Tag Archives: Comics

Kindle DX: A Digital Comics Platform?

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Kelson

Kindle DXAmazon has announced the Kindle DX, a new version of their e-book reader with a 9.7-inch screen. Unless I’ve got my numbers wrong, that makes it larger than the standard manga page, though not quite as big as the standard American comic book page. And it’s only 1/3 of an inch thick, comparable to a typical trade paperback.

This could be the first e-reader device suitable for simply taking comics formatted for the printed page and transferring them to a tablet. No need to break it down and show one panel at a time like most iPhone or Android comics. No need to zoom and pan. Just transfer the whole page.

Sure, it’s only black and white, but there are plenty of comics produced in B&W, or reformatted for printing in cheap collections like Marvel Essentials or DC’s Showcase Presents series.

Imagine 30 years of Justice League of America or Spider-Man in the space of the latest trade.

The only drawback is the steep price tag: at $489, I’m not picking one up anytime soon.

(Reposted from Speed Force)

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Reading Comics on the Phone: Hexed on the G1

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Kelson

There’s been a lot of talk about digital distribution of comics lately, what with declining print sales and shrinking distribution channels. In particular, the idea of comics on the iPhone has produced a lot of discussion, with iVerse Media distributing a number of comics from small publishers like IDW and Boom through the iPhone Marketplace. Not having an iPhone, I haven’t been able to check them out, but they’ve just released their first comic for the Android operating system, which runs my current phone, the T-Mobile G1.

I figured, hey, this one’s free, why not check it out?

Finding and Downloading

The first problem I had was finding it. But that’s mostly the fault of the Android Market, which can only be browsed by hierarchy and sorted by date or popularity. Fortunately, there’s a search function, so I just searched for “Hexed” and it turned up immediately.

It took a while to download even over 3G, so I let it sit and came back to it when I had time to take a break.

G1 Hexed - Cover

Continue reading →

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Announcing SpeedForce.org!

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Kelson

Bart Allen as the FlashI’ve just launched SpeedForce.org, a companion blog to the website, Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning.

Since I started adding news items to the front page of Ride the Lightning, it’s started to get a bit crowded. I thought about converting it to a del.icio.us feed, but then I realized it really ought to be a blog. There hasn’t been a major Flash-focused blog out there since Crimson Lightning shut down, so I figured I’d step in and fill the gap. And I could use the domain I picked up last year!

I’ll be posting Flash-related news there, including a weekly round-up of Flash comics, as well as articles that might not fit into the existing site structure, and (eventually) reviews as well. Some stuff that I would have posted here will end up on the new site. Certainly Flash news, but I may start shifting more comics-related commentary over there as well.

I’ll be refining the look and features over the next couple of weeks, and cross-linking it more into Ride the Lightning. I might keep the current theme with a few tweaks, or I might try to match Ride the Lightning, or I might build something else entirely.

So please, check it out and let me know what you think! I’m open to suggestions as to content, design, etc. And of course bug reports.

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Comics I’m Reading – 2008

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Kelson

6 ongoing monthly series, 3 monthly miniseries, 1 weekly, and 5 that are sporadic. Continue reading →

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Flash Movie Runs Through Another Director

Posted on October 29, 2007 by Kelson

[Flash Logo]Well, MTV is reporting (possible spoilers for JLA movie) that David Dobkin has taken over as director of the still-vaporware Flash feature film. Dobkin replaces Shawn Levy, who himself replaced David Goyer. Keeping up?

Goyer has long experience with super-heroes, having written or co-written Batman Begins, two of the Blade films and the TV show, the second Crow movie, and even did a long stretch on the JSA comic with Geoff Johns. Levy is best known for Night at the Museum and the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen. Dobkin? Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus.

I’m getting the feeling Warner Bros. doesn’t take the character seriously, despite their protestations.

Flash: Terminal VelocityOf note: The film is now being billed as a spin-off of the Justice League of America movie that’s getting lots of press right now. And while JLA apparently features Barry Allen, Dobkin stated the solo outing will definitely feature Wally West. Draw your own conclusions.

Also of note: MTV’s post uses a section of the cover for the Terminal Velocity trade paperback (shown at left), drawn by the late Mike Wieringo.

More info: Flash Movie page at Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning.

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Flashes in the top 50

Posted on September 30, 2007 by Kelson

[Flash Logo]Last month, Comics Should Be Good ran a fan poll for the top 50 DC characters and top 50 Marvel characters. They’ve been posting the results over the last few weeks, finishing on Friday. The four main Flashes all made it to the top 50, and one even made it to the top 5.

#3.  Flash: Wally West
#29. Flash: Barry Allen
#41. Flash: Jay Garrick
#42. Kid Flash/Impulse: Bart Allen (tied with Bizarro)

Master list of all winners. Profiles of all four Flashes (and dozens of fill-in, alternate, and one-offs) at Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning.

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Speed Force

Posted on September 29, 2007 by Kelson

The FlashI just discovered that the domain name speedforce.org was available. I couldn’t pass it up. Now I have to figure out what to do with it.

I’ve toyed with the idea of separating out all the Flash stuff from this blog and creating a dedicated comics blog. I’ve also thought about renaming the site, Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning (it’s an awkward name*, no matter how you slice it), though it’s got enough mindshare that I’d rather just simplify it to “Ride the Lightning.”

Any suggestions?

*Come to think of it, I have a history of picking names that seem perfect at the time, only turn out to be awkward later on. The Alternative Browser Alliance seemed like the perfect name, but I got so sick and tired of typing www.alternativebrowseralliance.com that I registered altbrowser.net just so I could use it more easily.

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Flash vs. the Pirate Torpedo

Posted on September 19, 2007 by Kelson

Arr! Barry Allen may not know how to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, but he do celebrate Jog Like a Pirate Day!

Showcase #13: The Flash runs across the water from a torpedo with a pirate flag on front. 'No matter how fast I go---this pirate torpedo keeps following me!'

From Showcase #13, it’s “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” a tale of the Flash. (Mostly he runs around the world, helps people out, and gets kissed by women. Aye, it be good to be a superhero.)

(Cover via GCD. This story appears in Showcase Presents: The Flash vol.1 and The Flash Archives vol.1.)

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Is there demand for more Flash Archives?

Posted on September 10, 2007 by Kelson

Cover: Golden Age Flash Archives vol. 2Newsarama reports that during the Q&A part of the DC Nation panel at this weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con, a fan asked:

Are there more Legion, Flash or Justice League Archives coming? [VP of Sales Bob] Wayne said that when you get up to the issues that can be affordably bought by collectors the demand for the Archive Editions goes down.

Okay, this might apply to the Silver-Age material. The four Flash Archives books so far are up to Flash #132 (1962). When I was tracking down back-issues in the #133–140 range (the likely contents of a hypothetical book 5) about 6 or 7 years ago, I seem to remember finding reasonably good copies in the $5-15 range. (Better copies, of course, run into triple digits.)

But there’s still 8 years of Golden-Age material to cover, from 1942–1949: more than 75% of Jay Garrick’s solo run. And those books are much harder to find, with battered readers’ copies often selling for $40–150.

Moreover, those 8 years include the first appearances of every major Golden-Age Flash villain. Continue reading →

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Halo and Sprocket to Return

Posted on September 9, 2007 by Kelson

Cover: Halo and Sprocket: Natural CreaturesI just discovered that cartoonist Kerry Callen is working on a new volume of Halo and Sprocket to be released next year!

The book ran for just 4 issues about 5 years ago, plus a few more short stories that appeared elsewhere. It’s about a trio of unlikely roommates: the human Katie, the angel Halo, and the robot Sprocket. More precisely, it’s about the different ways they each look at the world. Sprocket is intensely logical, Halo brings a spiritual perspective, and Katie’s humanity manages to perplex both of them no end. Each story is stand-alone, suitable for kids or adults, and a wonderful mix of insightful and drop-down funny.

The website has several stories online. Comics Worth Reading has a review of the first collection, Halo and Sprocket: Welcome to Humanity, which I highly recommend.

I was really disappointed when the series just stopped a few years ago, and I’m very glad to see that there’s going to be more.

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