9/2007 UPDATE: The Komics-Live forum is rocking right now.

For back issues, DirectConnect is best. Use DC++ on the PC or Shakespeer on the Mac. Share something, and log into hub wyldsretreat.servep2p.com. Search away. When you can share 5gb, graduate to megaman.gotdns.com. For 0-day comics, consider this Kaskus forum thread with RapidShare and Megaupload links - just go to the last page and work backwards. There’s also Z-Cult, a solid no-ratio comics torrent tracker that carries the weekly DCP ((Digital Comics Preservation)) packs.

All of this easy availability raises issues of legality - and ethics, if you’re particularly decent. The position of the RIAA or MPAA is clear and unequivocal with regards to the sharing of music or movies: don’t do it. But there isn’t an industry group for the comic book industry which has issued such a statement. There have been winking references to downloading in comic books themselves ((In Great Lakes Avengers, for example.)); Joe Quesada of Marvel has alluded to a forthcoming, iTunes-like service ((Think: iTunes is perfectly competent to handle PDF files; iTunes itself could be ‘iTunes for comics.’)). If such a thing comes to pass, expect companies to become more comprehensive in defense of their copyrights.

Personally, digital sampling has lead me from the brink of total disinterest in mainstream comics and back into stores to buy the good stuff - like All-Star Superman, Ocean, Criminal, and so on. I’ve also been enjoying long tail material that no one is monetizing at present, like, um, the Elvira-fronted House of Mystery revival from the 80s, which I actually have in storage somewhere. The lesson of P2P and iTunes is that people will spend money to do the right thing - they just want the freedom to preview married to instant gratification. Grant clemency to the wicked as you enter this new model, comic book companies. Decency is a two-way street.