As the technological world continues advancing, many things in the world are forced to accommodate or risk being phased out of existence. One of the things at risk of experiencing this is the comic book. Originally printed on pulp paper in the 1930’s, comic books have become an internet and app sensation with databases such as Comixology or Marvel and DC comics on iTunes and the Google Play Store. While the comic book industry is making every move to continue advancing with the rest of the world, there are still a lot of elements lost when reading a comic book digitally as opposed to physically.
Comic books have a unique way of allowing readers to be at every point in time with their characters. Because a scene unfolds over the course of panels upon a page, readers can quickly glance forward or backward, giving them complete control over their knowledge of the past, present, and future of the story. This is a unique element that is lost when reading online. Most comic apps and databases break comics down to individual panels, forcing readers to swipe left or right if they want to progress or digress into the story. Although this may not seem like a big deal, it decreases the reader’s relationship with the story they are reading immensely because they must make the swiping motion so often. Although turning the leaf of a comic book may also take a reader out of “story mode” it does not happen nearly as frequently as moving from panel to panel (especially when some pages can have 8 or 12 panels!).
Although comics are made typically out of imagination, the digital world takes away from the reality of the comic books. As readers, we delve our souls into the stories we love, and we go so far as imagining we are a part of the story as well, even if it is only while we are reading. Physically having the copy in hand allows for that sense of realism to continue to be at play, while a digital copy simply reminds readers that everything they are reading is fiction. Superheroes and comic book stories, in general, tend to be much more entertaining when you can imagine Batman just a few towns over in Gotham saving the city from the Penguin or the Joker.
Finally, having a collection of any sort instills a sense of pride in the beholder. While, yes, technically you can have a collection of comic books online, it does not do the same kind of justice as filling up a book shelf with the titles you love. Any time you are feeling nostalgic or sad or even happy, you could easily glance up and see the wall of familiar stories ready to comfort you without the blaring lights of a computer screen reminding you that the technologies of the world are slowly turning us into cold, unfeeling robots as well. Comic books and the stories they tell function more than on the level of story-telling. It becomes a lifestyle and a friend; while the world may like to entertain the idea that technology makes things convenient for us, there’s nothing convenient about losing an art form as unique as the art of reading a comic book.
