Online comics and Apple

[Lew Stringer]

Interesting item on Apple's iTablet (or whatever it'll be called) that's going to be revealed later this week, and its potential for online comics. To paraphrase the old Bat Lash ad: "Will it save the industry or ruin it?"

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/01/18/ ... speak-out/

Lew

[Wil]

As the iPhone screen is a little titchy for viewing a whole page there's a lot of experimenting with navigation and getting from one panel to the next with the current crop of digital comics providers. It'll be interesting to see if this 'motionising' (that's my word, wot I made up ) of pages continues onto the iTablet as, presumeably, it'll be of a size more than capable of displaying a whole page at a time.

Maybe older comics will appear static and newer titles will, more and more, move over to a hybrid moving-illustration style (a la Marvel's new Spider-Woman and X-Men motion comics).

Also I'm wondering where this will leave comics for kids? I can't see many having access to an iTablet for a good while yet so does that mean we're only going to get manchild stuff?

Interesting times, nevertheless.

[felneymike]

Hmm... i think i'll stick to paper, if only to avoid owning something with i at the start of it's name which, if conspiratorial people are to be beleived, are designed to stop working after about a year of consistent use, just in time for the new version! (My ipod stopped after about 2 years - and just in time for Christmas too - but wasn't used all that often, on the other hand the Creative mp3 player i got in 2001 only stopped working because it was left in direct sunlight for a couple of years, and it would probably work again with some jiggling XD)

[Lew Stringer]

Hmm... i think i'll stick to paper, if only to avoid owning something with i at the start of it's name which, if conspiratorial people are to be beleived, are designed to stop working after about a year of consistent use, just in time for the new version!

On the contrary. Apple's computers are very reliable and long lasting.

Lew

[skyromie]

On the contrary. Apple's computers are very reliable and long lasting.

Lew

Quite true. I still use my 'old' iMac G3 'Kiva' regularly (about 8 years old) and my wife used her G3 Powerbook 'Pismo' up until last week until she finally bought herself a new Macbook. Her Pismo is exactly 10 years old and the last G3 Powerbook before the G4s came out.

Sounds very reliable to me.

[felneymike]

Hmm, maybe thier computers are better than thier gadgets XD. My ipod regularly conked out and needed resetting (apparently a lot of people, not googling, take thiers to the shops to have this done and are charged for it! ). Then one day just stopped switching on altogether without warning. I hear iphones can suffer similar woes and the "dream" turns sour for owners who then buy something different, just as good, and cheaper next time around XD.

[skyromie]

Oh, dear Mike.

Your one device fails your expectation, and you blame the entire organisation. How could they still be in business today? LOL

Putting my Digifiend hat on, for a second, your spelling is appalling. But I don't care about that, I care about your feelings. And you should express them more.

Go ahead.

[Digifiend]

Oh, dear Mike.

Your one device fails your expectation, and you blame the entire organisation. How could they still be in business today? LOL

Putting my Digifiend hat on, for a second, your spelling is appalling. But I don't care about that, I care about your feelings. And you should express them more.

Go ahead.

lol, am I that pedantic?

Shops charging for repairs is not an iPod or Apple exclusive problem, felneymike. They charge for repairs regardless of the manufacturer. Anyway, Googling's all well and good, but if the instructions they find are full of complicated jargon... what choice do people have?

[Wil]

My current 160gb classic iPod has been nothing but brilliant for the 2 and a half years I've had it; no problems at all. My son's now using the 20gb it replaced which is also still going great guns some 5 or so years after getting it. Apple stuff isn't the be all and end all but I've found it very reliable and fear of it going wrong won't be what stops me getting an iTable/iSlate/iWhatever.

Can't say I've ever found the instructions (especially for simple stuff like resetting) complicated but I've always said that, on the whole, computers and the like are still too difficult for your average punter. Especially for more than just surfing the net or writing emails.

Still, Apple's special conference is this week so we'll see if the saviour of books, mags and comics actually appears!

[Lew Stringer]

Apple's system is intuitive so apart from consulting the manual for initial setup it's not usually necessary to Google for info. I've been using my eMac for 8 years and it's only just starting to slow down a little. (Probably because of all the files on it.) Hoping to buy a new iMac soon. They're more expensive than PCs using Windows but from all the tales of woe I've heard about the Windows system I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Lew

[Lew Stringer]

Ok, here's the gadget: it's called the iPad and Apple have just launched it. A nice comic-sized device, so ideal for our uses. Only problem I foresee is if it's like the iPhone / Ipod Touch it won't do your eyes any good for long periods of reading:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8483654.stm

The future of periodicals perhaps? Cutting out the middlemen (printers, distributors, retailers) will mean costs will be much lower. Handy size means comics will be easier to read than on a PC or laptop, and you can sit in a comfy armchair and read them or even take the iPod on holiday. (As long as it's charged up.)

Thoughts?

Lew

[Wil]

Well I can't say that I actually 'need' one but it looks cool and and a lot nicer for casual browsing, playing and reading digital mags and comics than booting up a laptop or sitting at a desktop. The price looks ok, too. Can't say I need 3G on it as it'll probably only use it at home over the wi-fi so I can go for a lower priced one.

If I can rustle up the money I'll happily get one come March

[skyromie]

I love it. I want it.

My Powerbook G4 is starting to struggle with the likes of heavily-based Flash and Java material on websites. But absolutely perfect for everything else I need it for. So, when the wife got her new Macbook, I couldn't justify getting one for myself - not yet. With this iPad being a 'third device' bridging a laptop with a smartphone, I could just well be tempted by this and allow my Powerbook to carry on with my other tasks.

[Lew Stringer]

As hoped, Apple will feature the ability to buy graphic novels to read on the iPad. Let's hope UK publishers also get on the ball with this:

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... -category/

Lew

[Nigel Auchterlounie]

There's a lot you can do with an online comic.
I know at first all that will happen is that a comic that is for print will be put up online.
Job done.
But online it doesn't really cost much more to have, say, A couple of extra pages at the end of original pencil pages, or character sketches (sort of DVD extras) it costs to do it for print because more pages means more paper and printing, also one extra page means you have to put an extra sheet of paper into the comic or magazine, so then you have to go to 4 extra pages.
You have no such restrictions online. A page can also be as long or as short as you want.
If an artist needs an extra 3 panels to finish off the story then he can just stick the extra panels on the bottom.
No big deal.
Also as anyone who works in print will know, there are some colours unavailable in CMYK.
Mostly the really bright luminescent ones. RGB (screens, monitors, and TV's) can do those colours too. That neon sign can look like it's really on, and those lightsabers too. The biffs, and the pows could really stand out.

There is a future there if publishers say to themselves that this is a different medium, and so things should be done a little differently.