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iPad and Tablets: The ultimate comic readers?
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.
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
Comic fans will buy dead trees forever.
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.
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.
However, my love of books borders on a compulsion to acquire and read ever more material, so take my opinion with that in mind.