cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/27615437

I developed a love for graphic novels around ten years ago. Back then, I lined a bookshelf with volumes. Now my comics are digital, and I’m enjoying them even more.

Back then, there was a larger gap between a digital comic and a physical one due primarily to the LCD screens that most of us had. Our phones didn’t have the pixel density that they do now, and our tablets had even less. It was perfectly fine and enjoyable, but I’m not sure I would call the experience better than print.

Display technology has come a long way since then. This is apparent when comparing the original Nintendo Switch released in 2017 with the Nintendo Switch 2 launching later this year. Even though they both use LCD panels, the difference is night and day. The Switch 2’s LCD is even a big upgrade over the Switch OLED.

I now read comics on a pixel-dense 7.6-inch OLED screen. The colors pop more than they do on the physical page. The contrast ratio is striking. There’s no counting pixels.

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I only purchase DRM-free comics, buying from publishers that release their works without digital restrictions such as Image Comics, Iron Circus Comics, and Vault Comics.

Most of my collection has come though Humble Bundle. The site is usually offering at least one comic book bundle at any given moment in time. I purchase several bundles throughout the year, which each typically containing the entire run of multiple series.

This is an option that simply isn’t viable with physical books. Quite frankly, it would cost me hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to acquire physical copies of the comics I get for under $20 from Humble Bundle, if physical editions can still be found at all.

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In the US, if you have a library card, you can read many comics for even less—as in, for free—through Hoopla. I find that, at least for western comics, Hoopa tends to have what I’m looking for. I still buy comics anyway because I prefer to read them in a separate app, but I can only imagine how many comics I might have read if Hoopla were around back when I was a teenager.

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Besides, there’s no reason you can’t mix and match. Put physical copies of your favorites up on a shelf and carry all the rest with you when you leave the house.