Comics for nothing, anatomically impossible chicks for free

I'm a comic reader. Not as much as I once was, but still, I like to look in if I hear from someone I know that there's something particularly cool out there. I used to have a comic saver at my local comic shop, one owned by a great guy who's a big supporter of the comic I write. But more and more, I just didn't have time, with my work schedule, to get to the comic store during business hours (as I was regularly at the office until 8pm), and when I did finally get there and pick up the big stack of comics that had built up, I found I didn't have time to read them. And when I did, I was getting more and more bothered by the fact that all these comics that I'd never read again (I'm not a re-reader, nor am I a collector) were stacking up in my closet after I was done with them. I just didn't have the room. I finally just quit my saver and quit comics.

However, for the occasional curious comic reader like myself, there's an answer to all these problems. Unfortunately, it's one that I'm philosophically opposed to, especially as a comic creator myself. It's called downloading.

Yes, just like with MP3 files, you can now download whole comics. There's a new file format called .CBR (Comic Book Reader) that's read by specific comic reading software, such as the CDisplay viewer. Scanning and sharing comics isn't exactly new, but up until the .cbr thing, people were making .pdf files out of them, which was kind of clunky and kind of a pain in the ass. With CDisplay, it's nice and simple. There's no interface to deal with, no menus. The comic page fills up your whole screen (which really helps you focus on it with other stuff distracting your eyes), and you're viewing about half a page at any given time. You simply scroll down as you read your way down the page, and as you get to the end, you either keep scrolling with your mouse wheel or use your keyboard's Page Down key to go to the next page.

This is just the perfect solution for me. This keeps me from having to find time to get to the comic store. This also solves the "stacking up" problem for me. Which solves another problem of not having to hide them when I have a girl over, frankly. Like I said, I'm no longer a collector, like I was in high school. I have no desire to bag and board the issue after I've read it and file it away to later sell for enormous profit (yeah, that happens...). I just want to read the story. And I'm one of those people who CAN read the story on my computer screen. Some people don't like to. I still know people who print out articles and sit down and read them rather than have to read through it all on the monitor. Me, I'm very used to it, and I like it. I'll read articles, fiction, anything on the screen. And comics, too. For some comic readers, though, this wouldn't work for them because of ritual. Some fans can't enjoy comics if they don't have them in their hands, if they can't turn the pages themselves and have that tactile experience, if they can't curl up in their favorite comic reading chair and pour through the week's purchases. I can understand that. But I don't have the same needs. I've got a pretty big monitor, and reading comics on it is just fine with me.

This is becoming a big thing, both in the Bit Torrent world and on newsgroups. People are buying, and then taking apart, comics, and then scanning them page by page to create a .cbr file of the whole issue. And it's not just new comics. People are scanning up old classics...whole runs of some books from back to the 60s. They're suddenly everywhere. There's a good chance that if there's a certain issue you're looking for, you're going to find it online.

The problem I'm having is? You're not paying for it.

It was the same conundrum with me and MP3 music for a long time. Say, for example, I just wanted to hear one particular song. I didn't want to buy the whole CD. And if I did, I didn't want to go all the way to the music store (if you knew how long it took me to get in and out of my van, you'd understand this aversion to driving to stores). Not when I could just sit right at my computer and download the thing right then and there. But aside from the chance of being sued by Metallica, I had guilt with that. I think people who create things deserve to get paid for it. There's a big part of society out there in this internet age who doesn't feel that way. They feel they should be able to get everything for free. Or, more often, it's not a conscious choice on the matter, but just a question of convenience. During the peak of the MP3 debate, I heard someone on TV put it rather nicely when addressing the ethics of downloading music. He said, "If you had a faucet in your house that dispensed Pepsi, would you really be all that motivated to go to the store and buy a twelve-pack?"

But I'm someone who's putting out a comic, and I know how I'd feel if after all my hard work, people didn't buy it from me, but just downloaded it instead. So just like I used to think about MP3 files, I want someone to give me the option of buying them online. I am totally willing to pay for comics that I download. No problems with that at all, no issues with not having something physical in my hand to show for the money. But just like online music in the days before iTunes came along (which I now use exclusively and wonderfully guilt-free), no one's giving me that choice. At least not that I've seen. I'm thinking downloadable comics are going to have to experience the same learning curve as the MP3 revolution. Enough people are going to have to start doing it that the companies realize they have to deal with the shift and offer that as an alternative. I can't gauge this .cbr thing well enough yet to know if it's going to reach that point. That is, if there's enough folks out there like me that like their comics served up digital. Comic folks DO so love the fill up those longboxes, after all. To many, the collectible part is inseparable from the reading part. It's all part of the hobby as a whole. As is that weekly trip to the comic store to browse the New Releases rack, or going to local comic-cons and scrounging through the quarter bins looking for gems (dude, I finally found a Rom: Spaceknight #4!). Will demand for this kind of thing ever reach a level that calls for a reexamination of the industry paradigm?

Things are starting that way. There are signs. Marvel has started releasing their "40 Years Of..." DVD-ROM collections, for example, which, everyone realizes, allows you to go back and experience all those early Hulk issues without having to spend a ridiculous amount of cash and time tracking down all the back issues. I bought the Avengers set at Comic-Con last year, myself. That's cool and all, but you're still dealing with the old .pdf method, which means lots of zooming and scrolling and readjusting, all of which takes you away from the flow of reading. I like the .cbr format. And, unfortunately, I can get the format I want AND all the same Avengers issues right now by simply hitting a newsgroup and using Newsrover. And for free. Not a lot of incentive for digital comics fans to do that right thing. Me, I want that incentive. I want to get money to the comic companies so that 1) they know I'm reading that particular title and it won't get canceled, and 2) they make enough profit to keep putting it out.

If things continue, it's going to come down to a choice for the comic industry. Give the people what they want (assuming more people than just me do), or they'll use the other means to get it. Though there's been a lessening of concern about this, for a while TV networks were getting pushed out of shape about people downloading TV show episodes. I was a show downloader. If it was a recently-shown episode, and I missed it (or, as was usually the case for me, my TiVo screwed up and didn't record it), I didn't see any problem downloading and watching it. Most networks have come to terms with this and starting putting recent episodes up on their web site. Cool. If it's an older show that's not on anymore? My feeling is this. If you don't put it out on DVD, then I've got no problem downloading the whole series. If you do (and you don't do something lame like not renewing the rights to the original music in it and filling the void with generic studio crap), great. I'll buy it. I like the extras, I like the quality, and, unlike comics, I like displaying them on the shelf in my living room.

But I want my comics digital. And right now, if I get them that way, I'm stealing. I'd like to keep it legal and get things the way I want them. I hope the iTunes mentality reaches the comic industry and makes this possible. That way everybody's happy. Except comic shops, that is. I hope the introduction of this option wouldn't make comic stores go the way of Tower Records. Knowing people that own them, I know they aren't exactly making Starbucks money (and they have to deal with some of the scarier customers in the retail business, too). I like the think that there's room for everyone. That guys like me can download and read, and guys like friends of mine who want to turn those pages by hand and bag, board and archive can keep rushing to the comic shop on Wednesdays to get their fix. It'll be interesting to see where it all goes. But I personally think it's just a matter of time before the issue can't be avoided anymore, and something's going to have to give.

Note to Metallica: Please note that I did not admit to having downloaded any comics. My attorneys advised me that was best. Take that, Lars.