Comics Go Digital

By Jessie Atkin

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Comics have grown up recently, from kiddy eye candy to serious literature, from basement conventions full of cardboard boxes to July's Comic Con in San Diego, Calif.  The genre has entered a new age, and new popularity.  From video games to blockbusters, comic culture seems to surround all of pop culture.  This new media outreach is particularly important in how it supports comics in their true original literary form, both on paper and digitally.

You no longer need to find a small comic book retailer to access the latest titles.  Marvel, in particular, has entered the digital age armed and ready.  Not only can major Marvel titles be accessed online they can also be purchased for use on the computer.  Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited is an instant access web service you can obtain for a year for $60.   With over 5,000 comics (both old and new) already available the service has both quality and convenience.  If a specific title interests you (and you don’t want to depend on internet access) Marvel comics on DVD are another exceptional option.

Comics on DVD (which can be purchased right through Amazon) are complete collections of favorite Marvel titles.  The Avengers, X-Men, Captain America, Spiderman and Ironman, all can be obtained -- every issue for the first 40 years or so -- to be read and accessed on the home computer.  I prefer to read monthly comics in hand, but for complete sets of back issues the DVD's are incredibly convenient.

For convenience's sake there are loads of new programs developed simply to make reading comics onscreen both easier and more enjoyable.  FFview is a picture viewer created to make reading comics on the computer not only possible, but also simple.  With a two-page mode and a full-page mode, an image list, voice commands, and a magnifying glass for especially small print, its design is ready for digital reading. 

For more portable reading the iPhone and the iPod Touch can also be outfitted with applications for convenient comic viewing.  Archie comics released its own viewing application just last month.  NBC also has a comic reader application (available on iTunes) for viewing its weekly graphic novel chapters. 

The NBC Heroes site runs exclusive online comic chapters that tie directly in to the television show.  Yet, NBC is not the only provider of exclusive first run comics online.  Dark Horse comics also provides e-comics on its website including Hellboy and War of the Worlds. 

DC comics (while not as digitally savvy as Marvel just yet) does have Zudacomics.com.  Billed as DC's webcomics division the site allows comic creators to submit 8-page comics for site visitors to vote on.  The winning creator then receives a contract to write 52 more pages for their story to be featured on the site.  The Internet doesn't just exist to propagate classic titles, but as a new venue to feature new talent and ideas that may not have gotten the chance before. 

The Internet has opened up all sorts of new opportunities for readers as well as artists.  Dailybits is a great example of the possibilities now present for consumers online.  Dailybits features digital copies of the first volume of over 15 well-known graphic novels.  From "Y: The Last Man" to "The Sandman" readers can invest their interest before they invest their money.  Gocomics.com is another reader centered site that publishes newspaper comics and editorial cartoons everyday, collecting and organizing strips for the consumer, with no extra effort on your part.  Comics want to reach people, and the Internet is more than helping them do that. 

Scott Mccloud, a comic book creator best known for his philosophical works exploring the process, and the ideology behind sequential art, has explored the potential of the digital arena for comics more than anyone.  From his 2000 book Reinventing Comics -- specifically about comics in the digital age -- to his own webcomics and Google Chrome description, Mccloud proves that comics as an art form, as well as a literary style, do not only extend far beyond comic shops and convenience stores, but also beyond books and magazines themselves.  His Google Chrome description specifically showcases comics as a universal art form rather than a geek-centered subgenre.  What better way to explain a new browser than online through pictures as well as words? Comics, in reality, are a universal medium.