I've been asked several times why I haven't plumped for the far cheaper and more lucrative, not to mention safer, option of producing Murky Depths as a PDF magazine, or at least giving the readers a choice. While, as publishing editor of Murky Depths -- as the collector, sifter and distributor of art in its broadest sense -- I am, at the end of the day, selling a product. There's no two ways about it. And as the proud owner of this product I want it to be seen in its best light. I want, and need, to ensure that every copy of Murky Depths is going to be a top quality product both in content and presentation. It's not just a few megabytes on a PC it is a work of art. You're meant to turn the page, feel the paper against your skin, sense the odour of print at the back of your nostrils, be amazed at what's next. On a PC it's dead. Don't label me as a Luddite. I absolutely love computers; have done since my first ZX81. Without them I wouldn't have the tools to lovingly create each issue of Murky Depths. I want each story to be appreciated in as many senses as is possible with a magazine and, until virtual reality is virtually real, computers can't offer what print can. So, at least for the present, the only option you're going to get, to use the standard denigrating phrase, is a hard copy. But this will be bendy, glossy, aromatic, sensual, and you'll be able to view the whole of it at the size it was designed to be. That's the product. So, when there's a power cut, scramble in the back of the drawer for those emergency candles and sit down for a quite read with flickering shadows and Murky Depths.

Hear, hear!  

I totally agree. I collect back issues of weird tales and old fiction magazines. I love the feel of the paper, the smell of ink, and the musty scents detected when the pages yellow.

You can't beat hard copy. Computer bytes, well, bite.    

--Last edited by James M Harris on 2007-07-01 20:02:58 --