At least three independents (Warp ie Elfquest), Foglio (Girl Genius), and Big Head Press (Roswell, Texas) allow you to either download or read their comics online and they make money. Furthermore there are now online comics that are as involved as anything Marvel and DC put out and they are viewable on line as well. If these guys can make money doing this why can't DC and Marvel?

given the price of comics these days, downloading is a viable alternative to having moths fly out of my wallet.that being said, i can say that most mainsteam comics these days leave me cold, and have for the last 15 years or so, and i actually download very little new books. still..let's face it---downloading is here to stay, and there's no stopping it.i'm not adverse to buying books from the shelves....there's nothing better than actually holding that book and turning the pages---but when i can buy groceries for the week with less than it would take to buy my comics, it's a no-brainer.

Yes, I download comics and I think it's ok because I buy about 60+ comics every month. I pretty much buy as many comics as I can afford, and if there is something I'm not sure about or can't afford otherwise than I will download. Considering the price of comics nowadays, especially the frivolous overpricing on cardstock covers and giant size issue that only have 20 pages of new stories and fill the rest with reprints (I'm looking at you Marvel) I think it's only fair that someone who spends a ton of money on comics every week to be able to read a few for free here and there.

where the hell do you download illegal comics? i mean, i drop alotta cheddar on the books i like and i would like to read other stuff without buying it.i dont think its that wrong. hell i send weed to pete through the mail, why cant i read a free comic?

Digital Comics = Virtual Unlimited AD space with Reduced overhead.

i agree.. reading digital comics is HAAARD... and yes is not right to d/l them but then again i buy over 30 issues a month... not counting TPB's. and i have downloaded some stuff to see if i like'em and then go buy some of'em.. though i cant stand the comic on screen.. its sucks its not that Andy said.. to hold the comic.. but i cant afford anymore :P and i want MORE, so everynow and then i download something new to see if i like it or not.

I have downloaded comics and I still do, however, it did get me into comics and I spend about 20 dollars a week. I would never have started buying Manhunter if I didn't accidently download it. Does everybody who downloads buy comics? Probably not, but Marvel and DC are getting 20 dollars from me every week because of it.

I basically agree with Alex. Until recently with the DC Showcase volumes where was I going to see reprints of Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane from the 1970s. Eventually the Showcase line might get to them, but they are available online right now. I read Scalped via online downloads and then bought the entire series in trades and floppies. I spend $30-50 a week and downloads have gotten me to the point where I buy less crap and more quality. Loads, Alex? Loads?

Do you guys really think the problem is people downloading copies of stuff they already bought? Come on. The problem is people NOT buying stuff. The excuse "I never would have bought it anyway" is silly. Guess what? If you don't want to buy it, you don't get to read it. That's the way things go. If you're enjoying it enough to read it, then you're robbing people of money. This isn't music. This isn't even movies though that isn't right either. This is an industry where books live or die by by 5-10,000 copies. Manhunter is a great example of a book that couldn't find an audience. It will probably be cancelled again. And piracy is enough to sway these things

Another great show. But is it my imagination or was the video quality lower in this episode?

Ooh, re-readable comics. 100 Bullets, for sure. Sandman, too. Also, IDENTITY CRISIS, go read it if you haven't. It's a muder mystery in the JL universe, brilliant writing. I didn't know you guys read off a teleprompter! Funniest episode yet, guys :D

If I can get a copy of Watchmen from the library or borrow it from a friend then I don’t see that much of a difference in downloading it. At the end of the day I buy 80% of the material I download anyway when I have the money. I do the same thing with music and anime. Downloading makes be spend more money because I am able to sample more material. The more I sample, the more I find things that I want to own. The more things I find that I want to own, the more I spend at the store.

I download comics all the time, As it is the only way för me to get them without paying HUGE amounts of money. You see, I do not live in the united states, and the only superhero comics that is available in this country (sweden) is Spider-man and X-men, and those have REALLY shitty translations.

there's another leland who watches pulp secret?! we have to battle to the death. i have downloaded comic books. i actually go into comics by downloading stuff like runaways, y: last man and ultimate spider-man. however, now i am at the comic shop every wednesday buying about 30 bucks worth of stuff. i say if you do download some stuff at least try and buy some of the stuff you've downloaded.

We've had some discussions about this in the forums, and I'll reprise my rationale here. I am a mail order customer and receive my books once a month. I have no qualms about downloading any of those issues I've paid for, particularly because big events like Secret Invasion and Trinity are horribly spoiled if I dont. If you've ever gone to a pirate site, like thepiratebay.org you'll see that better than 90% of the material available is really weird off the wall, completely unavailable by any other means or vintage unreprinted or collected books. Only a small percentage is new releases, or even Marvel and DC products. I think these sites do far more to benefit the industry than damage it, and until these companies decide to enter the 21st century and make their products purchasable online I say fuck 'em. Download whatever you want. All it takes is a Torrent downloader like Bittorrent, and a viewer like Comical that lets you view .cbr and .cbz files.

you suck all of you

I disagree heavily with alot of what happens in most comics. Same with manga, I ain't going to sugarcoat, I buy what I really like.

I drop $50 bucks monthly on comics, why shouldn't I have a digital copy on my lapot? Is that so wrong? I mean I am buying them. I've seen Marvel's DCU thingy and it's horrendous, I wouldn't even use it if it was free.

I'd have to place myself in the same camp as others: I download stuff I wouldn't buy anyways, and if I end up liking it, I go out and buy it. I support comics when I feel they are worth supporting. I have a hard time paying for something that I'll never want to read again.

Download comics is the best! I know dozens of people who stopped reading comics 10 years ago and then they stumbled into didjy comics and are now back in full swing. They buy there regular titles and download stuff they never would have bought anyway. For myself I have my pull list and I used to stand in the store and read comics that I wouldn't buy but now I can chillax at home and read the books I never would of bought anyway. The plus side of that is that I end up buying lots of book I would have never bought because of downloading. SO THERE!

i completely agree about the horrid art in war journal. i do buy my comics but i don't get all the ones i want and i usually want tons. how do you feel if you can't actually afford them? i have downloaded books that i wanted to read and a lot of the time end up buying them anyway if i like them. its always better to have a hard copy. thanks again for making me laugh

Good show! As always, lots of fun. Interesting discussion about downloading comics too. And I'm 100% with Pete on this one! Well, right up until "Reading is hard." But that was frickin' priceless!

Great FUNNY show, really enjoyed it. You guys haven't been that funny since Pete reviews that Radioactive Teenage Ninja Hamsters a while back.

Pete you are 100% correct. The art in War Journal is nearly unviewable. Everyone has weird bow legs, people are in unnatural poses, everyone has these bizarre super square chins and EVERYONE LOOKS THE SAME. In the first issue when Ian was killing people as the Punisher I had no idea that wasn't the Punisher until someone addressed him. He looks identical. Chaykin needs to get off this book pronto, this story would benefit so much from having anyone else on art. I almost dropped the book because of it, but the story is good.