Why digital comics are not for me

Since the launch of the new 52 I have been buying some of the comics in digital format, the reason I chose to read them this way was I originally did not intend to buy them when they first came out. Then when my interest was peaked unfortunately for me they had sold out in the local comic shop, so I had two choices pay inflated prices on eBay or go digital, I chose digital. The platform I use to read my comics are my laptop and IPod, I have yet to buy a IPad and apart from reading comics on one I really cant think of a reason for having one. Now I appreciate that the platforms I use for reading digital comics may not be the best, but its what I have so I have to run with it.

From the very first issue it didn't feel quite right, once I finished reading the comic I was left with a feeling that I was missing something. The whole experience felt a little sterile and flat to me, undeterred I continued to buy some of my comics in the digital format. I kept telling myself that I felt this way because it was a new experience, and that I would eventually get used to reading comics in this way. Unfortunately after 7 issues that feeling hasn’t gone away, and I have decided to stop buying digital.

 

Now I want to state quite clearly that I am not knocking the digital format, and I understand the reasoning for the promotion of it. It will hopefully pull in new comic readers, who either don’t have access to or don’t want to go into comic shops. I can also see the advantage some people will find, as they instantly download their comics in this Now, Now, Now world that we live in.

I also understand that digital may well be the way comics are read in the future, in much the same way that the music industry has evolved over the years. If someone had told an 11 year old me as I bought my 45mp record of Slade's Good buy to Jane, that in the future he would be downloading music (legally) and storing them on a music player he carried around in his pocket. He would have thought you had gone mad, but until that future comes for comics I will stick with the hard copies.

 Digital isnt for me simply because I am a collector (my wife may say hoarder) of comics, I like to hold the comic in my hands as I read it. Having the comic there in my hands is a big part of the comic experience for me, I also enjoy bagging and putting away my comics in their acid free bags and boxes ( I Know Geek).

But for me, that’s what I miss when I read digital.