Digital Comic Subscriptions Are Better Than Paper, Here’s Why

Comic books are awesome, but with the rise of Netflix-style comic (and manga) subscription services, things are better than ever for those of us who like to have lots of pictures in our books. In fact, I think it’s making physical paper comics the worse choice for most people, and here’s why.

I Want to Read, Not Collect

There are two major branches of the comic book hobby—reading and collecting. Almost everyone reads, but not everyone collects. Even for those who collect, it’s usually just certain specific books in a series they think might be worth something one day, or certain series they want to own for any reason at all.

In my case, I just want to read the stories. If that sounds like you, then subscription services like Marvel Unlimited or DC Universe Infinite are the perfect choice. You can start at a sensible spot in a series, even the very first issue of a comic that would sell for a fortune on paper, and then just read them in order. To me, this is much more useful than having a dozen long-boxes in the basement for stories that I’ll almost certainly only ever read once. Since I have no interest in “investing” in comic books, subscriptions just make that much more sense.

All Comics Are Accessible

These services give you access to a back catalog of comics that are simply unobtainable in physical form. They are either too expensive, were never sold in your country or region, or there just aren’t any copies left. Using subscription services, you get access to the pristine archival copies kept by the people who made the comics. Of course, no collection is perfect, so some issues will likely be missing, or not included for legal reasons, but by and large, subscribing to a comic book service puts that outlet’s entire history at your fingertips. Preserving those books for current and future generations, and solving the issue of dropping into comics decades after it all started.

Classic Comic Scans Look Incredible

This is going to vary from book to book, and from company to company, but at least for Marvel Unlimited, I have found the quality of even their oldest books to be astounding. Modern screens are great, and reading comics on my iPad’s mini-LED screen is a mind-blowing experience. Even if you found paper copies of these books, they’d most likely be in terrible condition, and they were printed to be intentionally disposable to begin with. I’d go as far as saying that these scans of pre-digital comics are the definitive way to experience them.

You Can Appreciate the Art More Than Ever

A great modern screen, high-quality scans, and the ability to pinch and zoom mean I can appreciate the art of comic books more than ever. Whether it’s classic comics from the Silver Age or the latest digital art issues, you can really see the details and artistry. Not everyone will agree, of course, but I’ve always found comic books to look rather dull on the page, and having a digital copy on a modern screen is the superior experience for me.

Next-Gen ePaper Might Be Even Better

While I prefer to read my digital Western comics on a regular screen, I like to read manga on my eReader, since they are mostly black and white anyway. Color ePaper is becoming more affordable and better at its job, so perhaps at some point in the future, large color eReaders may offer the best of both worlds. They still look rather washed out compared to a screen in my opinion, but perhaps some future version of the technology will give us the vibrancy and detail of cutting-edge LCDs or OLEDs, with the positive attributes of paper.