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The Morning After The Night Before – Comic Industry Wakes Up To The Apple iPad

It can't run Flash. It can't run Photoshop. It's basically a big iTouch. But it could be the biggest change in comic books. So now that people have had a little time to let it sink in, what's the judgement?

National Public Radio kindly links to Bleeding Cool as it prophesies that the iPad will save comics but damn the comic shop.

Now that I think about it, and quite to my surprise, I'm a prime candidate for the Apple tablet. If there's a lot of us out there – those who nervously eye the towering pile of comics by their bed and can't help imagining themselves in twenty years' time blinking into the camera lights on an episode of Hoarders – the device being announced today may, in fact, change the proverbial game.

MacWorld tells developers to just get on with it, and criticises Comixology "zooming" interface.

But the iPad's 1024-by-768-pixel display, while in the unfashionable 4:3 aspect ratio, is just about the right shape for a comic-book page. And the iPad packs enough pixels that comic pages should be readable at full-size on the iPad. At worst, the panning around should be kept to a minimum.

CNet also sees the possibilities of digital comic books.

I wouldn't be surprised if similar comic apps are already on the way, and maybe Apple's own iBooks store will feature a few graphic novels in there, too. Certainly, I would prefer if there were a way to sync up the comic collection to your own hard drive via an application like Longbox, and I would love if it there wasn't any DRM involved, but this is a step in the right direction.

Popular Mechanics is short and sweet

Spider-man has largely resisted modernization—phone screens are simply too small to enjoy the intricate panels without constant panning and zooming, and an e-reader's lack of color is a deal-breaker. That's why a tablet computer seems like the perfect vehicle for digital comics, and we wouldn't be surprised if a dedicated comics channel finds its way into the iTunes store.

The tablet could also turn into a killer app for Web comics, such as the popular xkcd, which could be delivered through dedicated apps.

A lack of Longbox news disappointed some. Rantz Hoseley tweeted eventually saying;

I can't believe that out of the 5 registered names, they went with iPad. Waiting for the Nintendo/Apple WiiPad…

Mocking Apple's very expensive branding? Mentioning a competitor? could that mean Longbox may not be tied in with Apple after all? More comics creators had their say…

Chris Weston: I think this is a good day to be a comic strip creator. I feel like someone's just thrown us a lifeline.

Andy Diggle: A bit of perspective for the iPad naysayers: it only costs $10 more than a fucking Kindle DX.

Eddie Deighton: People been asking me what I think of the iPad. Don't think it's aimed at my target audience. It's more of a commuter-puter.

Si Spurrier: I appear to have boozed then slept through some sort of Cosmic Paradigm-shifting event. iPadwhatnow?

Ben Templesmith: Will the iPad tuck me in at night?Spoon me? No.But at least it won't kick me in the agots & shoot heroin in my living room.Cheers Microsoft.

Si Spurrier: For $850 *I* will spoon you, tuck you in at night, and not shoot heroin in your living room. Non-crotchpunching is extra tho.

The Morning After The Night Before – Comic Industry Wakes Up To The Apple iPad


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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