Digital Comics and the Longbox

[Darth_Andrea Owned by Natu Find all posts View Profile Close Darth_Andrea]

They aren't going to replace paper comics. They are going to coexist. There will be no need to increase the prices on paper comics just because of digital comics. If prices go up, its because of the cost of paper and/or distribution.

As for the device, they are planning on it to be viewable on iphones(which will soon be all phones once everyone else catches up), Amazon kindle, and are even trying to work with DSi and PSP....aside from PC,Mac,Linux.

I won't be getting this, .99 be damned I want the book in my hand. and I'm sorry trying to read a comic on the tiny ass screen of a PSP or a Iphone is stupid. Reducing the image to fit won't allow it to be read on the screens and having to scroll though a page to see it and read everything it also Stupid.

And I am afraid that if this does hit big, publishers will go 100% digital if not soon then in the long run. I prefer the paper books in my hand and my shelf filled with my trades. Digital comics are IMHO crap.



Darth_Andrea

[Marvelous Iggy God Of Turtles Find all posts View Profile Close Marvelous Iggy]

As much as everything goes digital now, Comics are the one thing that I dont want to go digital. while CD stores have closed down, you can still buy CDs in a Wal-Mart or a Target. if Comics go digital then LCS will go out of business, and for those that want to continue to hold comics in our hands will be difficult. I say no to digital Comics.

[Parrylakks Neko Samurai Find all posts View Profile Close Parrylakks]

I refuse to support digital comics... I just think it takes away from them more than it gives.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

I just don't see how you guys can be so anti-digital. If you don't like it fine, but to say that its ultimately going to ruin LCS is insane. Take a look at this thread! Its a full of people who will always go to the store to hold their comics. There is nothing wrong with supporting both. It doesn't have to be one extreme over the other.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

I just don't see how you guys can be so anti-digital. If you don't like it fine, but to say that its ultimately going to ruin LCS is insane. Take a look at this thread! Its a full of people who will always go to the store to hold their comics. There is nothing wrong with supporting both. It doesn't have to be one extreme over the other.

I dunno. Some of the points raised have to do with the undesirability of viewing comics in a digital format, which I have to agree with. Few people have monitors large enough to view comics full-size even on their desktop computers, and having to scroll to view is a rather pathetic option (especially if you are talking a splash, or double splash, page). If you start with PORTABLE devices, it is even worse, to the point where I wonder why bother? I mean seriously, reading a comic on a phone?! It wouldn't even be WORTH the 99 cents, IMHO.

As far as what it would do to the sales of regular comics, I can't say. Yes, this thread is full of people that would still go to the LCS for their books, but I think that is because this thread is, largely, full of people who WOULDN'T buy the digital versions. I can tell you this, IF I were ever to start buying comics digitally (which would have to mean that I had an economical, and portable, way of VIEWING them at a respectable percentage of full size) I for one would NOT be buying the hard-copy. What would be the point? I'm not going to buy the digital at all unless it can provide a decent reading experience, and if it CAN, why would I then go out and pay three times (or more) as much for the same thing on paper? To say that offering digital versions won't hurt sales of paper comics is, IMHO, naive. I think that would ONLY be true for as long as it took for the digital versions to become accepted, and successful. Once they were, printed comics would take a HUGE hit. Not everybody would drop them. Those that are willing to pay extra today in order to own multiple cover variants are unlikely to balk at paying to own both digital and hardcopy versions. But among those who just want to be able to read (and re-read) the books, buying a hardcopy at three times the price will be a ridiculous notion once the digital reading experience becomes comparable.

The comic PUBLISHERS might make out well enough (or even BETTER) with a digital model, and on that score it might be worth it to allow the industry to survive, but the brick-and-mortar comic shops? I can't see how it could be anything but a disaster for them, if digital comics ever improve to the extent that they gain wide acceptance.

[Caleb Lancaster The Time Traveler Find all posts View Profile Close Caleb Lancaster]

I...
Must...
Get!

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

Did you look at the screens? It won't be much(if any) scrolling. Click to zoom, and probably double click on specific panels to zoom even further on a specific one.

Why do you guys always resort back to portable devices? That's only a part of this thing. You guys act like you aren't going to be using your computers to read these things. Sure you want to take a few comics with you when you leave the house, but until they get to that point why not at least have access to them on a computer? I take my laptop damn near everywhere I go, and I'm always playing music. If Longbox was available can you imagine how many more comics we would be able to read monthly?

Ed, I think you're still in that extreme stance. Yes Longbox is very affordable but many people aren't going to drop paper all together because there's another alternative. You think Best Buy would still sell albums if people weren't still buying them? Local Comic Shops will still be in business because people will still want their favorite books in their hands. COLLECTORS will definitely be out in full force making sure that they get those hardcopies. If the Longbox provides sufficient amount of quality comics(the Big 2) and a good reading experience then how can it fail? Can you honestly tell me that you've been frustrated with reading a preview online? Can you honestly tell me that you've thought that a preview suffered just because you read it online? If you can, you're lying to me and yourself. It definitely is a better read in your hand but its not a bad read online because its online. If its a bad read its because the writer sucks.

Some people may drop printed comics for digital all together(though I don't see DC or Marvel actually providing every title digitally like they should), but that would be the minority. If you have always liked printed comics, and find that price affordable why would you get something cheaper just because its cheaper? The price point for digital comics through the Longbox is only incentive to try new books not stop going to the shops every week.

[Caleb Lancaster The Time Traveler Find all posts View Profile Close Caleb Lancaster]

You think they'll work with Netbooks?
Cause when I get a new Lappy it'll be more of a Netty.

[Limelantern Better than both the Salami and the Bologna combined Find all posts View Profile Close Limelantern]

I don't know, I guess those among us that do not spend 23 5/8 hours of our day in front of a computer screen would not like the idea too much. Those that do would not see much of a difference because they never actually get up and move away from their monitors anyway.

But I can see why anyone would generally not want to support the idea in the first place because it has the potential to totally take over the industry. It is just that much cheaper for the comic companies. No paper costs, ink costs, shipping costs, and wasted funds for comics that never sold. Plus the fact that there would be no late shipped comics. All of this together would mean any comic company would jump behind it because it would save them gigantic amounts of money in the long run. But the fans would have less. If any of us want a hard copy then we would have to waste our own paper and ink printing it out. So the potential is there for comic companies to save immensely by switching completely over to this format.

And I am not going to buy the "But LCS's will still be there" because they won't after a couple years of this. Has anyone seen a music store anywhere anymore? No because they no longer exist. There is only the section in Wal Mart and Best Buy. I like the social atmosphere of actually leaving the house and talking to other people in a place like a LCS without having to log on anything from home. I like having something in my hands first and looking at it before I decide to buy it. All of this would be obsolete within two to three years if this takes off. So I see the cons way way out weighing the pro's.

Plus I really hate having to scroll up and down, left and right all over a splash page just to see all the word bubbles. Which are too pathetically tiny to read if I fullscreen the image.

[lanternut Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close lanternut]

I wouldn't worry to much about the digital format Lime. Salt Lake still has CD shops and if we still have em I'm guess they still exist in other parts of the country.

I have to tell a funny story about one of our main CD shops. I heard the song Reach by Martini Ranch playing on the radio. Thought I'd go all Agent Orange and and add the song to my Ipod. The song's not on iTunes, so I decide I'm going to help out the local economy and go see if I can pick it up from one of the CD shops.

The first store doesn't have it and to order it I have to not only pay for the whole thing in advance but $5.00 for shipping?!

Go to the next shop they don't have it either. The clerk tells me your better off just ordering it from Amazon... And they wonder why there going out of business.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

Its like you don't read anything I fucking say! lmao

I don't know, I guess those among us that do not spend 23 5/8 hours of our day in front of a computer screen would not like the idea too much. Those that do would not see much of a difference because they never actually get up and move away from their monitors anyway.

Um, if you don't spend a lot of time in front of a computer, then it wouldn't be a problem for you to take that time now wouldn't it. It would be the same time where you would be reading your comics. Your schedule doesn't have to revolve around reading on your computer. And there's a bookmark feature just in case you want stop reading for any reason. No one is forcing you to stuff your head in front of the screen for hours.

But I can see why anyone would generally not want to support the idea in the first place because it has the potential to totally take over the industry. It is just that much cheaper for the comic companies. No paper costs, ink costs, shipping costs, and wasted funds for comics that never sold. Plus the fact that there would be no late shipped comics. All of this together would mean any comic company would jump behind it because it would save them gigantic amounts of money in the long run. But the fans would have less. If any of us want a hard copy then we would have to waste our own paper and ink printing it out. So the potential is there for comic companies to save immensely by switching completely over to this format.

What? Who said anything about printing comics from the computer? That's just silly. If you want the hard copy then go get it from the store you usually go to. Its just like buying a cd. Had you actually continued to go to those shops then they'd still be around. But if you just continue to bitch about how they'll go out of business, then they will. If you don't want them to go, then continue to you use them. iTunes never intended to close down music shops, it was simply a market for people to get their product onto their computer and ipod. Longbox is a simply a market for people to get their product onto their computer and eventually a portable comic reader. Whether that will be the colored Kindle or not, its too early to tell. But to shun the idea of a portable reader all together is bitch-ass-ness. lol

Plus I really hate having to scroll up and down, left and right all over a splash page just to see all the word bubbles. Which are too pathetically tiny to read if I fullscreen the image.

Do yourself a favor and read the two articles I posted at the start of the topic and then tell me about that con over pros shit. Then tell me about when and where you heard of scrolling because that's something they don't want.

[Limelantern Better than both the Salami and the Bologna combined Find all posts View Profile Close Limelantern]

I haven't seen a Tower Records, FYI, Sam Goodey, Blockbuster Music, Rhino, or Musicland since at least 05'. And they kind of sucked then. They are long gone now.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

Did you look at the screens? It won't be much(if any) scrolling. Click to zoom, and probably double click on specific panels to zoom even further on a specific one.

Uh, I know how big my monitor is, and I know how big a comic is. There WILL be scrolling. On every page. Unless I want to read it in miniature.

Why do you guys always resort back to portable devices? That's only a part of this thing. You guys act like you aren't going to be using your computers to read these things. Sure you want to take a few comics with you when you leave the house, but until they get to that point why not at least have access to them on a computer? I take my laptop damn near everywhere I go, and I'm always playing music.

I don't HAVE a laptop. Only a desktop. In the basement. Yeah, OK, so maybe I'm a caveman, but I still wouldn't usually CHOOSE to sit in my cave to read from a screen (which, even if it WERE the right size, isn't great, as I learned trying to read e-Books).

Ed, I think you're still in that extreme stance. Yes Longbox is very affordable but many people aren't going to drop paper all together because there's another alternative. You think Best Buy would still sell albums if people weren't still buying them? Local Comic Shops will still be in business because people will still want their favorite books in their hands. COLLECTORS will definitely be out in full force making sure that they get those hardcopies.

Some people will. Maybe even many, I don't know. But not ALL. I don't think the LCS can really stand much of a cut in sales, and I can't IMAGINE that they won't lose SOME. Best Buy doesn't MAINLY sell albums. I would imagine if you were to ask them about sales on those pre and post widespread electronic downloads, they would tell you that sales are DOWN. I KNOW that some shops in my area that ONLY sell music, ARE hurting and closing their doors, since they don't have another range of products to pick up the slack like Best Buy does.

If the Longbox provides sufficient amount of quality comics(the Big 2) and a good reading experience then how can it fail?

I never said it would. I think if it can provide those things it will do very well. I just think that IF it DOES do very well, then that will be a blow to the LCS, one that they may NOT be able to absorb, depending on their size, and range of other merchandise.

Can you honestly tell me that you've been frustrated with reading a preview online?

When I had to scroll through a splash page? Yup.

Can you honestly tell me that you've thought that a preview suffered just because you read it online?

Well, its just a preview, so it doesn't bug me THAT much. I KNOW I'm going to be reading the whole thing in a reasonable format later. But yes, it DID suffer.

If you can, you're lying to me and yourself. It definitely is a better read in your hand but its not a bad read online because its online. If its a bad read its because the writer sucks.

No, I'm lying to neither you, nor I. And you pretty much admit it. If it is a BETTER read in your hand, then by definition that means it suffered for the digital format. I didn't say it was RUINED. Just annoying and less enjoyable.

Some people may drop printed comics for digital all together(though I don't see DC or Marvel actually providing every title digitally like they should), but that would be the minority. If you have always liked printed comics, and find that price affordable why would you get something cheaper just because its cheaper? The price point for digital comics through the Longbox is only incentive to try new books not stop going to the shops every week.

If it is cheaper and the quality is the same? Who WOULDN'T go for that? That's what I was saying. IF they manage to make the experience comparable enough that I would actually go for it, why WOULD I buy the paper copies? I don't have any problem with digital comics if they are somehow presented in a format that is not annoying and frustrating to read. (Heck, even WITH the annoying frustration, I might go for it if the comics I liked were available for a lot cheaper, and my financial situation hasn't improved, but I'd just be grumbling about the reading experience instead of price.) But I just think that it is somewhat silly to think that the widespread success of digital comics wouldn't eventually doom most LCSs, and thereby the printed comic, since nowadays printed comics are not readily available in stores with a Best Buy-type breadth of merchandise, that can survive a significant decline in the sales of the printed comics themselves. I'm not even sure thats a bad thing, frankly, if the comics industry is to survive and expand. Locking distribution almost entirely into specialty shops really limits the wider appeal of comics.

[Limelantern Better than both the Salami and the Bologna combined Find all posts View Profile Close Limelantern]

Have you noticed how no one else really likes the idea at all? Do you have something personally invested in Longbox that might leave you bankrupt if it goes under?

Because you really seem to take other people not liking something you like personally again.

[lanternut Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close lanternut]

It's the mom and pop shops here. One even has a chain here and seems to be thriving okay. I like that there are still local shops that you can replace your worn out vinyl. Yes, I do have a record player too lol.

So West if all publishers came on board and their monthlies where all a dollar, how much of your monthly hold would you switch to digital?