After being informed of this thread, I started to wonder if I should purchase print or digital copies of comics I want to read.

I've been a big fan of comics for a long time now, when I was little my dad would buy comics weekly. He actually has an incredible comic collection lying in the basement. As I got older though, he stopped purchasing comics and I kind of stopped reading them. But now that I saw that thread, it kind of reignited my passion for comics.

So I would like to know what you guys think, print or digital? Perhaps you guys can enlighten me with some pros and cons.

Thanks, all answers appreciated!

tl;dr Which do you prefer; Print comics or Digital comics? Why?

11 years ago*

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Digital. More easily stored, reproduced and transferred.

11 years ago
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Fair enough. And would you recommend the site that was in the thread I linked? Comixology?

11 years ago
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ofc!

11 years ago
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I wouldn't. They don't seem to offer downloads at all, so you'll only be able to access your collection on internet connected devices.

11 years ago
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Well, You can read your comics while you're not connected to internet through their app on Android/iStore.

11 years ago
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Well, I don't own any such devices, so that isn't very helpful.

11 years ago
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Comixology's Win8 app also allows offline viewing if that's any help.

11 years ago
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Don't have Win 8 either.

11 years ago
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The only reason I'd personally buy something in print would be so my eyes can have a break from looking at screens all the time (computer, tv, etc) - but digital allows easy storage, easy to find what you're looking for, and you can manipulate the material (zoom in and out, etc).

11 years ago
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When you say easy storage, do you mean I can read my comics offline? Cause that's something I should factor into my decision, as well.

11 years ago
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I have a kindle, take lots of buses from home to uni, and I have managed to disguise as a normal guy so far so good so reading a printed comic book on a bus aint my best choice. So digital it is :)

11 years ago
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Heh, good point. But I'm not too worried about that. ^__^

11 years ago
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oh, unless it's reading my sis a bedtime story, I don't mind showing her pictures or pop-up books ^^

11 years ago
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Print ! The feel can't be matched :)

11 years ago
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I know that feel... When I was younger, I always loved reading my dad's comics.

11 years ago
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Digital is better in many ways.

However Print comic definitely has its appeal, especially if you are a huge collector. Imagine having a huge book shelf full of your favorite comic volumes: All lining up in order with increasing volume number on their colorful binder spines, and all in great shiny conditions. Some people love that.

11 years ago
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Hm. I do love collecting things, but who says I can't collect digitally? :) I mean, I already impulse buy Steam games and add them to my collection, so why not comics too, right? Haha.

11 years ago
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You can collect digitally, and I do, but you know that you don't really own the stuff, and there's a chance everything you buy will one day disappear. It has happened to me already in some cases that services I bought from died, so who's to say Comixology will be around 20 years from now?

So it's limited term collection and that limits how much I'm willing to pay for it. The normal Comixology price is quite high, and I wouldn't buy comics at that price. There are regular half price deal though. Marvel has a $10 monthly subscription (it has its own Comixology-powered app), so you can do what I plan to do, which is read first issues of series to find what I like then sub for a month to read the rest of these story arcs.

As for which I prefer, I'd say that currently digital, because of accessibility, because of the large number of free issues which allows me to check out comics I otherwise won't, and for being able to read in the dark on my Nexus 7. I spend a few minutes each day sitting in my kids' room when they go to sleep, and that's a large part of my reading time.

By the way, the Nook HD+ is discounted to $200 until the 12th, so assuming you're in the US it's a great opportunity to get this for reading. It's a 9" 1920x1280 resolution Android tablet, and the latest software update opened up Google Play so it's a fully fledged tablet. (The 16GB version can be bought for $180, but I think that the extra $20 for the 32GB version is worth it.)

11 years ago
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I still prefer print copy rather than digital, because I like the smell of paper and ink, and reading on phone or tablet makes my eyes hurt :D

11 years ago
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Unless you're always on the go and have trouble reading small text I suggest you go with Print.
Also go to a local comic book store and buy it from there make sure small business are successful.

11 years ago
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I really don't mean to be a jerk, gonna sound like one anyways... I was a weekly buyer in the 90s, towards the end of when every comic was worth more than gold (if you don't get that, be glad). I suggest reading first and then buying. I read pretty much everything but only buy a few titles each month.... really expensive for a 10 minute entertainment and you'll simply never recoup your investment.

So: find out what you like before you lay cash down, use your money to support the things you enjoy. Basically.

11 years ago
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You don't sound like a jerk, don't know why you said that! ^__^ I'm asking for everyone's opinions. I think that's what I'd be doing. Buying into series' that interest me. (Even though that's almost everything.)

11 years ago
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That's pretty much the way to go with games, movies and music too.

11 years ago
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I still have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book IV first printing paperback from 1988 which apparently sells for $100+ now ! I won't ever sell it but still, if its all about Return on Investment, take care of your comics and you'll be a billionaire soon!(ish)

11 years ago
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i like the feeling of reading printed things - just chill in your bed and enjoy reading. since they're quite expensive one has to save money to be able to purchase, that's a thing i loved in my childhood. the kids nowadays just say their parents the they get another fucking cod game or a xbox console. goddamn!

11 years ago
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+1. The feel of print material makes erading so much more immersive. I can "fall into" a story better when I read actual pages instead of digital.

11 years ago
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Personally I've never grown used to reading digital, but that's the way to go if you want to save money. P:

11 years ago
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Depends on how much I like something. If it's a comic or graphic novel that I really love, I'll at least buy a print copy, and will sometimes get both so I don't ruin the physical version of it. But I'll usually just get digital copies of everything else. Makes it easier to take with me, and saves space as well.

11 years ago
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Print, I've tried digital on an ipod touch and on a galaxy s3 and its just not big enough, plus you have to constantly rotate the device to see the panel at its biggest. I probably would enjoy reading digital on a tablet. I definitely like to collect things though and some recent comics are actually worth money (Image comics in particular) so that's another plus for me.

11 years ago
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Nothing beats the tactile sensations of print. That said, my literature collection (including comics) is probably 80% digital.

11 years ago
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Print, get print. Forget digital crap(with the exception of games of course). Print it just feels better. You can also expand your collection :) With the physical copy you can see all the cool art too rather than on the computer.

11 years ago
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Print! dont you just want to own them rather than just some digital files? Just generally nicer to have a collection especially hard backs or limited editions. It would be a shame too see such nice artwork in a digital format, it should be appreciated in its intended medium digital is just a means for easy sales and lazy people who want go to comic book stores/amazon.

11 years ago
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But I can fit thousands of comics in the same amount of space my thumb nail takes up! You cant do that with physical!!

11 years ago
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You can, actually. But you might accidentally create a black hole :P

11 years ago
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No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time.

11 years ago
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They don't have to. With enough force, you can compress them into that size.

11 years ago
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we have a little hawking in here? :)

11 years ago
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This comment was deleted 6 years ago.

11 years ago
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Print. I love the feeling, and having a big collection of touchable comics! :D

11 years ago
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Print print print print
Nothing compares (2U) to real paper feeling in your hand. Though I always do have problem with positioning myself while reading, I do not allow it to prevent me from enjoying the book. I like books and I like good books, not crappy ones. What was I writing about? Right, paper. Paper rules!

11 years ago
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I have plenty of printed manga and comic books. It'd be nicer if there were more titles released in Poland, but I can't say it's bad.
So I will say print, obviously. Nothing beats the smell of new book.

Well, unless the comic is in this form. Too bad it was canceled.

11 years ago
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Print is better option. And if electric went down or something impact by disaster, you wouldn't able use it digital. Ah yes today we are very dependable on technology. Unfortunately :/

11 years ago
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Books can be damaged too, just saying.

11 years ago
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Still, hardware failure is more likely to happen than book breaking on it's own. Because, you know, books don't break on their own.

11 years ago
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Pages can rip, fall out, ink can smear, people could have defaced the book in some form or another, water damage, bugs and so on. Chances of my sd card breaking are low. Data get corrupted, just re-download the book. Phone lost/stolen would be the same as the book being lost or stolen, except Id be more inclined to misplace a book over my phone which is typically connected to headphones and being held in my hands as well.

11 years ago
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I dont collect or read comics, but as a former avid reader of books who is just restarting a former lover affair with the written word, both medians have their pros. However, I like digital because I can read at night w/o needing my room lit up with the force of a thousand suns, and because my phone can carry around thousands of books easier then I can carry around one. Granted, most dont need to carry around more then one book at a time, its still nice that I can carry around everything on a single device, change font size and so on.

11 years ago
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Reading on phone? Dayum man, I would never read or watch a movie on a phone! It sucks!

11 years ago
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Depends what phone you are using. Its not a theater experience but when I have to wait a few hrs between classes or job shifts its great. Reading is very easy, especially in low light areas which is pretty much most of my down time. shrugs

11 years ago
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Print. They work without electricity. Also, you can MAKE them become digital with a scanner.

11 years ago
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Digital, save the trees :D

11 years ago
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Depending on your book consumption and the device you use to read the material, IE phone vs kindle vs computer, the chances of you "saving" more trees then not are little to none.

11 years ago
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I prefer Print for everything, comics, magazines, books. And if you really want them digitally, you can use a scanner.

11 years ago
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Thanks to digital I could give a try to comix that are not sold in my country. I use Comixology. They have an app for Android, iPhone/iPad, Win8 and Kindle Fire (also online via browser of course). Once you downloaded the comic, you can read it offline too. The app is quite good and it can be set to show one box at a time, so that it's very readable on smartphones too. A lot of series offer a complimentary first issue so you can give the site/app a try.
Printed might be a good choice if you want to support a local business and/or want to show your collection off. ^^

11 years ago
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Closed 11 years ago by Jams.