I’ve been getting back into comics lately thanks to James Sime over at Isotope Comics in Hayes Valley (who, by the way, is going to be speaking at the upcoming Web2Open).
Presently, I’m really digging New Universal, Elephantmen, Eternals and Planetary, so when James told me about the Vertigo classic first issue downloads, I had to go check’em out.
Notable from the list are The Invisibles: Say You Want a Revolution, Death: the High Cost of Living, Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street, Preacher Vol 1: Gone to Texas, though the whole list is really quite good.
I also checked out some desktop comic viewers — basically alternatives to Preview (on the Mac). I like SimpleComic (pictured above and free and open source) but ComicBookLover is also worth a look (though pricier at $24.95).
Though the idea of reading comics on the desktop is appealing, like most physical media trying to go digital, I agree with James that something is definitely lost in the translation. Still, think of these downloads as the equivalent of 30-second iTunes previews and then go patronize your local comic store!
Factory Joe 