Up in the cloud

Age of the Geek Column: So a few weeks ago I wrote about DC Universe, one of the latest online subscription services to join the increasingly crowded market.
Having binge watched the bulk of their live action and animated content within the span of my week long free trial, I pondered whether or not I should keep the service active or let it lapse.
Spoiler alert: I didn't let it lapse.
Instead, I found something else in the service that enticed me into sticking around for a while. It turns out that DC also makes comic books.
I know! Who knew, right?
I've never been much of a DC reader. While I've thoroughly enjoyed the various adaptations of DC stories, particularly their animated offerings, as a comic book reader my loyalties have always been with Marvel over their distinguished competition. Outside of the occasional run collected in trade paperback (Chuck Dixon's "Nightwing" and Gail Simone's "Secret Six" are personal favorites) DC comics just aren't something I've ever regularly invested myself in.
Oh sure, I've kept tabs on the various going ons of the fictional universe, it's impossible not to if you regularly consume comic book news, but it's generally been through second-hand accounts. I can recite from memory the fictional histories of a healthy chunk of DC characters having rarely, if ever, habitually reading the books they are featured in.
Until now.
While the major selling point of DC Universe is its exclusive live-action and animated content, the service also offers a robust collection of digital comics from the Golden Age all the way to recent releases. There's a 12-month lag between the latest physical comic book and its digital counterpart, but being a year behind isn't a huge deal in the era of decompressed stories. Having long ago dropped the monthly book habit in favor of trade paperbacks, and then dropping even those with rare exception, I've come to terms with the fact that I will perpetually be out-of-date when it comes to super hero stories.
Not that I've been reading many super hero books these days anyway. While I maintain a subscription to Marvel Unlimited, the Marvel counterpart to DC Universe, there hasn't been much to get excited about in recent years. The House of Ideas has devolved into The House of Running One or Two Ideas Into The Ground.
But, with DC Universe, I've got a whole new cache of stories, both classic and modern, to explore and enjoy. The comic book side of the service isn't as feature rich as their Marvel Unlimited, particularly regarding the ability to search and sort the myriad of different titles, but it works well enough if you know what you're looking for.
So now I'm reading DC comics. Not just select storylines or specific characters, but everything. From the trinity of "Superman," "Batman," and "Wonder Woman," to characters I've never really followed. Because why not? They're there to be read and as long as I'm keeping this subscription around I may as well get my money's worth.
I understand writing this probably makes my friends in the comic shop business sad and/or mad. Services like Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe offer largely the same experience as physical books for a fraction of the cost. Once upon a time you would need to either dig through back-issue catalogues or buy a physical trade paperback in order to read "The Death and Return of Superman" storyline. I used to spend about $20 a week on comic books and trade paperbacks, most of which I've only read once.
Comic books aren't the collector's items they used to be. Every copy of the first issue of "Amazing Spider-Man" from 1963 is a literal treasure worth thousands of dollars. The first issue of "Amazing Spider-Man" after its fourth relaunch last year will never put anybody through college when they find it in their grandparent's attic decades from now.
If you aren't so invested in the medium that you absolutely need to stay current with the latest story developments, there is little reason to stick with physical releases.
I still don't know that I'll stick with DC Universe in perpetuity, but for now I'm definitely getting bang for my buck.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and highly recommends getting a subscription to this fine physical publication.