Reading Comics on the iPhone/iPad

It’s been years since I last read comics but have just started doing so again thanks to a couple of iPhone apps. I’ve always enjoyed comics since I was a kid, but as I got older I stopped doing so mainly because going to the store (the nearest decent one is 15 miles away) became a chore. I started to order online but eventually gave up on that due to it not having the instant gratification of picking up a new issue and reading straight away.

A few days ago I noticed that Marvel had released their own app for the iPhone so I downloaded it. I was a bit sceptical of how it would look on a small screen but they have plenty of free issues to try it out with. They have done an excellent job with the transfer, text is easy to read and navigating the pages/panels is a joy with slick smooth transitions.

The online store within the app is also easy to use and purchases are done “in app” through your iTunes account. There are some nice touches too like push notifications when new episodes of a particular series get released.

Since downloading the app I’ve noticed another one called Comics, by ComiXology. It has the exact same interface, the store and all settings look the same but it has the advantage of not only selling Marvel comics but lots of other publishers too. From what I can tell, the comixology app was released well before the Marvel one. So have Marvel ripped off the UI etc or struck up a deal with them. Either way I’ll probably be using the Comixology app from now on. The prices for Marvel releases are the same at £1.19 plus it has access to many more publishers, most of which sell their issues for 59p

Now I just can’t wait until the end of April when the iPad gets releases in the UK, comics on a portable device is not something I had thought about until now, but with that larger screen the artwork will look amazing.

– Post From My iPhone