iPad may bolster the market for print comic books

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The Apple iPad is a near perfect platform for reading digital comic books, and this is something that I’m excited about. Why? I’ll get to that; but first, I need to point you to a thought-provoking post on Swear All You Like about digital comics as comic store killers.

It makes some great points that would make anyone think twice about the positive buzz that’s been floating around about digital comics and the Marvel and DC apps especially. To summarize, at the risk of oversimplifying, the article posits that if the time comes when such companies can make a ton of money from digital sales, they will close their retail stores and stop production of print copies entirely – and views this as inevitable.

While I agree that companies are not going to continue to produce a product that isn’t generating a profit for any of their products, I see the future of print comics a little bit differently. In fact, I will even suggest that digital comics may revive the market for print comics. Yes, you read “revive.”

I’m no industry expert, to be sure, but I believe that there is compelling evidence out there indicating that we shouldn’t lose hope just yet. For example, let’s consider the recent news that Amazon’s e-book sales are up 80%, and actually surpassed their sale of print books for the first time over the last three months. While this would seem to suggest that e-books are taking over, so far, the sale of print books is rising too. According to PCWorld, “adult hardcover books were also on the rise in May and grew by 43.2 percent for a total of $138.5 million in sales.”

Could it be that all of the talk about e-readers, from the commercials to blogs to the office chatter, is reinforcing a culture of reading? Could every new friend, co-worker, or fellow public transit rider who whips one out make people want to read – and prove that they, too, could make time for it? I sure think so.

So why am I unafraid of the potential downfall of the print comic? To answer this, I’m going to have to first point out that I’m not, and have never been, a comic lover – but it is not from lack of interest. Where I hail from, a small, but by no means “backwater,”  Canadian town with a faltering downtown core, there were no comic book stores. We didn’t even have a Wal-Mart or a Chapters until I was almost in my teenage years. I was unable to participate in the sub-culture of collecting, swapping, trading, getting to know the store clerks and learning to love the smell of the comic books. Is it me whom you are all afraid of?

Don’t be. I don’t plan on latching on to the digital version of all your favourites and touting it as the be-all and end-all experience. I am excited because, for the first time, I will have full access to comics from around the world. I won’t have to drive to Toronto or wait until something is popular enough to be published in Canada. I will be able to read not only the big guns like Marvel and DC, but grassroots comics and all that exist in the space between. When it really takes off, I could break into the sub-culture and participate.

And just as seeing e-readers gives people an itch to read, seeing other people reading digital comics, hearing them talk about their new-found comic hobby, and being able to see what is out there in comic form that isn’t limited to Wonder Woman on your bud’s iPad will drum up interest in other comic-deprived human beings. When people walk past comic stores – especially those without the iPad, such as many students will be – they may suddenly get the itch to go in. When they’ve fallen in love with a series on their iPad, they may research purchasing a set via the web.

I don’t believe that digital will be a print killer at all. Rather, I think that by increasing our access to texts, creating new and exciting entry points into reading for children, causing discussion about how and what we’re reading seemingly everywhere we go in a day, digital media will work harmoniously with print. It’s symbiosis, baby.

Tags: amazon, apple-ipad, comic-book-store, comic-book-subculture, comic-books, culture-of-reading, dc-ipad-app, digital-comic-sales, digital-comics, digital-media, interactive-reading, ipad, ipad-apps, ipad-comic-books, ipad-comics, kids-ipad, marvel-ipad-app

Interactive Reading: iPad and reimagined pop-up books

If you’ve Googled ‘iPad’ at all, chances are, you’ve come across the Alice in Wonderland app by Atomic Antelope. This is a stunning example of the type of content that can be developed for the iPad that will capture the hearts and minds of young children. In fact, Alice was never one of my favourites; yet, I’m convinced that had I seen something like this as a child, I would have been inspired.

It has been lauded as the new pop-up book, and I’m going to have to agree. I had few such books when I was young, I loved them heartily. Unfortunately, they were subject to rips, tears, folds, and bends in a way that books on the iPad are not, assuming that an adult is holding the device. The experience on an iPad is also going to be more immersive, as the realism increases exponentially over the paper folds that really only present well from one, maybe two, angles.

And the obvious? It’s interactive! You can throw darts at the Queen of Hearts, shake the device to watch things topple, see Alice grow and shrink, and so much more. Considering how much I want to play with this, I can only imagine how excited a child would be to toy around with it. When my iPad arrives on August 20, I’ll download the free (lite) version and let you know how it goes.

The only downside I see in purchasing this for a young child instead of a paper copy – although no one is saying you can’t have both – is that she can’t take it into her room and hold it, colour on it, and cuddle up with it when she has a fever. Skinning your iPad or popping it into a protective casing that encompasses the corners can go a long way to help with this, though, and really, most kids want to be read to by, or read with, an adult.

What is truly of interest to me about this app goes beyond the surface interaction. This is a glossy, wacky, colourful, and powerful entry point for children into the world of digital reading. This is merely an example of an early idea about what books on the iPad can look like – and do! I have no doubt that this is only the beginning.

Tags: alice-in-wonderland-ipad, alice-in-wonderland-ipad-app, atomic-antelope, children-ipad, childrens-books-ipad, interactive-book, interactive-book-ipad, ipad, ipad-apps, ipad-book-apps, ipad-pop-up-books, ipad-popup-books, kids-books-ipad, kids-ipad, pop-up-books, popup-books

iPad skins for the book lover part one

Whether you’ve already decided to buy an iPad, or you’re still considering it, chances are, you’re already looking at ways to protect it. Skins are one option; although they will not protect the screen, they can be combined with screen protectors. They are also ideal for anyone who chooses to use a sleeve or bag type case instead of a flip design.

Skins allow you to express yourself and personalize your device, and because the iPad doubles as an e-reader, why not choose something unexpected? Whether you wish to be ironic, impress your professors, exhibit your love of reading in any format, or establish your device as a bridge between print and digital, there’s a book loving skin out there for you. Heck, you can even address those “but I like to display my books, and I can’t do that with an e-reader” arguments in style. Below are my selections from two companies: GelaSkins, which I have personally tried and highly recommend, and DecalGirl.

Let’s go literal: Books!

“Google Data Center” by Vlad Studio, featured at DecalGirl.com, re-imagines Google  as “an enormous library” with an “infinite number of books” and “staffed with tiny little Google minions whose only purpose is to find your information.” I think I’d like to meet those minions.

In the speech bubbles, there are Google search engine “communications” such as, “Did you mean ?” and the minions themselves look to be made of parchment paper. This is the perfect skin to show that you see infinite potential in the interplay between print and digital media, rather than hopping on the “books are dying” bandwagon. In fact, I’ve found skins to be excellent conversation starters, and this one provides an opening for stimulating discussion about reading in both media.

If you like “Google Data Center” then Vlad Studio is an artist to watch. He contributes three more skin designs to this category alone. Next up is “Library,” which is a bit more traditional in its lack of paper doll minions and references to search engines. This is an infinite library that’s just for you – a space to be alone with your thoughts and any books you please. If only real libraries were this peaceful!

Personally, I love the dream-like quality of this design. The wavy bookshelf lines and imperfect books seem to encourage one to visit the space through imagination, rather than simply stare at it, objectively, removed from it, the way so many images are consumed. It also implies that time moves differently there.  The candle, hand-made ladder, and old-fashioned book jackets add to the whimsy and the fantasy, and subtle details like the stone wall in the background add richness. I know that I this is one skin I wouldn’t tire of looking at!

“Bookshelf” by Colin Thompson, also seen in this post’s main image, provides a different sort of inspiration. Its bold colours and story elements that have popped from the pages is decidedly more vibrant. It speaks to a love of stories, and hints at the interactive functions of the iPad, which has the ability to make illustrations come to life. It seems to cross generations, genres, styles, and target audiences. “I have always believed in the magic of childhood,” says Thompson in his GelaSkins biography, “and think that if you get your life right that magic should never end.” If you love the bookshelf concept, but want something bright and cheerful, this skin will deliver – and when people ask you about it in coffee shops, you can tell them that the artist is colour blind.

If you don’t like the idea of the bookshelf, and you prefer browns, then check out these two designs that, while incorporating books, are a little less literal. The first is “Tree of Books” by Vlad Studio. Line art trees are very popular, and this adds a creative, book-loving twist. When the image is viewed up close, or in its actual size, the tree begins to resemble wrought-iron, and you can see that the books are gripped by stylized branches acting as tentacles.

I like this design, but I probably wouldn’t purchase it. Although I adore rich browns, there’s something about this that just isn’t enough for me. Still, I love the idea of fusing nature with books; it seems to symbolize the organic and interconnected nature of ideas.

Last but not least in this category is “Lettereater,” also by Vlad Studio. This one sticks with his characteristic brown colour palette, incorporates the natural world, and yet is delightfully more alien and fantastical than organic. Vlad refers to it as an “ode to marsupial writers,” explaining that the “little bespectacled white anteater slurps what appears to be a handwriting lesson straight off the pages of an aged brown lesson book.”

This skin seems perfect for children and anyone who has a soft spot for children’s literature. It embodies both stories and study, subtly celebrates literacy, and well, I really want the opportunity to explain to my professors that the “little bespectacled white anteater” slurped up my homework.

Specific literary references

Perhaps you would like to showcase your literary tastes by skinning your iPad with a reference to a work you truly love. While your options are going to be limited if you’re looking for custom artwork, don’t forget that you can always upload your own art that you’ve scanned into your computer. All of the designs in this category are from GelaSkins.

“Tea Party” by Brandi Milne is for the Alice in Wonderland lover. I love how this skin isn’t immediately identifiable. In other words, it’s not just more Alice simulacra. The way in which it plays with perspective, proportions, and size, echoes the book in an imaginative way.

The earthy pastels will strongly appeal to some people, I’m sure, even though it isn’t one of my absolute favourites. It’s important when buying a skin to choose something that you’ll love to look at every day, so don’t settle! This palette makes me think vintage circus, the 1970s, and autumn spices. Mmm.

The next two designs remind me of Moby Dick, and all of the associated references and metaphors. Both are done by Jen Lobo; on the left is “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” and on the right is “Devil Whale.”

This book is on my “intend to read” list, so I wouldn’t buy these and misrepresent myself. In addition, GelaSkins doesn’t have these already mapped out in iPad-size; fortunately, you can do it yourself at no extra charge! Because of its dimensions, you will lose some of each photo. For “Devil Whale,” stretch it diagonally until it is the width of the iPad. Then, align the right edge with the right edge of the device – this will get all of the ship in, centre the whale, and only cut off some water. Align the top of the design with the top of the iPad and you’ll have it, although you’ll lose his tail. “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” does not adapt as well. After stretching it until it is the right width, I see two options: you can drag it down to get just below the ribbon under his eye, which will also show a good chunk of the boat, or you can align the tops, which will show the full ship and cut the whale off partway through his southern-most white stripe. You’ll still know it is a whale, and I think people will still get the reference; the rest of the whale will be left to the imagination!

Last but not least, we have “Dr Gonzo” by Ralph Steadman, the actual illustrator for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. If you’re a fan, you really can’t beat that. It also lets you stick with a white device, which is important to some die-hard Apple fans who may have other white devices that they want to match.

This design takes full advantage of GelaSkin’s matching wallpaper; in order to fill in the second design on the front, you need to use it. Both GelaSkin and DecalGirl offer free matching wallpapers, so if this isn’t the design for you, you can still get the same effect – although with many designs, the front cover is just a copy of the back.

Haven’t found your skin yet? Stay tuned for part two!

Tags: alice-in-wonderland-ipad, alice-in-wonderland-ipad-skin, book-lover, book-tree-ipad, bookshelf-ipad, bookshelf-skin, bookshelf-skin-ipad, brandi-milne, colin-thompson, decalgirl, dr-gonzo-ipad, fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas, fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas-ipad, gelaskins, google-skin, google-skin-ipad, hunter-s-thompson, ipad, ipad-book-skins, ipad-skins, ipad-tree-skins, jen-lobo, lettereater, library-ipad, library-skin-ipad, moby-dick, moby-dick-ipad, moby-dick-skin, ralph-steadman, student-ipad-skins, tea-party, tea-party-alice-in-wonderland, tea-party-ipad, vlad-studio