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Digital Comics, Unfriendly Page Layouts, and Black Vortex

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Walt

double_spreads_01I was recently reading some online posts about Thanos, Thane, Infinity, and Black Vortex…and realized that while I had STARTED reading Black Vortex, I never finished it.

I believe it was a 12-issue story…and you can download 12 issues to your device with Marvel Unlimited, and I’d done just that, intending to binge-read the story…and yet I never finished the story.

The reason?

Page layouts.

I enjoy digital well enough…but even turning a tablet sideways, it’s virtually impossible to actually make out the text–captions, speech bubbles, etc–on a 2-page spread shrunk to fit even on the sideways-turned-tablet.

double_spreads_02

And in thinking about it, I’m certain that was what stopped me in my tracks: I just got so incredibly annoyed at CONSTANTLY having to turn the tablet and zoom in, because it seemed like every couple pages was a double-page layout!

While a "standard" single-page, vertical, is generally a decent read on a table, it then either is showing only half of the layout, or turn the device sideways and it’s reduced to a much smaller size.

double_spreads_03

Sure, there are the various "zoom in to read" modes–Comixology has its "guided view," Marvel Unlimited has some sort of panel view, and I imagine other similar platforms have their own thing to allow you to basically zoom in or view just a given panel in lieu of an entire page.

But part of what drove me to get a tablet, looking forward to the digital comics side, was that the tablet in standard vertical orientation–a bit taller than wide–was roughly the size of a single page of a standard comic book.

double_spreads_04

"Modern layouts" can be quite cool, and interesting, and presumably fun for designers, and allow artists to "experiment" and all that (and please believe me, I can totally appreciate that and see immense value and necessity for it) but it all rarely translates well to a digital screen, at least in my own opinion, for my own methods and purposes.

I can’t see "digital" ever totally replacing "print" for me, though I would not be entirely opposed to "switching" to "digital only" for single issues and collected volumes as my "print edition" or "archival copy" if I really dug something… though that’s largely its own topic and for some other post. But for newer comics with the constant full page panels and double-page splashes (already a "cheat" to my pagecount for $3.99 in many cases), it’s even more annoying to experience attempting to read digitally.

double_spreads_05

And so–particularly with Marvel, as this specific example–as much as other elements are "barriers to entry, I’m already ok with reading some stuff digitally.

I just can’t stand the double-page spreads that seem to be far too common, recklessly used and even "abused" by way of throwing out pages for something being double-shipped or otherwise trying to make a deadline.

If I’m gonna have to fumble with something physical, do more than just a gentle "swipe" across a screen to read an entire page…I’m darned well gonna just stick with a print edition comic!

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Dipping Back Into Digital…Over Two Years Later

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Walt

back_to_digital_1

It’s been over two years now since Comixology did away with in-app purchasing for Apple devices. Being an Apple guy (simply by way of having iPhone and iPad), that stopped me in my tracks as far as digital comics went.

back_to_digital_openscreen_marvelI wrote about the one-year mark last year… and not too long after, “discovered” Marvel Unlimited.

I’ve enjoyed Unlimited a great deal, and found it to be SUCH a great value that even doing the $10 month-to-month subscription (rather than lay out $70-80 in one go for the entire year), I have zero problem with going a month or months without using it yet still paying for it!

The six-month “delay” or “embargo” or whatever–the gap between what’s available without separate purchasing and whatever’s out this week–does not bother me at all. I’m so far behind on “current Marvel” in general anyway that it doesn’t much matter…and for the cost, any mattering there is is offset by reading relatively new stuff for such a small cost–given Marvel‘s $3.99+ price point, really all I have to do is average 3 comics read per month to ‘break even’ with anything else being total bonus. And for what I read just last summer, I’d mentally decided it more than covered over a year, and it’s not yet BEEN a full year since then, so I’m golden. It allows me to–should I choose–read up on a lotta stuff, catch up, etc at my relative leisure without laying out a lotta money (and while I may not like to admit it, keeps me tethered enough that I’m then going to be interested in buying other stuff as a result of things I read, whether newish issues, some collected volume(s), or just stuff from bargain-bins.

back_to_digital_openscreen_dcMaking the “purchase” one time, and being all set until I cancel my subscription and otherwise being free to browse and select and download at my leisure from the app–without constantly logging in or having to juggle multiple apps and interfaces for single-issue selections and such (i.e. purchasing through Comixology without in-app purchases) works extremely nicely!

Just about 3 weeks ago, heading toward DC Comics‘ big Rebirth issue, I’d gotten excited enough that I searched for and downloaded DC‘s digital-comics app to “check” on what a friend has told me a number of times…the individual companies’ apps still allow the inn-app purchases, even though Comixology‘s app itself does not. So, for the first time in over two years, I was all set not only to make “a” digital purchase…but was excited, anticipating, and ready/willing to pay full price digitally…just to satisfy the craving, the immediate gratification of getting to read an issue before work rather than have to wait until a late lunch break to go to the store to get the issue (which I’d already had a copy being held).

back_to_digital_2Taking advantage of a “sale” I had noticed, for a mere 99 cents, I bought the recent Superman Annual that I believe led into the final stuff just ahead of The Final Days of Superman with the titles big #50s and such.

EDITING 6/15/2016 to add: Can’t believe I forgot that I also dropped another $14 or so on an Annual and 12-13 or so issues of Batman for the “core” Zero Year story!

And then after so thoroughly enjoying the new Action Comics issue last week, just to “support” the title and legacy numbering and in-app purchasing and $2.99 price point in general, I bought a digital copy to just have it.

Which I’m sure–for me–may have opened the floodgates as I rediscovered the joy of the digital purchasing–being able to learn of something and/or just being flat-out “in the mood” to read it, and even if I’d consider its print edition nothing more than “a quarter book”–something I wouldn’t pay more than 25 cents for–I’ll pay the “convenience tax” for the digital access and get to read whatever issue(s) immediately and without it taking up a lot of physical space!

back_to_digital_openscreen_tmntCue, then, adding the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles app to my device–because darn it, the TMNT have always been a soft spot for me and an “exception” I’m willing to make to things I’ll otherwise completely avoid on principle…so might as well check that app out, and at the very least see if I can access old purchases I’d made of some of those books.

Much like the DC app, the TMNT app does indeed allow for in-app purchasing…which may well mean some trouble for me down the road, but I especially like that they have stuff priced well below print, at least on some of the collected volumes.

And much to my shared chagrin and enjoyment, there’s currently a sale going on…not just for a couple days or the week, but the entire month of June.

back_to_digital_4

So, I ‘bit.”

I was curious.

I had to check into the prices of the collected volumes…especially after realizing how far behind I am on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures volumes.

back_to_digital_3With the sale going on, the volumes were $3.99 apiece…and contain at least 4 issues each, if not 5.

For the price of one single Marvel issue that I’d read in a few minutes, I could buy a collection of issues I’ve been intending to re-read soon anyway and that I know I’ll enjoy.

So, utilizing the ease of in-app purchasing…I bought volume 10 for the Future Shark Trilogy story. And that included references to the Eye of Sarnath and such, so decided I might as well get the next volume as well, for the Black Hole Trilogy that I remembered quite enjoying.

Yet after reading the Future Shark stuff, I wanted to backtrack a bit…so got volume 9 for the United We Stand “crossover” story with the Mighty Mutanimals, and a couple more “key” issues I remember from back in the day.

And at this point, I’m honestly thinking that–while it’ll add up to the same thing either way–being able to spread the purchases out, I maybe completely backtrack on these volumes to take advantage of the $3.99/volume price, just for the ease of re-reading the issues on my tablet.

Ultimately, the point being: I was completely soured to digital comics, my interest (and weekly purchases of at least a handful of 99-cent issues) had been killed in its tracks. And I wasn’t just mouthing off or “complaining online” while still giving over my money–I stopped cold, and did not spend another cent, period, sum total on any digital comics from Comixology.

That lasted over two years, some 25 months.

While some of it is the re-“novelty” of the stuff and diving back in after some time away, I’m obviously somewhere in the audience for digital comics! And willing to (on impulse!) purchase digital comics if only to read one time and be done.

Just a drop in the bucket overall, but nearly $20 in just a couple weeks while planning on several more purchases (and who knows from there) on top of buying print editions…and Comixology itself lost out as I’m now going through the individual companies’ apps rather than theirs directly. Sure, they might get a cut, but I imagine it’s smaller than what they’d get if I was going through their app itself even with the “Apple tax,” and all the more significant across time.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Comixology and Me, One Year Later

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Walt

One_Year_Later_logoIt’s been just a couple days over the one-year mark. Just a scant handful of weeks after the Amazon deal, Comixology up and with no warning, no advance notice, took away “in-app payments” from Apple device users. I can’t and won’t speak to whatever the situation is with Droid/Google users, as I’m firmly rooted on the Apple camp.

With that one single change, for a number of factors including the simple PRINCIPLE of the thing, I bailed.

Oh, there were arguments for and against the situation. Like how it’s only a couple extra steps to go to a website, even on a tablet/phone browser and do a purchase that way. Or the arguments against, including the hassle of the browser, and having to go through steps of purchase and then still locate/download in a reader, blah blah blah.

My initial gut-reaction? Walk away. Boycott the thing. I’m not spending one more CENT on Comixology purchasing. If they want that extra 30% or whatever by screwing up what seemed (to me, at least) to have even made them what they were, fine…an extra 30% of 0 is still 0, coming from ME.

But I meant it. I wasn’t just saying it because it was some trendy thing to say, or something to be said and gone back on later.

It’s been a year, and I have not spent one more cent on anything Comixology-related. I’ve bought no random full-price issues. I’ve not kept up with anything on a couple months’ lagtime for the $1 off cover price discounts. I’ve bought no bundles, I’ve bought no digital bargain trades, and I’ve not participated in one single 99-cent sale, of which they seemed to have 2-3 per week where I usually bought at least one or two things, often spending $5-$20+ in a given week just on 99-cent sales.

And to make it worse? Thanks to Comixology‘s ‘stunt’, I don’t trust any OTHER digital comics platforms. At least, not enough to “invest.” I participated in a “Humble Bundle” thing some months back for a bunch of Valiant comics on another digital platform, but I never followed up with anything else. I believe I have those comics loaded to my tablet, but I’ve yet to put any serious time into trying to read them, lacking the “guided view” that was a huge part of my buying into Comixology.

Comixology‘s move was one heckuva wake-up call that things could radically change without notice, just literally wake up one morning and “dealbreaker” specific points are different. As “minor” as many would argue the payment vehicle shift was, who’s to say many comics don’t suddenly become unavailable…like if Marvel decides to “take its ball and go home” not allowing Comixology (or another digital platform) to renew a license? (Plenty of other questions along those lines, but that’s a different topic).

Considering where I started on the notion of digital comics, and how quickly I’d turned toward liking them and was beginning to experiment with and think more seriously about flat-out embracing the medium, I can’t even guestimate how much I would’ve spent–and increased my spending over time–since a year ago…especially while ignoring/refusing to consider questions of perpetual availability and Other Change and whatnot.

I refuse to use Comixology…yet other platforms’ lack of Comixology‘s “guided view” makes them less than ideal; and PDFs and the like on my computer don’t work well due to having a “widescreen” that results in–having a PDF viewer “maximized” onscreen–barely being able to see even half a page without manually scrolling around.

And ultimately…where once I was considering a shift to “mostly digital” I now resist the format almost entirely. Though perhaps in a minority and holding to an unpopular view…I’m sure I’m not alone with it.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Expired Patience

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Walt

expired_thumbI’m out of patience as I type this. I am supremely annoyed at Marvel and their arbitrary barely-a-year-IF-that-long “expiration” of digital codes for redeeming a digital copy of $3.99+ issues they’ve published.

I touched on this the other day, but now it’s a focal thing for me. THEN, it was sort of “hey, whatever…annoying but live with it.” Now I’m just FRUSTRATED and totally put-off the whole thing.

The digital editions of the issues in question? They’re all still available on comiXology from Marvel. I believe I could still BUY the digital editions from Marvel itself. But because I read the issues when they came out and so didn’t get around to revisiting them until just over a year later…suddenly that so-called “added value” of the digital codes is null and void?!?

Sunday night (Dec 1st) I attempted to redeem some more codes…TWO codes that failed supposedly expired November 29th. Less than 48 hours and the things expired and there’s no apparent leeway in that.

But it’s not like the digital editions don’t exist out there, still for sale. Just that there’s an arbitrary “expiration” for whatever reason. I don’t much care what that reason is, or for the fact of any fault of my own (sure, I didn’t redeem the codes earlier, but a year is a rather short amount of time compared to say, movies with digital copies that at least get a 2-year window!).

WORST of all, I opened my AvX hardcover, and learned that APPARENTLY that code expired about 3 weeks ago. Nothing on the cover saying there was an extremely limited expiration date on the thing. (But on the cover there IS a blurb proclaiming it a Print AND Digital edition!). Yet, I saw a print edition of this book on a shelf at a Booksamillion barely 2 days ago. If half the product is the “digital copy,” and that’s no longer valid, shouldn’t the price of the entire thing be cut?

This whole experience totally sours me on the idea of the so-called “free digital copy” thing, sours me on Marvel in general, and unfortunately (if only in the moment) sours me on digital comics. At least the PRINT EDITIONS can be bought “whenever,” be it a year later or 10 or 20 or 30+ years down the road.

And if that “free digital copy” is supposed to be part of the “added value” of the issue and “justify” the cover price…SURELY an extended redemption-window can be afforded!

more_expired_marvel_codes

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Maxx and Expiring Digital Codes

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Walt

Time certainly flies…especially when LOOKING BACK over the time that has PASSED. With this week’s new comics, I picked up The Maxx Maximized #1. It’s a recolored reprint of the original series. The cover reminded me a lot of the original–I originally thought it was simply a recolored version of the original, but it’s not quite–and I wound up picking it up simply for the nostalgia, and I’m gradually becoming a “sucker” for seeing what something from when I was a kid looks like with modern technology and techniques.

The original is dated March, 1993…so these are technically 20 years apart, nearly 21.

maxx20years

…and then I found a copy of the ORIGINAL in a quarter-bin, so I actually get to (conveniently) do a side-by-side comparison of the thing. And the new one looks good. I do like its coloring better, and it LOOKS more modern.

While on the subject of time passing, though…you know those “free” digital codes that Marvel does with their $3.99-and-up books?

Yeah, I was still getting the AvX stuff in single-issues at the time they started. Unfortunately, I’d never gotten around to peeling the stickers off and keying the codes into the redemption site.

So last night I sat down with a stack of last year’s AvX books and keyed a bunch in.

But alas…of all of these, only TWO worked. The others all gave me an error saying the code had EXPIRED.

expiredcodes

Now, I GET that they don’t want to have “rogue codes” out there for years and years…but REALLY? It’s a freaking DIGITAL FILE. There’s no “original,” there’s no “shipping,” the thing’s out there ANYway for people to BUY to this day…so where’s the harm in allowing the code to work so long as the file is AVAILABLE? I mean, yeah…in 4, 5 years, THAT might be excessive. In 4-5 years, maybe Marvel will have yanked their stuff from Comixology, and thus the current system/databases may not work and all.

But this just makes me feel like I got “shorted” on my purchases, EVEN THOUGH I “knew” they expired “in a year.” I guess I’d better get to digging through stuff from the past year or so and see what I can still actually GET, just for the sake of redeeming ’em.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Valiant’s Comixology Ads: Easily My Favorite Ads at Present

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Walt

valiantpastandpresentadsI typically ignore ads in comics as much as I can, finding that more often than not they’re just not relevant or interesting to me. Sometimes an ad will really stick out to me, though–such as the ad for the Deadpool Corps series a few years back with the “Deadpool Corps Oath.” I’ve also posted before about quite liking the way Valiant was doing its back-cover house-ads; though the last few months they’ve shifted to a full-cover ad for Unity and such, with a two-page spread inside to advertise a month’s books.

I’ve also noticed–pretty much since the Valiant launch back in May 2012–the recurring Comixology ads in the various books. The ads are pretty much the same, except for the showcased covers. For each title, the ad changes to show the first issue of the original ’90s valiant series next to the (non-variant) cover of the first issue in the current series.

I’ve found myself enjoying these ads, and the sense of history they impart. If you’re a fan of the classic books “trying” the current stuff, they show that the classic stuff is available simply, through Comixology. If you’re just a fan of the current stuff, it shows what the original cover was, and offers a “way in” if you want to check out the original take on the character(s). Plus, to me, there’s just something about seeing the two covers next to each other that I like in each ad. (Though it also drives home my frustration at the abundance of variant covers from the current Valiant and solidifies my preference for the “standard” or “iconic” cover of a given book).

These also remind me THAT so much classic Valiant is now available digitally, and will certainly facilitate some of my reading soon, as I’m likely to grab the digital editions of early issues rather than wait til I can find the print editions (for stuff like Harbinger, X-O Manowar, and Rai in particular). It’s already allowed me to read what I believe is the entirety of the original Quantum and Woody stuff.

Anyway, as recurring ads go, or quasi “house” ads, these have gotta be my favorite since the various Superman house ads in the ’90s in the DC books.

valiantpastandpresentad_xomanowar

valiantpastandpresentad_harbinger

valiantpastandpresentad_bloodshot

valiantpastandpresentad_archerandarmstrong

valiantpastandpresentad_shadowman

valiantpastandpresentad_quantumandwoody

valiantpastandpresentad_eternalwarrior

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Comixology vs. Comic Shop: First Impact

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Walt

supergirlbackissuescomixologyComixology has never replaced the comic shop experience for me. Sure, I partake in the various 99-cent sales to try stuff I’ve never read or to get a digital copy for a re-read or such, and RARELY will outright buy a “new issue” of something just as an impulse buy. But I don’t think I’ve ever been in a comic shop and had issues in-hand with the intent to buy them and then put them back in favor of buying them digitally from Comixology instead.

First time for everything, though, right?

In my various posts the last several weeks about DC‘s Villains Month, I’ve reiterated my lack of interest in following the villains’ issues into ongoing titles, and yet also my likely exception for following the Cyborg Superman’s story into Supergirl. I ducked into another comic shop Friday since I was out of town, curious about what 3-D covers they might still have in stock, and a bit of an increased interest in catching a few more villains issues. I ended up buying Supergirl #23–the issue immediately preceding the Cyborg Superman‘s September issue, as well as snagging the 2-D editions of the Arcane issue, the Bizarro issue, and the H’El issue.

Saturday I decided to check another shop I occasionally visit, having decided I was interested in the Penguin and Two Face issues (which I found and bought the 2-D editions as the 3-Ds were marked up to $10 and $15 apiece). I also ended up flipping through the Supergirl issues on the shelf (looked like the entire series back to #1), and checked the endings to #s 22 and then 21, both of which seem to involve the Cyborg Superman. I picked ’em up and was going to include them with my purchase, when it dawned on me: sure, #23 made sense to buy in-print, it’d still be $2.99 on Comixology since DC seems to have moved to a 2-month lag on dropping the price. But we’ve already hit the 2-month mark for #s 21 & 22.

So rather than buy either of those, I figured I’d just wait, since all I want to do is read them for further context of the Cyborg Superman (and the lack of issues 0-20 in my possession would kinda bug me) and I can just buy ’em via Comixology and save $1 apiece.

In this case…yeah, the digital may have “undercut” a sale for a comic shop…but this is in the 2+ months time-frame, and NOT the week-of/day-and-date sales window. Granted, at this particular shop, recent back issues are still cover price; as opposed to shops that may bag ‘n board and mark up issues after only a month or two. But it’s still “back issue” territory, and a 33% discount. $2 apiece–a TOTAL of the price of ONE Marvel issue–for two recent issues makes for a decent price, to me.

Just something I found sorta interesting to note in my own purchasing (or lack thereof). ‘Course, DC–thanks to the Villains Month stuff–wound up with me purchasing 27 issues this month that at the end of August I’d had no intention of purchasing. 21 of these were the 3-D editions; several of which were still impulse-buys the week-of; 5 were 2-D editions and 1 was Forever Evil #1 itself.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Trouble (for me) with Marvel’s Digital Comics

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Walt

Wolverine: Japan's Most WantedI saw on Comixology last week that the premiere “issue” of the weekly Wolverine “Infinite Comic” was now available–having read about its upcoming release awhile back. I naturally “assumed” it was 99 cents, but didn’t feel like even paying that much at the time. A few days later–newest non-rent paycheck in my bank account, I thought to splurge and go ahead and give it a try, drawn back by a guilty “interest” in Batman ’66 #2…but was dismayed to see the price as $2.99.

Granted, this thing’s listed as having about 79 “pages,” but as an “infinite comic” designed for the Guided View technology, that reads as “79 screens” to me–where the only difference in one “page” might be a word balloon or caption box, not an actual, unique story-page in the sense I think of for a comic, so that $2.99 might–for all I know–be the equivalent of a 10-12 page story in a standard print comic.

So Marvel–and Comixology–lose out on my sale for this, given the price-point.

Additionally, I’ve several times found myself halfway interested in a new-ish Marvel comic that I maybe passed on at the comic shop(s) or otherwise would be likely to impulse-buy digitally, just to read because I’m in the mood “at the moment.” However, the digital comics being the same as the print comics for $2.99 issues, I’d just as soon have the print edition to read.

And for the $3.99 books…knowing that if I buy the print edition, I then–IN ADDITION for my same $3.99–also get access to a digital copy, I’m not ABOUT to spend $3.99 for a digital-only edition with no access to the print counterpart, so those “sales” are lost on me.

I just wind up sticking with the 99-cent sales, or half-off collected-volume sales where I may pay $3.99 but am getting at least as much if not significantly more content than I would paying $3.99 for a print Marvel comic (such as recent Star Trek volumes and Doctor Who volumes Comixology‘s offered for “special sales.”

DC–with their New 52–had dropped the price of the digital editions after a month (though sometime in the last year or so they bumped that two TWO months’ lag-time), whereas a look last night through some Marvel Now stuff (we’re what? 10 months into the Now age?) didn’t yield anything that I saw for under print editions’ cover pricing.

I look forward to the Monday and Friday “sales” specifically for the chance to get digital comics (when they’re ones I’m actually interested in) for the 99-cent price point…but I am not willing to–as a matter of course–spend “full print-edition cover-price” for a digital comic.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Digitally Unchained: Superman on Comixology

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Walt

Comixology has provided a nice alternative to my frustration with contemporary Superman comics: a bunch of digital back-issues–favorites–that I can now read on my tablet!

Where I’m not interested in newer stuff, I’m quite enjoying being able to go back and re-read favorite stories/issues without rootin’ through all my boxes at present.

I haven’t read For All Seasons in ages:

comixology-supermanforallseasons

And I’ve long held Secret Identity as one of my all-time favorite Superman stories…in large part due to having looked forward to sharing it with my Grandpa.

comixology-supermansecretidentity

I was surprised (pleasantly) to find Superman #1 “free,” (I may yet break down and snag Action Comics #1). The Annual is For the Man Who Has Everything, one of the earliest “modern” Superman stories I’d ever read, the first I’d learned of Mongul, and likely the first thing I ever read by Alan Moore.

comixology-superman1939

For the price, not about to buy one chapter of Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and not buy the conclusion. I also used this sale to fill in my digital Death of Superman collection.

comixology-actioncomics1938

I decided to go ahead and snag the Supergirl Saga and what issues are available of Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite as well:

comixology-adventuresofsuperman1986

I’m fairly certain this Superman #1 was also free…

comixology-superman1987

Superman: The Man of Steel got me on Doomsday and the first issue…I’d bought the #0 last year during a Zero Hour sale, but only recently downloaded it to my tablet.

comixology-supermanthemanofsteel1991

So…I have plenty of reading, just with Superman stuff…makes it that much easier to “pass” on current stuff that I’m not enjoying.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Digital Transition: Requiem and The Walking Dead

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Walt

brucemourningI bought into the hype and had the foresight to email the local comic shop the Monday morning the week Batman, Inc. #8 came out.

However, I did not display the same foresight for any of the “Requiem” issues that have come out since then.

I’m not particularly interested in Detective Comics with a $3.99 price point, ditto for Batman itself.

Much more interested in the Batman and Robin title, but as stated…I managed to lack the foresight to request a copy of the latest issue be held, and it’s not part of my pull file.

But I’ve also been–increasingly seriously–considering a transition to “going digital,” and I’ve been somewhat experimenting with that. This weekend feels like it definitely bore fruit in that regard.

digitalbatman018I get tired of wasting time and gas running around to various comic shops for an issue I may have missed (I hate using the phone, but that’s an issue entirely its own), especially when it often leads to me buying other stuff I normally wouldn’t, out of some kind of “guilt” of spending a lot of time in a shop and not wanting to walk out empty-handed; or even simply of reaching a minimum  purchase price for using a card.

There’s also the “immediate gratification” thing as well as “convenience,” to say nothing of the mere fact of owning a tablet now and being able to view full-page comics at almost “normal” size.

So in one quick expense, I was able to–at about 10pm Saturday, long after any comic shop would be open, and from the comfort of the chair I was sitting in, having just finished an episode of Person of Interest–purchase Batman #18, Batman and Robin #18, and The Walking Dead #108.

digitalbatmanandrobin000and018With The Walking Dead, I decided after all the stuff with #100 that I was gonna go back to waiting for the collected volumes. But then decided I was going to miss the experience of the monthly single issues, of fully keeping up with the story.

So, since I was then grudgingly willing to consider an ongoing prospect of purchasing twice…why not try buying the single issues as digital, and saving the collected volumes to be my sole print purchase for the series?

I’ve yet to make the follow through on print–I don’t think I’ve bought a collected volume since 13, as I’ve been keeping up with the singles–but I’ve followed one entire 6-issue run of the series now digital-only, and don’t particularly miss the print.

digitalwalkingdead103to108Yet another benefit to going the digital route–the issues are basically “always available” and never “sold out.” I don’t have to race to the comic shop ASAP on Wednesday to buy a digital copy of whatever issue; and if I don’t decide til late Saturday night that yeah, actually I DO want to go ahead and read that after all…I don’t have to wait til Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday to get back to a shop and hope they even have the issue in stock TO buy.

Also keeps me clear of the speculation side of things. I want to READ the issues. If I was in it for the speculation, I probably would’ve sold my Batman Inc. #8 already–but having been spoiled, I wanted the actual issue as a piece of history in the Bat-story. I don’t yet know what all the Requiem stuff will be–so far it doesn’t seem to be a single arc or such, so it’s kinda nice to hold off on purchasing until I’ve thought about it.

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