Out with the old.

So, I'm aware that I don't update this very often. I'm not even certain if anyone reads it to be honest. But, since I've got it, I should probably do something with it. That way I can at least vent my horrific nerdery on the internet rather than my poor girlfriend, who will probably kill me if I attempt to discuss the future of digital comics with her again.

So here are some thoughts on the subject. I like comics. I have the internet. I have yet to purchase a single digital comic. Why is this? For me, it's a matter of cost (and the fact that I use a netbook most of the time, which isn't ideal for reading digital comics). Why should I pay the same amount for a digital comic that I would for a paper copy? Paper copies are more convenient anyway - I can't read the netbook on the toilet with potentially burning my thighs - so why would I pay the same amount? Digital comics are simply overpriced.

Take the difference between mp3s and CDs. Mp3s are generally considerably cheaper. That makes me more likely to buy them, even if it means that I haven't got some nice packaging to look at. I like nice packaging, but I like a medium that allows me to have more music on the cheap better. It's the same with comics. If digital comics were to be significantly cheaper, I'd actually buy some.

My interest in this isn't entirely as a consumer. I'm currently putting together a digital comic that I'd like to sell online. Most of what I've found mimics the print medium - 22 pages, standard cover price, pretty much print comics dressed up like cheap tarts trying to seduce a new medium. While some do innovate (The commentary/art features in Verum Corpus springs to mind) people seem to be stuck in the old routine, seemingly happy to maintain the status quo. I'm not sure that I'm happy to be part of that.

I have something in mind, although it's early days yet. I ant to try something that addresses both the price and format possibilities that digital comics bring. Whether I'm successful or not, I'm hoping that I can at least try to find a new way of doing things.

Blowing in the wind.

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.