>WILMINGTON, Del. — Brent Williams is a hardcore comic book collector.
>The Wilmington resident will purchase multiple versions of the same book, hunting for issues with variant covers, industry slang for one book with multiple covers. Some of the rarer covers become valuable collectors items.
>Despite his passion for reading the latest releases from Marvel, DC and other comic publishers, Williams has eschewed the immediacy and convenience of reading his books on a digital device such as a tablet, iPhone or even laptop. Instead, he will make the weekly drive to his local store, The Comic Book Shop in Brandywine Hundred, to add print copies to his already massive collection.
>"I will always go to the comic book shop until my legs give out," Williams said Thursday, as he was rummaging through back issue bins at the store. "Even after that, I'll find a way to get to a comic shop."
>Williams' prefers comic books shops over digital downloads because store owners can recommend books he might like, he can discuss the latest developments with other fans and the print issues he purchases have collectors value, something that is lacking in their digital counterparts.
>"There is a huge benefit to coming to comic book shops," he said.
>Williams isn't the only comic book fan who prefers the traditional print medium over digital. Although digital has forced publishers of books and newspapers to reduce their print runs, the comic book industry remains largely unaffected by the emerging technology.
>After six straight years of staggering growth, digital comic sales dropped last year, according to data from ICv2, a website that tracks pop culture business trends. Digital comics sales totaled $70 million in 2012 and jumped to $100 million in 2014, but fell to $90 million last year. During the same period, print sales increased from $805 million in 2012 to $1 billion in 2015. That marks the first time the industry has exceeded $1 billion in print sales.
>"When digital first came out, I thought it was going to crush us," said Bill Voigt, manager of Comicmania in Milltown. "It was surprising people didn't flock to it."
>Digital comics offer many advantages over print editions of the same book. For example, fans can download an issue instantaneously anytime day or night, they can store all their comics in a small portable device instead of carrying multiple books to the beach or on an airplane, and some publishers offer discounts to readers who download digital copies. But none of that seems to have lured comic book readers away from their local stores.
>"Digital is actually helping the comic book stores," said Sarah Titus, who owns The Comic Book Shop with husband Patrick. "It has exposed readers to newer content with free first issues, and then those readers come to the bookstore because they want to buy the rest of the series or find something similar."
>Store owners and readers say customers are willing to sacrifice the ease of digital downloads in favor of the social interaction that occurs at the neighborhood shop.
"People don't come to the comic book shop just to buy comics," said Joe Murray, owner of Captain Blue Hen in Newark. "It's like Cheers in here. People come for the experience because they are going to have conversations at the comic shop they are never going to have elsewhere. And we tell you the truth. We will tell you a book is terrible."
>Another concern for readers is some comic book art doesn't translate to a computer screen. Patrick Titus recalled a recent Batman comic book in which the titular hero was trapped in a maze. Readers of the print copy had to turn their issue sideways and even upside down to follow Batman as he tried to navigate the death trap. He said the same effect could not be replicated digitally.
Isaiah Parker
>Titus said the best thing retailers can do is embrace the opportunities presented by digital comics and the customers it will bring to stores.
>"We don't see digital as competition because the industry is better off with it," he said.
What will make more people like digital over print?
Ryder Flores
It won't. A nerd can't collect digital comics and hope they'll increase in value over time.
Brody Fisher
There are people that still think a comics value will increase?
Cameron Ross
As someone who suffers from shitty vision, I will ALWAYS prefer print.
Tyler Taylor
price probably, i figure it'll be like music and vinyl eventually.
Asher Ramirez
>>Another concern for readers is some comic book art doesn't translate to a computer screen. Patrick Titus recalled a recent Batman comic book in which the titular hero was trapped in a maze. Readers of the print copy had to turn their issue sideways and even upside down to follow Batman as he tried to navigate the death trap. He said the same effect could not be replicated digitally.
that worked digitally, everyone in the thread thought they were getting trolled.
Kayden Allen
Lower prices.
It's ridiculous that digital costs the same as print.
Daniel Hernandez
Not really when you consider no ads and how much more they have to split the money.
Dylan Anderson
Why do you think #1's are all the rage?
David Adams
How much more? They don't need to print it, the distributor and the marketplace are the same people (and aren't Diamond), they don't have to deal with unsold issues. Digital costs WAY less than print to put out.
Nathan Morris
ad space brings in revenue
Wyatt Ross
I suspect this comes down to collectors vs readers. Collectors go for the all the physical variants but dont care about digital, readers go for hats most convenient, whether thats trades or digital.
Carson Wright
But if they're selling digitally can't they get ad revenue for the site itself even if they're not jamming in ads in the actual comic?
Elijah Kelly
I'm a reader, and I just like the feel of a floppy. It's a comfy thing. I have a couple variants of covers I really enjoy, but I get them for myself if I really like the art, not cause I think they'll hold any value.
I'll read digital as well, but I don't care for it as much. Turning the pages and admiring the colors without screen/brightness/saturation and such is kinda therapeutic in a way.
Juan Barnes
because they are a starting on point, you know the story arc begins with the #1
Adam Hernandez
I'd probably go full digital if I didn't work for store credit every week at my LCS. Space is becoming an issue as time goes on, and I don't know if I'd continue buying floppies if I had to pay for them.
Elijah King
Add in a soundtrack.
Isaac Wright
Why don't digital versions include ads, anyway? Not that I'm complaining, but it just seems like potential money lost for the publisher.
Isaac Hall
As I always say, if convenience doesn't automatically result in lots of users, it's probably because the new format needs more refinement.
Netflix had tons of minor and major tweaks before it became the streaming juggernaut that we know it as. Hulu and Amazon still have a lot to learn.
I still think the experience with Comixology could be better. Certainly, though, there could/should be experiments with scrolling comics, like with what Asian countries are doing.
Cameron Brown
>digital should cost less Keep in mind that Comixology/Apple/Google/whoever-is-hosting-downloads take a percentage out of every digital sale. Even if they weren't concerned about undercutting comic shops, publishers aren't going to kneecap their bottom line like that.
Blake Thomas
Reading a comicbook is an experience where the physical component is part of the experience. Its never going to go away.
Liam Adams
not even when ads take up twice the number of pages as the story and it's 15 pages of story for 3.99?
Tyler Sullivan
Marvel and DC should go full netflix, Unlimited just isn't cutting it put new releases up there at least within a month of publication, non of this wait 6 months bullshit
Blake Hernandez
Retailers and diamond wouldn't like that very much.
Hudson Wilson
Might be worth it if the big 2 both go for it, what are lcs' gonna do only carry indies?
Ethan Taylor
>They don't need to print it No, but they need to pay for the bandwidth associated with it.
>the distributor and the marketplace are the same people (and aren't Diamond) Comixology and Apple take a SIGNIFICANTLY bigger cut than Diamond and Retailers do.
> they don't have to deal with unsold issues They already don't have to deal with unsold issues because of how Diamond works. Any risk of dealing with unsold issues is offloaded onto the retailer already.
In the end, the cost of printing and distributing a comic through Diamond is less than the cost of hosting and distributing through Comixology, and you don't get the added revenue from advertisements.
