flyfoxpro

October 25, 2011 9:51 pm I see your point of view, but the lets say that you are correct that the "winner" of the digital race buys the other, than people might be able to transfer their "purchases" but eventually it would make more sense for the publisher themselves to invest in their own distribution service, therefore any "middle man" distributor might be pushed out and eventually go out of business completely. I think the main thing for everyone is to decide the best strategy for themselves, i think it is too early for those who value the idea of rereading their comics to put too much faith in this current model of digital distribution, or else they might find themselves having to buy the same thing multiple times. Bottom line is that this is the early days of digital distribution, just like betamax and vhs, or blu ray and hddvd eventually something will win out, early takers will invest in one only to find them rendered obsolete by the next big thing. Also in reference to your statement about your files being downloaded. The files must be read in the comixology app, if comixology goes out of business the likelihood of updates to the comixology app go away, therefore an update to your Os or hardware could render your app useless, rendering your "purchases" unreadable. I know that i might be one of the few dissenting voices but i'm not picking on digital comics alone, i think that all digital content is sketchy to buy. When you buy something you own that property, when you "buy" digitally you don't really own anything but an opportunity to operate or view something indefinitely. If people are okay with this model of digital transactions then power to them, i won't begrudge anyone to spend their money where they want.

October 25, 2011 6:44 pm The point i am trying to make isn't that comic books have monetary value, they really don't have that much. But instead i think that the risks of a digital format as opposed to print are too great for me. Plus I am one of the few people who actually doesn't like reading on a screen. It hurts my eyes to look at a backlit screen all day. Why would i want to leave work and then go home and look at another computer? plus i like bookmarks, i like going through my bookshelf and picking out a book, i like misplacing a book and finding it months or even years later. with digital i just don't get the satisfaction or feeling of personal ownership that i do with print. I am a reader, i read comics, and i read books, i like to read them over and over again. Sometime i pick up books i loved in my childhood and read them again, or i go back and read a comic i got when i was 9 or 10, with digital the assurance that i will be able to reread the things i "buy" just isn't there and that is what bothers me. this whole thing between collectors and just readers reminds me of Mark Hamill's "Comic Book the Movie" where kevin smith proposes that we should rip the comic in half after reading it instead of bagging and boarding. Its a ridiculous notion but that is what it feels like i am doing when i put faith in an unproven digital format.

October 25, 2011 6:23 pm My use of the word "right" is in the idea that you are essentially leasing or renting the ability to view something not actually making a purchase of that thing. I don't want to rent a comic book i want to own the comic. I may not own the copyright on the artwork or content but i own that particular piece of property, that book is tangible. the issue for me is right now with multiple digital companies the odds of them all surviving is very low, so there is no reason for me to buy comics at the same price as physical copies when those companies could potentially not exist tomorrow. its the same reason i don't buy digital games on my xbox or wii, someday those companies won't exist or they won't maintain their backlog of digital games and if i don't have a physical copy of the game i won't be able to go back and play it.

October 25, 2011 3:56 pm I agree with Rob3E, there is a huge difference between the possible destruction of print that i physically own, and the probability that digital distributors will go out of business. If we just look at the history of Comic books, we can see the probable trend for digital distributors. In the past there were multiple distributors currently there is only diamond. It is a huge possibility that ultimately the big comics companies will sign exclusivity deals with one digital company. if that is the case what happens to the people who bought comics through the other companies, Unless they are bought out by the other company, which is unlikely, they will lose all their "purchases". Digital isn't something your really own, its something you temporarily purchase the rights to view.

October 25, 2011 3:47 pm I understand the idea of not wanting a ton of comics around, but the whole idea of traveling to a comic store to purchase digital comics is ridiculous. It seems like it defeats the purpose. If digital is the way of the future than the LCS will go out of business because operating a store based entirely on the minimal amount of money gotten from the digital distributor is not a sustainable business model. I would imagine that the LCS makes less money on digital purchases than print ones, but i don't really know the facts. Regardless of the amount of money being made on digital purchases at the LCS, the idea that people would travel to a specific location to buy something they could buy anywhere is unrealistic. I would say the best way to support an LCS is to buy print. If you prefer digital by all means continue to buy through the LCS.

October 25, 2011 3:35 pm I'm not sure about that, but I know that DC works closely with comixology and when you buy comics through the dc website you are buying through comixology. I would assume it is that way with the other companies as well. This situation makes me think that it is still a risk to buy digital comics in any form, because the longevity of the product is in question. It boils down to the argument of whether or not you are making an actual purchase of an item, (owning something you are capable of reselling.) and purchasing the right to view an item that someone else controls. ( such as a movie ticket or museum pass.) The problem that arises through the publishers deals with digital distributors is that in the future the distributor might not have those deals. In the past there were multiple print distributors of comics, now there is only diamond. With digital rights it is impossible to tell if you will be able to "own" the comic for an extended period of time. If you buy a comic from digital "company B" and it goes out of business, digital "company A" has no responsibility to honor your previous purchase. Hopefully this helps you make an informed decision on whether or not digital is for you.

October 25, 2011 1:33 pm I have trouble reading digital comics, it makes my eyes and head hurt, i don't know if its because i keep the screen too bright but even when i read the comic on a normal sized screen i can't quite keep myself focused on the comic. I sometimes can't even finish reading it, maybe i'm just an old fogy.

October 25, 2011 1:29 pm It doesn't really sound like paranoia to me. When you buy something digital, whether it be music, games or comics, you have to trust that the business that you bought it from will stay in business or not lose the rights to those things. To answer your question most of the companies selling comics only allow the comics they sell to be viewed in their programs. Unless you make screenshots and back up you purchase that way, you have to trust the company. Someday the publishers might take away the rights from companies like Graphically and Comixology and only digitally publish the comics themselves. At that point hopefully you have the comic downloaded, because you probably won't be able to download it again. The truth as i see it is this, Actual physical copies of media, comics or otherwise, have resell value, digital doesn't, actual physical copies do not really on others to maintain a business, digital does. I feel more comfortable with physical copies.

October 25, 2011 1:18 pm I will never switch over to digital comics, nor will i switch over to digital anything. Because when you buy something digital, you don't really own it. Sure you own the rights to look at it, but you can't sell those rights, they have no value. Some might argue that comics aren't worth much monetarily anyways, but at least i know that i can take them to my local used bookstore and get something for them. I might occasionally buy a digital copy of something, but for the most part i am sticking to obtaining physical copies of things, i don't care about better colors or guided view, i care about actually owning something, something physical i can hand to my son when he is old enough to read, something i can pass down to him.