I grew up reading comic books -- especially Marvel Comics. In fact, I collected every Marvel Comic every month. Since I was a kid who worked (summers mainly at my Dad's sawmill starting when I was 12 years old -- we sorta ignored child labor laws), I had the money to buy them. But at the time they were affordable. Though it dates me, I can remember when they were 15 cents apiece.

These days as a semi-successful business owner, there's no way I can afford to buy every Marvel (or DC or Image or Dark Horse) comic book that comes out each month. Or even most of them. After all, comic books now cost three bucks and up per issue. That's why I think the future of the medium will be, at least in part, in digital form.

Admittedly, I quit collecting comics several years ago when Marvel begin getting greedy. Instead one one Spider-man title a month and a yearly annual, the comic shelves became glutted with Spidey's image. Instead of one X-Men title or one Avengers title, there are ... well, just go to your local comics shop and count the sheer number of X-Men and Avengers' titles. The big companies, for the most part, decided to milk their cash cows dry -- ruining the continuity of their respective universes in the process.

Looking elsewhere for my comics fix, I supported several start-up companies (Malibu, Valiant, Defiant, etc.), but they all went bust. So I quit collecting comics. And I won't start again.

Until/unless comics become available in digital form for a buck or two apiece. And I think the rumored iPad/iTablet/iSlate would be a perfect device for the future of comics. And I I think that eventually the comics companies will have to offer all their titles in digital format at an affordable price. That is, if they want to sell more titles. And IF they want to draw in new fans.
Though the comic book companies are dipping their toes in these waters, it won't happen overnight. Unless some enterprising company (where are you, Jim Shooter?) comes along with an all-digital comics format and makes an immediate success of it.

Maybe, just maybe, that would return me to the wonderful world of comic collecting. After all, I never bought comics to resell them. I bought them because I loved the characters. I'd love to still be a part of that world without having to choose which half dozen comics I could afford to collect each month.