DC & Marvel Pit Digital Comics Against Print
For the first time since home-delivered subscriptions began the business of comic books is taking a dramatic turn that may have a profound effect on your favourite corner comic book store.
DC Comics, to coincide with their complete reboot of the DC universe, are releasing all of their comics digitally on the same first-release day as their print issues. No longer will you have to wait up to 12 months for the up-to-date issues to be available on a wide array of digital platforms. At this year's Comic-Con Marvel made the news-worthy announcement that they were going to trial some same day digital releases, beginning with Invincible Iron Man Annual #1. They made reference to drip-feeding this process with Spider-Man and X-Men comics throughout the year. But now with DC's universe-wide offering Marvel is going to have to play catch-up if they want to cash in on the highly profitable comic app market. As much as I love the fast and constant changes that the digital revolution is bringing around (right now I am reading Uncanny X-Men #15 from 1964 on my Marvel Digital Comics Subscription) there is a concern to be voiced. The question that I am left with is what will happen to our already struggling street-front comic book stores? The feeling I get when I step through the doorway; that wonderful paper smell. Is this at risk if the environmentally-sound, financially-friendly and storage-freeing digital approach takes off even more than it already has? Are there enough uber-Geeks like me who still hunger for the paper-based collect-ability? I understand that across the last 100 years of rapid advancement many old institutions have fallen by the wayside. Perhaps I just want that tangible connection to my childhood. Do you feel the way I do, or are you a proponent for the digital future?