What do you love most about comic books or graphic novels? The vivid illustrations? The gritty black and white lines that make action and emotion jump from the page? The ease of skimming the dialogue while experiencing the story through visuals?

Or do you love the smell of new comic pages, crisp and smooth? Perhaps that aged scent of a collector issue from years ago, that others have enjoyed before?

As digital graphic novels and comics become more and more common, is an important part of the book lost? Or is this just the evolution that makes comic books and graphic novels more accessible, and opens the door for even more creativity?

Online comic reading sites are popping up all over, and some are extremely popular.

Webtoons is a well-known example of a place to read comics online. Webtoons comics can be consumed in weekly issues as they are released by the creator, or in a complete series. And as the name suggests, Webtoons are all digital. 

The popularity of Webtoon comics would suggest that readers DO like digital stories. And many creators that are part of the indie community have told us how much they enjoy publishing on Webtoons.

Japan and South Korea account for over half of the world’s comic book sales. It is interesting to note that these two countries’ national market revenue stems from digital publishing.

What does that mean? The places where comic books are the most popular, digital publishing is also the most popular. Does this mean the future of comic publishing is digital? It certainly is strong evidence to support that idea.

Traditional publishing (physical comics and graphic novels) still remain in the lead, despite digital’s rising rates, except in Japan. Japan’s digital comic market increased $750 million last year alone. It is now a 3.1 billion dollar industry in Japan.

Digital comics are most popular amongst the NA readers (New Adult, or 18 - 30 year-olds)

The benefits are digital comics are obvious.

The cost to create a digital comic is lower, since printing costs are removed. 

The time it takes to publish a digital comic can also be shorter, since creators and publishers do not need to rely on a printer. 

And because there isn’t the added costs and time of printing, a digital comic can be more affordable for readers to purchase, and give the original creator more profits. These extra profits can be re-invested in the creation of future stories for the readers that are supporting these creators. A win-win.

Many creators will even allow you to read their comics for free online. This helps them reach more fans, and become more popular. By offering a simple PDF download or through an online comic book / graphic novel reader, the free online comic costs the creator nothing except the lost sale. (The money it costs to create a comic is covered in another post, if you are interested in what a creator invests in their book before you even get a glimpse of it).

Comics are both a great story to enjoy, and also a collectible item that appreciates in value.

For the casual reader, a digital comic or graphic novel is a great option. Particularly if you can read it in a fully immersive digital reader.

But for collectors, a digital comic can’t compare to a physical one. How can you collect something digital?

Right?

That is where the popularity of NFTs comes in. You may have heard of kids creating digital art and selling it for thousands of dollars online in a form called an NFT, or non fungible token. Basically, blockchain technology is used to turn digital items into collectible items that are verified, and can be resold online.

Want to know the basics of NFTs? Read about that here.

But will NFTs, or collectible digital items like art and comics fill the burning need to seek out those special copies and collect them?

That remains to be seen. 

We are preparing to offer NFTs on CryptoComics. We also are excited to offer a free online comic borrowing system, like a digital lending library for comic lovers. Currently, all books in the CryptoComics Marketplace are free to borrow.

The indie comic community that we’re so lucky to be part of has expressed excitement in anticipation of this blending of online comics and collectible art, comics, and graphic novels. 

What NFT marketplaces like CryptoComics are attempting to do is take the value of collecting a print comic and apply it to the growing market of digital comics. And while some are going the route of Christie’s Auction House, offering single high price NFT comics and art, we’re taking a different road. 

Our goal is to become the online version of your local comic book store. A place to browse, hang out with other comic lovers and creators, purchase new original stories by indie creators or buy age-old collectibles.

Some die-hard collectors will never accept an online comic in exchange for the value of a physical comic. 

But as younger generations are raised in settings where they read as many online graphic novels and books in their classrooms as they do physical books, online reading will become more accepted with each new generation.

And with the new ability to collect a digital comic or graphic novel, why waste the paper to get that comic printed?