The Mind of Scott: Digital or Physical?

I’ve been reading comic books for over 40 years. From the first handful my Dad brought home for me one night when I was three to the seemingly nigh endless number of long boxes that fill my house, my parent’s house and a storage locker, I’ve read and collected a lot of books over the years.

Yesterday, news broke from Image Comics and Archie Comics that, respectively, 250 issues of Spawn are now available digitally, and the entire Dark Circle back catalogue will be gradually released. This is fantastic news for anyone who loves this industry: the more variety of product and the more eyeballs reading comics can only be seen as positives. However, I also couldn’t help but feel slightly melancholy about the announcement.

One of my fondest memories from my childhood was sitting on a milk crate at the convenience store my grandparents owned and reading all the issues on the spinner rack. From there, it was being driven to comic stores by my friend’s dad to pore through bins and pick up whatever we could afford on our allowances. In later years, it was dropping in and hanging out with others who are just as passionate about comics as I am, debating who’d win in a fight between Batman and Spider-Man (Batman, naturally) and who’d be your perfect Justice League (Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Starman, Captain Marvel, Zatanna, Black Canary, Atom and Hawkman).

With more and more books available digitally, it’s making me wistful for the brick and mortar experience. I remember taking my wife to my local store for the first time to meet the owner and some of my friends; the owner was at our wedding. While it’s certainly easier to buy the issues online, it’s not nearly as exciting to take someone to a website instead of a shop.

When my wife and I travel, the first thing I do is find out where the closest comic store or stores are to our hotel. So far, we’ve hit shops in four states and were both sorely disappointed that we were unable to track one down during a trip to Scotland. There’s just something special about walking into a new store and getting to experience for the first time what the regulars experiences on a weekly basis.

I’ve read my fair share of digital issues, and you can’t beat them for the speed, convenience and storage reasons. However, nothing tops sitting in my big comfy chair with my cat purring away behind my head with a new issue in my hands. Call me a traditionalist, but I’ll be deeply saddened when the local comic store becomes a thing of the past.

However, when it happens, I’ll be right there with my Comixology membership, ready to keep supporting the industry I’ve loved for most of my life.