! I try to keep up with this stuff, but with the way the various industries keep changing their rules in hopes of making more money, I’m probably not as up to date as I used to be.
I’m a conscious pirate, I will say that. Yes, there are some illegalities in my computing practices. But, I’ve vowed that once I start making money with any one of these, I will pay the proper people.
it’s probably best we stop discussing these matters. 🙂
Ding Ding!
oh, so that’s why they made my monitor able to rotate 90 degrees… i thought it was for playing spy hunter.