Daredevil Message Board

[Kuljit Mithra]

http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Online/MarvelOnlinea.html

I'm curious to see what you guys think of this... would you consider dropping the printed version? Would this make you check out titles you never would? Or are they too late in this initiative?

I'm old school, I love reading a printed comic. And when I have tried to read a comic online, I really don't like the multiple clicks you have to do just to flip pages or zoom in on certain parts. I guess someone has to develop a really good display mechanism for me.
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Kuljit Mithra
www.manwithoutfear.com

[Gloria]

I much prefer the classic paper comics, because you can read them everywhere (on the ground, in bed, on the sofa, in the park, etc, etc...) with no need of batteries. Also, reading on paper is more relaxing than reading a computer screen.

Still... I think it's a good idea! Too often people wants to read old issues which have not been reprinted, and can only find them with difficulty or with a lot of money, so it is good to have this alternative.
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Gloria
Devuélveme el rosario de mi madre y quédate con todo lo demás

"Para la cuesta arriba quiero mi burro, que la cuesta abajo yo me la subo"

[james castle]

On one hand this is a pretty bad idea that actually takes something away from the medium. I read some interview with Alan Moore where he was talking about what makes comics different. Like, what sets comics apart so that they're not just the poor man's movie. The one thing that really struck me was when he was talking about how you can sort of fly backwards and forwards in a comic with relative ease. Near the beginning of Watchmen there's a scene where Rorschach comes in through the window of the Eddie Blake's apartment. Many issues later he comes in the window of his old apartment and is in the exact some pose. Further, near the end, Nightowl enters a certain portal thing and is in the same pose again. I'm sure all that means something but for now the point is that because it's a comic it's super easy to flip back and forth. Like, when you see the pose a second time you think "wait a minute. didn't I see that before?" and you thumb back and (if you have any sense at all) you find the other shot in under 30 seconds.

That sort of jumping around literally can't be done with a movie or a book. Obviously you couldn't do it in a theatre and even though you could kind of do it with DVDs it wouldn't be as quick or as natural. And you just can't do it with a book.

Anyway, comics online like this take that ablility away as well. So that's bad.

On the other hand: Marvel comics that take advantage of the medium's unique features are few and far between. While I've often been inspired to pull my Vertigo books from the shelf to check if I'd seen that shot or wording before I can honestly say the same thing about any Marvel comics.

So it's a bit of a wash.
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JC

So why can't you see the funny side?
Why aren't you laughing?

[Neilan]

I can see that it makes a lot of sense for the industry to go in this direction, at first offering digital at the same time as the printed comics, but someday it may only be the online versions that are offered. The savings in shipping and printing costs would be major. This seems to be the way things are generally going overall. I think of those Visa commericals that make the guy who pays with cash a source of embarrassment, or how many companies are making it more difficult to pay with checks and heavily encouraging people to pay their bills online.
For someone like me, who spends much less time on the computer, at home, then most, it doesn't work. The issue of portability, like Gloria referred to, is huge for me. Heck, I must do over half my reading in the bathroom. But I also think that to have comics be exclusively online takes away from the overall experience. It's a little like the difference between shopping online and going to the LCS. There's just something about taking possession of a book and holding it in your hands. I would really miss that.
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It's never too late to have a happy childhood!

[vtsoxfan7]

I think it's got it's uses. I posted a topic a few months ago about digital copies of comics (however this option isn't sketchy as far as getting creators their due)...I find it quite useful for going back and checking out 'classic' issues that would be tough to come by (i.e. the earliest issues of DD). I would probably be open to checking out a title here or there that I wasn't sure about picking up on a monthly basis to see if I'd enjoy it or not. That being said, when it comes right down to it, I have a real pride of ownership bug and as a collector would want the actual print copies for my collection whenever possible so unless there's an older run of books available that I'm interested in, I don't see myself taking much advantage of this.
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http://tburnham7.blogspot.com/

'So I've got THAT going for me...which is nice' - Bill Murray, Caddyshack

[Born Again]

I dunno, even CBR is kind of hard for me. Just looking at the screen, it hurts the eyes. If portable reader technology ever becomes popular...but I don't know enough about that technology to say whether it's good or not.

[Francesco]

I don't like it. I prefer flipping the pages, the feel of paper in my fingertips, read wherever I want, having a tangible collection available on my shelves etc.
Besides, I already spend much of my time sitting at a desk.

[Born Again]

Ugh, it's so slow. I hope it all dies down soon so I can actually get to try it out...

[Gloria]

[jumonji]

I think it's a good idea, but I don't think regular printed comic books are going anywhere anytime soon. Years ago, experts were talking about the coming of the "paper free" society with the advent of the Internet and the increases in the memory capacity of computers, but that still hasn't happened (if anything people keep more paper copies if things now than they ever did). I see this initiative more as something that is added to the existing product rather than something they are introducing to replace it.

Oh, and I may be one of the very few people who never reads anything in the bathroom, but I know I'm in the minority. I even kind of envy those who are able to turn the place into their own private sanctuary.
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The Other Murdock Papers

[Francesco]

[Born Again]

[Francesco]

yeah yeah but it's getting crowded here.

Anyway, now that I tried it is even more terrible than I thought. It runs slow, it forces you to zoom in and out. And it's hard to navigate it. Also, it might be my impression, but it doesn't seem to be optimized for all web browsers.

[Gloria]

[Darediva]

Totally online comics? Do not want.
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Alice




Those who throw dirt merely lose ground.