Written by dgoldring on Thursday, November 15, 2007

As If Comic Books Could Get Any Geekier


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OK, it is confession time.  I am a comic book-aholic.  Comic books are like my heroin.  Oh sure, I am mostly reformed now.  Except for a brief time over the summer, I have been pretty much sticking with the 12 step program for well over 15 years now.  But really, when I walk past a comic book store, the smell of that special comic book paper wafting out the door…well, let’s just say I know what it must be like to be an alcoholic in a bar.

Well, Marvel comics is now determined to put an end to my long and (mostly) silent suffering.  Earlier this week, the comic book giant — and home to such legends as the X-Men, Spider Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and well…just way too many others to mention — announced they will start showcasing vintage issues of their classic comic books online.

According to an article on Yahoo:

The publisher is hoping fans will be intrigued enough about the origins of those characters to shell out $9.99 a month, or $4.99 monthly with a year-long commitment. For that price, they’ll be able to poke through, say, the first 100 issues of Stan Lee’s 1963 creation "Amazing Spider-Man" at their leisure, along with more recent titles like "House of M" and "Young Avengers." Comics can be viewed in several different formats, including frame-by-frame navigation.

While hardcore collectors might not be interested in this ephemeral version of their favorite titles, many readers will find this to be an ideal opportunity to learn more about the origins of their favorite superhero.  About 2500 comics were available at launch with 250 available at no charge. 

Check it out at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. 

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pedah
Nov 16, 2007

That’s cool, I’ve always had a thing for daredevil, he seemed plausible!


c1oudrs
Nov 16, 2007

VERY cool. However, my understanding is that it’ll be a non download service only. So your not buying the comics. Your buying the right to browse the comics for a limited time.

In other words, its like the one or two device drm schemes. With drm you are limited to the 3 to 4 year computer life. If Im correct and I hope I’m not, this takes drm one step further, limiting the buyer to no device for one year (i.e. internet browse only). No thanks. I’ll do without comics. And I’ll continue to support (and throw money) to Baen books for my electronic entertainment since they offer nondrm science fiction\fantasy and even support fair use.


dgoldring
Nov 16, 2007

c1oudrs,

Yup you are exactly right in your understanding. For the monthly fee, you can log into their site from anywhere and read the comics, however, you may not download them.

To me, as a junkie, this would be a great way to just catch up with characters I haven’t seen in years. But as a collector, nothing beats the feel of the comics in your hands.

Doug

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