Web Comics, Why Should I Care part II


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Comics : Web Comics

Last Updated: Aug 21, 2008 - 3:13:23 PM

Web Comics, Why Should I Care part II
By Andy Doan
Jun 18, 2008 - 6:23:12 PM

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In the first part of this article I talked about how I was ready and willing to factor the comic shop out of my weekly purchases (read the first article here). Favoring the efficiencies and conveniences of the online experience over the brick and mortar. Since the Internet is able to make the purchase of the comics so much better it might be safe to assume that it could also add value to the delivery and consumption of the product. If consumption alone was the only reason that I pursue comics I might be inclined to agree. In this follow up article I will illustrate the relationship that I have developed with the printed form and why I remain skeptical that digital versions are destined to replace them in my hands and in my heart.

Christmas 1989 I got 3 comics in my stocking - Web of Spider-man #50 , Spectacular Spider-man #145 and Amazing Spider-man #314. They were the first comics I ever held in my hands. I poured over every page, over and over. It was the beginning of a very important hobby for me, this first experience is well remembered. In my very first experience with comics the physical aspects were as important as the content. It was the whole experience of collecting that I valued most. I would create little check lists of books that I needed as well as a up-to-date inventory of the books that I had. I can remember spending hours in different shops digging through box after box trying to fill the holes in my collection. I can remember setting little goals for the state of my collection and meeting those goals. One of the first goals I remember setting was to own every book that Todd Macfarlane worked on. I remember when I completed this task how great I felt.

When you pick up and old back issue you are sent right back into the era when that comic was brand new. All the things we take for granted in new comics, the letters, the editorial pages and even the advertisements seem so much more interesting 5 or 15 years later.

A single issue of any comic is ultimately portable. Take a comic anywhere you want to go all you need is a little light and you're good. No wall outlets or Internet connections required. You can stuff one in your pocket or your backpack. Take one on a plane and never be asked to turn it off.

Sharing. Back when I was still in school I would go over to certain friends houses lay on the bed or floor and read through issues of titles that I didn't buy myself. I never bought a single copy of Uncanny X-men back during their heyday, but I never had to. I got to read every issue as it came out including dozens of back issues. The same friend would come over to my house once a week or so and dig into my Spider-man collection. Between issues we'd discuss the finer points of the art form like if Spider-man could beat Wolverine. I would like to see the giant media companies try to put a stop to this kind of peer to peer network.

Aside from a few close friends who's collection I would essentially share I had a few other friends who didn't really collect that much if at all. Some were passing acquaintances, others were people I had just met, but I can remember the pride that I felt the first time I showed them my books. Certain back issues came with the story of the hunt and their significance . My head would swell as they'd compliment the size and order of the collection. Sometimes they'd ask for my help starting a collection of their own. I can also remember meeting people who would have a collection on par or more advanced then mine. It was such a treat to go over and see the a collection so foreign to me. Things would be ordered just a little differently and of course the titles would be all different. There was honor among collectors and I was happy to be part of that group.

Of course gathering hundreds and thousand skinny little books is not a habit that makes me popular with the ladies. Specifically my wife over the past few years has targeted my comic collection as one of her reoccurring topics of discussion . Some of her favourite questions are "Are you just going to leave them there beside the bed?", "Is there any reason why we are keeping these?", "Didn't you just buy some comics last week?".

I have to admit that as a grown man with children I do look at the collection a lot differently then before. Most of the problems seem to surround the fact that they do sit around the house and they do have to take up space that could always be used for something else. They get to be a bit of a pain in the ass to drag around. Personally I have three quarters of my collection packed in my Grandparents basement 3,000 km away, and the other bit stuffed in my small apartment. I've never found a great way to sort them or stack them. For the amount of times I actually reference the older back issues they've become more like the old exercise bike than my private library.

I hate the natural instincts they trigger within me. I want my wife and children to be able to share in the joy that comics bring me. The problem is that every time I see them bend the spine or add a crease to a page something inside me screams in agony. I'm finding it a little hard to break the conditioning that I've built up over the past 19 years.

The cover price has always been a factor. I restarted my collection in earnest about two years ago. Previously there were three other periods in my life where I had pull lists set up at various shops in my home area. Each of those previous periods came to an end when I stopped being able to afford the titles on my list and I had to stop showing my face in that shop because of shame (of course I was much younger then). Slowly as weeks and months went by more and more titles were added to the list until it came down to deciding between the bill collectors and the fat stack of books on the night stand. I have the desire to read everything that comes out, unfortunately I only have the budget for a small fraction of that.

If I could I would simply sell off all the books I read as soon as I'm done with them. It is currently time and cost prohibitive to attempt to resell books on the second hand market. Currently recent back issues are selling on eBay for a little under $1 per issue. That's around 25% of cover price after fees but not including all the work it takes to get the thing off to the customer. Seems like a better deal to just sit on them (like I have for the last 19 years).

Now I'm at the point where I understand why I collect comics and I know that there are things I like and dislike about the printed form. Of course I'm skeptical, but I'm not the type of person to say never and I'm not old enough to be paved over by progress yet. I think this is the perfect time for me to dive into the current world of digital (Web) comics and see what the offering is. My initial experiences with Web comics will be the topic of the next part of this article.

Comment Script Join the discussion:

Comments

Thank you for bringing back.....

....if only for a moment. There is a personal, highly intimate feeling that only comes from holding a "physical" book. The internet is limited in that way (and probably only in that way). The 1990's showed us the "ugly effects" of comic collecting and dealing for profit. There may be a time, when only the ones who love the hobby will collect. For the rest of us, there are always graphic novels and the internet. These two are the ultimate tools needed to make the World recognize sequential art as the superior literary form. :-D

#1 - Frederick Haddox - 06/23/2008 - 09:59

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