PopSyndicate.com

Marvel has some big news about online comics. People have been buzzing about this for awhile, so why shouldn't I?

Marvel released real big news recently. They have started an online service for their comics. Now comic fans can read their comics online without having to pay for the paper copy. This seems like an unusual concept at first but it makes sense considering how many things have been moving to the internet, or other digital media. I don’t need to list other online services to show that this is a growing idea, but the question remains how will these online comics play against paper comics?

Let us remove the fact that Marvel has imposed a 6 month delay prior to releasing current comics online. They are doing this so as not to get current readers to jump online risking loss of paper comic readers. Let us say we could get our current paper comics online, today, with no delay.  Would I drop my current subscription at my local shop to run online? If cost was the only variable at stake then, in terms of cost, it makes financial sense to jump online. Like other choices related to art, literature and contemporary entertainment, finances aren’t the only variable to consider when thinking about the digital medium of comics. What else is involved in this new package for online comics?

The new format for Marvel’s web-posted comics is that you read them on your computer screen. You go to their website where you can see the comic pages and flip through them like a comic book. You can zoom in and zoom out to see single panes or two page spreads. I was able to view a few examples by taking advantage of the free previews on their website. I was impressed by the quality of the pictures and the zoom capabilities.

I guess I could find it hard to zoom into the pixel on my paper copy of the comic, but that’s not why I read paper comics. It’s not about zooming into the pixel or the quality of the digital image. It’s more about the experience of holding an actual comic in my hands. Digital comics can’t replace that feeling for me. With paper comics I own the issue, with the subscription service I’m paying to read their comics but not own paper copies. Not having a paper copy is a problem for me because I’ve grown up with paper comics.

Many kids currently read a good deal from the web, and are probably used to digital screens and computer monitors, so I don’t think it’ll be as hard for them to jump onto this as someone like me. It’s not too late for me to learn, or get used to reading on a digital screen. For me to do that I’d need a tablet-pc or something similar, I’d need something in the shape of a book that I can carry around that doesn’t weigh a ton like a laptop. That’s just me though. I guess it’s the compromise I’d make for living in an emerging digital world.

I think it stems from having something to hold in my hands. There is something about having a tangible copy that is important to me. I can’t really explain it, but there is something strange about reading a comic book page on a screen versus carrying it in my hands. I think the screen and the computer are added space between the comic and me. Reading comics can be a very personal thing, similar to reading any other type of literature. Reading paper comics brings them into a person’s personal space and I don’t think computer screens are able to do that for me, at least not on the level of paper comics.

I don’t know what the future holds for digital comics or paper comics. My guess is that there will be fans sticking to one, or the other, or both. In the end I hope this benefits the comic medium by bringing in people who enjoy reading comics. Whether that be online or in their hands, having people reading comics is a great thing.