Digital Copies with Physical Copies. Good or Bad?

Justice League #1 (DC Comics)

In this new digital age for comics, it's hard to figure out what comic companies should do.  While the big two companies, DC and Marvel, have different plans, they might not be the best options.

Unless you have been living under a rock the past few months, DC and Marvel have been offering digital copies with physical books the past few months.  DC has only been doing this with Justice League, but you have to pay an extra dollar to get the code.  Marvel has been doing it with numerous books, and they are free.  Most of them have been comics in the Ultimate Universe and Avenging Spider-Man.  They will also be doing free copies with Avengers vs. X-Men.



I'll start by saying that I originally read Justice League and was getting the combo pack, but it never seemed useful.  I downloaded my digital copy and then didn't touch it.  The Marvel books I have been buying that include digital copies have fared the same way.  And the Marvel books are $3.99, so are they really free copies?

Avenging Spider-Man #1 (Marvel Comics)

I must commend both companies for doing this, but neither of these are a good option.  Embracing the digital medium is a great idea, but people who are already buying the issue shouldn't have to pay an extra fee to get it digitally.  While Marvel has the right idea in making it free, their books are more expensive, thus negating the fact that it's free.  I recently put a poll out on Reddit asking what people thought about the topic, and while only five people responded, all of them said they wanted the digital copy to be free.

But the real reason I ask with all of this is...why?  Why do we need a digital copy?  If a person is buying the physical copy, what makes these companies think they will want to switch over to digital?  Comic book buyers are collectors by nature, and they wouldn't want to switch from one to the other.  If I start buying one book, say Chew for example, digitally, a physical copy is out of the question.  It is a lot easier to manage and find the book when I want to read it.  I have, on occasion, made the jump from digital to physical, but it's rare and there were different circumstances.

If Marvel or DC are going to continue with giving digital copies in the present format, they need to offer more to the reader.  If they get a digital copy, maybe there is an exclusive interview with the writer or artist about upcoming things in the book.  Maybe there is a one page teaser about something coming up, or concept sketches.  Something that small that makes the reader feel like they got a little something extra.  I say all of this not knowing the costs of these things, as some writers, Ed Brubaker to be specific, have brought up some great points about digital books and their pricing.

With the digital market becoming more and more prominent and the easiest way for people to jump into comics, it will be interesting to see how the big two go ahead with their plans.