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25+ year collector considering going solely digital?
LordCrom
Posts: 1
Hello everyone,
I've been out of collectiong comics for 2-3 years now. I've collected off and on for more then 25 years and have over 10,000 comics in my collection. I am looking to get back into the hobby and am seriously considering going solely digital, but am having an internal conflict with myself about it and am looking for your thoughts and advice on the subject.
I have considered myself a collector of the hobby and had believed for years that I would sell my comics when I retired for a profit. Going back through and looking at my collection, it appears that a large majority of the comics haven't really gone up in value, much at all. There are a select few worth a profit, like The Walking Dead and some early X-Men, but for the most part, there still worth about cover price.
I have always loved the idea of holding the actual comic in my hand and a few years ago when stuff like comixology started poping up, I thought to myself, "I will never go that route". Cut to this past week and my desire to get back into the hobby. I walked into my local comic store and started looking around at new books I might want to get. If I want to get the recently released Justice League #1, he is selling it for $10 or I can buy it for $3 on comixology. This is just one example of multiple comics I would want to pick up. Knowing how I am, I would want to go back and buy multiple issues and series I missed out on over the past 2-3 years, which could lead me to buying comics at an increased price or worse yet, not be able to find an available copy.
I own an iPad 2 and have tried a handful of comics out on comixology. I believe the experience has been favorable to holding the actual comic in my hands. The prices are right, $1 less then the original cover price on most DC issues although Marvel wants cover price on most of their big titles and I'm not really comfortable paying cover price for a digital version. It's quick and easy to get them and they take up a lot less space. The majority of the comics that I will purchase will not increase in value over the years, so I really won't be losing future profits, for the most part.
But, I am still a collector at heart and question if I should take the plunge and go down this road. I've even considered selling my actual collection and replacing it with online versions. So I take my feelings to the community for some thoughts and advice. Anyone considered the options I have discussed, if so, what conclusions did you come to about it? I would appreciate all pros and cons on the subject from everyone?
Thank you in advance!
Clay
I've been out of collectiong comics for 2-3 years now. I've collected off and on for more then 25 years and have over 10,000 comics in my collection. I am looking to get back into the hobby and am seriously considering going solely digital, but am having an internal conflict with myself about it and am looking for your thoughts and advice on the subject.
I have considered myself a collector of the hobby and had believed for years that I would sell my comics when I retired for a profit. Going back through and looking at my collection, it appears that a large majority of the comics haven't really gone up in value, much at all. There are a select few worth a profit, like The Walking Dead and some early X-Men, but for the most part, there still worth about cover price.
I have always loved the idea of holding the actual comic in my hand and a few years ago when stuff like comixology started poping up, I thought to myself, "I will never go that route". Cut to this past week and my desire to get back into the hobby. I walked into my local comic store and started looking around at new books I might want to get. If I want to get the recently released Justice League #1, he is selling it for $10 or I can buy it for $3 on comixology. This is just one example of multiple comics I would want to pick up. Knowing how I am, I would want to go back and buy multiple issues and series I missed out on over the past 2-3 years, which could lead me to buying comics at an increased price or worse yet, not be able to find an available copy.
I own an iPad 2 and have tried a handful of comics out on comixology. I believe the experience has been favorable to holding the actual comic in my hands. The prices are right, $1 less then the original cover price on most DC issues although Marvel wants cover price on most of their big titles and I'm not really comfortable paying cover price for a digital version. It's quick and easy to get them and they take up a lot less space. The majority of the comics that I will purchase will not increase in value over the years, so I really won't be losing future profits, for the most part.
But, I am still a collector at heart and question if I should take the plunge and go down this road. I've even considered selling my actual collection and replacing it with online versions. So I take my feelings to the community for some thoughts and advice. Anyone considered the options I have discussed, if so, what conclusions did you come to about it? I would appreciate all pros and cons on the subject from everyone?
Thank you in advance!
Clay
Answers
I'm doing this with Demon Knights from DC. Because it's pretty much going to always be one of those "on the bubble" titles, I buy it for full price (2.99) from the DC app on my iPad on the day it's released. I do the same thing with Legion of Super-Heroes. I'll continue to do this until the title fails to hold my interest - hasn't happened yet for either of them. Because I really enjoy them, and know I'll want to re-read them again and again, I'll buy the trade.
On the flip side, if there's a title I try and find I don't like (often I'll wait for a sale), then at worst I'm out $2 and disk space (or cloud space) if I decide to keep it.
I think it's mainly a sense of ownership that causes many of us to have difficulty cutting the apron strings - it's hard to say I "own" a digital title even if I paid money for it. To me it still exists in the ether. At the same time, it's been a great way to avoid long trips to the LCS (I don't live near one), support titles I like in the most direct way possible (buy it direct from DC), and not clutter up the house (at least until those trades come in!) :)
So, with a little kicking and screaming, I've become a big digital supporter. I don't know that I'll ever always buy my books this way (unless they just stop printing altogether), but certainly I'm at a point now where New Comic Wednesday involves picking up the iPad as opposed to grabbing the car keys.
It took me a lot of willpower to get over the collector mentality and move to solely being a "reader" on new books. But in retrospect, I'm glad I was able to do it, and don't miss the thousands of books that I have sold on ebay or given away.
Oh, I still have about 1500 books or so in long boxes, plus several hundred trades and HCs on my bookshelves. But I have gone digital in a lot of things--particularly my manga, which tend to be more bulky.
Digital is easier for me to read in any light situation.
If I wake up in the middle of the night I have a big collection right there on my nightstand and I won't wake up my wife.
With guided view I don't get spoiled by accidentally seeing ahead on the next panel. (check out the reveal of the Stalk in saga issue 2 it was way more dramatic in guided view.
I sold all my paper issues and got hard backs of the my favorite stuff ie. Blacksad or Copeils recent Thor run.
Marvel wants to have all it's books contain a free digital code by June this year so you can buy on dcbs and get both copies for less, or keep supporting your favorite LCS.
You can buy your books on your local LCS website and they will get a portion of the sell ie Four Color Fantasy out here in so cal.
If you are worried about the company going out of business and loosing your collection then only buy stuff you are not likely to read multiple time get those in hard back or trade.
I do have one complaint and that is that guided view on comixology pixilizes the picture but the 3rd iPad is supposed to eliminate that.
A lot of what I read is not disposable or long ongoing runs so I limit myself to 5 short boxes and trades on a large Ikea Expedit 5x5 shelf. Value doesn't enter into it for me. Paper choice, texture, finish, etc. do though and even on my Fujitsu slate at a 12.1" screen the experience is compromised.
Until there is no DRM, I own what I buy, and I can get a seamless experience I'll stick to print. Maybe just really focus on what you actually love and not try to collect 'em all and you will find it is not much of an issue.
Probably not, but my vote is for paper.
Toby
by the way, anyone else have a hard time seeing the "post comment" in light gray? Even worse when you send a forum member a message, I can't see the icons. Can we change the colors at all? (don't see a way)
I do have a shelf of art books and some top-notch trades/GNs in my living room as well though and many times people have pulled one down and been blown away or turned onto a new artist or even comics in general when they see that they aren't just capes/tights and silly premises.
That feeling of sharing something sort of intimate, that I love and cherish, and seeing it touch them in some way is really gratifying to me. I read a ton (~60-100 prose books and easily that number again of art/gn/trade books) and a lot of them are meaningful to me but I know no one is ever going to also read them all to relate or discuss them with. Just like the OP with 10k comics, but if you distill that down to the absolute best which may be like 100 there is a chance that others will read most if not all of it too. I also have books that were handed down to me from generations past and to think of my son or future generations *not* having that makes me incredibly sad. Out of my entire library of top books, very few of them are even an option in digital and none of my really old and handed down ones are. Digital is great for disposable and fluff works and books like the usual NY Times lists and big two soap operas IMO.
Plus with digital comics and books to me it feels like I am paying money for something I don't own. Now maybe if someone would put out comics with no DRM I might try some. But again I love teh feel of the comics in my hands,plus the smell.
Not that I would...
It would be nice to have the option, though.
Well played, Apple. Well played.
On the plus site, with my kewl Square device I can take credit card payments at conventions now. And that makes it a business expense. And that means I can write it off!
Oh, and yes, you can read comics on them, too! :)
They've become the equivalent of my VHS tapes from around 2000 onward. Kept thinking one day I'd hook up my VCR again and watch them, but I never do.
The comics I absolutely have to have (Uncanny X-Men, batman, Shinku, etc) I buy in floppy form.
The comics I just want to read, not collect, I buy digitally.
I wait for sales. I try not to purchase digital comics over $1.99 as I don't feel they are worth more than that.
If a series I get digitally really hooks me I will get a trade.
It is helping with the costs immensely but has made me make three lists to keep track of what I am getting which way. Lol.
There is a heaping ton of digital comics for $.99
And they do collections of digital comics that are really worthwhile as you may save between $2-$6bucks on these!
Just sayin'
It isn't even so much about collecting actually for me. Let me buy old backissues for like $0.25 or chunks of like 10 issues for $1.99. That is more realistic and I'd probably read some huge runs and end up dropping some decent money even at those rates. Why or how $0.99 has become some magic number for all things doesn't make sense to me. If anything digital should decay *faster* than physical! Greed and dollar signs in the eyes of everyone involved is sure to make that never happen anytime soon though.
I recently was stuck at work for some super long stretches of time on a project and I decided to grab some digital comics to pass some time, I read one and the other one I started to read and was loving it so much that I bought it in physical form to read it properly. I'm glad I did too because it was a different experience and I'd venture to say a better one. That is still a barrier on true works of art, but for me to read a big chunk of back issues or pick up a whole run in digital at a sane price I would be all over.
Marvel from the 80s, DC from the 70s looks like garbage.
Aspen and top cow comics look stunning, moreso than in print.
It's all how you want to viewit. Ask yourself what about the medium is important and you will find your answer