[Groop] Groo On CD

[Mo orst]

>But I cannot imagine sitting and staring and a computer screen reading 
>comics.  There is something to be said with the comic in your hand, the 
>smell, the paper, the ads, the previews for the companies other comic 
>books, and last, but not least, supporting your creators.

I agree with your sentiment, but I also spend an immense amount of time on 
the computer, and would find it very useful to have Groo available on disc 
for reading. Personally, I see a boon in this whole phenominon for the Groo 
Crew. At $10 - $20 bucks a pop they could make a lot of money from people 
who already have the comics (who would buy them anyway) and new fans who 
don't have the funds to go back and buy all the old issues. This would 
create a perpetual market for new fans as the new format facilitates 
interest and availability. Heck, I'd even spend $29.95.

The real magic will always be in owning actual comics, so there's no telling 
how the markets would affect eachother. Purchasers of the cd-roms may become 
even more driven to own the available artifacts of history. But the best 
part would be the fact that new people would have access to Groo, and the 
funds exchanged would have a more viable chance of finding their way to the 
creators.

This would undoubtedly affect the sale of forthcoming trades, but the new 
perpetual market would offset it. And the trades could continue being 
released for collectors, like myself, who I suspect comprise the bulk of 
that market anyway. The old school desire for something solid and 
traditional, like a real comic book or a trade, will never really go away in 
my opinion. Comics aren't really dying off, they're just settling into a 
smaller market... but there will always be interest in them. Just not as 
much as there was in their heyday.

The best way to undermine bootleggers is to offer a quality, afordable 
product in in lieu of their sterile, second rate bastardized product. This 
is why, despite bootlegging, you will always find a tangible, official copy 
of Radiohead albums in people's collections. The packaging and artistic 
choices (album art work, linear notes, Etc.) of the creators are preferable 
and essential to the experience.

>Not to mention that it is incredibly tacky to ask your favorite creator to 
>autograph the bootleg CD >ROM with your favorite issue on it.

Which is exactly why real fans will continue to buy real comics.