Today is new comics day in America, and that should mean that tomorrow would be new comics day here in the UK. Sadly, due to the incredibly inconsiderate volcano in Iceland, that won't be the case. Understandably freight is not going to be a important as moving stranded people around.
This got me thinking, though. We're hearing a lot about the digital future of comics, and there are apps and downloads available to let me read comics digitally. So I should be able to get around the problem by downloading an issue or two, right?
Wrong. Take, for example, Last Stand Of The Wreckers, published by IDW. It's one of the few single issues that I'm interested in buying in this week, so I headed over to their website. On the front page there's and advert for an iTunes store, which requires you to have iTunes installed to browse the store. I don't have iTunes, an iPhone or an iPad, so that option's out. There's an ad for the PSP too, but it's the same there. So far, no luck.
In the webstore, there's a small digital comics box that has... something in it. I'm not sure what as the details function reveals nothing. It's not what I'm after though. It appears that I can't buy it here. Nor can I buy it digitally anywhere else.
I realise that is symptomatic of the comics industry as a whole, which has yet to wholeheartedly embrace digital comics, but it strikes me as a missed opportunity. Getting digital versions of this weeks comics online for international customers would have made a lot of sense. As it is, casual fans will miss issues out.
The ridiculous nature of the situation is highlighted by the simple fact that in a few hours I'll be able to illegally download any of this weeks comics that I want on a multitude of sites. It's only when I want to pay for my downloads that it seems to be a problem.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment