Well, in CHEW’s case, digital comics aren’t really hurting print sales, though we have various readers that prefer to buy floppies digitally. In our case, the readers that buy digital eventually buy the trades/hardcovers anyway because they want the book on their shelves. So I don’t think the digital/print debate is an either/or scenario in a lot of cases, but just a means of keeping up with your favorite comics without the clutter of floppies. I can’t speak to how it works for the rest of the industry, but that’s how it is for us. We reap the benefits in either medium. Rob Guillory, artist of Chew 100% positively. On the Big Publisher end of the spectrum where Marvel & DC need their readers to commit to pretty large weekly purchases, digital comics make that more likely to happen because of the lesser financial burden on the readers. Except of course, when they charge full retail price, which is both unethical and a totally idiotic move in my opinion. If you can’t get new readers charging $4 for a print book, how can you even begin to think those potential new readers will be interested in a $4 digital comic? On the small press side of things it allows people to see your work that otherwise would never have made it into comic shops, or that Diamond would not even carry because of low sales -which is actually something that I do not have a problem with. Diamond is in the business of bulk distribution, not boutique book sales. So with digital comics, which cost a fraction to produce and can reach a wider audience, the little guys finally have a fighting chance. In our own experience digital comics have provided a cheap, and in some cases free, entry point for
new Robo readers. Our TPB sales only really started to take off after we started making digital comics. iVerse and Comixology literally made Atomic Robo a success. We suddenly had a level of exposure that brick and mortar stores and our non-existent marketing budget could not come close to matching. And don’t get me wrong. Comic shops have been GREAT to Atomic Robo. But they reach a more limited audience. And we’re happy that the digital comics seem to get people into comic shops to buy our stuff, and see other books as well. It is supremely human to enjoy a tangible thing over a theoretical product -which is kind of what digital comics are. And if you pick something up digitally and really like it, chances are good that you will seek out a physical copy of it. That’s been my experience anyway. I see digital comics and physical TPBs as a mutually beneficial relationship. I’m not sure about the regular 22 page comics. They cost a lot and don’t offer the reader a whole lot for the cost. I won’t be surprised if digital comics eventually replace those. Scott Wegener, artist of Atomic Robo I’ve always preferred to read in the print format, and my guess would be that I always will. There’s no denying that digital publishing is here to stay, though. I think the biggest impact is probably on small press publishers and creators publishing their work on their own. Digital can be a good outlet for getting their work out there without the sometimes daunting overhead that comes with traditional print publishing. Robert Venditti, writer of
Geek Syndicate
Surrogates, X-O Manowar I have been resisting digital comics for a while now. I buy comics, I know they come with a digital copy, but have I ever removed that sticker? No. I understand the convenience factor... especially when I travel. Maybe because I do not yet own a “tablet” type device, I am still skeptical as to the comfort of reading a comic digitally... who knows. So, as you can see, from my point of view, they are not impacting MY small world of print comic collection. And that is what it is all about, COLLECTING. My computer collects a lot of things digitally, mostly for work: Emails, Files, Photos, Apps, etc. Not Comics. I like the experience of holding a set of stapled pages - and I am not the only one. Thank goodness, at least for now, I think the people who want to collect physical books and READ physical books are enough to keep the printing presses humming. I do fear that there will be a day that digital will overwhelm print, and that will be a sad, sad day, especially for retailers. Of course, unless there some model is developed where retailers can still have some claim in the process... maybe a kiosk? Something where you bring your device, scan through the titles and download? Who knows? All I know is that I LOVE my weekly (or more) trips to the Comic Store. It will be a shame if all that goes away because things become increasingly digital. As far as the industry - too much currently relies on print. Covers, Variants, Advertisements, etc. Where would the Variant market go if everything went digital? In fact, where would the collector’s market go? People want to collect. If everything is digital, there
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