photography | mac | lego | open source | sap | gadgets
Posts tagged comics
Motion Comics
3 years ago
by manfred
in Entertainment
It is unfair of Apple to allow users beyond Yankee borders to browse the content of the iTunes store. There are some great shows on there. A really innovative way of presenting comic books is present on the iTunes store in the form of a Watchmen Motion Comic.
Intended to make the graphic novel more accessible and to assist with hype generation leading up to the movie’s release date, the Motion Comic is a movie using the panels of the comic book synchronized with narration. For USD 20, those in the right territory get to purchase the full run of the Watchmen Motion Comic series. For those not permitted to purchase from the American iTunes store, you may get away with alternate means of accessing the content. A pity that one always has to find ways around company policies to gain access to content one is more than willing to pay for…
The Motion Comic concept works very well and will be rolled out to other DC franchises in the future. Look forward to Batman Motion Comics! The art is original and is animated to a certain degree to provide fluidity. The narration is top notch and makes the story come alive.
Certainly a great way for those who have never read the Watchmen to gain some insight into its excellent story. For those who have read the graphic novel, this is a great way to get through the material much faster.
What a Marvel: PocketBooks!
Stumbling around the magazine section in the local CNA recently I came across a reasonable selection of Marvel PocketBooks. These are printed by Panini Comics and are pretty good value. Each PocketBook contains a reprint of a number of comic books in a handy format – the books measure about 20cm high. The stories are taken from popular titles such as The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and The X-Men and are a great way to catch up on some older storylines.
For example, The Amazing Spider-Man: The Spider Slayer collects the stories found in The Amazing Spider-Man issues 103 all the way through 111.
The selection available at the CNA is limited, though there is a decent spread of popular Marvel fare. From webhead
to Prof. Xavier‘s team
The PocketBooks are priced at a reasonable ZAR 69 each and their form factor makes them easy to stuff into a bag for a quick read during a trip.
Superheroes at the Met
3 years ago
by manfred
in Entertainment
I’m no lover of fine art. I might be able to appreciate it, but I can rarely see the difference between an artwork by Alexander or one by … what’s that guy with the cut-off ear again? In any event, a visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art would be part of my itinerary if I had a trip to New York coming up any time between now and September.
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy is an exhibit that explores the symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero. Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it reveals how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body.
Objects are organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers are catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.
What better thing to do in Gotham City?
Then, after spending time browsing through the exhibits, head off to the museum store for some cufflinks…
Free Comic Book Day
4 years ago
by manfred
in Entertainment
Not today. But I thought you may want to run past your local comic books store on Saturday, 3 May to see what all the fuss is about.
More than likely, the offer sounds better than it really is. I wouldn’t expect a bunch of #1′s or comics with a first appearance of such-and-such. Probably an attempt by the comics industry to try and extricate itself from the pit it finds itself in: digital publishing and P2P are threats, I guess. See a list of the comics that will be given away here. Wonder above wonder, find a participating outlet near you
There’s something for everyone, I guess. From Jughead to the Transformers and X-Men to Neotopia. As they say in the classics: never look a gift horse in the mouth…
The Watchmen cometh
Who watches the Watchmen?
In 2008, we’ll be watching them. A hotly anticipated silver screen translation of the very popular 12 issue set of comic books, later published in graphic novel format, is set to be released in early 2008. The comic book series was written and drawn by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and has achieved a cult status similar to Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns.
If you don’t know the story, here’s a brief synopsis: A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?
There’s some news on the production process here. I highly recommend you read the graphic novel, available at decent bookstores.
Digital Marvel
4 years ago
by manfred
in Entertainment
Digital media is the way of the future. Having struggled with declining sales, increased printing and distribution costs, not to mention bunny-huggers warning of deforestation, even the comics industry is coming up with a business model that may make sense in a wired world. Marvel Comics is arguably more adept at churning out stuff fanboys want – better movie franchises, more compelling characters and an all-round coolness their longtime rival DC Comics cannot always match. Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited brings comics to the web (yes, Spider-man is there too).
There are presently over 2700 issues available online, and for a short time registration and use is free for a limited number of titles. Marvel is obviously concerned with DRM, so the reading experience is limited to the Internet and a browser-based reader is incorporated into the site.
The selection of titles is impressive, and it seems as though this library will be extended over time.
Loading times are reasonable and once up and going flipping from page to page is not a lengthy process.
Considering the price of individual comic books based on printing and import costs, this may be a solution for those interested only in reading or catching up on specific titles. Marvel places no limit on the number of titles that may be selected for reading, making the yearly subscription of USD 60 very reasonable. That’s obviously the business model, already employed quite successfully by companies such as Audible and Netflix: get annuity revenue from customers who initially use the service a lot, then access the service less frequently. The cost is just small enough not to be noticed, and the hassle-free advantage of the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited Automatic Renewal Program ensures that a forgotten subscription is charged for without the customer necessarily noticing it.
If you’re keen to catch up on some of the happenings in the Marvel universe, you may want to give the free trial a whirl. Me, I’d be happy if DC made the Batman titles available as a similar service…
Recent Comments