Last time I talked about how digital comics are the carefree way to enjoy comics, but now I want to discuss the vital role of print comics and comic book shops. Print refers to the stuff you can hold in your hands, put on a bookshelf, or get signed at a convention -- floppy single issues, trade paperbacks, and hardcover graphic novels. Comics were born through print and they will always exist in that format, one way or another. It’s not uncommon to hear people say how digital will kill print, but that sounds like something Doctor Doom would say to get two allies to turn on each other. Print and digital are peanut butter and jelly. And the awesome mom that made that sandwich for you is your local comic book shop. Let me explain.

I have read comics since I was a little kid, but I didn’t truly find a community of comic lovers until I walked into A Comic Shop in Orlando, Florida. Just walking in for the first time, you know this shop is different, special. For one, you get enthusiastically greeted by Eric whether you’re a new customer or a regular. If you’re new, he offers you a tour of the shop. He shows you how the store is organized, opens the bathroom door to show you all of the famous comic creators have drawn on it, and leads you into the attached bar and lounge called the Geek Easy (more on that in a moment). I’m not trying to sound like a free advertisement for my favorite shop, but I am trying to show how it doesn’t feel like a place to go to just buy comics, it feels like a place to go to have a good time.Like it or not, comic book shops have a tough stereotype to overcome, one probably best represented by The Simpsons “Comic Book Guy” Jeff Albertson. He runs a comic shop called The Android’s Dungeon with utmost rudeness and superiority. Who would want to buy a comic from him? Sad thing is, it’s not completely inaccurate. For example, since moving to LA three months ago, I’ve visited a bunch of shops, but in about two-thirds of them, not one employee said a word to me the whole time I was in the store. Considering how comic shops survive on repeat customers, that is absolutely shocking to me.But not all hope is lost. Many great shops exist. Shops that create a comic book community to help share their comic book love. They don’t just sell comic books, they turn people into lifelong comic book fans. Reading a comic is a solo experience, unlike a movie or TV show where large audiences gather together to laugh, cry, and gasp together, and then talk about their thoughts directly afterward -- or sometimes during if you’re the devil. Comics don’t have that, which is why it’s important that shops be an inviting place where people can discuss the insanity of Superior Spider-Man, the shocking twists of Forever Evil, or the obscene hilarity of Rat Queens.Again, not to be an advertisement, but A Comic Shop’s Geek Easy is a pretty cool comic book bar and lounge. You can get a specialty beer, order a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich, and talk the night away about whatever comic you want. There are also free video games and board games to play and tons of chairs and tables to sit down and read your purchases from the shop. I’m not saying that every shop needs to open up their version of the Geek Easy, but it would go a long way to think up new ways to make shops a place to go enjoy, talk about, and read comics instead of just buy them and leave. Besides, full of beer and cheese, you know people are going to walk back into the shop and buy a few more comics. That’s where print comes in. Print breeds community like digital can’t. My favorite thing to do with a comic book after reading it is to give it to a friend. I just want to spread the love of good stories. Yes, I have lost more than a few comics this way. I cannot tell you how many volumes of Y: The Last Man and Batman: Earth One have gone missing, but I’m happy knowing that someone else got to enjoy the story I loved so much. Bottom line is, you can’t share digital this way. People don’t lend their friends their iPad for a week and they don’t share their ComiXology usernames and passwords with just anyone. But there’s a trust in giving someone a book; a promise that it will be read and returned (most of the time).If you read my last column, then you know that I read pretty much all of my comics digitally, so you may be asking where I get all these print comics from. When I love a story, like Avengers Arena by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker or Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, then it earns a spot on my bookshelf in its collected format. Comic readers know this as the “trade collection” but the term “graphic novel” is just as good because it really means the same thing: a long form comic book. Publishers like IDW and Archaia make some downright beautiful graphic novels, so it would be a shame not to have at least a few on your mantle. Using this method, I support a series I like by purchasing single issues digitally, and then when I buy the graphic novels I am supporting my shop. Everybody wins.I want to reiterate that my way is not the only way. You can and should do what makes you happy. If you are Print 4 Lyfe then do your thing. If you always buy digital then keep on buying. Comics are there to be read and loved and discussed, no matter what the medium. What comics needs is shops that make it a point to not just be great comic book shops, but amazing comic book communities.

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN