tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post4642325346812814621..comments2024-02-03T13:09:38.313+00:00Comments on Mirabilis - Year of Wonders: Comics on the iPadLeo Hartashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14417174942647091006noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-11097018448854956212010-02-03T17:52:13.249+00:002010-02-03T17:52:13.249+00:00I agree, Sandy. The more choice that's availab...I agree, Sandy. The more choice that's available (print or e-reader, auto-read or manual scrolling) the more people we'll get reading comics. There's No One True Way that we should try and force everyone to follow.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-9027405337237351782010-02-03T07:57:48.748+00:002010-02-03T07:57:48.748+00:00Just for the record I wasn't imagining a force...Just for the record I wasn't imagining a forced pacing or anything. The reader should get to decide when they want to advance, and I wouldn't want over-the-top effects that would annoy or distract from the story. But I think full-page comics with complex layouts can be intimidating to inexperienced readers whose only exposure to comics is the Sunday paper. More reading options might encourage new readers to give them a try.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00599376696122828129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-11172021423076799622010-02-02T08:23:59.359+00:002010-02-02T08:23:59.359+00:00I'm not into motion comics myself, and I agree...I'm not into motion comics myself, and I agree with you, Garen, how off-putting they are. But then, we're "older" readers (ahem) while the upcoming generation have the attention spans of crack-fed goldfish and need something whizzy to make them sit up and take notice :-)<br /><br />On small screens (iPhone, DS, PSP etc) there definitely needs to be a quantum leap in the way the reader apps display the story. Most of the ones I've seen are slaves to the page, treating the screen like a cut-out window that you're peering through at a comic book. Seeing as it's got to be a one-frame-at-a-time experience on those devices, they need to bring something to replace the way a whole page becomes greater than just the individual panels. Personally I'd prefer an e-reader with a bigger screen, like the iPad, because seeing the entire page is important to me. A comic is more than just a storyboard.<br /><br />The good news: we're living in an interactive age. There should be a little button that lets you choose: regular comic or motion comic. That way everybody gets to read the way they like best.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-49299211391620343652010-02-02T00:34:49.831+00:002010-02-02T00:34:49.831+00:00Pans and zooms... to quote an oft-used comic strip...Pans and zooms... to quote an oft-used comic strip exclamation: "Noooo!" Motion comics have been around for a while and I've never seen one yet I enjoyed. With lots of experimental digital comic-reading experiences, the story (if there is one) gets pushed to the back as all your attention is taken up with the whizzes and bangs. I'm in favour of a digital distribution model (I've experienced the positives of it first-hand), but it's going to be difficult to beat a paper book - so much of the reason comics work is in the way the reader has complete control of the reading experience, unlike, say, a film. A comic succeeds or fails on the story alone - what makes it great is the space where the visual storytelling of the creator meets the imagination of the reader.Garenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15235615048579159984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-39120778480475799612010-02-01T16:12:47.840+00:002010-02-01T16:12:47.840+00:00Sorry, It isn't Robot 13, it's "I. Ro...Sorry, It isn't Robot 13, it's "I. Robot" that I wasn't too pleased with.John Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275476513933849893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-28361139734387922182010-02-01T16:10:27.156+00:002010-02-01T16:10:27.156+00:00This is a fascinating thread: I'm with Dave on...This is a fascinating thread: I'm with Dave on the 'unenhanced' version of the comic, because to be honest, the 'enhanced' comics I've read (Robot 13 for iphone, for example) have bugged the hell out of me: they take over the reader's reading of the comic which rather defeats the object of it being a comic, in my opinion. <br /><br />It's like ebook readers that 'scroll' the text for you - you want to do it at your own speed, not one imposed by someone else. <br /><br />I'm not saying 'enhanced' comics shouldn't be done - and many comic creators have experimented with pushing the form almost as soon as web comics came along back in the 1990s - but it's been hard enough convincing a lot of of people to even read on screen, let alone then hijacking their experience with poor navigation and unwanted bells and whistles.John Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275476513933849893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-71464219049911731892010-01-31T20:48:11.728+00:002010-01-31T20:48:11.728+00:00I feel that any comic reader app worth its salt sh...I feel that any comic reader app worth its salt should give a range of choices so that the user can configure it to suit their own preferences. Eg this iPhone demo of a Fantastic Four comic:<br />http://www.screencast.com/t/IvSnQHRh<br />Admittedly that demo doesn't provide a lot of customizability, but it's early days yet.Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-45340191879711001582010-01-31T16:21:24.576+00:002010-01-31T16:21:24.576+00:00Definitely would echo your comment Leo about allow...Definitely would echo your comment Leo about allowing the reader to make their own way through the experience rather than guiding them. Everyone has their own way of absorbing the comic experience and the thought of seeking to assume control of that experience rather than handing over to the reader would I think be creatively to act as a tour guide through the world that you have created rather than unlocking the gate and allowing people to discover for themselves the myriad delights within.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-53031161349503527152010-01-31T12:59:07.111+00:002010-01-31T12:59:07.111+00:00With comics I think that there will be no problem ...With comics I think that there will be no problem charging for PDFs on line as well as apps on the ipad. The issue is getting confused with the problem newspapers are suffering. The two media are very different because papers are writing about what is essentially a public domain event, while the comic is one story exclusively made and owned by the creator.<br /><br />I think we bow to this weird terror of the "buying public" perpetuated by company marketing departments, and that only their deep insight into pricing is the solution. Basically we made the thing, we own it and we can charge what we want, assuming of course, it's above a reasonable quality level. It's probably a pretty straight forward graph. Charge more and fewer people will buy it. Charge too little or nothing and people won't value it. Also, direct selling over the internet requires far fewer sales to make the same money the creator would have made after a traditional publisher and all the other middlemen have plundered the pot. Perhaps fewer people will buy it, and some will pirate it, but so what, I reckon one would still be ahead of any traditional model while still retaining control.<br /><br />Partial animation, fades and pans, etc. are a red herring. I don't think it adds to the experience of reading a comic at all, just confuses it's medium with another. Worse it could irritate the reader as they wait for the designer's imposed pan, or whatever, to finish before they can read the next frame. My experience of reading comics is to dash from bubble to bubble rapidly consuming the story while taking in the images at an almost subliminal level (assuming the story is gripping enough!). Then at the end of a page go back and enjoy the art. It's the way I like to read, and I love this control given to the reader. I think it's a unique strength of the comic medium. You sometimes see comics turned into semi-animations in games cut scenes.. it runs the risk of looking cheap, as though they didn't have the budget for proper animation.Leo Hartashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14417174942647091006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-88653496871245116642010-01-31T12:15:50.997+00:002010-01-31T12:15:50.997+00:00There is a certain irony that you could offer a gr...There is a certain irony that you could offer a great comic like Sandman, say, on an e-reader and people will say, "I want it for free." Whereas if you stick it in an app that does no more than flick from panel to panel, then they'll give you a dollar for it.<br /><br />I like the idea of putting a bit more cinematic oomph (that's the technical term, trust me) into comics with focus pulls and so on. But that is going to mean more work for the comic creators and I'm really concerned that publishers don't come in with their greater resources and continue to grab control. This revolution is about putting power into the hands of the people who actually create the stories!<br /><br />One solution is to do the preparatory work for a motion comic right from the start. That means planning how you'd pan across or push in on each frame, preparing the art in layers and organizing a library of the parts of the image you want to animate. But before you go to all that work, you release the unenhanced comic, and that probably is free. And you use that to build an enthusiastic fan base, and then you can either raise subscriptions or go to business angels to pay for completing the motion comic - which you can then charge for.<br /><br />Anything, anything, basically, so that some suit with cash can't come along and buy your golden-egg-laying goose on day one!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-18031309743582024922010-01-31T08:32:22.574+00:002010-01-31T08:32:22.574+00:00I think you're right that most consumers will ...I think you're right that most consumers will expect more than a PDF if they are going to pay for it. Newspapers are experiencing that pressure right now, and if they don't find ways to expand the experience beyond text on a page, they are going to have a hard time of it. <br /><br />I wonder what other interesting ways comics could use iPad features to enhance the reader's experience? Maybe there is an opportunity here to create a new storytelling medium.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00599376696122828129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-81833885037053564862010-01-30T14:04:27.312+00:002010-01-30T14:04:27.312+00:00Sandy, I'm with you on the use of effects like...Sandy, I'm with you on the use of effects like pans and zooms, though I don't think it has to be either/or. Those panel-by-panel views are going to be best for small screens, whereas I'd be perfectly happy to just use the iPad to read full pages without FX, like a regular comic.<br /><br />The main pressure to bring in all the fancy FX will not be to enhance the reading experience (though I agree with you that they can) but because that justifies parcelling the comics up in an app and charging for them. If I'm just releasing "unenhanced" comic pages, that might as well be a PDF and lots of folks will feel they should get it for free. Personally I don't mind - as I've said often enough, I'm happier with 50,000 readers paying nothing rather than 3000 readers paying the price of a book. And a fair number will pay even just for PDF comics (look at DriveThru, for example).<br /><br />Most likely you wouldn't actually be looking at PDFs but at comic page images within a epub wrapper. Nearest equivalent is something like our flipbook episodes over on the main Mirabilis site. This video shows how it works for a regular prose book:<br /><br />http://i.gizmodo.com/5458329/what-it-looks-like-to-read-a-book-on-the-apple-ipad-+-video?autoplay=trueDave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-36893956742800571942010-01-30T12:23:48.262+00:002010-01-30T12:23:48.262+00:00The emergence of the iPad adds a heap of momentum ...The emergence of the iPad adds a heap of momentum to the points you've been making in your previous posts on this subject, Dave. I hadn't even stopped to think about how much it might enhance the digital comics experience - too busy drooling over videos of the lovely thing. Interesting times ahead, hopefully.Nelson Evergreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16417190367455938347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-758828279643735442010-01-30T09:55:42.610+00:002010-01-30T09:55:42.610+00:00After watching the video, I'm afraid I was lef...After watching the video, I'm afraid I was left a bit hollow...Dave, I think you mentioned in an earlier post how an electronic medium could improve on the comic reading experience? The quick camera movement from one panel to the next that made it clear the person who created the video was coming from a traditional comic background, not a film one (and the motion made me feel a bit ill!). <br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I love a good page layout and think it could (and should) be maintained - the iPad looks like a good way to display full pages. But I think the panel transitions should be done in a way that makes the most of the new medium. I love the idea of panels treated more like film storyboards, with cuts, dissolves, and large panel pans. <br /><br />I think moving to an electronic medium is an oppotunity for comics to take a big step forward, potentially appealing to a whole new audience - and presentation could be a big part of that. I hope people explore its full potential.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00599376696122828129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-42865304457922583192010-01-28T17:03:39.716+00:002010-01-28T17:03:39.716+00:00Peter - thanks for yet another plug :) Yes, I find...Peter - thanks for yet another plug :) Yes, I find all this very exciting as I think it will empower comic creators and get our work out to a wider readership than we could have ever hoped to reach before. And this is still only the beginning!<br /><br />Anon - I thought the same thing, but I reckon Mirabilis is one of the ones that will show up well on that score. Those fake Silver Ages covers we ran, for example:<br />http://mirabilis-yearofwonders.blogspot.com/2010/01/next-nine-fridays.html<br />- those are mostly single panels by Leo and Nikos and they look fantastic blown up to iPad size!Dave Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14468228790874490693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-23160179717055991122010-01-28T16:36:25.061+00:002010-01-28T16:36:25.061+00:00The Comixology video shows the option to blow up s...The Comixology video shows the option to blow up single panels to fill the whole screen. I would say that's going to put pressure for more work on the art, because at the moment not so many comics are going to look good at that size.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321339472666778123.post-16570523827457134142010-01-28T16:35:20.646+00:002010-01-28T16:35:20.646+00:00Absolutely brilliant analysis of the potential and...Absolutely brilliant analysis of the potential and general direction of publishing that the IPad embodies Dave.<br /><br />I've already had a couple of emails from colleagues who are busily speculating about just what this new development could signify and I've sent them links to your posting. I'm going to post a link to this post on my blog tomorrow, it's essential reading for anyone remotely involved in the business of creating comics.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.com