Here’s smething new for digital comics for the iPad!
For all our work to revolutionize the reading experience, we believe that our philosophy is what sets Madefire apart from other technology companies. As artists and creators ourselves, the ‘creator-first’ philosophy lies at the very heart of our endeavor. We believe that creative teams should lead innovation, both in thinking and practical terms. So we developed our Motion Book Tool to deliver a wholly reimagined collaboration experience for the storytellers, stylists, innovators and writers behind the stories. Our goal is to give creators the freedom to escape from the traditional confines of 21 static pages, and create a new world of words, pictures, motion and sound. Our hope is that this technology will bring a new dimension of expression and originality to storytelling. As renowned comic book creator Dave Gibbons put it, “We are creating a new grammar for an ever-evolving medium.”
San Francisco, California, June 21, 2012 — Madefire, an exciting new company that brings a refreshing jolt of energy and innovation to the comic and graphic novel industry, today launched its Madefire App for iPad, featuring original, interactive works from Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, as well as titles from other leading comic writers and graphic novelists. The Madefire App delivers a continuous flow of ‘Motion Books’, original stories each with their own unique and immersive experience, providing users with a comic or graphic novel experience like none other. Madefire titles are also optimized to take full advantage of iPad’s leading features and functionality, including the gyroscope, accelerometer and stunning Retina display.
Madefire Teaser Film from Madefire on Vimeo.
The Madefire App launches with three original comic and graphic novel titles,
and four previews including:
- “Treatment: Tokyo” by Dave Gibbons, Kinman Chan, and Robbie Morrison
- “Treatment: Mexico City” by Dave Gibbons, Doug Braithwaite, and Robbie Morrison
- “Mono” by Ben Wolstenholme and Liam Sharp
- “Captain Stone Is Missing. . .” by Liam Sharp and Chris McCormack
- “The Irons” by Haden Blackman and Gary Erskine
- “The Engine” by Guy Adams and Jimmy Broxton
- “Houses of the Holy” by Mike Carey and David Kendall
The first three titles include the first episode, introducing readers to the format, story line and characters. Subsequent episodes will be delivered to readers twice a month and users will be updated via Push Notification when the new episodes are ready to download.
“Madefire is igniting a new era by creating a modern, dynamic reading experience and bringing that to the millions of iPad users around the world,” said Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen and advisory board member at Madefire. “It is exciting to be able to bring this robust storytelling into the 21st century while also democratizing the ability to publish comic books.”
Madefire will also be making their publishing tools available to anybody who wants to create their own original comics or graphic novels in the Motion Book format. The basic tools will be available for free www.madefire.com.
“Madefire allows creators to bring the excitement and intensity of comics and graphic novels to iPad in a truly interactive format,” says Liam Sharp, Chief Creative Officer of Madefire. “We have seen these great innovations in other forms of entertainment such as gaming, movies and television, but reading has largely transferred words to the digital page without transforming the experience.”
The Madefire executive team boasts an elite roster of technology and storytelling veterans with the passion and expertise to change the way we create and consume stories. Madefire was founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, CEO of Moving Brands, Liam Sharp, Chief Creative Officer at Madefire and a veteran comic book writer and artist, and Eugene Walden, CTO at Madefire and a seasoned technology entrepreneur and mobile pioneer. The team is also joined by creative superpowers Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all-time, and Bill Sienkiewicz, widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators in the history of sequential art.
The Madefire App is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/madefire-comics/id533379666?ls=1&mt=8. Images and media kit can be downloaded at http://www.madefire.com/press-kit/
About Madefire
Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp and Eugene Walden, Madefire is backed by True Ventures. Madefire provides artists and writers a publishing solution for iPad allowing them to build their stories in an exciting new format. The Madefire Board of Advisors includes Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard, Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc., Toni Schneider, CEO of Automattic, creators of WordPress.com, Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time, and Bill Sienkiewicz, widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art. For more information go to madefire.com, or download the Madefire App for iPad.
