On the other hand at the end
of last year there was a drop
in ebook sales from the top 5
publishers in the UK of over
2% and there has since been
a 3% increase in the sale of
print books in the first quarter
of 2016. The market seems
to be settling down, now
that the novelty of ebooks
has begun to wane, and it
hasn’t been the death of print
that was predicted; many
people say that tangibility
is the key. Tactile feedback,
the holding of a book and
the turning of its pages is
important to many people.
Coupled with the aroma of
18 IGNIS
the print page; the ability to
flick through a book and be
captivated by phrases when
selecting from bookshops;
the pleasure derived by
many in the creation and
display of a library of your
own in your home; along
with the potential for them
to grow in value; there are
strong reasons for print to
hold its own. In the world of
comics, physical collections
remain important, despite
the convenience of access to
electronic collections (Marvel.
com for example offers access
to 17,000 comics through a
monthly subscription that is
only the price of a couple of
print copies).
The current world of digital
media is full of rapid changes
and many aspects of it can
and do help enhance other
media. Free mp3 downloads
come attached to some vinyl
purchases, ebooks now create
a more efficient way for books
to be printed on demand,
and as the video Welcome
to the digital age of comics
shows, it is revolutionising
the way we read and interact
with all forms of visual media,
including the retrieval of
information itself, which is now
so accessible in video format.