Hump Day Surprise #2!

Or, A Couple of Thoughts about Comics

For those who don't know, I'm a pretty big comic fan. I used to be one of those novel readers who snubbed comics, deriding them for not being worth reading.

How wrong I was.

Comics are awesome. Sure, there are some that are little more than an excuse for superheroes to beat up on one another but there are others with real depth, character motivation, fantastic art, and a plot every bit as exciting as something you’ll find in a novel.

That said, here's today's thoughts about comics.

Thought numero uno

I recently read this article talking about digital comics distribution. I have always thought that if any printed media had a real shot at making it big in a digital world, it was comics. It seems like the big comics makers think so too. Both DC and Marvel embraced digital distribution long before most traditional publishers.  Today, you can get digital subscriptions to comics and read them right on your computer.

But why would I want to do that? I don't want to do that anymore than I want to read a novel on my computer.

Comics, IMHO, were made for something like the iPad. The day I can get a digital subscription of The Gunslinger, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Powers, or anything that Brian Michael Bendis writes is the day that I'm one step closer to handing a chunk of cash to Apple.

Thought numero two-o

I want to give a big shout out to Things from Another World.  TFAW is where I get all of my comics. Yes, I know I should support a local comics shop, but I live way out in the burbs and while Minneapolis does have some fantastic comic shops none of them are even remotely convenient for me. So, I buy online.

Recently, I had a problem with my order. I e-mailed TFAW asking them to send out the correct comic with my next shipment. But no, that wasn't good enough for them. They are immediately shipping the correct comic, at no cost to me.  Pretty nice. Almost like they were my local comics shop.