Marvel Digital Comics Bring Superheros to The Cloud

Posted on 09. Mar, 2011 by Julian West in Features, Reviews

 

Editor’s Note: Julian West is a new contributing writer for the site. You can read his first post about Google Search as the ultimate web application here.

Is your family complaining that your comic book collection is taking up too much space in your basement bedroom? Would you actually start reading that collection if it wasn’t for the fear of some misfortune that would result in a dreaded crease or some grease smear?  Scared to loan your comic to a buddy of yours for fear he just won’t handle it with the love and tenderness your comics deserve, resulting in some unspoken tension?

Then I have the webapp for you:  The Marvel Comics app from the Chrome Web Store.

The comfort and ease of ebook reading has arrived for comic book geeks.  People with an unending fascination for grown people in spandex should rejoice!

Marvel Digital Comics offers comics for sale at $2.00 an issue.  Not a bad deal.  It’s cheaper than a paper copy and you don’t have to worry about dirtying the awesome art on the pages as you read.

Even more intriguing is subscribing to Marvel Digital Comics.  Access to the whole Marvel Comics universe is only $9.99 a month.  That’s about the price of three comic books a month.  If you pay a year subscription in advance, you get a 50% discount which comes out to $4.99 a month, or $59.88 a year. This includes access to back issues going back to “The Golden Age” of comics, and more being added every month. You can read the first hand origin stories of all your favorite Marvel superheros and their nemeses and get yourself caught up before the next superhero movie hits theaters.

That’s right, you can be the comic book know-it-all who complains indigently about how Hollywood ruined the memory of your beloved comic book character and have your friends want to smack you in the face.  Marvel Digital Comics has all those essential back issues that only the few, the proud and the ultimately geeky people had to previously put months, maybe years of their time and energy into finding and never getting a date in the process are now at your fingertips.

Marvel also wants bring you and your comic book fans together with the “share” option, so you can recommend a particularly good comic book to your friends.

There are plenty of free comics offered to try and see if digital comics are the way to go for you.  Marvel Comics’ art is actually quite dazzling on the Cr-48 screen, especially on full screen mode and the interface is very intuitive.  You can magnify the text of the comic and still read in the original two-page composition.

Another thing that your Marvel Digital Comics subscription can be handy for is deciding which paper comics you’d actually find worthy enough to add to your collection.  You can now keep your comics in that protective plastic and still be able to read them.  Personally, I’m saving my collection to help fund my retirement.

Alas, nothing in this world is perfect.  None of what I mention below is a “deal breaker” for me in terms of the Marvel Comics service, but here are some things that could be improved.

(1) Magnify Text Button: One glitch I came across is that the magnify text button would actually make the words smaller in full screen mode.  Also, a full page panel was a bit clumsy to read because full screen would divide it in too.  Ultimately though, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the comic.

(2) Zoom: There are only two settings for zoom “ – “ and “ + “.  It would be nice you could have several degrees of zoom.  My recommendation is to first see the page in the minimal zoom so you can see the composition in the familiar two page form, then go through each panel in max zoom.

Despite these things, overall reading of a Marvel Digital Comic is a very smooth experience.  Personally, I find it preferable than turning pages paper pages.  My suggestion is if comics are your thing, give Marvel Digital Comics a try.  There are plenty of free comics at the sight for you to read to see if the service is right for you.

 

Over the course of two seasons on FOX, Dollhouse went through more changes than Eliza Dushku’s character Echo. But by the end of the final episodes, fans were hooked. The entire premise of the show-programmable human beings can be made to order for the rich-had been turned on its end, leaving us in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the human race had their minds wiped, leading to the end of civilization as we know it.

This March, series writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon return, once more, to this vision of the future with a one-shot from Dark Horse that’s a continuation of the series, as well as a great introduction for new readers. We chatted with them about the book, whether they’ll be making cameos, and what’s next for Dollhouse. Oh, in case you’re wondering: the pair are a hive mind, and answered all of their questions together.

MTV Geek: Way back before the show premiered, I talked to Joss Whedon and asked whether he’d ever consider doing, or letting someone do a comic version of Dollhouse. He said pretty definitively, “no.” What changed?

MT & JW: Time passed, Joss grew older and a little wiser.  Initially he didn’t think that the Dollhouse premise would translate well into comic book form, but when we were deeper into Season One and developed the future timeline of the Epitaph episodes, his feelings changed.  The apocalyptic future of Dollhouse was a comic book story worth telling.

Geek: You had a pretty nice, clean button on the show-or at least Echo’s story…Why continue it now? And why in comic book form?

MT & JW: The “Epitaphs” series begins the day of the phone call that sparks the Apocalypse.  There’s a lot of time to explore between that moment and when we ended the TV series.  And Echo, during all that, is still buttonless.  So there.

Geek: Which characters will we see returning in this one-shot? Any new characters?

MT & JW: Some of the main characters on the show will appear in the comic series and we’ll introduce some new ones.  Total party.

Geek: Maurissa, you played Kilo in a few Dollhouse episodes, and tend to cameo in a lot of the web videos you guys make. Do you get a cameo in this comic?

MT: We all know that Kilo was the real star of Dollhouse and that her story will live on in everyone’s hearts.  That being said, if I appear in one more thing I’m writing I think I’ll be fired forever.  So no, no Kilo in this comic…yet.  Don’t cry.  And for the record, Kilo was Andrew Chambliss’s idea.

Geek: What keeps drawing you two back to the world of Epitaph, in particular?

MT & JW: It’s the apocalypse!  Stakes are high, people are sweaty-dirty with guns and struggling to survive.  It’s addictive.

Geek: And what’s different for you in scripting a comic “episode” of Dollhouse, versus a TV episode?

MT & JW: We get to do all the things the TV people said “no” to.

Geek: Assuming the Dollhouse comic goes well, do you think we’ll see the show come back in another medium?

MT & JW: Chances of that are slim.  This comic is our opportunity to make the show last a little while longer.

Geek: You two are clearly musically-and web-inclined. Any chance we’ll see a Dollhouse music video to promote the comic (hint, hint)?

MT & JW: We did a music video to promote the Season Two DVD/Blu-ray release. Watch in 1080p, it’s purtier that way.

Geek: Because I have to ask: will we see more Dr. Horrible, either in web or in comic book form?

MT & JW: Yes.

Geek: Great! And is there any property you’ve worked on that’s currently not in comic book form that you’d like to tackle at some point?

MT & JW: Three words-Drop Dead Diva.

Geek: Nice. So what’s next for you two?

MT & JW: Conquering the world.  Of Television?

–

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Tags Dark Horse Comics, Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen

Detailed Map Of Battlestar Galactica’s Twelve Colonies

Here’s your exclusive first look at a new star-map of Battlestar Galactica’s Twelve Colonies, designed by writer Jane Espenson and science advisor Kevin Grazier. And Espenson and Grazier explained to us how twelve colonies can fit in one star system.

Click to enlarge!

Not only is this map a thing of great beauty, but it’s totally official — Grazier was science advisor for Battlestar Galactica from the very beginning, and helped to define a lot of the show’s concepts. And Espenson, as the original showrunner for the prequel series Caprica, had to do a lot of thinking about exactly how the Twelve Colonies were laid out. This info comes straight from the creators — and from the showrunner’s bible for BSG and Caprica. And Grazier, who works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, verifies that the info in this map is “scientifically plausible.” It was created by Hollywood graphic designer Geoffrey Mandel, who made countless adjustments as the technical data underwent scrutiny.

We’re excited to present an exclusive high-res image of the map, which sells for $14.95 from Quantum Mechanix and measures 27″ by 39″. This is one item that should definitely be on your Dradis.

We asked Espenson and Grazier some questions about the map, and they ended up telling us a lot more about the science and backstory of Battlestar Galactica:

I didn’t realize there were four different stars in the Cyrannus star system. I had always wondered if there were just 12 habitable planets clustered around a single sun. Where did the idea of four different stars come from? Was this in the show bible someplace? I’m especially curious about Leonis, the “heart of the colonies,” which I don’t think we ever heard about. Also, Scorpion, the “playground of the colonies.” Is that the colonial version of Risa?

Jane: Even back before Caprica the show existed, I believe Kevin and I had talked a bit about the configuration of the colonies. All the work on that is his. I instinctively loved the idea of a star cluster. The idea of 12 habitable planets all orbiting one star just seemed unworkable. And crowded. This group of stars makes so much sense. Kevin was at work on the configuration of stars and planets long before we shot a single frame.

Kevin: Indeed, the instant Ron hired me on BSG, I was so excited, I went home, read the series bible and the first two scripts for “33″ and “Water”, then proceeded to hack out a document on the astronomy of the Twelve Colonies – how might we get twelve habitable planets in one star system (which is stated in Ron’s series bible).

I suggested that either the Twelve Colonies are spread across a couple neighboring stars at the edge of a star cluster, OR that they were orbiting a multiple star system like Castor (six stars in three binary pairs), or a summer target well-known to amateur astronomers, Epsilon Lyrae (the famous double-double star). The latter became our touchstone for the star system that supported the planets of the Twelve Colonies.

Later, when I was working on the chapter about planets for the book Science of Battlestar Galactica, I revisited that document – expanding upon it for the book. While I was writing that chapter I had a conversation with Jane and we agreed that it might serve the dramatic needs of Caprica if we laid out the Colonies explicitly before they got too deep into writing.

So the second to last, more speculative, version of that document became part of a chapter for the book; I shipped the final version—with more concrete recommendations—to Jane for her to use to lay out the Twelve Colonies.

Jane: Then I had author Bob Harris, friend of the show, write a document for the use of the writers. It’s since been augmented with illustrations and such, and it’s been available as an adorable little DK travel guide called “Beyond Caprica”.

The map drew from this document. The information in it is what I’d call quasi-canon. We relied on it when writing the scripts, but it wasn’t taken as prescriptive. If something great in a script contradicted the document, we didn’t sweat it. But it was incredibly useful to have as background “world-building” material. It helped make the worlds feel real to us.

Bob made an effort to make the worlds make sense culturally and historically. As to whether parallels exist between, say, Scorpion and Risa, I can only say that I can certainly imagine a fleet-dweller having that same thought.

If the four stars are less than 0.16 light years apart, wouldn’t you see more than one sun in the sky on Caprica and other worlds? Would the days be longer? Or would this just be a few extremely bright stars at night?

Kevin: One of Jane’s first concerns was whether or not the stars were so close that lighting in night scenes would be an issue. I said that if the stars were all large K-type stars (smaller than our own, but large enough to support planets with intelligent life), and they were separated by the distances of the Epsilon Lyrae system, then there wouldn’t be too much concern. If they were going to shoot a night shot, then the lights that were required to light the shot were far brighter than any of the other stars, were they in the sky.

Jane: I do recall asking him if we needed to worry about lighting Caprica as if there were two suns and receiving the good news that we didn’t. We did keep the days of the week and the clock the same on Caprica, which may be an error, but one we made on purpose – some changes felt like they’d appear distracting or distancing and other like they’d contradict what we’d seen in the fleet – the standard clocks seen in the episode ’33′ for example.

Also, it seems like there’s a lot of info here about planets like Libran and Canceron that I don’t remember hearing much about on screen. Were these planets we were going to learn more about if Caprica had gotten a second or third season? Was there a show bible that included information on those worlds?

Jane: We wanted to make sure our background, world-building material included these planets for completeness. Whether we’d have dealt with them would have depended on the story and characters as we went forward. But, no, we didn’t have a Libran/Canceron plot waiting in the wings.

One of the things I loved about Caprica, and would have loved to see more of, was the diversity of the different societies. And now, looking at this map, it seems like Tauron, Gemenon, Picon and Caprica were all orbiting the same star. Were the other eight colonies, which were orbiting other stars, even more distanced from Caprica? I know we had that on BSG we did meet some Saggitarons who seemed very estranged from Caprican society.

Jane: Bob Harris knew about Kevin’s lay-out of the planets when he was working on “Beyond Caprica,” and certainly took the distance into account when developing the characters of the different colonies.

Kevin: Coincidentally, in the document I originally drafted way back when I was first hired, I made some speculations how the layout of the planets might influence development on each – how astronomy might influence cluture-ironically also mentioning Star Trek’s Risa as an example. I never included any of that in the document I ultimately sent to Jane because almost all of it was obviated by details that came to light in BSG.

I did like how Jane used the options I had suggested to lay out the Twelve Colonies. In particular, I had suggested that two Colonies could be a binary pair like the Earth/Moon system, and I thought that it was brilliant that she put Caprica in mutual orbit with Gemenon. So here we have the Las Vegas planet in mutual orbit with the Salt Lake City planet. Think there might be… dramatic tension… there?

Something that has become topical in the past couple weeks, is the notion that all the astrological signs are “off” by one due to the precession of Earth’s spin axis – so if you’re ostensibly a Scorpio, the Sun is actually in Libra on your birthday. It also “came to light” that there is a 13th sign of the Zodiac.

None of this is new, anybody who has ever taken basic astronomy, or who has ever performed a planetarium show, knows this. In fact, in the original “Astronomy of the Twelve Colonies” document I wrote back in 2005, I said:

Libra is the only non-animal in the Zodiac (which means “ring of animals”), and is a relative newcomer to the Zodiac – it was created from the pincers of Scorpius that were “clipped off” to create a new constellation. The purpose was to create a one-to-one correspondence between the signs of the Zodiac and months of the year. It turns out that, if we define the Zodiac as the constellations through which the sun passes, then there are 13 signs. After our sun skims the top of Scorpius, and before it enters Sagittarius, it passes through Ophiuchus (“The Serpent Bearer”). If you are born between November 30th and December 17th, you’re actually an Ophiuchi. It might be a nice quirky twist to have no colony called named for Libra, but one for Ophiuchus instead-with the constellation Libra being a later Terran cultural influence on the Zodiac.

I didn’t honestly think Ron or David would ever use this info, it’d be distracting as hell to try to explain it, but like your math professor used to say, I included it “for completeness sake”.

I know that Caprica was going to show us the twelve colonies growing closer together. Would we have dealt with the challenges of having four different stellar systems coming together?

Jane: Probably not. This was clearly a stable system, taken for granted by the people who lived there. It doesn’t immediately suggest an emotionally-charged story to me. At least we didn’t have anything planned along these lines.

Send an email to Charlie Jane Anders, the author of this post, at charliejane@io9.com.

ComiXology, with their own app plus individual apps for companies like Marvel, DC, and BOOM!, has emerged as a leader in the digital comics game. They’ve been making strides on a regular basis in their approximate year and a half in this growing market, adding apps for the iPad, a web-based reader, and recently announcing Android readers as well.

Now the company, who has always pledged loyalty to direct market comic book specialty stores, is helping them get into the digital market as well. Announced today via press release, comiXology’s Digital Storefront Affiliate program lets retailers set up an online store for digital comics. It’s an interesting step to help move retailers forward as more companies begin to offer same-day digital releases and discounted prices. The full press release is after the jump, and stay tuned to the homepage for an interview with comiXology CEO David Steinberger later this afternoon.

ComiXology Announces Program for Retailers to Sell Digital Comics

Industry’s first digital storefront affiliate program provides roadmap for retailers to thrive in digital marketplace

New York, NY / January 27th 2011 – comiXology, the leading distributor of digital comics, announced today the industry’s first Digital Storefront Affiliate program for retailers. The program will empower comic book merchants to prosper from the sale of digital comics with a comiXology-powered store and reader. Leveraging comiXology’s technology will provide retailers the foundation for future digital initiatives as the program evolves.

The comiXology Digital Storefront Affiliate program offers retailers the opportunity to tap into comiXology’s vibrant digital marketplace with a simple integration into their existing site. These retailers will be able to offer their customers access to comiXology’s library of digital comics and integrated reader from participating publishers. Consumers will now be able to purchase digital comics online from their local comic store’s digital storefront for the first time. All digital purchases will also be compatible with the Comics by comiXology platform, providing fans the ability to enjoy their comics on their mobile devices and on the Web at their retailer’s websites by way of cross-platform synchronization.

“By having a comiXology-powered store and reader integrated with our existing new and back-issue comics website, we will provide our customers with even more access to the comics they love while increasing their loyalty to us,” said Chris Powell, General Manager and CRO of Lone Star Comics and mycomicshop.com. “Having seen comiXology’s Retailer Tools and Pull List services, we trust comiXology’s technology to help us thrive in a market where customers are interested in both print and digital comics. ComiXology will help us provide the one-stop shopping that customers are looking for.”

Participating publishers will benefit from comiXology’s Digital Storefront Affiliate program through wider distribution on the Web and by strengthening the bonds between publishers, comic stores, and fans that have so successfully made comics a major force in world culture. comiXology plans to announce participating publishers in the coming weeks.

“The comiXology digital sales and reading platform embedded directly on a retailers website is a great opportunity for retailers to participate in the digital comic business,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “As a result, the program will create a new marketplace online for publishers and retailers to increase revenue streams while strengthening their relationships. It also marks the beginning of new way of thinking for retailers, which will ultimately lead them to taking full ownership of their digital initiatives as we continue to roll out the stages of the program.”

ICv2 recently announced a strategic agreement with comiXology to provide customer support for all comiXology’s retail initiatives including its Retailer Tools and the Digital Storefront Affiliate program. Milton Griepp, CEO of ICv2, Steinberger, and comiXology CTO and co-founder John Roberts will demo the Digital Storefront Affiliate program at the upcoming ComicsPRO conference in February.

“Comic retailers have built and nurtured the local communities that support the comics business, and it’s important that those retailers have a way to participate in and profit from the digital comics revolution,” said Roberts.“ Building on the success of our Retailer Tools, we look to expand our relationship with retailers by helping brand each digital storefront to the specific retailer, while hosting it at no cost. With a plan to integrate the Retailer Tools and Pull List, comic retailers will become a one-stop shop for all comic readers needs.”

“Digital comics can be a great tool for reaching out to new or lapsed customers, and retailers should not be afraid of this new format. Instead, they should look for ways to make the digital format complement their existing print business,” Powell added.

To request more information about the Digital Storefront Affiliate program, retailers can visit http://retailers.comixology.com/digital_form/

About comiXology
Since 2007 comiXology has been developing the technological infrastructure to bring comics into the digital mainstream and expose new audiences to the rich history and culture of the industry. Through partnerships with top comic book publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, BOOM! Studios and Image Comics as well as their own mobile and web apps which hosts over 5500 digital titles, comiXology has become a leader in digital comic book proliferation. Also focused on creating strong ties with retail stores through its technology solutions, comiXology continues to transform the previously fragmented comic ecosystem into a vibrant and cohesive marketplace.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at 10:50 am and is filed under Announcements, Comic Books, Industry, Internet, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Some media translate perfectly to digital form. Others take that a step further and are ideal for mobile. I always thought comics would eventually be among the latter. With high resolution screens, we can admire the artwork in a comic right from our smartphones. ComiXology brought that idea to life with its iPhone app. Now they have one for Android, and if you’re at all a fan of comic books it is an absolute must-have. I’ve had a hard time putting it down since picking it up yesterday.

The app itself works simply as you might imagine. After downloading it from the market and running it, you can search from among comiXology’s library, which includes more than 2,500 comics for purchase and 300 comics for free. I started milling around in the free section just to get a feel for it. But before long I was going through the paid section and doing my best to not spend an entire paycheck on various issues. The selection certainly leaves little to be desired.

Once you’ve downloaded a comic you can read it right in comiXology’s built-in reader. The controls on this are brilliant. It moves one panel at a time, which means you’re not tempted to look down the page or to the next one. There are also some easy transitions from certain panels to the next, which helps enhance the reading experience. Some of the larger panels, half page and full page, might be a bit tough to see, but you can pinch to zoom. Double tapping brings you back to the far view.

The best way to describe the comiXology reader is to liken it to watching a movie of stills — a video game cut scene, perhaps. There is no live animation, but there certainly appear to be transitions between frames. Again, this is not akin to the experience of reading a physical comic book, but I like it just the same.

I understand that some purists wouldn’t deign to view their comics in digital format. I know plenty of bibliophiles who feel similarly about e-books. There are definitely downsides to the digital experience, and I will always acknowledge those. For instance, if I buy a comiXology comic it’s kind of tough to share with a friend, whereas when I buy a physical comic it’s inevitable that I’ll lend it to someone.

You won’t find any Marvel comics in the store, which will certainly turn away some. Though I know from experience that it’s almost a draw for others. There are about 40 publishers in all, including DC and its imprints (yay Vertigo!). The comics appear to run from 99 cents to $1.99, so the price does seem to be right. You can get the app for free in the Market.

The Tokyo-based software company Web Technology Com Corporation announced on Wednesday that it is developing an English-language version of ComiPo!, a program that allows users to create their own manga with pre-created 3D characters and settings. According to the company, even “people who can’t draw” can create manga with this software, similar to the way that people who cannot necessarily sing can create vocal songs with the Vocaloid software tools. Web Technology Com plans to release the English version next spring. The Japanese version of the software was released on Wednesday in packaged and downloadable forms.

Manga creator Keiichi Tanaka (Minori no Seishun, Doctor Chichibuyama) is currently the company’s General Manager & Solution Sales Division, while Even A Monkey Can Draw Manga‘s Kentaro Takekuma consulted on the software’s development.

Character designer Kumi Horii (Seitokai no Ichizon, Zone of the Enders) created the built-in character models. These models, along with the backgrounds, are available in 3D, allowing the users to shift the angles of either when designing their manga’s panels. Users can also customize Horii’s designs with different hairstyles, hair color, eyes, expressions, clothing, and other features.

A 17-year-old female character named Miho “Comipo-chan” Koishikawa gives advice to the users with the voice of Sayaka Nakaya (Usaru-san) from the female idol group AKB48. As leader of the “ComiPo! Supporters,” Nakaya is recording the dialogue that will accompany a weekly one-panel manga starting in December.

Source: animeanime.biz