Bootlegging comics

[The NZA]

Was meaning to get into this one a while back...in light of mysterytramp's assistance with bit torret (and thanks to him for that), I had to ask: is bootlegging comics the same as music or movies?

Think about it. These days, writers/artists already have to:

A) Print a chunk of their material, often the first few pages, on ther websits for preview, as well as run them in Wizard if they can. Darick Robertson's Wolverine # 1 was printed in its entirety in one issue (!).

B) Deal with the fact that, while Marvel is pushing them to write story arcs that fit into trade paperbacks in an attempt to cash in on the huge bookstore market Tokypop & the manga crowd are in on, that means their trades go into your local Borders, where many will read them once around the store & not necessarily purchase them. You dont really get to do that much with movies or music.

 

...and now, their entire works can be downloaded. On one hand, I dont think a majority of people are doing this. On the other, this is not a glam industry like movies or music, and some say people like me who tend to buy trades and not support the monthlies as much are making it more difficult to gauge success and deteremine what series make it into trades at all.

Our numbers are dwindling. The days of several hundred thousand comics being sold seem over; books breaking 50-70k are a huge "hit". Marvel - and to an extent, DC - stay alive with their merchandising and movie deals. But that doenst directly feed the writers & artists.

 

So: is it wrong to bootleg? Or, do you do this like i use kazaa: beta test different things and support the ones you find as quality with a purchase somewhere down the road?

 

[mysterytramp]

I do feel slightly guilty about downloading things like Transmet which is available in its entirety in TPB format, but its different when I download things like Hitman which has never been completed in the trades.

 

The only reason I downloaded Transmet was because I always heard good things about it and fancied reading it, because of this I'll probably keep an eye out for Warren Ellis releases in future. However, there are some things I just wont download (how noble of me ). For instance I wont download any Garth Ennis stuff because I'll always end up buying it anyway, same thing with Neil Gaiman, at the minute on Suprnova, Endless Nights is available to download but Im holding out till I get paid so I can buy it.

 

To answer your question, I still buy my monthly comics, by reading bootlegs I'm more likely to pick up stuff I dont normally read when I make my visits to the local comic shop.

[The NZA]

ok, ive gone through this with 2T a few times (to no avail)...here's how my fellow hondonians can download old/out of print books:

 

1) Read my first response in this thread, "Teach me how to use bittorrent".

 

2) Once youve got a BT client (preferably, Azureus, with java), go to ZCult FM's forum and register...shut up, its worth it

 

3) Once you're logged in, check Newest Submissions every couple days, see what's been uploaded. That, or just browse Tracker B and Tracker C (note: links to trackers might not work for you; you prolly need to be logged in, and follow the links from their forum, just scroll down & look).

 

4) Now, for newer scans, you want the DCP packs. New comics drop every wednesday (You knew that..), but the scans are ready by thursday night/friday morning. The best place to find them is search "DCP" at Pirate Bay, they keep the last 2 months or so there too. Dont worry; the site's not in english, but you can find your way.

 

There, i shouldnt put it out there any more than this. But ill tell you this: its mad addicting to download way more than you can actually read in a year or so. Take a look...

 

 

...and that's just what's on the drive, i keep a lot more on disc that ive gone through or yet to read. Anyway, there you go!