Comic Books on the Web

It was worth the walk and the 75 cents. Do you remember the feeling you had while walking to the comic book shop on New Comic Day? The feeling of excitement you got from holding the next chapter of your favorite super hero's life in your hands? Just having the comic in your possession gave you bragging rights.

Times have changed. Our society is a place where instant gratification is a present reality. If we want a song, we can search the Internet to download it for free. It is the same with comic books. We no longer have to take that walk on Wednesdays; we can just sit down at our computers. Just search for Spidey's and Superman's latest adventures on Limewire or Kazaa and you're sure to find some.

One reason that comic book piracy could be an option for consumers is due to the high cost of keeping up with the stories. A single comic can cost almost three dollars. With recent epics like DC's Infinite Crisis or Marvel's Civil War, fans have to shell out a pretty penny just to keep up.

Some think that the comic industry should embrace the idea of going to the net, or to at least give consumers the option. Rather than filing lawsuit after lawsuit, Bulent Yusuf, a London based freelance writer, thinks the industry should cut the piracy wave off by making comics available on the web. In his article called, "Understanding Piracy," he explains that selling comics on the web would save money on distribution, and savings could be passed to the reader. He also writes that the industry needs to go into "a new market out there in cyberspace, and perhaps even a new opportunity to reinvigorate the industry."

Some, like Amanda Moyer, believe that comic books are a medium made for the collector. Moyer runs The Comic Cafe in New Brunswick. "It's a specialized market," she said. "Very collector oriented. If it's on the computer, you can't actually hold it in your hand, and that's a big draw. We have a lot of collectors that buy our comics." Moyer isn't threatened by comic book piracy. "Piracy is for the casual reader. Downloading is for someone that doesn't care as much."