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More NYCC manga news as Kodansha USA joins the digital comics world with the release of its own iPad app. The app is scheduled to be released at midnight (presumably EST) today and is reported by AnimeNewsNetwork to ‘launch with 34 volumes from four series: Arisa by Natsumi Ando; Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima; Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei by Kôji Kumeta; and Until the Full Moon by Sanami Matoh’ with pricing planned at $4.99 a volume, with the exception of ‘Fairy Tail’ which will be sold for a limited period at the promotional price of $2.99. Kodansha have also stated that more titles will be added at a later date, and with some of the big names they have in the publications list, this app will be one to watch.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
Archie Comics have been quite forthcoming with their digital with their own app, going day and date and going digital in Spanish.
Now, in an interview with the New York Times, Archie have announced their next step:
At the New York Comic Con this week, Archie Comics will reveal its next step in the digital frontier. In spring, the company will bring back its line of superhero characters in a subscription model that will offer an original six-page story and access to an archive of past adventures.
The idea for this initiative came up in July during the Comic Con International in San Diego. The Archie crew was meeting with Michael Murphey, the founder and chief executive of iVerse Media, a distributor of digital content. The two companies teamed up to bring Archie into the digital world in 2008. Between comics available for free, and those that have been purchased, Archie is closing in on three million downloads.
Mr. Murphey was a fan of Archie’s superheroes, who are often referred to as the Red Circle based on an earlier imprint that published them. The characters include The Fly, which was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and introduced in 1959, and The Shield, a patriotic hero who had his first adventure in 1940, predating Captain America by a year. The champions banded together as The Mighty Crusaders.
“When Marvel sold to Disney, and with DC owned by Warner Brothers, I thought those characters are the only superheroes left that are not owned by a major studio,†Mr. Murphey said.
Archie last published the characters in 1985. DC Comics licensed them from Archie and released stories in 1991 and in 2008, but both attempts were short lived.
I remember these comics and have some of the ones from 1991 – I have a couple of issues of ‘The Shield’, and #1′s of ‘The Fly’, ‘The Comet’, ‘The Web’ and ‘The Jaguar’ I think I’ve also got a Christmas Special somewhere!
Archie’s latest digital initiative will be similar to Netflix, Mr. Goldwater said. “It will be a nominal monthly charge with access to new comics and thousands and thousands of pages from the archive.â€
The idea of a digital subscription charge is something which has been thought about before – IDW use it for some of their licensed apps, this could work out well!
The price, which has not been set, is another important consideration. “Value, value, value. That’s what we want to give at Archie Comics,†said Mr. Goldwater, who said he expected the subscription fee to be no more expensive than a regular comic book ($2.99 or $3.99). “We’re very conscious of what’s going on in the economy right now. We want to be recession busters. We don’t want to gouge our fans.â€
As BleedingCool reported the passing of Minck Oosterveer:
The Dutch press is reporting that artist Minck Oosterveer on Marvel’s Ruse, Boom’s Zombie Tales and The Unknown, and the Don Lawrence Collection died on Saturday in a motorcycle accident.
A central Dutch comic industry figure, Minck was best known for his comic book strips for De Telegraaf; Zodiac and Nicky Saxx.
He was fifty years old and is survived by his wife and two children.
Boom! Studios have announce that The Unknown will be available for free on iVerse Media’s Comics+ app and Comixology’s app. It’s well worth checking them out!
Viz Media have announced today a ‘speed up’ of their digital releases of ‘One Piece’ and ‘Bleach’ available on vizmanga.com and the Viz Manga App with ‘the aims of bringing both series up to date with their North American print counterparts by December.’
The move, which will add to Viz’s new digital and print scheme seen as with ‘Naruto’, will see one new volume of each series released starting this week, and then sticking to a Monday release schedule. These are some very big steps for Viz in moving towards the digital market, and should be interesting to see what they do next.
Source: CrunchyRoll
Korea’s ‘Bucheon International Comics Festival’ held in late August focused part of its programming on creating awareness and building up the Korean digital comic business, which, as noted by ICV2 is ‘still in its infancy.’ Speakers from the United States and France were brought in to the convention by company Komacon to spread awareness. Animation Insider reports that  Comixology CEO David Steinberger was in attendance and gave a speech focusing on the use of mobile devices, as well as an ‘overview of the U.S. comics industry, providing hearty research and insight.’ Also in attendance was Catherine Ferreyrolle, Library Director of Cite Internationale de la Bande Dessinee et de l’Image, speaking about strategies for modern comic archives.
Source: ICV2 & Animation Insider
Viz media have taken a big step forward with their digital releases by announcing the 52nd volume of ‘Naruto’ will be released digitally and in print on September 6th. This is the culmination of a weeklong release schedule releasing one volume a day starting with 46 and leading the newest English release. With the sheer popularity of ‘Naruto’ and the immense length of the series, this was a key move for collectors and fans alike.
In addition to this news, AnimeNewsNetwork have also reported that fellow Viz title ‘Black Bird’ Volume 10 will be released on Vizmanga.com and the Viz Manga app on September 5th, one day before the official print release. This update will also include:
- Dengeki Daisy Vol. 4
- Dragon Ball Z Vol. 25
- Grand Guignol Orchestra Vol. 3
- I’ll Give It My All Tomorrow Vol. 3
- Kekkaishi Vol. 12
- Oishinbo Vol. 2
- One Piece Vol. 42
- Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 10
- Rosario + Vampire season II Vol. 4
- Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 21
Source: Viz Manga, Major Spoilers & AnimeNewsNetwork
JapanManga Inc. have launched a new application for iPhone and iPod Touch which will provide readers access to manga in ‘Japanese, English, and Chinese’ with plans to include works in French and Korean soon.’
The app simply known as ‘JapanManga’ gives users a collection of free samples, with the ability to change the language at any time whilst reading. A quick look at the selection appears that the app mainly focuses on doujinshi (fan comics) at the moment , but with the creators claiming ‘new manga will be made available on the app every three days’ and that doujinshi works almost never see the light of day outside of Japan, this might be one to watch.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork & SankeiBiz
Early reviews by well-respected manga, Korean culture and iPhone app sites love Ill-Fated Relationship.
 Now it’s your turn.
 Now it’s your turn.
(Seoul, South Korea, 8th. August. 2011) Ill-Fated Relationship by Hwang Joon Ho is a manhwa app for the iPhone about a dark romance between two serial killers. The app, published by iSeeToon, is now on sale for a special launching price of $4.99, available until September 15th, 2011.
Ill-Fated Relationship is a manhwa created specifically for the digital medium, which are called webtoons in Korea. They are similar to webcomics, but require the reader to scroll through the comic panel by panel instead of page by page. Webtoons are not motion comics or digital comics with a guided view. Each webtoon is made to be viewed just as you see it.
The Ill-Fated Relationship app includes all 20 chapters of the story, plus some bonus material at the end.
Here’s what the critics have had to say about Ill-Fated Relationship:
“The art style is minimalist but slightly reminiscent of the style of Frank Miller with Sin City and the Batman series, offering a film noir style that matches the darkness of the story.” – 148apps.
“Hwang’s style is sparse, both visually and narratively, creating an environment that feels both intimate and detached at the same time. While the limited use of color suggests a similarly subdued emotional palette, the lack of detail (both background and foreground) brings each emotional beat into sharp focus†– Manhwa Bookshelf
“It is this feeling of suspense which is the strength of the App. The bare bones of the plot are two serial killers who start to date each other. The opportunities for tension are obvious: not only the tension of when each will get their next victim but also of whether each is assessing the other as the next victim – and if so who will make the first move.” – London Korean Links.
iSeeToon’s manager, Kim Jin Sung says, “This story features an unusual plot, a minimal visual style and feels more like an indie art film than a comic. Ill-Fated Relationship is too good to be missed and we’re glad the critics enjoyed it. Our next release will be Murder DIEary. It’s like if Dexter was created as a 4-panel comic, and we hope that people enjoy it just as much.â€
There are three different video trailers for Ill-Fated Relationship, Side M, Side W and Side T, which should be viewed together as they have a linear storyline.
* Trailers
Side M :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Side W :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Side T :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?
prmac video :Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?
I’ve been away for a cople of weeks so this news may be a little old, but needs to be told!
Here’s the latest news and links that have happened while I was away!
- Cut The Rope Digital Comics at Macgasm
At Comic-Con in San Diego last week, ZeptoLab announced a partnership with Ape Entertainment to bring the character “Om Nom†from the Cut the Rope game to digital comics. While there have been many video games based on comics, it’s uncommon to have a video game character do the reverse and make the jump to comics. - Why Digital Publishing Won’t Save Comics (Yet)
- New Exec Peter Phillips Talks MARVEL’s Digital Future
- Spider-Kitty debuts in new ‘Spider-Island’ digital series
- Why the Nintendo 3DS is Just About Ready for Comics in Multiple Dimensions
Archaia Comics have joined the ever expanding list of publishers with the Roddenberry Productions title ‘Days Missing:
From Roddenberry Productions, the creators of Star Trek, comes a story about the hidden pages of human history. Since the dawn of time, a being has existed whose interaction and interference with mankind has shaped human development. His powers of time and intellect have allowed him to secretly remove certain critical days from the historical record. Their stories have never been told. Their details have never been documented. Their existence is not remembered. But the occurrences of these days have forever changed the course of humanity’s evolution. These are the Days Missing from our existence, and they are about to be revealed…
In a press release, PJ Bickett, CEO of Archaia said of the new deal;
“Archaia is committed to working with the best and brightest distributors in the industry to provide our fans with the greatest access to our content.  When it comes to digital distribution, comiXology ranks among the elite. I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary impact comiXology has had on how the entire industry views digital, especially with the largest brands. Archaia is excited to be in such great company.”
This is the first title from Archaia and more are promised this year!
Winging my way back from Kapow in London – it was very good and interesting.
More to follow this week!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
GRAPHIC.LY RELEASES DIGITAL COMICS APPLICATION FOR ANDROID ALLOWING USERS TO READ, BUY AND ENGAGE WITH MORE THAN 150 PUBLISHERS
More than 2,000 Digital Comics Now Available on Android, including Marvel Comics, Top Cow, Archaia and many indie publishers
Boulder, CO (February 22, 2011) – Looking for digital comics from the world’s leading publishers on an Android powered phone or device? Look no further, because today Graphic.ly opens their library of more than 2,000 comics to the 22 Million people worldwide using Android phones or tablets with the release of their Digital Comics application for Google’s mobile platform.
This milestone release marks Graphicly’s first entry to the growing and exciting Android marketplace and makes the more than 150 publishers currently available on Graphic.ly’s other applications available to a whole new audience. Publishers available include Marvel Comics (which is only distributed on Android via Graphic.ly), Archaia Entertainment, Archie Comics and BOOM! Studios and many others in offering a wide range of comics and graphic novels to the Android community.
“Like our community, we are firm believers in the explosion of the Android market†said Micah Baldwin, CEO of Graphic.ly. “Being the first to provide Marvel Comics on the Android platform is a perfect example of that belief. This application is only the beginning of the expansion of our relationship with Google, which began as a launch partner with the Chrome Application Store.â€
The new application features a full storefront from which users can purchase comics, as well as the ability to sync with their current Graphic.ly comics library (containing comics purchased from Graphic.ly’s desktop, Web or iOS apps), giving users ultimate freedom to read their comics anywhere on any device. To optimize reading for the handheld devices’ form factor, the application will support ‘Graphic.ly View’ (a panel-by-panel reading experience) as well as full-page and pinch-to-zoom modes. Further, comic books can be both streamed and downloaded to users’ phones to ensure reading regardless of users’ connectivity. In addition to buying and reading comics, the Graphic.ly community is connected through a vibrant social stream, allowing for users to share their activities with friends and find what books are most popular.
Graphic.ly Comics for Android is compatible with devices running version 2.1 and higher and is available for download in the Android Marketplace and at http://graphicly.com/
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Another company are going the Day and date route – this time its Archie Comics:
All Archie titles to be available for digital download on print edition’s newsstand date
The headline says it all, folks. Starting in April, every Archie title will be available for purchase digitally on the same day the comic hits the newsstand.
This unprecedented and historic news marks the first time a major comic book publisher has made their entire output available digitally on the same date as print. The move is part of Archie’s continued efforts to make their stories, characters and books available to as many readers – on as many platforms – as possible. The titles will be available day-and-date via the Archie Comics app from iVerse, available on iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad.
“Archie is an icon that’s recognized and read around the world,” said Archie Comics Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. “It’s our goal to make Archie’s stories and those of his friends available to everyone and anyone that’s interested in his adventures. Digital provides us with the tools to reach out to a whole new readership, and we’re excited and emboldened by the opportunities going day-and-date line-wide presents. This is an exciting day for Archie and the comic book industry.”
Upcoming titles that will be part of the move include June’s KEVIN KELLER #1, featuring the hugely popular character in his own series.
Over at iFanboy they have an interview with Co-CEO Jon Goldwater about the move here
Some news and links from the great digital comics world:
AGENT of D.A.N.G.E.R. Launches With Two Brand New Series
AGENT of D.A.N.G.E.R., in affiliation with Actionopolis, LLC and Komikwerks, LLC launches two new titles with fan-favorite Phil Hester, co-creator of the Cartoon Network ratings-smash movie Firebreather!
COMIXOLOGY CEO On Their Expansion To ANDROID
“Anything that you can buy on the web from ComiXology is available on Android, and anything that you buy on the iOS, excepting Marvel, is available on Android,” Steinberger explained. “Obviously, we’d love to have Marvel on Android and continue to be the best partner we can for them, so we’re talking with them. Stay tuned. “
The walled kingdom of digital comics
The Register is a UK newspaper that that makes tech and business news a lot less boring by cloaking it in cheeky slang. An item that popped up today, iPad media apps: Stealthed hobbits thwart Google’s flaming Eye, caught my attention because it relates to the changing landscape of comics.
