Cat quietly escapes bag: Marvel has an app for the iPad

[Batmatt Beyond]

The USA Today reviewer mentions it in his glowing review of the iPad. CBR has a wee bit more.

The big question: Will digital and print versions be available on the same day?

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I think there will probably fairly quickly be an almost universal reader app, with Marvel as the lone holdout for a year or so.

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

Some thoughts in no particular order...

$1.99 per issue sure sounds good to me and, as I said before, not actually needing storage space for the comics is a great benefit, too.

I read the press release a couple of times and if it said anything about how soon new issues would be released for the iPad or how many would be than I missed it. That, combined with the cost of the blessed thing in the first place, is still the deal breaker for me. When I can buy the new issue of Captain America (for example) as a digital comic the same day that it is available as a physical copy then I'll be far more interested.

Do I feel bad for retailers? Well, yeah. If comics companies start releasing digital titles at the same time as physical copies then it will naturally have a negative affect on store sales. If there's a bright side here, it's that I suspect we'd be years away from the new digital comics being released like that. It's kind of like how traditional video stores are dying off because of easier & more cost-efficient alternatives like Netflix and Redbox. There's part of me that still wants to have my own comicbook store but that now seems further away then ever.

I don't see the need for a universal (multi-versal?) company app. Run the Marvel app for Marvel titles, the DC app for DC titles, etc. That's not a big deal to me.

Beyond having a back-up for your purchased issues (in case something happens to your iPad), I also don't see the need to transfer purchased issues around. Yes, that would mean that my clone would either have to buy his own Fables stories or read them while at my house but, again, that's not a big deal to me.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

Cavalier said:

I don't see the need for a universal (multi-versal?) company app. Run the Marvel app for Marvel titles, the DC app for DC titles, etc. That's not a big deal to me.

I agree with you here.

[Captain Comics]

We got a press release on this today (April 2): Comics News

[Alan M.]

PowerBook Pete said:

Cavalier said:

I don't see the need for a universal (multi-versal?) company app. Run the Marvel app for Marvel titles, the DC app for DC titles, etc. That's not a big deal to me.

I agree with you here.

It may not make a difference to an individual's usability, but publisher-specific apps (and, more significantly, proprietary lockdown) I think will be a huge stumbling block for comics to really take off in an electronic medium.

It's not so much a matter of "a Marvel app for Marvel titles, a DC app for DC titles"...it's more the barrier it creates for the smaller and independent publishers. If you want to create a comic for the iPad, but suddenly you're stuck not only having to make the comic itself, but have to create a way for people to be able to read it, too? That would be like if anyone who wanted to publish a print comic book had to devise their own printing method on top of coming up with the content. What I'm saying is, it's a barrier for publishers with less significant financial underpinning, and closing those publishers out of the medium is not a way for comics to thrive in said medium.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

In this case, I believe the platform matters more than the app. Also, there are so many developers working on these things, a small publisher, or even someone without a publisher will probably find one they can use to get their content out.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I downloaded the Marvel app for the iPod, but I haven't put it on the iPod yet. I'll try the free comics to see how they look on the small screen.

[Batmatt Beyond]

The creators of Atomic Robo have already enjoyed considerable success with whatever iPhone app they went with. The comic was even featured in a TV ad for the iPhone. I imagine the indy publishers will rally around Comixology and the other comic apps that are already in business.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I also downloaded Comixology and saw that Atomic Robo was one of the offerings there. Marvel's app appears to be a re-branded version of Comixology.

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

Also, FileMaker's Bento is available for the iPad to let you build a database to keep up with all your comics, physical and electronic.

[Batmatt Beyond]

PowerBook Pete said:

I also downloaded Comixology and saw that Atomic Robo was one of the offerings there. Marvel's app appears to be a re-branded version of Comixology.

Marvel's press release noted that they worked with Comixology to create their app.

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

IDW debuts for the iPad.