We started discussing digital comics in the what should be collected next thread, and since that often becomes a longer topic, I figured I'd see if I could separate it out and possibly draw more attention to it and keep it from being a tangent there.
I could copy all the messages on it here in this form. Is this a viable way to separate tangents? See what you think:
Dave Blanchard 16 hours ago
I was never much of a fan of the Star Trek comic book, in any of its many incarnations, but recently a friend told me about this collection: over 500 issues of every single ST comic, from every publisher that had the license at one time or another, on a single DVD. Awesome.
This thing actually has been available for a number of years, even predating the iPad, so there could very well be a ton more of these types of things out there now for the comic book afficionados (as opposed to the bit torrent thieves who'll just glom onto anything as long as they can "stick it to the man" and not pay for it). I used to think I'd never see full archives of all the stuff I've always wanted to see in my lifetime, but if technology keeps advancing as quickly as it has, maybe the complete BOB HOPE collection will be available while I'm still young enough to appreciate it.
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Mr. Silver Age 15 hours ago
There are a number of those out there; Marvel did a lot of them awhile back, including ones for X-Men, Avengers, Spidey, and Ghost Rider you can find. There's also a set of the complete MAD, which I actually have.
But, as always for me, the problem is still that you have to read them on the computer, which isn't my favorite way of reading comics. Since they're DVDs, I don't think you can use them on a tablet, although you might be able to upload the DVDs and then download them to a tablet, although I imagine downloading 500 issues of any of them would take awhile.
There's even a CBG on DVD out there somewhere, with every issue from August 2004 to December 2006! Another of their ill-fated attempts to tap into the Internets.
-- MSA
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Reply by Alexandra Kitty 13 hours ago
Oh, oh, I know! It would be the slimmest collection of all...
Every issue where a character wasn't killed off.
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Reply by Dave Blanchard 12 hours ago
Mr. Age wrote: as always for me, the problem is still that you have to read them on the computer, which isn't my favorite way of reading comics.
Not disputing that it would be clunky and tedious for those of us trained to read on paper to have to readjust our optic nerves to reading massive amounts on the computer or some kind of electronic device. But look at what you're getting with this Star Trek deal: 500 comics (I dunno if that's an exact number, but let's go with it) for 30 bucks. That translates to 6 cents per issue -- half the price of what a comic cost when I started reading them! I would say they've found the magic price point for selling a comic book collection.
Now, of course, many of these collections are probably loss leaders, trying to get people to pay again for something they already have, and then getting them to pay even more for additional stuff. But that's okay, as long as the publishers continue to experiment with ways to get as much of the good stuff as possible in our hands for the least amount of money.
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Reply by Mr. Silver Age 1 minute ago
Not disputing that it would be clunky and tedious for those of us trained to read on paper to have to readjust our optic nerves to reading massive amounts on the computer or some kind of electronic device.
But I don't think these can be accessed on "some kind of electronic device," which is where the technology has already moved to even since these were released. I won't dispute that, until the microchips are embedded in our skulls or we all get Google Glasses, tablets make a reasonable way to read comics digitally for people who like that kind of thing, and there may be more of them all the time.
I think these are just PDFs of each issue, but can you download them to your computer and upload them to your tablet? If not, it's not that great of a deal, since nobody much is reading from their laptop anymore. If they can, then they would be a good deal (although the other Marvel ones more than the ST one for most of us), assuming there's storage room.
I remember when they first came out, and they were considered a good deal for anyone wanting to read comics that way. I don't remember there were any reproduction problems or anything, except with the GR one, which had at least one corrupt file for an issue.
Ideally, the publishers will sell these as downloads for tablets now that those are dominating, but I haven't seen a move in that direction. Some new comics come with a code for a "digital download," but I don't know that paying $1 extra after I have a paper copy per issue is the best model.
-- MSA
Replies
Mr. Age wrote: I think these are just PDFs of each issue, but can you download them to your computer and upload them to your tablet?
I dunno, I've never tried. I don't think the point here is to download them, but rather, to just read the things, to have them all in one place. And while you're asking about viewing them on a tablet, I'm wondering if the exact opposite might not be possible -- viewing them through a DVD player on a TV monitor, as big as you'd like. Again, I dunno if the technology allows that, but it's an intriguing possibility.
What we need is a feature on a DVD player that will read PDFs and allow their display on a TV set.
That would be a lot easier to deal with than a laptop or trying to upload and download all those files.
I don't think the point here is to download them, but rather, to just read the things, to have them all in one place.
But to read them in one place, I need them on the device I'm using. You can't stick a disk into a tablet, so I'd have to download the comics to the tablet somehow. Sticking a disk into my laptop is one thing, but having 500 comics accessible on my tablet would take up a lot of storage space, if not more than I've got.
If the point is to read them, the most likely approach would be to rent access to them in the cloud. I don't know how large that market is, though. A lot of comics fans like to own comics and collect them in at least some form. The pure readers out there is a smaller subset of a not-large market to start with (unless these formats grow the market).
viewing them through a DVD player on a TV monitor, as big as you'd like.
The idea of seeing comics on my TV is kind of interesting, but I don't know how readable they'd be.The special edition of the first Spider-Man movie had a big Archive section with covers of all the issues through the decades, with each cover shown big and a description of the story next to it. It was pretty cool to see the covers that way, but seeing individual panels (especially of a double-page spread) might not be so big.
I think the laptop in front of me is bigger in proportion than the TV across the room. Reading comics with my far sight would take some getting used to. I've always been a bit myopic...
I supposed it could be set up so you'd just press Enter to move to the next page, as DVDs do with text, but I don't know that's where anyone will put their investment. Everything seems to be moving to tablets and smaller, nearer media that don't need remote controls.
-- MSA
I don't have a tablet, but if it will accept an external (portable) DVD player in a USB port, you might still be able to play them on your tablet. Like the DVD player for the TV, however, it would have to recognize the PDF format to be able to play it.
For there to be a healthy comics industry there needs to be people who want to read comics. Now, the same electronic platforms that can be used to read comics can often also be used to watch TV. So I suppose if the net is to lead to a new flourishing of comics people will need to have reasons to take the option of reading a comic instead of watching TV.
So what can comics offer that TV can't? Here's what I can think of.
-The creators can produce daily episodes. This is harder for TV to do.
-One can follow a comics story at one's own pace.
-Comics are silent. One doesn't want to be listening to something all the time.
-Arguably a newspaper strip-style comic can deliver a punchline quicker than a video can. Also a comic might tell a complete story that couldn't be told so quickly by a video.
-Comics makers don't need to pay for costumes, sets and special effects.
-Comics are arguably better at depiction some forms of action, e.g. superhero action.
-Comics with thought balloons can combine the depiction of action with depiction of what the characters are thinking.
-With comics it's possible to tell stories about particular characters over a long period of time without replacing actors or the characters getting older.
-Comics art can be attractive to look at.
-Comics art can have elements of caricature. (But cartoons can too.)
-With comics, it's easier for one to a few individuals to control the whole production process.
-Since a quality comic can be produced more cheaply than a quality video, comics have more latitude to be offbeat.
-Comics can be translated into other languages without dubbing.
Daily episodes would have to be fairly simple, which may not have the impact to keep people coming back. I think that works better for gag strips than continuity.
I think the control that readers have is a key part of it; they can linger or move ahead at their own speed. I also think the long-form aspect is a good point for them.
An interesting use of motion in comics was in Mark Waid's Thrillbent comic, in the very first panels he created. http://www.thrillbent.com/project/insufferable-001/
Then click on the little dot just to the right of the gray one. That comes across in this digital form in a way it couldn't on a comics page, without requiring any special gimmicks.
Another format he uses on occasion can be seen starting with the ninth dot and clicking on subsequent ones to the right.He gets some interesting motion out of it by controlling the panels in ways the comics page can't do, but neither could another medium.
-- MSA
I read Pete Abrams's Sluggy Freelance, which does have a gag most days while also telling stories. These very in length; some run a couple of weeks, others are much longer. The strip also has long-running storylines and a lot of continuity. One of its unresolved storylines is the mystery surrounding a character called Oasis, who was first introduced in 1999.
Originally Abrams used a newspaper strip-style format, with Sunday format strips on Sundays, but these days he often has longer daily episodes and usually doesn't do new strips on weekends. The strip's entire archive, going back to 1997, can be read online.
I use a tablet to read comics on a regular basis. There's a specific and very popular format for digital comics--.cbr files. There's software for reading these files freely available as well.
I've not checked into it, but it wouldn't surprise me if the various gaming systems (Playstation/Xbox/Wii) have the technology to read PDF's or render comics in some other format, and I'm pretty sure all of them read DVD's just fine.
Ten years ago I would read digital comics on Marvel's website on my computer. I didn't mind reading them then plus Marvel had a lot on there for free to read and their newest issues too. I don't know if it's still available like that since it was a long time ago. I was getting back into comics and it was a good way to catch up on what was going on. I read the first six issues of JMS's AMS run, quite a bit of Bruce Jones' Incredible Hulk, the first arc of Ultimates and a few other odds and ends. A lot of these series were in the middle of their runs already so I at least got to read some of it without having to buy every issue. It also gave me a sense of what I may or may not like.
Nowadays I still buy print comics. I have a comixology app on my ipad but haven't bought any digital comics. I've thought about it but I'm still like to go to the comic shop to hang out. I also like to bag and board comics.
You don't need to up-and-download. Just copy the dvd onto an SD card on your computer and put the card in the tablet.
Andy
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