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Originally Posted by jocampo
Interesting comments.
I wonder how the electronic versions can replace the "collectible" feature of the pbook ones. You are not able sell your ebook Mangas on ebay, are you?  ... and some really old comics, in good conditions, sells for thousands ... |
I don't think that an electronic version will ever be as collectable as a printed version. There are few actions I can think of that can make an electronic version rare that would also make it attractive to all readers.
One of the main factors that has led to high prices is rarity. When I started collecting comics in the mid-1970s, if I missed an issue my only hope was to find someone with that issue who was willing to sell at a price that I could afford and was willing to pay.
Now many comics, including many older ones, are available in a collected form (such as a trade paperback). As an example, DC Comics recently began releasing a collection of trade paperbacks called "Showcase Presents" which features black-and-white reprints of comics devoted to a single character/group. While the original comic books might cost thousands of dollars to collect, the "Showcase Presents" collection usually costs less than 30 USD.
Added to this are many comics issued with multiple covers (the contents are the same, just the cover is different). As an example, with the miniseries "Identity Crisis" the first issue was released with four different covers, a different one for each printing. Also, many new comics are released with multiple covers at the start.
The above make reduce the rarity of many issues, and reduces the price that someone will pay for an original back issue. However, what the electronic version will do is make comics available to a wider audience. Mad Magazine released a CD-ROM that contains 100s of issues of Mad, making them available at an affordable price. Also, some publishers are making them available on-line for viewing.