iPhone
NYCC ’10 | Download Dark Horse’s digital comics for free this weekend
As Kevin noted earlier today, Dark Horse Comics is supposed to have some news today at the New York Comic Con about their digital comics initiatives — in fact, the panel is going on right now, so we should know soon what they have planned.
Unlike Marvel, DC and the other major publishers, they haven’t aligned themselves with one (or more) of the third-party companies like comiXology or iVerse (Although I should note they released three titles on comiXology’s app earlier this year). Instead, they’ve continued to release individual applications for their titles. So will today bring news of their titles going to one of the existing apps, or will they continue to offer titles individually, but for the lower cost that Kevin noted? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
In the meantime, they’re handing out flyers (see above) at the New York Comic Con advertising that Serenity: Better Days #1 is free in the iTunes application store, both for the iPad and the iPhone, this weekend. And a quick search on my iPad reveals that there are several other free comics out there as well — Beasts of Burden, Troublemaker and several of the other titles shown on the flyer. So head over to iTunes to start downloading now.
- October 8, 2010 @ 03:12 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Apple
Digital comics | Following more than two years of complaints, Apple has given developers the guidelines it uses to determine which programs can be sold through its App Store, and relaxed some restrictions on content and tools. The company recently was criticized for forcing the creators of a comic adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses to remove nonsexual nudity from some panels — Apple later changed its stance — and for initially rejecting an app from Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore because his animated political satire contained “content that ridicules public figures.” Alan Gardner notes that the revised guidelines specifically exempt “professional political satirists and humorists” from a clause prohibiting defamatory or offensive material. [The Associated Press]
Comic strips | After 60 years with United Feature Syndicate, Peanuts will move in February to Universal Uclick. The news isn’t totally unexpected, as Iconix Brand Group partnered with the heirs of Charles M. Schulz in April to buy the rights to the comic strip from United’s parent company E.W. Scripps. The $175 million deal was for the entire United Media Licensing division, which includes Dilbert. [Comic Riffs]
- September 10, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Image Comics, comiXology team up on digital application
Image on the iPad
Image Comics and comiXology launched a dedicated Image application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch tonight, which is available now on iTunes.
The application includes comics from Top Cow, Shadowline and Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint, as well as titles like Chew, Haunt, Savage Dragon, Youngblood, Wanted, Fell, Elephantman and Jack Staff, among others. Overall it looks like it contains 60 different series that have been published by Image. And while most of the titles, I believe, are already available on the comiXology application, it looks like they’re offering more than 30 free comics for download on the app right now.
With the launch of the app, comiXology now has created dedicated applications for four of the top seven comic publishers, as Image joins DC Comics, BOOM! and Marvel. They also created the dedicated Scott Pilgrim application.
The press release emphasizes “unparalleled access to digital distribution” for independent creators:
“With the launch of the Image Comics app, we have an opportunity to provide our creators with the digital support that, for many of them, was unattainable before,” says Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. “comiXology has established a very impressive track record of bringing independent content into the digital world. Today represents a milestone in our growth as a company and enables us to increase the availability of the fantastic titles we publish.”
“Our partnership with Image is indicative of our shared vision to help independent creators thrive in the traditional print community as well as the explosive digital marketplace,” adds David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “The demand for creator-owned content is at an all time high, and we are thrilled to be able to provide fans with what they want. We’re lucky now to work directly with Image and to offer the creators a clear path to the digital market.”
Check out the full press release after the jump.
- August 25, 2010 @ 10:00 PM by JK Parkin
Spider-Man: Total Mayhem coming to iPhones next month
Marvel.com has a trailer for a new Spider-Man game that’s hitting the iTunes store Sept. 2 Sept. 1. The game features a storyline “inspired by the Ultimate Spider-Man series” and features Venom, among other villains.
- August 18, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’10 | Tokyopop calls for a Priest
Tokyopop's Priest app
Tokyopop’s big San Diego news is that the long-delayed film Priest, based on the manhwa (Korean comic) by Min-Woo Hyung, will finally be released in May 2011, with Paul Bettany in the lead.
At this afternoon’s Priest panel at Comic-Con International, Tokyopop staffers introduced a Priest iPhone/iPad app and showed off a sneak peek of the full-color comic prequel Priest: Purgatory, available exclusively at the convention — oh, and here, where we have the cover and a three-page preview after the cut.
Priest: Purgatory will debut in comic stores on Aug. 1.
- July 23, 2010 @ 05:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Is it still a comic if I can’t crease the pages? Thoughts on digital and the iPad
DC Comics App on the iPad
With DC Comics revealing its digital strategy yesterday, all of the major players now have some sort of digital comics plan, allowing folks who have an Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.), a PlayStation Portable or even just access to the web to read at least some of their comics in a digital format.
I’ve had an iPhone for a while now, and I’ve downloaded free comic apps from distributors like comiXology, Panelfly and iVerse. I’ve used them to download free samples of comics they were offering (sampling Jersey Gods on the iPhone, for example, led to me purchasing the trades). But I never actually bought comics on it. And there’s a big difference between downloading something because it’s free, and actually becoming a paying customer and spending real money on it.
So what held me back? Part of it was because of what was available — most of the material I would have been interested in downloading I already owned in print, and I couldn’t justify buying it again. And part of it was that I just didn’t enjoy the experience of reading a comic on my iPhone as much as I did a print comic, mostly because of the size restrictions. The app developers, of course, tried to make it easy to adjust, offering zoom features and panel-to-panel scrolling, but there’s just something about not seeing the whole page of a comic at a time, versus just seeing each panel, that was the hump I couldn’t get over. I need the forest, and I need the trees.
- June 24, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
All-Star Superman #1
Publishing | The big news of the day, obviously, is DC Comics’ entry into the digital-distribution arena with its comiXology-developed application for the iPad, iPhone and iPad Touch. CBR’s Kiel Phegley gets the details from Co-Publisher Jim Lee and John Rood, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development. (ComiXology is already updating the app to fix a bug that apparently caused early iPhones and iPods to crash.)
David Brothers has early analysis, looking as day-and-date digital release for Justice League: Generation Lost, and a tiered pricing structure. Meanwhile, Matthew Maxwell writes: “… This does mean that both of the Big Two are now officially putting pinkie toes, if not entire feet into the pool. But who will jump in along with them?” We’ll round up more reactions later today. [Comic Book Resources]
Organizations | Mark Waid has joined the board of directors of The Hero Initiative, replacing Guillermo del Toro. [press release]
- June 23, 2010 @ 07:52 AM by Kevin Melrose
BOOM!’s Chip Mosher discusses their digital distribution plans
BOOM! on the iPad
Over the last couple of days BOOM! Studios has made two announcements related to digital distribution of their titles. Yesterday they launched their own iPad/iPhone application with some help from comiXology, and today they announced they plan to make their entire catalog of BOOM! Studios titles available via comiXology, iVerse, Graphic.ly and Panelfly.
I spoke with Chip Mosher, BOOM!’s director of marketing, about their digital plans, timing of releases, the customer base for their digital comics and more.
JK: Let’s talk timing, as that’s been a popular topic of late. How long will it take new BOOM! titles to reach the digital apps, compared to when books hit retail stores?
Chip: BOOM! really sees the digital comics market as its own animal. We were one of the first companies to have comics on the iPhone with iVerse back when they launched and have been watching the market place for a couple of years now. Having a consistent release schedule is important for that market segment, and what we are seeing is that the people who are reading digital comics are far and away removed from the rhythms of the direct market. A ton of what the release schedule depends on has to do with administrative things that are out of our control. Currently we have no plans on doing anything earlier than 30 days.
- June 15, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Are you an Alex Ross fan? Now there’s an app for that
Alex Ross iPhone app
Alex Ross has released a free iPhone app that allows fans to browse the artist’s galleries, view video interviews, receive updates on his personal appearances and more. In short, it’s Ross’ website for iPhone owners on the go.
- April 28, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Bootleg manga? There’s an app for that!
Screenshot from the MangaDL app
Yesterday, someone at Anime News Network noticed that a free iPhone/iPad app called Manga Rock was scooping bootleg manga — in this case, scans of books published in the U.S. — from a scanlation site. Yen Press has already contacted Apple to ask that the app be taken down until all Yen titles are removed, but since the developer claims not to be affiliated with the site the scans are taken from, it’s difficult to see how this could be enforced. Manga Rock was still available this morning, although apparently Apple has pulled a similar app, MangaDL, from its store; the developers profess ignorance as to why.
Here’s why that doesn’t matter: There are still plenty of multi-comic manga apps on the iTunes store, and every one of them is a mobile reader for a scanlation site. All of them. Some legitimate comics reader apps carry a smattering of manga, but so far the manga publishers themselves have stuck to the older model of publishing each chapter as a separate app. That’s an expensive and clumsy way to read comics; the paradigm has shifted, but the manga publishers haven’t responded.
The publishers should be worried about this. From the user comments on these things, users like the convenience and the features, as well as the fact that for a buck or two (or nothing, if they don’t mind ads) they can read a ton of manga for free and keep it forever. Some users may not realize what’s going on. Some of the interfaces look pretty slick, and since Apple vets all apps, it’s reasonable to assume they wouldn’t let anything as blatant as a mobile version of Onemanga.com into their store. Reasonable, but incorrect.
I’m sure that publishers can tick off a lot of reasons why a multi-title reader would be hard to do. Japanese creators are notoriously reluctant to part with digital rights, and the reader would have to include titles from many publishers, not just one. But if I were reading comments like “I’ve been looking to buy fruits basket (my favorite manga series) and now I have them for 2$ !! Hehe I’m so happy:)” I’d be looking hard for a way to make it work.
- April 23, 2010 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The Carrier digital graphic novel to be available on iPad Saturday
I spoke with Evan Young last year about his iPhone graphic novel The Carrier. It’s about a guy wakes up in a dark room with no idea how he got there, who he is, or why a titanium briefcase is shackled to his wrist, and it mixes traditional comic book storytelling with various real-world iPhone features, including geolocation, email and messaging.
Young sent over word this morning that The Carrier will be one of the launch applications for Apple’s new iPad this Saturday.
“The Carrier will help showcase the iPad comic book experience to a world that is extremely interested in the potential of this new device,” Yougn said in a press release. “A lot is being said about what the iPad can do for the comic book industry and publishers of other types of media. As a small-press publisher and creator, all I can say is, we’ll see. For now, let’s buckle in for the ride.”
- April 1, 2010 @ 12:52 PM by JK Parkin
iVerse Media’s iPad app expected to be available at launch
iVerse on the iPad
Digital comics provider iVerse Media announced today the latest version of their iVerse Comics application, which runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch and “Apple’s new ‘magical’ iPad device.”
“We’d all been waiting for Apple to announce the iPad, and once the specifics were finally known, our team began putting together our plans for the device the same day,” said iVerse Media founder and CEO Michael Murphey in a press release. “It’s been a long 60 or so days, but I’m incredibly proud of our team, and I think people are really going to love the application.”
Murphey said that they expect the iVerse Comics application to be available on the iPad when it is released this Saturday. Through the application, users can download comics from Marvel, Image, IDW, BOOM! and many other publishers.
‘If people are going to be able to access this on the iPad from day one no matter what, we really needed to make sure we put our best face forward,” Murphey said. “So we had to build a completely new application from scratch, then marry that to our existing app. The end result gives the user the best possible experience on whatever device they’re using.”
Per the press release, long time users of iVerse Comics will have the ability to download new, high resolution, iPad files of their previously purchased comics for no additional cost. They’ve also added a “zoom” feature for both the iPhone and iPad versions of the app, while the iPad version will alos include preview images. They plan to add preview images to the iPhone in the coming weeks.
Check out a video preview of the iPad app after the jump …
- March 31, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin
Slash Print | Following the digital evolution
Devices: Manga expert Jason Thompson checks out iPhone apps for reading scanlations. Ironically, this article appears on the website of comiXology, the creators of the legit comics-reading app.
Creators: Lucy Knisley discusses both digital media and her favorite comics store at Question Riot.
Creators: Overflow Magazine profiles Dean Haspiel and the Brooklyn comics community, which includes such notables as Becky Cloonan, Vasilos Lolos, Mike Cavallaro, and George O’Connor. (Via The Beat.)
Webcomics: Delos Woodruff reviews King Spot, a comic that mixes text and images in an unusual fashion.
Devices: Japanese artist Aya Fujii is publishing the yaoi manga Peach Boy: MOMO & MIKAN on the Kindle in English and Japanese.
- March 24, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Box 13 headed to print courtesy of Red 5 Comics
Box 13
Box 13 writer David Gallaher sent word over the weekend that Box 13, the digital comic he created with artist Steve Ellis, is headed to the printed page, courtesy of Red 5 Comics.
Based on a syndicated radio series, Box 13 “is the story of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holliday, who kind of hires himself out as a detective to get ideas for his stories,” Gallaher told me last October. “It was a high-noir, high-adventure series, but it was certainly a product of its time. Our re-imagining of the series incorporates many of the noir elements of the original serial, but with a bunch of John Frankenheimer, Patrick McGoohan, Alex Toth, and Peter O’Donnell added to the mix. There is gunplay, conspiracy, romance, psychological drama, train chases, motorcycle chases, and danger! But, at its heart, it’s a story about rediscovering your place in the world after everything in your life changes forever.”
Originally published by Comixology on their iPhone application and website, the graphic novel will cost $13 and is due in May. The complete solicitation text can be found after the jump.
- February 22, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by JK Parkin
Download Mass Effect: Redemption #1 from Dark Horse for free all day
Mass Effect #1
Dark Horse released the first issue of their four-issue Mass Effect: Redemption comic book on iTunes today. The story occurs between the first Mass Effect game and the second one, which came out last month.
And if you download it today, it’s absolutely free. So if you’re interested in checking it out, act quickly — this link will take you directly to iTunes.
I myself have not played Mass Effect, as I don’t have an Xbox 360, but I have been very addicted to another BioWare-created game, Dragon Age, on the Playstation 3. If it’s half as much fun shooting up aliens in Mass Effect as it is fighting Darkspawn in DA, then it’s probably worth checking out as well.
- February 3, 2010 @ 11:02 AM by JK Parkin