The Whole Scans_Daily Thing

Posted by Brian! | Published on March 1, 2009

So, in case you were living under a rock, Scans_Daily was a LiveJournal community where users would post pages from comic books. Sometimes they were new releases, sometimes they were older books, sometimes they were out of print books. Sometimes it was just a page or two, sometimes it was a lot of pages. Sometimes the intent was to share favorite titles, creators, characters, or moments with other users in the hopes of spreading interest in those titles, etc.; sometimes it was to mock them.

And it was shut down.

I happen to have spent the last eight years at a weird intersection of copyright law, intellectual property, fair use, and profit,. So, I’m going to talk about this for a little bit.

First of all, unless you are a lawyer specializing in copyright and IP law, there’s a 95% chance that most of what you know about copyright is wrong. Don’t feel bad, many companies have spent many millions of dollars for the better part of a century to inculcate their idea of copyright into the public consciousness, and that happens to be the version that you’re always seeing on the news. And, big surprise, their idea of copyright is the antithesis of what it’s meant to do.

The short version of what copyright is meant to do: The purpose of a copyright is to 1) protect creative works so that their authors are able to profit from them for 2) a limited time. The first part exists so a segment of the population is encouraged to create things for the benefit of the rest of their society. “Entertainment” is the most obvious example of this “benefit”, whether it be comics or music or whatever, but the general idea is that culture as a whole is improved if there are people dedicated to constantly adding to it. The second part exists to encourage authors to continue creating because their right to profit from a particular work will eventually run out. Again, the idea is that a culture is improved if there are people dedicated to constantly adding to it. This doesn’t mean “adding to it once…80 years ago.” Additionally, the temporary nature of the original author’s right to profit from a work is meant to allow new authors to reinterpret older material for a new generation. That’s not an inference, it’s intent. The main concern when first drafting copyright law was to balance an author’s right to profit so he would create with the society’s right to access that material so new authors could profit from re-invention. This is how you keep a culture growing and thriving.

To put the above more concisely: the way copyright law is meant to work necessarily includes the original author’s rights lapsing so that new authors may play with their works.

Now, this doesn’t have much to do with the Scans_Daily in particular, but I imagine there’s at least a few of folks out there for whom the above is completely at odds with their understanding of copyright as a black and white concept meant to prohibit others from ever toying with a given work, so it should highlight just what a parody copyright law (the its perception) has become since Disney figured out that Walt had died.

Regarding Scans_Daily: it was absolutely within Marvel’s rights, or the rights of any publisher with material posted at Scans_Daily, to take action against LiveJournal. That doesn’t mean it was smart, but it was their right to do so. Getting angry at them for exercising their rights and, from their perspective, protecting their property is just stupid.

I imagine the concern is that people will not go out to buy comics if they are able to read “the important parts” for free online. I’ll be as favorable as I can and just say this is naive.

If you know enough about comics to visit Scans_Daily, then you know enough about comics to know that every title, needs every sale it can get — especially the mid-list and indie books that made up the bulk of S_D’s posts. Therefore, if you discover a title that appeals to you, you will seek it out and support it when previously it’d have gone completely under your radar. People who read comics love comics. No one goes out of his or her way to not buy a title he or she enjoys. There is not a single comics reader alive who will read a few pages, have their minds blown by how much they love them, and then say, “I can’t wait to not buy that!” We know titles need our dollars, therefore any service that helps us to make informed decisions about how to best spend our dollars on the titles we most love is beneficial to readers and publishers.

Now, as Peter David asserts, this is anecdotal evidence made all the more dubious when one considers the overall decline in comics sales in the last five years. I’m not sure it’s a “decline” if 2008 sold more than 2007 sold more than 2006 and so on. I suppose we can note that the rate of increase has decreased in the last few years, but that’s not quite the same thing. And in any case, Mr. David also asserts that we can’t tie the “decline” to Scans_Daily or increased DVD sales or video games or neutrinos puncturing the Earth — we just don’t have the data to make informed claims whether something like Scans_Daily affects sales at all.

Maybe we don’t have the data, but I think we can make informed inferences. They do this all the time in science, so why can’t we? Hell, it took them over fifty years to experimentally confirm relativity: until then it was just inferred from other observations.

Mr. David asserts that Scans_Daily can only hurt sales of comic books because no one has to buy a comic with pages posted to Scans_Daily. All you have to do is go online, read a few pages for free, and you’re able to “keep up” with your favorite titles without having to pay for them. This is a gross misunderstanding of how comics fans think, but let’s assume that it makes sense for people to do this.

Parts of a work would be posted at Scans_Daily primarily to convince other users that the full product was worth supporting by making available a piece of the whole for free. Think of Apple’s Movie Trailers if they occasionally posted trailers for classics and stinkers from bygone eras. And while it’s true that a movie trailer may turn you away from going to see a movie, the purpose of a trailer is to convince you to see a movie using pieces of a whole. Do you really think anyone watched the Iron Man trailer and said “Ah-ha! Now I don’t need to see the movie, joke’s on you Marvel! Ahahahahaha!”

Yeah, no.

One could counter the comparison by saying that a single page represents a far greater portion of the whole issue than a trailer represents of a whole movie. And since most Scans_Daily posts included multiple pages, well, I don’t know of many trailers that last thirty minutes! And that’d be a right nice counter if we ignore the on-going nature of comic books. It’s not posting, say, 5 pages out of 22. It’s posting 5 pages out of many hundreds or thousands. So, I’ll stand by the trailer comparison, thanks. Scans_Daily was as harmful as watching the coming attractions at the theater. Hell, starting with Vol 3, I was going to start posting pages of every issue at S_D to promote the title.

All the talk about S_D is ultimately pointless anyway. It’s Marvel company policy to enforce its copyright and they certainly weren’t in the wrong to do so here. I’ll even go so far as to say Marvel’s legal team wasn’t being myopic and heavy handed in their dealings with LiveJournal over Scans_Daily. But only because I’m (perhaps unrealistically) hopeful that someone over at Marvel has brains enough to be setting up their own robust and comprehensive paid online distribution system* for back issues (or at least out of print material), so it’s in their own best interests to make sure that when you think Marvel Comics Online, you do not think about LiveJournal.com.

Besides, do you really think there isn’t a replacement already up and running? Really?

*A much better one than the half-assed system they currently have, I mean.

Posted in comics, nonsense | 54 Comments

http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

I had a whole big thing that I wrote out, but I kinda lost the plot about halfway through, so I killed it. I will say though, and please forgive me if I'm missing something as while I was familiar I have never downloaded a comic, that it is my understanding of copyright law that they HAVE to defend their copyrights or else risk losing them.

Isn't it possible that they know full well that for every site they knock down, there will be two that take its place? How long was Scans Daily around before it got killed? But they're fairly well known, which means they make for a higher profile target. And now as far as any judge is concerned, they have acted to defend their copyrights, all the while leaving most of the internet able to spread the word about their comics like only the internet can.

I am, however, probably being completely naive.

I do have to admit that I've been toying with the idea of scanning my full run of Miracleman and putting it on my site for people to read for free just because it's awesome. I mean, who's gonna sue me? They can't even figure out who owns the damn thing.
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

I had a whole big thing that I wrote out, but I kinda lost the plot about halfway through, so I killed it. I will say though, and please forgive me if I'm missing something as while I was familiar I have never downloaded a comic, that it is my understanding of copyright law that they HAVE to defend their copyrights or else risk losing them.

Isn't it possible that they know full well that for every site they knock down, there will be two that take its place? How long was Scans Daily around before it got killed? But they're fairly well known, which means they make for a higher profile target. And now as far as any judge is concerned, they have acted to defend their copyrights, all the while leaving most of the internet able to spread the word about their comics like only the internet can.

I am, however, probably being completely naive.

I do have to admit that I've been toying with the idea of scanning my full run of Miracleman and putting it on my site for people to read for free just because it's awesome. I mean, who's gonna sue me? They can't even figure out who owns the damn thing.
http://www.nuklearpower.com Brian!

Yeah, they absolutely have to defend their copyrights in basically harmless cases like this so they can continue to defend them should a serious offense crop up in the future. It's nuts.

And whether or not S_D, or websites like it, had an overall positive or negative effect on sales, it was technically illegal to share the material and Marvel (or whomever) was completely within their rights to have the whole operation shut down.

But I'm also of the opinion that giving away some material for free is a terrific commercial. Then again, I've made a living off of giving away my own comics for nearly a decade and I can see how it'd be a terrifying prospect to a publisher.
http://intensedebate.com/people/bclevinger bclevinger

Yeah, they absolutely have to defend their copyrights in basically harmless cases like this so they can continue to defend them should a serious offense crop up in the future. It's nuts.

And whether or not S_D, or websites like it, had an overall positive or negative effect on sales, it was technically illegal to share the material and Marvel (or whomever) was completely within their rights to have the whole operation shut down.

But I'm also of the opinion that giving away some material for free is a terrific commercial. Then again, I've made a living off of giving away my own comics for nearly a decade and I can see how it'd be a terrifying prospect to a publisher.
http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

Then it seems to me like it's "adapt or die" time for the publishers. Diamond's recent change is going to bring digital distribution along sooner rather than later. Yes, this will first be with the guys who are too small to hit the big numbers, but as this becomes easier and more convenient…especially as print on demand becomes part of the deal, it will grow. Eventually, it'll overtake the big guys too.

I do think that the idea of a comic book trailer is a good one. Such a good idea, in fact, that somebody came up with a site to do just that awhile back…check it out: http://comicbooktrailers.com/

Talk about being ahead of the curve.

(full disclosure: I've been friends with these guys for years…they're cool guys!)
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

Then it seems to me like it's "adapt or die" time for the publishers. Diamond's recent change is going to bring digital distribution along sooner rather than later. Yes, this will first be with the guys who are too small to hit the big numbers, but as this becomes easier and more convenient…especially as print on demand becomes part of the deal, it will grow. Eventually, it'll overtake the big guys too.

I do think that the idea of a comic book trailer is a good one. Such a good idea, in fact, that somebody came up with a site to do just that awhile back…check it out: http://comicbooktrailers.com/

Talk about being ahead of the curve.

(full disclosure: I've been friends with these guys for years…they're cool guys!)
http://nextbatmanbadguy.blogspot.com/ Mecha-Shiva

I can't count the number of bands, tv shows, comics, etc, that I've discovered through some form of copyright infringement, which I've enjoyed, gone out and purchased, lent to friends, resulting in others purchasing it as well. But while I know that works just fine for a smaller market, one that needs word of mouth to make people aware of it, I don't think a mass-appeal, probably higher-budget product is going to spread as well that way. Cause, like, my friends already know about Spider-Man anyway, so I might not get the same pointless sense of pride for finding this thing that I think is cool and turning others on to it as well. So Marvel would rather just control access to their product.

I just really wish they would improve their online presence. I was excited that they made an initial effort but it's pretty lacking. They don't seem to offer much of anything that isn't already in trade, and, at least from looking at their site, they've never indicated that you'd get complete storylines. So it seems like you're paying a subscription fee to see if you want to buy the trades (which would be fine, I guess, if the subscription service was paired with an online retailer that gave you a discount on the trade… that's the business model I'd want as a consumer anyway, since while I'm fine reading digital comics, I always want a hard copy of the stuff I really like).
http://nextbatmanbadguy.blogspot.com Mecha-Shiva

I can't count the number of bands, tv shows, comics, etc, that I've discovered through some form of copyright infringement, which I've enjoyed, gone out and purchased, lent to friends, resulting in others purchasing it as well. But while I know that works just fine for a smaller market, one that needs word of mouth to make people aware of it, I don't think a mass-appeal, probably higher-budget product is going to spread as well that way. Cause, like, my friends already know about Spider-Man anyway, so I might not get the same pointless sense of pride for finding this thing that I think is cool and turning others on to it as well. So Marvel would rather just control access to their product.

I just really wish they would improve their online presence. I was excited that they made an initial effort but it's pretty lacking. They don't seem to offer much of anything that isn't already in trade, and, at least from looking at their site, they've never indicated that you'd get complete storylines. So it seems like you're paying a subscription fee to see if you want to buy the trades (which would be fine, I guess, if the subscription service was paired with an online retailer that gave you a discount on the trade… that's the business model I'd want as a consumer anyway, since while I'm fine reading digital comics, I always want a hard copy of the stuff I really like).
Josh B.

The Copyright thing has spread into commisions as well. Most of the time, Marvel and DC turn a blind eye to creators essentially profiting from their characters by selling new art of them so that they can stay on good terms with the art community, but does anybody remember that charity that was asked not to sell a Superman piece because DC hadn't been informed? It was to set precedent, I think, they protected it there to show that they will protect their characters. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I totally understand why DC had to do it, but Superman is a cultural icon and to think that a charity could have benefited from the character's use, only to be shut down is disparaging.

And Mike, let me know if you pull the Miracleman schtick. I've got #3, 4, 5 and 17, and I can't get the rest 'cause they're so damn expensive!
Josh B.

The Copyright thing has spread into commisions as well. Most of the time, Marvel and DC turn a blind eye to creators essentially profiting from their characters by selling new art of them so that they can stay on good terms with the art community, but does anybody remember that charity that was asked not to sell a Superman piece because DC hadn't been informed? It was to set precedent, I think, they protected it there to show that they will protect their characters. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I totally understand why DC had to do it, but Superman is a cultural icon and to think that a charity could have benefited from the character's use, only to be shut down is disparaging.

And Mike, let me know if you pull the Miracleman schtick. I've got #3, 4, 5 and 17, and I can't get the rest 'cause they're so damn expensive!
Anonymous

You're thinking of trademark, not copyright.

And wouldn't S_D fall under the "commentary" prong of fair use doctrine? I hadn't been watching it for a while, but it seemed to me that's mostly what it was. It might have changed since I last looked though.
http://iminurfortkillingurdudes.blogspot.com Michaelk42

You're thinking of trademark, not copyright.

And wouldn't S_D fall under the "commentary" prong of fair use doctrine? I hadn't been watching it for a while, but it seemed to me that's mostly what it was. It might have changed since I last looked though.
Scott!

Oh yeah I know several artists who have not been allowed to sell prints of their own work because they featured a Marvel or DC character. While I understand the thinking behind why Marvel/DC do things like this it is still a total dickhead move. They can shove their "rights" up their corporate assholes for all I care.

American Copyright Law makes about as much sense as our so-called healthcare system. The one that leaves 10 million+ without healthcare. It's intended to protect and foster the wellbeing of society, yet it does almost as much harm as good.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Scott_W Scott_W

Oh yeah I know several artists who have not been allowed to sell prints of their own work because they featured a Marvel or DC character. While I understand the thinking behind why Marvel/DC do things like this it is still a total dickhead move. They can shove their "rights" up their corporate assholes for all I care.

American Copyright Law makes about as much sense as our so-called healthcare system. The one that leaves 10 million+ without healthcare. It's intended to protect and foster the wellbeing of society, yet it does almost as much harm as good.
http://teknoarcanist.deviantart.com/ B Carbaugh

These darn kids and their interweb are killing the staple industry!
I'm gonna go stand on the porch and shake my fist at them as they pass. Figure that ought to do the trick.
http://teknoarcanist.deviantart.com B Carbaugh

These darn kids and their interweb are killing the staple industry!
I'm gonna go stand on the porch and shake my fist at them as they pass. Figure that ought to do the trick.
http://www.nuklearpower.com Brian!

Someone's got to fight for those staple barons!
http://intensedebate.com/people/bclevinger bclevinger

Someone's got to fight for those staple barons!
http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

Most I have ever spent on a single comic was the $200 I spent for Miracleman #15. Took me months to get up the nerve to blow that kind of cash…but both my #14 and my #15 are signed by Totleben! I've got all 24 issues, both issues of Miracleman Family, all 3 issues of Apocrypha, the 3D issue, and even the Total Eclipse miniseries. Actually, I think I may have doubles of the first couple issues…if you're interested, I'll look around and see if I can find them for you. No promises, though.

Eventually, I'd love to put it all up for posterity…maybe get people to donate to Gaiman on behalf of legal fees to get it fixed so he can finish it.
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

Most I have ever spent on a single comic was the $200 I spent for Miracleman #15. Took me months to get up the nerve to blow that kind of cash…but both my #14 and my #15 are signed by Totleben! I've got all 24 issues, both issues of Miracleman Family, all 3 issues of Apocrypha, the 3D issue, and even the Total Eclipse miniseries. Actually, I think I may have doubles of the first couple issues…if you're interested, I'll look around and see if I can find them for you. No promises, though.

Eventually, I'd love to put it all up for posterity…maybe get people to donate to Gaiman on behalf of legal fees to get it fixed so he can finish it.
Josh B.

Cool beans. Let me know if you find them.
Josh B.

Cool beans. Let me know if you find them.
Josh B.

I know exactly what you mean. I discovered Invincible through torrents, and now I buy the singles, big hardcovers and started checking out characters that showed up in Invincible or inspired it, ala, Savage Dragon and Superpatriot. As it turns out, I really dig all this stuff, and would have never bothered to check it out if not for downloading the first 4 issues of Invincible.
Josh B.

I know exactly what you mean. I discovered Invincible through torrents, and now I buy the singles, big hardcovers and started checking out characters that showed up in Invincible or inspired it, ala, Savage Dragon and Superpatriot. As it turns out, I really dig all this stuff, and would have never bothered to check it out if not for downloading the first 4 issues of Invincible.
Avi

I've never heard of scans daily before. This is anecdotal evidence, but I decided to subscribe to Robo issues on heavyink.com after I read every page of Vol 1 issue 1 and the free comic book day issue on nuklearpower.com and amazon.com. I continued buying because it's just so awesome!
Avi

I've never heard of scans daily before. This is anecdotal evidence, but I decided to subscribe to Robo issues on heavyink.com after I read every page of Vol 1 issue 1 and the free comic book day issue on nuklearpower.com and amazon.com. I continued buying because it's just so awesome!
Kevin Kiev

I know this is a tangent but companies are going after fansubbing (in film, tv, and especially anime). I think this is suicidal on their part. The most prominent example I can give is the "scanlation" of manga (like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece etc) by small groups of editors releasing them in their native language. This generates huge interest in the series (vis a vis Naruto and Bleach) and fans spread interest by word of mouth. If manga and anime translating companies go after these fansubbers. Fansubbing is essential to the anime and manga industry outside of Japan since it paves the way for not just the dubs but merchandise as well. Going after the fansubbers is like shooting the sheepdog to protect the cattle from the wolves.
Kevin Kiev

I know this is a tangent but companies are going after fansubbing (in film, tv, and especially anime). I think this is suicidal on their part. The most prominent example I can give is the "scanlation" of manga (like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece etc) by small groups of editors releasing them in their native language. This generates huge interest in the series (vis a vis Naruto and Bleach) and fans spread interest by word of mouth. If manga and anime translating companies go after these fansubbers. Fansubbing is essential to the anime and manga industry outside of Japan since it paves the way for not just the dubs but merchandise as well. Going after the fansubbers is like shooting the sheepdog to protect the cattle from the wolves.
Josh B.

Yeah, but anime fans are notoriously flakey. The manga section at my comic shop died a death due to manga "fans" downloading all of their favourite titles and not buying anything. Thus the shop stopped stocking manga and anime DVDs. If that is a larger trend, companies like Viz and Funimation will feel the pinch.
Josh B.

Yeah, but anime fans are notoriously flakey. The manga section at my comic shop died a death due to manga "fans" downloading all of their favourite titles and not buying anything. Thus the shop stopped stocking manga and anime DVDs. If that is a larger trend, companies like Viz and Funimation will feel the pinch.
http://xanga.com/OnslaughtSix Onslaught Six

There's always those of us who buy the stuff because we like having something physical, though.
http://xanga.com/OnslaughtSix Onslaught Six

There's always those of us who buy the stuff because we like having something physical, though.
http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

Which is why print on demand will have to be a function of digital distribution. Imagine instead of going to your local comic shop, you instead go to a Kinkos, or an Office Max, or any number of other places that can print you a comic, per your paper specs, your choice as to color or b&W, etc…and if there's a printing error, they print you another one. It would actually save the comic companies tons of money, let alone paper, and if you want a physical copy, but don't have tons of cash, you could buy the "cheap" version just so you've got it to read.
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

Which is why print on demand will have to be a function of digital distribution. Imagine instead of going to your local comic shop, you instead go to a Kinkos, or an Office Max, or any number of other places that can print you a comic, per your paper specs, your choice as to color or b&W, etc…and if there's a printing error, they print you another one. It would actually save the comic companies tons of money, let alone paper, and if you want a physical copy, but don't have tons of cash, you could buy the "cheap" version just so you've got it to read.
Dave

Ellis can afford to give away Freakangels because he can make money for a publisher when he collects the story arcs in a tpb. Trent Reznor gives away music because he still makes money selling limited edition Nine Inch Nails collections. Scanning is here to stay, but it is the right of the copyright holder or the creator to decide if they want that digital version to exist or not. I read scanned comics but I know there is no way I can justify it.
Dave

Ellis can afford to give away Freakangels because he can make money for a publisher when he collects the story arcs in a tpb. Trent Reznor gives away music because he still makes money selling limited edition Nine Inch Nails collections. Scanning is here to stay, but it is the right of the copyright holder or the creator to decide if they want that digital version to exist or not. I read scanned comics but I know there is no way I can justify it.
http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

I personally don't read scanned stuff because I don't like it…but obviously, I understand the appeal. The way I look at it though is like I do with movies: if I want it, and they won't put it out, then I'll get a copy in whatever manner I have to UNTIL they do. I used to have the entire Batman: TAS downloaded…but as soon as the boxed sets came out, I bought that. Brisco County Jr….had 'em downloaded, until the series hit DVD…etc, etc. If they won't, or can't put a book out for whatever reason, then I'm okay with it…until it comes out in a purchaseable format. Take Miracleman, for example. I don't feel bad about the idea of posting the entire series for the world to read…at all. But that's because currently, NOBODY can get it. The only thing that can be gotten are already existing copies, and even those are next to impossible to find because of poor bastards like me who buy them because we want them, instead of just to re-sell. If the rights were to suddenly clear up and they could put the stuff back out in trade, well, that would be when I would take it down.
Josh B.

That kills small businesses, when applied to a larger scale.
Josh B.

That kills small businesses, when applied to a larger scale.
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

I personally don't read scanned stuff because I don't like it…but obviously, I understand the appeal. The way I look at it though is like I do with movies: if I want it, and they won't put it out, then I'll get a copy in whatever manner I have to UNTIL they do. I used to have the entire Batman: TAS downloaded…but as soon as the boxed sets came out, I bought that. Brisco County Jr….had 'em downloaded, until the series hit DVD…etc, etc. If they won't, or can't put a book out for whatever reason, then I'm okay with it…until it comes out in a purchaseable format. Take Miracleman, for example. I don't feel bad about the idea of posting the entire series for the world to read…at all. But that's because currently, NOBODY can get it. The only thing that can be gotten are already existing copies, and even those are next to impossible to find because of poor bastards like me who buy them because we want them, instead of just to re-sell. If the rights were to suddenly clear up and they could put the stuff back out in trade, well, that would be when I would take it down.
http://www.greymattersplat.com/ Mike

You're not wrong. It would absolutely spell doom for the comic shop…something that's been coming since ebay and the internet in general made obtaining backissues of things so much easier.
http://www.greymattersplat.com Mike

You're not wrong. It would absolutely spell doom for the comic shop…something that's been coming since ebay and the internet in general made obtaining backissues of things so much easier.
http://www.nuklearpower.com Brian!

I agree. I'm just of the opinion that giving away a title and making big bank on the trades is a workable model for any title. It works wonders for a ton of webcomic people, it ought to be somewhat amazing for established properties.
http://intensedebate.com/people/bclevinger bclevinger

I agree. I'm just of the opinion that giving away a title and making big bank on the trades is a workable model for any title. It works wonders for a ton of webcomic people, it ought to be somewhat amazing for established properties.
Kevin Kiev

That's because the scans are bowdlerized often or the translations are not true to the original source materials. The internet provides access to the original Japanese script and fans can now check the translations against the original and found them wanting. I bought all of the Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner tankoban (TPBs) from Dark Horse since the translation is true to the original source yet successfully bridged the culture gap. I boycotted other series because they had been expurgated beyond recognition.
That being said, I acknowledge there is a problem with leechers. Then again, everything has a problem with parasites.
Kevin Kiev

That's because the scans are bowdlerized often or the translations are not true to the original source materials. The internet provides access to the original Japanese script and fans can now check the translations against the original and found them wanting. I bought all of the Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner tankoban (TPBs) from Dark Horse since the translation is true to the original source yet successfully bridged the culture gap. I boycotted other series because they had been expurgated beyond recognition.
That being said, I acknowledge there is a problem with leechers. Then again, everything has a problem with parasites.
Josh B.

Not only Freakangels, but Zuda are making it work as well. I'm champing at the bit for the first High Moon trade.
Josh B.

Not only Freakangels, but Zuda are making it work as well. I'm champing at the bit for the first High Moon trade.
Scott Conner

Going off on somewhat of a tangent here, I would have bought the Lone Wolf and Cub TPBs from Dark Horse if they had been larger than digest-sized. It works fine for text, but my inner child gleefully laughs and throws rocks at the idea that books will sell better in that format just because a lot of manga is formatted that way. I vastly prefer the European album format myself.
I do like the idea of being able to have a book printed in a different size format, but going to a copy shop isn't my idea of fun at all.
And what happens if said copy shops start raising their printing rates? Sure you can find another shop, but if they raise their rates too…what then?
Scott Conner

Going off on somewhat of a tangent here, I would have bought the Lone Wolf and Cub TPBs from Dark Horse if they had been larger than digest-sized. It works fine for text, but my inner child gleefully laughs and throws rocks at the idea that books will sell better in that format just because a lot of manga is formatted that way. I vastly prefer the European album format myself.
I do like the idea of being able to have a book printed in a different size format, but going to a copy shop isn't my idea of fun at all.
And what happens if said copy shops start raising their printing rates? Sure you can find another shop, but if they raise their rates too…what then?

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