Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

Comic book file-sharing

Page: (1)2

Uatu.is.watching

01:57 / 05.08.03

A few weeks back, Lying in the Gutters mentioned something to the effect that one can find almost any comic in the history of time on these new fangled file sharing programs the kids seem to love so much. Apparently the fanboy nation has been scanning in their comic collections and trading them, much like their music stashes. I have the Soulseek, and I've been able to find a few comics here and there, but I'd really like to get my hands on some more of Peter David's Hulk. Are you folk engaging in this sorta thing? Are there any particular programs/services you know of where I can find some of this stuff? Will downloading comics from 10 (15?) years ago bring down the back issue industry? Inquiring minds want to know...

03:25 / 05.08.03

And what are ccb files and do I need a program to open them?

Dan Fish - @Fish1k

08:30 / 05.08.03

I downloaded DC++, but don't know what settings I need to enter to make it work. If anyone has any suggestions?

I would only download comics that either I cannot get hold of, or are priced ridiculously, so my habits do not add to the downfall of the industry. This is the same credo I apply to my website. Nothing compares to having the comics in your hands.

10:31 / 05.08.03

There are couple of Direct Connect hubs dedicated to comics.

Sadly I only found this out after buying the entire Invisibles series in trade paperback for over a hundred quid. I downloaded the whole lot over a weekend for free about a month later.

As far as I know the Hubs have rules stating time limitations on new comics being scanned and shared in order to minimise the impact on sales.

You can easily store the entirety of the Invisibles on one CD - which will theoreticaly last forever in its original condition.

I think CCB files are archived files - nearly all file-share comics are a series of scanned jpegs put into an archive file. I use a program called Comic Book Reader which presents the comics as full-screen eComics rather than a series of jpegs you have to open indidually. You just 'turn the page' using page down. It's great!

Originally I would only download stuff I'd already bought, but now I see it as my mission to preserve as many comics as I can in a digital format. And I like getting free stuff.

Uatu.is.watching

14:16 / 05.08.03

First of all, I'm really only looking to download stuff that's not currently collected. I do much prefer holding a comic in my handing to reading it onscreen, but I absolutely hate having to track down large runs of back issues, both in meat- and cyber-space.

I'm not sure about ccb files, but I have run across files with .cbz and .cbr extensions that can be read by a program that sounds like the one Troll is decribing. You can find it here:

http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay

14:25 / 05.08.03

... - but, isn't file sharing killing comics?

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

15:28 / 05.08.03

And aren't comics a pain in the ass on a computer page?

I have no problem with "file sharing" comics that aren't going to be available for purchase anytime soon, but I stick with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 way of doing things: If you can get them in a way that makes the people who do them money, get them that way.

For example:

For YEARS DC said that there wasn't enough interest to reprint the Jack Kirby Challengers of the Unknown - so a bunch fo fans photocopies their comics and sent them to people to sent to each other. However, when it was announced that DC WAS going to put out an Archive of them, I bought the archive and am giving the photocopies to people who might be interested at some point.

But the package of Every Jack Kirby Rawhide Kid story is probably not going to be put into print by Marvel...or the Black Knight stories by Joe Maneely, or the Horror stories by Buscema from the 50's.

People have been doing this sort fo thing with work out of copyright for a long time...in some ways, it might be the only way we can read some of the Golden (and now Silver) Age comics.

22:02 / 05.08.03

How many people read scans?

22:28 / 05.08.03

ok how about this then - DC have stated that they will not repront flex mentallo because of the ambigious nature of the settlement of the legal dispute surounding that character. The author grant morrison has asked for web based copies of the issue to be removed since he feels its one of his best works and he has not yet abandoned hope of it being collected/republished eventually.

so how ethical is it to publish this on the net?

00:30 / 06.08.03

It's kind of funny that the scan sharing of comics has been going on for a while now, BEFORE the filesharing programs. Newsgroups, people. When the last of the fileshares are dead, you will find newsgroups still kicking.

As to Flex, well... I would love to respect the creator's wishes, but if a friend asks me to see them, I'm not going to tell them to wait until the lawyers perhaps maybe sort it out. I will recommend that they hunt through the back bins, and will tease them with the first issue electronically. And if they show more interest and cannot find the back issues, and the lawyers still haven't worked it out, then I send all the zips. Besides, I don't know of one comic fan that actually likes reading scanned comics onscreen. Most of us would rather have the comic itself, and will pay for it, or bum it from a friend. I bought the originals, downloaded the (marvellous) scans, and will buy the trade, too.

02:49 / 06.08.03

I want to get the entire Invisibles series for download. I don´t have the money to buy it. I don´t have another choice.

Where can I dowload it?

(When I have the money I´m going to buy The Invisible´s issues that I missed).

Thank you!

08:44 / 07.08.03

It used to be easier to get comics a couple of years ago. There were websites that you could download them from. They all seemed to be gone now (File sharing programs are blocked by my server at work).

I mainly looked for things out of print. I managed to get all of a certain comic currently tied up in a legal mess. Still haven't read them yet since reading on screen is never as much fun. This will not stop me buying the trades if they ever become available.

Uatu.is.watching

23:21 / 07.08.03

Yeah, comics on the computer screen suck. I've downloaded some stuff this week, and the computer is certainly not an ideal delivery system.

At least I can say I've read Miracleman, now.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

05:28 / 08.08.03

Well, with this sort of thing, I have finally read Goodman Beaver Goes Playboy to see what all the fuss was about.

To hell with you, Archie Comics!

The story was OK, but it does show that Kirtzman was one of those guys who had about 10 years worth of good material in him, and by the time HELP started, he was pretty much used up. All the jokes are ones he had used before, except now, Elder could draw nipples and he could be more blunt with his humor (which is a downfall for a satirist.).

09:16 / 08.08.03

Speaking of out of print comics has anyone got scans of Near Myths 3 and 4 that stars Gideon Stargrave? There was a link on http://www.timemachinego.com back in 2000 but its dead now. Any help would be appreciated.

13:57 / 08.08.03

Does anyone here actually like, or even not mind, reading by screen?
(by this I'm referring to scanned pages; once-printed material; not web-comics, which are a whole different thread) Not that you can't print out, say, Flex Mentallo... but it seems few filesharers do that (I can't concieve of it, at any rate. What you'd pay for in printer ink would make even an exorbitantly priced back issue a real deal).
I mean, I've got a whole pile of comics online, but have read... three of them, and they're short ones. I still can't get through more than two pages of "The New Adventures of Hitler", just because of the screen.

Now translating the comics from the vertical page to the horizontal screen... that might alleviate the problem some. Serious Piracy, mind.

19:09 / 08.08.03

question: how many people on this thread consider themselves pirates yet do not advocate comic book file sharing.

i have considered myself a ninja up until i started downloading these things. i may mount a mast and sail on my computer and start limiting my vitamin c intake so i can develope a mild case of scurvy.

07:26 / 12.08.03

By rotating a scan by ninety degrees so that it's in a landscape ratio and then turning my Powerbook around so that I can actually hold it like a book - a very bulky one, but - I can read scanned comics pretty comfortably. I would never print them out, it would ruin me.

09:15 / 13.08.03

And some people would say that posting a load of links to pirated comics on a board visited by industry professionals is not a good idea. Doubt those links will be up long now.

13:34 / 13.08.03

Interesting point. I'll remove them.

00:06 / 10.03.04

hmm, could someone send those links (that have been taken down) to me please? I buy comics but lack the funds to even begin to learn about new things. Reading a few online helps me to establish my interests better. thanks

00:45 / 10.03.04

I've used the DC++ file-sharing program to great success... try connecting to the hubs with 'Anime' in the title to find users sharing comic files...

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

03:35 / 10.03.04

Hopefully, in the next few years, the bigger companies figure out a way to use the net to allow people to buy their older comics in a cheap way. I think it would be good for Marvel to put up the files for their essentials, and you can buy them as a download for $10, saving them money on printing, and getting their older material making them money.

But I don't know if anyone would be interested in doing it, since CrossGen is failing on a massive scale and they offered their books on-line for a small fee.

I also think it might be a project for the Grand Comics Database to start scanning and saving comics that have fallen into public domain, and allowing comics historians and fangeeks to read the older material

03:55 / 10.03.04

CHUBBY: try Dan Fish's link or NEAR MYTHS.

to everybody else, all I'm probably going to say is this: include the following in your favourite hub list: Name: Mega [or Wyld's Retreat] address: megaman.gotdns.com:411 . it usually does not require a minimum 2, 6Gs of shared comics like some others. include "newbie" in your profile justin case [so they don't kick you]; also in the profile leave 2 to 6 slots [of download to other people] open. don't share any porn files and you'll be good. yeah, they have a lot of rules.

file-sharing will not kill the Comics Industry: on the contrary, it'll help good stuff get better promotion, although indie comics scans are still hard to find [and squarebound GNs are even harder, for obvious reasons].

I've recently gone almost head to head online with a person [from the business, let's say] on a discussion over morality and ethics of comics file sharing and it has burned me out a little. so before calling those who do it thieves, terrorists, criminals, whatever, think for yourself: have you ever downloaded an mp3 file? do you really think p2p networks are destroying the Music and Film Industry? the same should apply to Comics.

do you know why we care more about the risks presented to the Comics Industry than others? because most of those who trade files over the net care about the authors and encourage people to open their wallets and support them. and that says a lot. you can call me naïve, ill-informed, whatever. and those are my two [and probably last] cents on the subject. I've had it up with hypocrisy. not from you guys here, but there you go.

13:32 / 10.03.04

I still read a few scans but I just buy the trades when they come out. I used to read a lot of them when I wasn't in the States and had no access to those comics. Now that I do, I really just buy the book if I'm fond of it. If I'm not, I don't even bother downloading it.

I give my complete support to the creators, musicians on the other hand I don't really, they're already too rich and I'm young and poor.

14:00 / 10.03.04

I want to get the entire Invisibles series for download. I don´t have the money to buy it. I don´t have another choice.

Where can I dowload it?

(When I have the money I´m going to buy The Invisible´s issues that I missed).

Thank you!

Yes, yes, yes.

I have no money, but i cannot stress how important it is to me that i read series 1 and 2 of The Invisibles. Can somebody please give me a link to a site that i can download from?

I'm buying them aswell but have not got 90 quid at the moment, i'm broke. I really need to read them for magical purposes.

I've read series 3 but i need to know how they got there. Especially the history of Jack Frost and how he became a part of that cell, what he went through etc.

Please, please help. I'll search around myself and might find them but just incase i don't......

14:27 / 10.03.04

Frost - that really is disgraceful. Downloading scans of rare, obscure stuff like Near Myths is one thing, but The Invisibles is still available. 3 seconds on Amazon finds you a second-hand copy of the ‘Say You Want A Revolution’ trade (which is what you should be reading next)for seven pounds, which is less than the cost of 2 packets of fags. Go out of the house and actually look in second-hand bookshops and I guarantee you’ll find a copy for less: there’s no shortage of second-hand trade paperbacks kicking around. And this is a volume that collects nine months’ worth of comic for you to slowly digest, you don’t need to download every last page, all at once.

Besides, it’s still in print. I know for a fact Hull Library has copies. And if not, they’ll order them for you, one after the other. You have no excuse for stealing these comics by downloading the whole series.

14:46 / 10.03.04

Invisibles at Ebay.co.uk, assuming most of you are in Ye Old Country.

at Ebay.com, in case you brits can handle the overseas postage.

at Amazon.co.uk and at Amazon.com.

there you go.

15:05 / 10.03.04

Besides, it’s still in print. I know for a fact Hull Library has copies. And if not, they’ll order them for you, one after the other. You have no excuse for stealing these comics by downloading the whole series.

Yeah, when you say stealing it makes me change my mind.

I never knew Hull Library had them though, you mean Central library? Wow. Whereabouts exactly are they in Central library? Ah forget it, i'm unistalling that dc++ file sharing thing and ringing the library up as soon as i've clicked post reply. I just can't wait to read those comics, i'm obsessed, and the only way i'll not be as obsessed is when i've read all of them.

Thanks for the advice Bedhead and sorry if i offended, i just have to get my hands on that stuff, it's like a drug.

15:14 / 10.03.04

Nah, i just rang Hull library and they don't have any copies. I'll maybe see about ordering it. I can't use e-bay either because i don't have a credit card and i'm in debt so i can't get one.

Why you have to have a major credit card to buy something off the net i don't know. It's stupid.

15:24 / 10.03.04

Get off your arse. Go into town. Speak to the librarian. They’ll order any book you want if you ask them nicely, even trade paperbacks.

And to be extra-helpful to them, write it down on a piece of paper: ‘The Invisibles: Say You Want A Revolution’, Grant Morrison, ISBN: 1852867213

15:35 / 10.03.04

Thanks Bedhead, it's 5:35pm here now but i'll get something sorted tommorrow.

15:45 / 10.03.04

You know, if file-sharing is illegal, you might as well go to a comics shop and steal the damn comics. It's a lot easier to read on paper than scanned.
Honestly, a CD is just 1 and 0 on a disc, a downloaded copy will be (even in crappy mp3 more or less the same). A comics is not, it's ink on paper.
I'd really like to hear what Cameron and the other comic book artists here think about this.
Myself, I found one of my books in a scanned format on the Overnet and I find it difficult to believe someone took some hours to scan the damn thing...

17:28 / 10.03.04

Reading them off the computer is nowhere near as enjoyable as reading the actual comics of course, but now I can travel with my Invisibles collection. There's something to be said for portability...

Murray Hamhandler

17:46 / 10.03.04

Personally, I feel that if a given comic book (or work from any medium) is not currently in print and no one is currently making money from sales of said work, it's up for sharing. Legally, that might be a bit sketchy, but I'd feel the same if the work in question were my own. I'd rather have the work disseminated in whatever form than unavailable altogether.

In print or new works are a horse of a different color. If someone (creators, publishers, distributors) is making money from it, it's ethically questionable whether you should be getting access to it for free. Do I do it? Yes, but generally (and this applies to comics and music) as a way of sampling something which I was previously unsure about. If it's good (and available), I'll often go out and buy it. If it's crap, I won't.

You could make an argument, I suppose, that file sharing hurts direct-market back issue sales, but I suppose that depends on how you feel about comics as a collector's market.

Page: (1)2