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iPad and Tablets: The ultimate comic readers?

edited March 2011 in Manga/Comics
iPad (or any Tablet, this is not an iPad debate) has the perfect form factor and display for reading comics and manga. I tried reading the Akira manga on my laptop and gave up after a few pages. I hate reading at a computer, especially when you have to keep resizing the screen to read the panels.

Being able to read on the couch, or while on the move is such a big deal, that it cannot be understated enough. I think it’s a game changer.

Given that a ton of expensive and/or out of print stuff is available on the torrents, is a tablet not the natural transition for anyone who either wants to compliment their physical collection with rare works, or for a newer reader like myself to finally be able to jump in and read some of the older stuff? Marvel perhaps? Maybe finally be able to read Eagle and Sanctuary that I hear mentioned so often?

I’m picking up an iPad 2 later in the year pretty with the PRIMARY reason being a comfortable way to read a ton of comics that I would otherwise never be able to afford, or even locate if I wanted to buy them.

I imagine it would take less than a week to have in excess of $500 worth of art… on a $500 machine.

If you want to take piracy out of the issue, just assume you will use the tablet for works that are basically impossible for you to obtain, and buy the newer stuff.

From factor. It is here.

Comments

  • If your idea of graphic novels is limited to pulp manga and underpants perverts, maybe. Otherwise no.
  • Show me a single tablet or iPad comic that beats my Hellboy Library edition with the cloth binding, gilt lettering, and watercolor panel on the cover. Or my beautiful hardcover copy of Blacksad. You can't. I use my Kindle for manga and my PC for OOP stuff, but other than that, I will always buy hard copies.

    Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
  • I've kind of planned on using some sort of tablet as a comic reader, but it wasn't ever a deciding factor. I pretty much plan to take the same route as with ebooks, which is just dowload what I already have physically so that its more portable, or pirate because I want to check something out or just have no money. Chances are most of the comics I really want I will buy, if they're worth my time. But I'm just not paying for the e-version when its often almost as much as the "real" version. I still think you should get a code or something from amazon for an ebook when you buy a physical book from them. But I digress... Its a good idea but I don't have $500 to blow either way.
  • Show me a single tablet or iPad comic that beats my Hellboy Library edition with the cloth binding, gilt lettering, and watercolor panel on the cover. Or my beautiful hardcover copy of Blacksad. You can't. I use my Kindle for manga and my PC for OOP stuff, but other than that, I will always buy hard copies.

    Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    You can't beat that! =)

    But that's not really a fair comparison. Think more like an R4 for the DS. Being able to play all those games that you are interested in, but would otherwise not buy. And also that you can carry them all around with you on a single device.

    Also, sure, tablets are $500 now but in a year or two they won't be. $500 is probably too much to *just* read comics. But the iPad does a crap ton more besides. Point being, the tablet form factor is here to stay and its only a matter of time before people consume more digital media then physical.

    And as that happens.. the pirates respond...

    My prediction: Within the next 2 years you will see $200 tablets. And comic torrents will be much more prevalent as nerd culture demands the content.
  • edited March 2011
    I had a 9" netbook for a while. It was a linux-based eeePC for $170, and was both light and small enough to hold book-style with one hand. Worked great as a comic reader, and much cheaper than an iPad.
    Post edited by Matt on
  • I'd be fine with my desktop as a comics reader, an iPad would be nice for some portability but not necessary. I admittedly already read a lot of comics and manga on my computer. If there was a service that I could say pay a seven to ten dollar fee a month and read all the comics I wanted with it. I'd pay for it. Marvel is almost there but you can only read their back catalog this way. I like Viz's SigIkki website but I find it annoying they take the old chapters down. I honestly don't think they are going to get that many more buyers if they take the stuff down.

    I think the issue here really isn't a piece of hardware needed to read comics. I mean once digitized you could read them on practically anything, desktop, laptop, iPad, video game console, etc. I think the issue is comic book companies need to get on the boat with digitization.

    My old boss at my job used to work for Sirius back in the day, last NYCC her old boss asked her to join him as one of the big inside industry panels was about digitizing comics and how to go about it. From what she told me the problem seems that the companies don't want to screw over the comic book shops that have keep them propped up for years now. So, while you can buy a digitized version of the lastest X-men comic it will cost more then the printed version.

    In the end no matter what in the move to digitize comics someone is going to get screwed. Which, while I hate to say it, should be the comic shops, because you don't want to screw over your customers in the end. I worked in a comic book store for a number of years, it is an industry where everyone knows everyone and there really are a lot of unsaid rules going on. They know they need to adapt but they can't move out of their comfort zones to do so.

    In the end both the comic publisher and the stores have to evolve.
  • Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    Definitely not. You'd be surprised what ten generations of humans can evolve into socially.
  • Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    Definitely not. You'd be surprised what ten generations of humans can evolve into socially.
    I forgot hyperbole was not allowed here.
  • Surely those people ten generations from now won't be real comic fans. We all know real comic fans buy dead trees.
  • Surely those people ten generations from now won't be real comic fans. We all know real comic fans buy dead trees.
    Comics will not exist ten generations from now.
  • Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    I would stop buying dead trees right now if we had 300dpi color e-ink displays.
  • Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    I would stop buying dead trees right now if we had 300dpi color e-ink displays.
    I agree, but I'd still buy dead tree library editions. Sandman Absolute, Incal Complete, Hellboy Library, that sort of thing.

    However, my love of books borders on a compulsion to acquire and read ever more material, so take my opinion with that in mind.
  • Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
    I would stop buying dead trees right now if we had 300dpi color e-ink displays.
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