Scene - Blogs - Declutter with digital comics

Declutter with digital comics
Published: 12/27/2012 1:00 PM
Last Modified: 12/28/2012 1:52 PM

So if you're a pretty big geek like me, you have boxes and drawers full of comic issues. Some vintage, some new. However as we accumulate greater amounts of these issues, finding space can be a real pain. Most of the time we end up putting these prized possessions in storage boxes and tuck them away in garages and closets.

I create a weekly webcomic, so I tend to need comic issues a lot for reference. That creates a bit of clutter and I can never seem to find the right issue.

Whether you're an avid collector or an illustrator, the piles of comics seem to just get higher and higher.

So is there a solution?

Digital decluttering

Digital comics has gained enormous popularity in recent years with the ease of access to comic company's direct line of products. Websites like Comixology allow you to read indie comics as well as those from the big two. In many ways, people have access to comics that they just wouldn't have had before. This is great news for people who live in small or secluded towns with no access to comic book shops.

College comic daze

When I was in college, I lived in a city with only two tiny comic book stores, and both had very few issues that I was interested in, so I had to resort to buying the issues on eBay or going to Baton Rouge (an hour away) to buy the issues at larger comic stores there. Had I access to these digital comics, I wouldn't have had to make such big trips for a single issue.

(That said, I want to encourage you to continue to support local comic book stores. I go to local stores often, because I'd rather support local stores than buy from Amazon, eBay, or online, if I can help it.)

Types of digital comics available

Marvel has offered a unlimited digital comic viewing as part of a monthly subscription, and now has a substantial number of issues and titles that make subscriptions wholly worth while.

Marvel's subscription service is about $10 per month (or you can pay for a year up front for about $60), but it gives you unlimited access to every digitized issue they carry (which is about 10,000 so far). Their comic reader works on desktop, and they've announced plans for mobile and tablet MDCU viewing soon. You can still view comics you've purchased through their store on mobile and digital platforms. DC Comics and Image comics offer similar digital comic services.

Even though I still go to local comic shops to buy the foil-wrapped X-Men and Generation X comics as well as clear out their racks from toys and games, I have begun to buy more digital comics and it has reduced my clutter enormously.

I definitely recommend checking these services out to help with the mile-high comic problems as well as giving you a full-screen view of some of your favorite titles.

Do you have a topic you would like the Prairie Nerds to address? Let us know at PrairieNerds@tulsaworld.com

Written by
Michael Dambold
Scene Writer

Reader Comments

Show: Newest First

Learn About Our Comment Policy

To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.

To sign in to your account, go to tulsaworld.com/signin.
To activate your print subscription for unlimited digital access and to post comments, go to tulsaworld.com/activate.
To purchase a subscription, go to tulsaworld.com/subscribe.

Prairie Nerds

FOLLOW US

@prairienerds

Matt Clayton floats between being a nerd, geek or a dork. Has an extensive collection of toys, comics and video games that would make any adult feel ashamed to call themselves a parent. Unlike most nerds, he does enjoy sports, but his favorite sport is soccer, so that really doesn't count as a sport anyway. Can quote "Clerks" at the drop of a hat and owns a soft-coated Wheaten Terrier named Will Wheaton. And no, Ewoks could not have possibly taken down the Empire with just sticks and rocks.

Nerd strengths: Zombies, Star Wars, Video games, Game of Thrones, Tech, cars, British soccer.

Micah Choquette is a self-proclaimed web geek who generally despises the term "nerd." He can hold his own in a conversation about comics or movies with the other Prairie Nerds, but his heart belongs to the internet and his soul was sold long ago to Apple. He routinely follows many of the design and development gurus of the day, soaking in their ideas and putting them to work for the 'World. He's also an avid user and abuser of Social Media, and can be found on Twitter, Facebook and yes, even Google+.

Nerd Strengths: Apple, Coffee, Google, Coffee, Code, Coffee. In that order.

Anna Codutti has been a card-carrying nerd since high school and the beloved academic team. Now merely a pub-trivia ringer, her refined nerd tastes have focused on Buffy (yep, she's still going!), Doctor Who and anything Felicia Day does. Her childhood crush was "TNG's" Wesley Crusher, but now she wants to marry "The Big Bang Theory's" evil Wil Wheaton.

Nerd Strengths: Music blog snobbery, tabletop/party game dominance, and ability to read supernatural young adult novels at lightning speed.

Michael Dambold is a comic fanatic who has been reading Marvel Comics since he was 11. He's read almost every X-Title book in existence. He thinks Jean Grey needs to stay dead. He also has an obsession with Star Trek, Stargate and MST3k. He's a literary nerd, obsessed with works by Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Jules Verne.

Nerd strengths: Coffee chugging, X-Men & Marvel Comics, Star Trek, Stargate, X-Files, paranormal mysteries (Bigfoot, etc.), classic sci-fi TV, movies and books.

Chris Moore is not ashamed to be called a Geek. It is who he is first and foremost. While some out there hide from others that they play video games, he proudly displays his love and knowledge of the pastime. He hopes one day to have a collection of games which rivals that of a city library. To this day one of his greatest moments is that he was able to watch and record the original three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies by sheer luck.

Nerd strengths: Video games and TV.

Jason Powers is the resident geek dad. He is trying hard to raise his kids to be smart, thoughtful nerds just like his Dad raised him. He was brought up on a steady diet of Doctor Who, JRR Tolkien, Douglass Adams, Sherlock Holmes, Vertigo Comics and vintage pulp noir novels. He's been watching shows made by the BBC for so long, he sometimes has a hard time grasping American television. He still enjoys Legos a great deal.

Nerd strengths: British Science Fiction, Star Wars, Sherlock Holmes, X-files, Coffee, Zombies, Space.

James Royal can tell you what Kirby crackle is. His favorite X-Man is Nightcrawler. He owns more than two dozen Star Wars novels. He knows how much damage a magic missile does. His favorite T-shirt features the insignia of Cobra, the ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. He liked the Walking Dead before the Walking Dead was cool.

Nerd strengths: Comic books (especially Marvel), movies, Star Wars, fantasy novels, pro wrestling (does that count), 1980s cartoons and television shows, video games.

Subscribe to this blog

Your bookmark will appear on your Profile page. Please give it a title, and short description so that visitors to your page will understand where the bookmark leads.
Bookmark Title :

Bookmark Text :