I just saw this article on Newsarama and it got me thinking. The article in question details a panel held at last weekend’s San Diego Comic Con entitled “Future of the Comics Pamphlet” going into a discussion about the monthly single issues of comic books and how / if they’ll survive in the coming years.

I found this so intriguing because of my own habits. I don’t read any magazines or newspapers. I instead opt to read all my news online. I can’t however, read books online. There’s something about reading a book that I enjoy too much to give up for a digital image on a screen. Sure, with the advances in devices like the iphone, you could bring a copy of a book wherever you want, but it’s just not the same. I feel the same way with comic books. I love the trade paperbacks that I’ve picked up, but I can’t bring myself to wait for them to be released with the regular issues that I read. I need to go to the comic book shop every Wednesday for my weekly fix even though the single issues are harder to store and more of a pain in the ass to get through if I wanted to re-read them.

This just seems like odd behavior for me. I’ve moved so far away from the actual print of newspapers and magazines, not to mention CDs for music (opting instead for mp3s), but I can’t change my habits when it comes to comics. For me, comics reside in the same spot as DVDs. Sure, I could download them from places on the Internet, but I like having a physical copy in my hands. Maybe I just care about them more. I’ve never been a huge music or magazine person, but I’ve always loved comics and movies. I need to physically have them. I can’t bring myself to bootleg them.

So I guess when it comes down to it, even with the hassle of driving over to the comic shop, buying, storing and maintaining my comics, I still like having them around and I’d be sad if they went away. While trades provide me with the full story in one sitting, I like the serialized story that I get from a monthly comic even if it takes a few pages for me to remember exactly what’s going on.