Why? Well, I do love having the paper copy in my hands. There’s just something about having it in your hands that is just part of the experience.
But, the idea of having a large number of my comics at my disposal is great. I can be on the road, at work, or even in the living room and pull up my favorite comics. I won’t be carrying a large stack of comics, nor will I worry about damaging my comics.

And there are still a few titles that I will continue to purchase in paper form after I get my iPad. But I hope that some sort of deal is offered for those that still purchase the paper copy, that can get a discount (or free) version of the e-comic.

One company I’m keeping my eye on (and would recommend others to watch) is Longbox Digital. http://www.longboxdigital.com/ They look like they are shaping up to fill those needs I’m looking for.

“Yes, a full-page comic will look horrible on an iphone. So create a new comic formatted EXCLUSIVELY for cellphones. Something that is not available elsewhere, but which people will want to read.” Fine idea for some creators, and as you’ve noted already, phone-format-friendly projects exist. But I don’t believe that’s the future of comics, either commercially or artistically — or of books, for that matter. Neither do Apple, B&N, or Amazon, or they wouldn’t be bothering with all those iPads, Nooks, and Kindles.

I also think you’re gliding rather quickly over the problems of comics retailers selling content digitally. B&N doesn’t sell digital content in its stores; it’s made a concerted, and I’d say partly successful, effort to become an e-commerce dealer as well as a brick-and-mortar operation. Most comic shops don’t have that option out of the gate; it depends on how their two major suppliers decide to handle digital distribution. That said, I’m a bit of a Darwinist on this matter, and I tend to think digital content will winnow down direct market shops eventually, just as indy bookstores have become scarcer. But it won’t happen right away.

While I’m sure there are a few “rat hole” comic shops out there, I’m just tired of people portraying that this is somehow the norm (along with stereotyping that comic store patrons are all smelly, butt-crack flashing, social misfits).

The great advantage that paper publications will always have is that they’re manipulable. A reader can flip from page to page as he likes, focus on as much of a page as he wants to — and, if an artist wants to do a two-page spread, take in the splendor of the artwork. Making an electronic reading device as easy to carry and use as a paper publication might be an unachievable goal, but abandoning the pursuit of it will force readers of some types of material to choose a device which is the least inconvenient, not the one which is the most enjoyable.

Here in Grand Forks, the mall’s Waldenbooks and B. Dalton bookstores both closed at the end of the year. The city now has two religious bookstores and one new books bookstore, an expanded university bookstore.

SRS

New media formats adapt old media formats, then innovate, filling in the empty spaces created by the new media. Single panel comics begat comic strips begat comic books begat graphic novels begat webcomics, five card Nancy, Scott McCloud’s crossword comics, Shiga’s Meanwhile, Chris Ware’s flowcharts…

Yes, a full-page comic will look horrible on an iphone. So create a new comic formatted EXCLUSIVELY for cellphones. Something that is not available elsewhere, but which people will want to read. Maybe embed hyperlinks into each panel, such as advertising or wiki articles. Or tinker with the focus in a panel so that the reader’s eye follows what you want them to see, as the “camera” changes focus from the foreground to the background.

As for retailers, how many comics shops operate a webpage which sells comics and graphic novels via mail order? How difficult is if for them to sell ebooks using the agency model, where they take a certain percent, and the publisher gets the rest? Instant back issue bin with reduced overhead!

Consider this: Would a retailer prefer to order paper copies at a higher discount non-returnable, or prefer to offer digital files at a lower discount with no returnability but with less risk, no chance of selling out, always in stock? Were I running a store with digital comics available for download, I would reduce my back-issue bins and use that space for non-digital merchandise (toys, clothing, gaming, books, cafe). Then I would contact one of the publishers, and have them co-op flash drives, just as they co-op shopping bags. “Here, here’s your limited edition thumb drive. Your comics are on there, plus some free previews from Veeblefritzer Comics. Oh, you bought “Ragnarok and Roll #3″, so you get the free MP3 file of the writer discussing the comic and a special code for their website.”

Why shouldn’t the publishers sell digital content? Why shouldn’t stores sell digital content? Publishers are doing it already with ebooks. I can buy an ebook edition of the Da Vinci Code from Random House, or from Barnes & Noble. Or are comics some bastard mutant format to be kept chained in the basement, far away from “literature”?

“The average rat-hole like comic shop replete with BO (thanks for reminding me Mark) will die.”

Where do you people shop for your comics to have such (tall) tales such as these?

Valid points all! I love, love, love retailers. And, like you, I’d like to see retailers sell digital comics too, but it’s not realistic. Very few of them — most of whom are retailers whose names pop up with regularity here and on other comics news pages — actually have the acumen, tech knowledge or desire to do it. The average rat-hole like comic shop replete with BO (thanks for reminding me Mark) will die.

A question: How can a local retailer realistically sell me on the merits of a digital-only comic? I don’t see how he or she could. There’s not enough hours in the day right now for retailers to be experts on pamphlet comics as it is…

In fact, like Kate, I’d buy more DVD collections of older comics if they were available.

Sidenote: I’ve read on this here blog from a few pros that digital comics will be harder to monetize, specifically paying for the labor to produce said comic. Let’s say, Detective Comics #860 in a paper format sells for $3.99. What can I expect to pay for a digital version? How cheaply can that issue be sold, so that everyone gets paid? That’s where retailers get shut out of the digital comics market.

Can my retailer afford to sell a digital copy of Detective #860 for $1 or $2, and make pennies on a book that he or she was used to buying wholesale for $2 and selling it at a 100 percent markup? And what about digital exclusives that will never make it to paper?

Too many questions, and not near enough answers but it’s always fun to speculate about ‘em…

Thanks for your indulgence…

Wayne

Retailers are focusing on diversifying. That’s the word of the moment in the retail community. We’ll see how it pans out. My crystal ball says that it won’t pan out all that well for retailers. We’re on the losing end of the stick in the digital technological advancement.

As a reader, I hate storing comics, so digital will be nice when there is a good reader out there.

And I cannot understand publisher’s hesitation. They should be all over this. And I assume they are; they just aren’t letting us know their plans until they unveil them.

Yes. Everything you said. You have summed it up better than anyone except maybe Todd Allen.

Here’s the thing, Larsen’s opinion is one I don’t agree with. I want to buy digital copies of comics. I don’t care what happens to the direct market – sink or swim. I would just rather own high quality jpegs of comics I enjoy reading. They’re easier to store and I enjoy reading them more. All this other talk takes away from the issue that I’m not alone – there is a market for digital comic sales. The only question is how much damage will continue to aggregate while it’s ignored.

The comics industry is very traditional, and sometimes afraid to take a leap. There have been/are digital comic distributors out there — small independents — that are battling with an industry resisting evolution. Like Erik says, people have been reading digital comics for years now (albeit the majority being illegal scans) in various formats which proves a market is there, not bound by specific devices or file formats.

But the major publishers have kept resisting digital downloads because they’re afraid a non-print business model will eat into their profits (and I admit thats a valid concern), instead of looking at whats happening in the market.

I sincerely hope that the hype surrounding the iPad will be a wake up call for the major publishers to make their content available digitally (and DRM Free, because its been proven that mistrusting potential customers isn’t the wisest strategy).

Yeah….sniffing all of that B.O. and gazing down those cavernous bent-over butt cracks is certainly my idea of a social experience.