Ok, I think I need to clarify my "out-of-date" Comment.
And, yes, out-of-date does not mean 'bad' when not taken with the context I'll describe below. Not by itself.
I used to be huge into comics, from about mid 1980s to the late 1990s, comics were my whole world. I went to college to get better at art...I wanted to draw comics. Somewhere along the way I dropped out, the issues were getting expensive, I didn't have the room to store them, the stories were getting repetitive. I lost interest.
A number of years ago, I found this new medium called podcasts. And I've been listening to a few comic book ones since, mostly iFanboy and Comic Geek Speak. And by listening to these podcasts, I've been able to catch-up and 'keep up' with the major stories in comics. Getting a trade now and then based on what I'm hearing.
I'm at a point where I want to read these stories, but I'm not interested in collecting a warehouse of paper. I'm waiting for a good digital method of gathering and reading these stories. And for me (This is me clarifying the 'out-of-date' bit) being able to be part of the 'conversation' of these podcasts who talk about the comics - the comics of this weeks releases - without resorting to piracy.
Having a back-catalog of issues is super-awesome, and any digital distribution method needs to have them, but that's only half of the marketplace. Well maybe 7/8ths. Once DC, Marvel, and others start releasing their comics digitally day-and-date with their print versions, in a method that's easy to use, and easy to get at, I think they would start seeing a real boost to their numbers. And I think we're poised to see that when Apple announces their Tablet, and companies like Longbox, or even the comics companies, take advantage of the platform.
I admit, it has been a number of years since I tried marvel's digital offerings, and if they have filled in the holes of the issues and it's not just a marketing ploy to sell hardcovers, it may be time to revisit the site again.
But I have to ask the question, how old are their 'new' releases?