So the big news, all over the web today is about Apple’s tablet product, now officially called the iPad.   Of course there are all sorts of detractors already, and all sorts of people ready to jump on the bandwagon for the product.  There are all sorts of articles online that talk about the positives and negatives, the battery life and blah blah blah …

What we really want to know, though, is…unlike the Kindle, which features a black and white screen, will the iPad allow me, with it’s pretty colors, to read digital comics in a more reader-friendly format than my small little cell phone?

Comixology is an early supporter of the iPad.

A concept video (from Newsarama) provides us with a little bit of an example of how comics will be read on the new device.  Really though, the question that comes up is, with the iPad starting at $499 (for the 16GB version) and going up to $829 (which includes 64GB and 3G), what options are available to us comic fans?  $829 is a hefty price to pay, but if you through in a subscription to Marvel Digital Comics for a year, you get a practically unlimited library of comics already at your fingertips.

Current rumors have comics through apps such as Comixology available for about $3 a pop, which is pretty steep for a habit based solely on the concept of having something in your hands that you can hold on to.  The whole concept of comics includes the ability to hold a comic, file it away, come back to it later and re-read it.  Will comic fans embrace the idea that you can pay, essentially, the same price that you would for a paper version, but for something that will be stored on a hard drive?  And how fast will those hard drives fill up?

I’d venture to say I’m on board to find out, and am definitely intrigued by the premise of a digital reader that I can enjoy comics on.  I’ve not been able to get into digital comics, but a tablet is a lot easier than a laptop to hold, and a lot more reader friendly than a cell phone.  The judgement is still out, but if comic functionality is available at launch, I’ll definitely be pre-ordering one of these babies.

What say you?

Comics by comiXology concept from comiXology on Vimeo.

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In our 21st show,we chat with comic book retailer Greg Thompson, owner/operator of Local Heroes Comics in Norfolk, Virginia.  Local Heroes is a different kind of comic shop and Greg is a different kind of store owner.  He’s got a lot to say about the hobby and the business of selling comics.

• Watchmen and recommended reading for first time comic readers
• Kids comics
• The effect of Amazon on the comics retailer
• Pizza, beer, comics
• Merchandising
• Free Comic Book Day
• Skip week
• Indy Comic Book Week
• Digital comics
• Comics as an investment
• The value of a point-of-sale system
• Greg’s next big thing
• The lightning round
  • Dark Reign
  • Blackest Night
  • Final Crisis
  • Secret Invasion
  • Image United
  • Battle for the Cowl & Batman Reborn
  • Batgirl
  • Batwoman in Detective Comics
  • Reprints in $3.99+ comics
  • Robert Kirkman
  • Teen Titans
  • Star Trek
• Comic movies

Lt Solo performs all your favorite Phaser Rock hits on his album ALL FIRED UP! Check out his website and buy the album on iTunes.

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My mind is on my thumb drive.

Not that I’m thinking about it, but that I’m thinking about. At least, my creative mind.  Everything I’ve written and drawn in the past couple of years is contained on this ridiculously tiny little device (it would only make me sad if I mentioned how little space that data takes up on the drive.)  It also holds the comics that entertain me during lunch.  In a very real way, it stores my imagination.  I carry it with me just about everywhere.

Granted, I’ve got it backed up in a couple of places, but there is something very nice about being able to pull up a story I’m working on any place I happen to be that has a computer with a USB port and Microsoft Word.  While I’ve had a problem or two, namely a few times when I’ve tried to update something and instead of saving I got an error and then the original file got erased, but that’s likely because of the security at my job and not any fault of the drive.  By the way, there’s nothing worse than the feeling of staring at a screen and realizing that something you spent hours writing and will never be able to reproduce is completely gone. (continue reading…)

It isn’t just the smug, self-satisfied, near-cultish, outsider mentality that they foster for themselves and their fans. It isn’t that this outsider mentality is based on almost totally false pretenses. After all, the iPhone is the best selling phone in history. And when most people think of MP3 players, they think of iPods. In fact, “iPod” has almost become to MP3 players what “Kleenex” has become to facial tissues. It’s impossible to be the underdog when you’re winning handily. About the only place where they’re not dominating the market is computers so all you corporate monkeys out there who think that your cool Apple product makes you independent and artistic should take a look around and see how many other corporate monkeys are sporting that oh so recognizable logo. (continue reading…)

I came across this little gem over the weekend, a video demo-ing  a comic shop locator for iPhone.  Okay, first… too damned cool.  Second?  Who’s releasing it?

The YouTube entry is posted by Diamond Comics, who distribute comics and created the web incarnation of the Comic Shop Locator. Okay, but who is developing this thing?

I didn’t ponder that too long, because I realized that I recognize the voice of iVerse’s Michael Murphy.  In fact you can compare, by clicking on the video over on the iVerse page.

This is huge!

iVerse and Diamond working together?  That’s pretty freakin’ cool.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the App Store for this one!

Not even the Square Root Wall Clock can give me more time...!

Sometimes I feel like a monkey.  You know what I mean.  Too much crap, not enough time.

This past weekend for instance… between working in the yard Friday night as well as all day Saturday and Sunday, social commitments and quality time with the missus, there has been remarkably little time for geekery.  Sure, I managed to squeeze in both Dollhouse and Terminator: TSCC, but not much else.

With work getting busier and busier, summer just right around the corner with more social and home responsibilities, my time to geek is at an all time low.  I need more effective ways to get my geek on. (continue reading…)

Iverse Media. Comics. Anywhere.

I’ve tried a lot of comic readers for iPhone and have been unhappy with what I’ve seen.  Largely, my dissatisfaction with those apps grows from a poorly imagined transition from print comic to PDA.  Much of what I’ve seen fails to consider the differences in medium and the specifics challenges of a digital handheld device.  That is until iVerse Media came along with its comic reader application.

Instead of scanning entire pages and having the reader zoom in and zoom out, iVerse Media scans each panel rendering huge on the handheld detailed action.  Comics in iVerse, then, read very much like a comic strip.  I love it!

Further, the greater attention to panel detail provides a much different experience than the print page.  I find that with comics I have already read in the floppies, I am discerning more detail and catching things I didn’t see the first time in the iVerse application.

I first started using the iVerse app back in November of last year shortly before I met iVerse Media founder and cheerleader, Michael Murphey, at Wizard World Texas.  I spoke to Michael recently about his application and the future of digital comics… (continue reading…)

Is there some unwritten rule that it’s okay to release technology before the bugs have been worked out? The Xbox’s Red Ring of Death and Microsoft Windows Vista major issues are just two examples of items that, let’s be honest, should never have been released. I’m having some major issues with my LG Lotus phone from Sprint – I’m on my third Lotus since November 08 and it’s dead – the screen seems to konk out about 5 weeks after owning it. When I called Sprint, I was told that they were experiencing many issues with this phone, so they’d give me a different kind, no problem.

Still…how is that okay? If a car came out that spontaneously burst into flame, or just died within a year of owning it, would that be acceptable? Certainly not. If there was a brand of tire that exploded after six months of driving on it, there’d be a lawsuit.

I was excited about getting my Lotus.  It’s just about the cheapest phone on the market that has the GPS Navigation I wanted, and the full keyboard.  When I had to switch out for another phone of equal price, I couldn’t find a single one with the full keyboard, so now I’m back to the number pad.  Sigh.

I mean, things happen of course, and even a quality assurance program won’t catch everything. But it seems shocking that some of this stuff that seems obvious gets missed before an item is released.  Is there no commitment to quality anymore?

On occasion, folks will say “it’s just a phone.”

Bah!

They don’t get it because they don’t have one.  Don’t make me choose between you and my iPhone!  My iPhone completes me!

Much as the silver cord connects my astral form to the Prime Material Plane, the iPhone connects me to the vast, wondrous world of the intrawebs.  When I am away from my PC, it brings me media and allows me to generate media.  It is a beautiful tool.

I marvel at those who have embraced the technology, leaping into the future of media and marketing.  The people marketing Watchmen have done just that.

The iPhone Watchmen app launches into Adrian Veidt’s screening room (seen above).  Televisions adorn the walls in 180-degree fashion.  Monitors initially load with snow patterns, indicating a present yet weak signal.  Once the user touches the ‘tube, content will populate to the full screen.

Content includes wallpapers for the iPhone, character biographies, links to the official website, a countdown clock, trailers, and making of featurettes.

The brilliant thing about the app is that the screens continue to populate with content over time.  As the release date draws near, more cool stuff is available.

I’ve spent a lot of time with this one, making it one of my favorite apps.  Totally dig it.  It’s a free download in the App Store.