How do you collect? Print Digital or a little of both?

Hey guys! I'm new here and sorry if this is a bad topic... I just spent the last hour searching the forums for a topic like this and if a topic like this is allowed in the first place. I did manage to find one but it was a single post over 2 years ago! My question is how do you collect comics and how you think you will collect going into the future? I just recently got into comic books and I dove head first into it buying 3 hardcovers and over twenty single issues in this past month alone! However some of my comics have come with a digital copy for free (Ultimate Comics Spiderman). This got me thinking about all the possible ways to collect comics and which way works best. So far I have grown quite fond of bagging and boarding the floppies I have already bought, just something very satisfying about collecting them like that. However my biggest gripes with floppies are the Ads! Ugh talk about ripping you right out of the comic workd and right back into the realities of capitalism.

Depends

Hey guys! I'm new here and sorry if this is a bad topic... I just spent the last hour searching the forums for a topic like this and if a topic like this is allowed in the first place. I did manage to find one but it was a single post over 2 years ago! My question is how do you collect comics and how you think you will collect going into the future? I just recently got into comic books and I dove head first into it buying 3 hardcovers and over twenty single issues in this past month alone! However some of my comics have come with a digital copy for free (Ultimate Comics Spiderman).

This got me thinking about all the possible ways to collect comics and which way works best. So far I have grown quite fond of bagging and boarding the floppies I have already bought, just something very satisfying about collecting them like that. However my biggest gripes with floppies are the Ads! Ugh talk about ripping you right out of the comic workd and right back into the realities of capitalism. I have also bought two issues on comixology (Aquaman, The Flash) and I enjoyed the guided view they have where it automatically pans in and out and focuses on each individual part of the story giving it more emphasis with the added bonus of me not cheating myself and unconsciously looking to the next panel to ruin the reveal for me. However I do not have a tablet (though I do hope to get one in the future) and the image quality on the monitor is nowhere close to the printed pages. Also I love that it has no ads between the reading but does have one at the end.

Hardcovers and Trade Paperbacks are great all around! The collect all the issues I am missing and reproduce the original material pretty faithfully from what I have seen so far. However reading them is more of a chore since I am more cautious with the binding seeing as how it is more rigid and holds more pages then floppies so two page spreads are hindered a bit. This is my dilemma and I hoe to find my way out of it with your help! Please and Thank you :)

What does it depend on? If you don't mind

Print until death, can't stand digital, and I'm no fogey, only twenty.

Younger then me haha, age 23. Why do you hate digital so much?

Welcome to the Vine. I preffer mixed and I'll tell you why.

Comic Books (Print)

Cons

1. They could get damaged
2. You might misplace or lose them
3. There slightly more expensive than digital comics, and when your finished with them you might not even take them out again.

Pros

1. If your a student like myself, you can read them in school without getting trouble. I'm sure you can't use your phones in college (at times) so that's why books work. But that's not really a big pro
2. It's not a phone or anything so obviously you don't have to worry about it dyeing or running out of battery
3. They have collectible value, in case you like collecting comic books it's like a souvenir.

Comic Books (Digital)

Pros

1. You can read them anywhere, simply by logging into your account from any device, any phone, or any laptop etc. Much like a Google Play or Xbox LIVE account, but with comic books.
2. It's in the best quality, so you don't have to worry if its too dark outside or in the room, and it actually feels a little more cinematic than reading it in a book, digital comics reading them on my phone at least actually provides some suspense.
3. They are cheaper than buying them in print
4. When you buy its officialy yours, always and forever, so you don't need to worry about buying it again.

Cons

1. Like I said earlier, if your a student in school and they don't let you use phones or etc. then you most likely won't be able to be reading your digital comics.
2. If your reading them on your phone (or even tablet) and walking somewhere or something, chances are reading your comic will make your battery die quicker so you can be reading it but then 30 minutes later bam, lost your entertainment.
3. Well obviously if you don't have your own laptop, phone or tablet etc. then you won't be reading your digital comics often.

Digital Marvel comics: http://subscriptions.marvel.com/

Digital DC comics: http://www.dccomics.com/comics

And the apps for the latter shouldn't be too hard to find but feel free to ask.

By and large, I do print, but I'll occasionally buy a few digital issues when they're on sale on comixology. Print is just what I grew up with and I like the sense of community of the LCS. Granted, it's much more convenient to share a digital copy with a friend than a physical one. This just happened the other at work, actually. I was able to show a co-worker Avengers vs. X-Men #8 and it was an awesome experience! On the other hand, a good number of my issues haven't been showing up on my Kindle Fire in comixology so that's a pain to try and navigate.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I am still undecided about the whole thing and I will keep collecting the series I have in print and start in digital and see which way I gravitate towards. Most likely I will get Avengers vs. X-Men on digital since I can't find issues 1-5 right now and end up buying the Trade when it wraps up.

I personally am a new collector as well. I personally prefer print because looking at a computer/laptop/phone continuously eventually gives me a headache. I also like being able to display my prints...

I've been doing digital only for a while. In fact, I've been selling some old print issues and trades to rebuy them digitally. I've started with the DCAU stuff. I don't have the room and to be honest, the desire for physical collections anymore.

I agree @vicske77 I find myself loving the idea of having the comic in single issues to display like that even if I am the only one to ever see it, I know I would greatly appreciate it.

@WebScud! You are the perfect type of person I was looking for. Do you feel you miss anything about print that might compel you to return to it one day? What has been the major differences between reading a comic in print as opposed to digitally?

@Phandemic: I actually find myself reading way more than I was before. Previously, I'd buy an issue and maybe read it gently before polybagging it. I always afraid damaging it. Stupid "collector for money mentality" I suppose, but I grew up buying comics and trading cards with monthly subscriptions to Wizard and Beckett. With digital, I can take my time to appreciate the art and the story without that nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

The stacks of unread issues become daunting too. If I'd get busy and not have the time to read for a couple of weeks, I'd begin to put the issues in long boxes never to be seen again.

I had bought some stand alone comic apps before comiXology, but since that store came around I haven't looked back. So far, they've done everything right. They made the legal product more attractive that the pirated product. It's so easy to get an issue on any platform for one flat, sometimes cheaper, price. Plus, the frequent sales!

I don't think anything will move me back to print, though the print issues and trades with digital redemption codes are nice. Maybe if there's a issue with some insane art or Absolute-style hardcovers, but it will be a hard sell. I do occasionally miss turning a page or seeing a full bookshelf of trades, but the benefits of digital outweigh that feeling.

Man that is the exact mentality I have when I read a print comic except that I am not really being cautious as to have it in mint condition for resale. Instead it is just an urge to not damage it for myself. I apply the same thoughts when reading my hardcover trades where I won't open the book completely horizontally as to not damage the spine. As you can imagine that really hinders the two page spreads for me unfortunately.

I will have to give digital more thought, being as how my collection right now is so small I am not really worried about space being an issue, plus I still have 80 bags and boxes to fill!

Oh one other question @WebScud how do you read digital comics? Is it on a tablet? Right now I do not have a tablet and am holding out for the holiday season, but until then I have read my digital comics on my computer screen and love the guided view of comixology I feel that the image is actually more washed out on my screen.

@Phandemic: I use full page view on a tablet and guided view on my phone. I've used the app on both Android and iOS and my favorite device so far is the 3rd generation iPad. The CMX-HD issues look beautiful on the retina display. I rarely use the web interface, but I like having it as an option.

There's nothing like holding a piece of art in your hand. If comics ever go purely digital I will be done with them.

Man yeah I am jelly I wish I had a tablet now especially with a Retina Display. Rumors about Microsoft Surface RT coming out for 199. If true I would jump wholeheartedly in. Man choices are always a double edged swords haha always want more to choose from but then which one do I choose?!

I really want to try digital, but I don't have a devise, and I don't want to use my laptop.

Print only. Whenever I spend money on anything digital I don't feel like I actually own it. Plus, at least for comics, print is just so much better to read and collect.

It's print all the way for me. I might try digital later on in life but for now, I'm sticking with print.

I buy new comics digitally but If it's older I buy comics in a collected edition.

Both

I do print, but I love doing digital for exclusive stuff like monkeybrain comics and stuff like that.

I get digital for mostly everything, The definition of the art seems much better, and when you use the panel by panel feature you really get to soak in the art of each picture and notice things you really wouldn't otherwise notice before. However, I get prints of Deathstroke because I have almost all things related to the character and want to keep the master collection rolling :P

Agreed @Twentyfive, it seems the best way to enjoy digital comics is with a tablet. I have seen that Ipad with Retina Display at the local Apple store and color reproduction and clarity look very appealing to me. Plus with the back light I could see comics on screen having a dynamism that print would lack.

My issue however is that I don't currently own a tablet, if I did it would probably make my decision easier to go digital. While I do plan on getting a tablet one day I do not know when that will be and so since I don't enjoy comics on my PC I am hesitant to go digital. Being new to comics my print collection is still rather small and so it wouldn't be a huge change for me to go digital but as of right now my most satisfying way of enjoying comics is to buy it in print. As my collection grows I feel I would have a harder time going digital, haha talk about a rock and a hard place!

I am currently contemplating going digital for my monthlies and the buying the trades once they are all collected to have a little of both worlds like what @CrimsonAvenger was saying I believe. How do you like your current buying method? When you guy the collected in print do you read it exclusively in print or still read it digitally?

@DarkKnightDetective How do you do both man? Is it a specific comic run for digital and another for print?

@Phandemic: What I can't collect physically I buy digitally.

I always buy print.

@Phandemic said:

Agreed @Twentyfive, it seems the best way to enjoy digital comics is with a tablet. I have seen that Ipad with Retina Display at the local Apple store and color reproduction and clarity look very appealing to me. Plus with the back light I could see comics on screen having a dynamism that print would lack.

My issue however is that I don't currently own a tablet, if I did it would probably make my decision easier to go digital. While I do plan on getting a tablet one day I do not know when that will be and so since I don't enjoy comics on my PC I am hesitant to go digital. Being new to comics my print collection is still rather small and so it wouldn't be a huge change for me to go digital but as of right now my most satisfying way of enjoying comics is to buy it in print. As my collection grows I feel I would have a harder time going digital, haha talk about a rock and a hard place!

I am currently contemplating going digital for my monthlies and the buying the trades once they are all collected to have a little of both worlds like what @CrimsonAvenger was saying I believe. How do you like your current buying method? When you guy the collected in print do you read it exclusively in print or still read it digitally?

@DarkKnightDetective How do you do both man? Is it a specific comic run for digital and another for print?

This sounds good except for the whole rebuying thing. Is it safe to assume you would just buy trades for certain series?

As long as my feel for physical comics and space allow, I'll keep buying them primarily. However, I love the convenience of digital books and do plan to get a tablet so I can enjoy them in their full glory.

@WebScud: Hmm. I don't get the whole not reading your physical issues as I always read all of mine pretty promptly. That being said, the fact you're reading more is what comics is all about so that's awesome! Those Absolute editions and others like them are beautiful to behold.

@Queso6p4 Yeah it was mostly an idea I am contemplating with now. I am still debating it but I think I am leaning towards print now. Though I love the accessibility and ease of mind digital print affords me while I am reading I feel like I appreciate comics in print more. It feels more like art when it is on paper and I am holding it. Comixology has a digital my comics page that is supposed to simulate a collection of comics but it is nowhere close to the same feeling as it does in print.

The thing about print comics too is that some times you have to hunt and find it while digital will always be there. If I want to read a comic on the road I will by it digitally to read but for now I will buy everything in print and read it leisurely.

Still print for what little I still collect. Once the market for digital sorts itself out I fully expect to transition to it happily

Technically you can't "collect" something that's digital, or rather there's no point to it. It's just too freely available.

I still enjoy the hunt and I think I'll continue enjoying it for most of the years to come.

Print.

I tried digital but it just didn't satisfied me like reading the printed ones.

@gunmetalgrey Agreed that is exactly how I feel about my print and digital collection. Plus the fact digital is so freely available if I ever want to just read something on a whim I can get it at any point I have internet access. However if I want to own specific back issues I have to hunt for it going through several bookstores. Though that is only when I am available and have the time.

@Brazen_Intellect Yeah man if digital comes down in price (though I feel that is unlikely) or I get a tablet I wouldn't mind going digital. Whenever comixology has a sale I plan on taking advantage of that because more than likely I wouldn't give those comics a chance at retail.

@Liara I think I know how you feel. There is a certain satisfaction I get from reading comics in particular in print as opposed to digital. I think I would have no issues going from print to digital reading text books and novels because those are just words on a page. Comics though tell their stories through imagery as well and though the content may be the same the experience of reading it is very different to me. They each have their advantages; digital for one has limited ads and none of them appear within the story, you can go panel by panel guiding you through the story and preventing you from ruining a climatic moment, and you have it with you wherever you have a capable device. Print on the other hand, gives me at least, a feeling of true ownership and collect-ability, reading the panels together as opposed to individually and looking at the entire page after to appreciate what is happening in the story as well as appreciate the art without having to navigate a menu.

An analogy to me is digital is like owning an album while print is like going to a concert. With an album you have more control; volume, play, pause, repeat. With a concert you have less control but are getting a wider experience for it. Both have the same content but offer different experiences.

Print because it has this special feeling when the comic is actually in your hands and I like collecting. I don't think I'll ever go digital.

@Phandemic: Well-put, particularly the album versus concert analogy.

I usually only collect printed comics

I get mostly print but on some comics I wait a month after it comes out and the next issue came out so it drops down $1.

Print only thanks.