With the launch of Apple's iPad tablet in spring 2010, comic-book publishers and app developers have pushed hard to optimize digital comics for the much-hyped device.
Comics can be read on the iPad on a number of different apps: some are comics readers/stores ported from the iPhone, others can read already-download comics from any source – and more apps are on the way.
iPad Apps For Marvel, IDW Comics
Some free apps allow comics fans to purchase, download, and read comics on their iPad. These let readers pick from a selection of publishers; fans can also download dedicated apps for some comics publishers like Marvel and IDW Comics.
ComiXology makes an iPad app (listed as "Comics" on the iTunes store) that offers comics from Marvel, Image, and independent publishers such as Slave Labor Graphics. The ComiXology app is the template for the iPad Marvel Comics app.
iVerse has an iPad app as well, offering titles from companies such as Marvel, IDW, Archie, and Image. iVerse's app is also the basis for the dedicated IDW Comics app. There are even custom sub-apps for IDW's most popular comics licenses, such as Star Trek, Transformers, and G.I. Joe.
For now, DC Comics hasn't committed to an iPad app, though the company says it is assessing the iPad and competing tablets. Distribution through a dedicated app or through a multi-publisher reader like ComiXology or iVerse is perhaps only a matter of time.
Comics Readers for iPad
There are also some iPad comics apps which simply allow fans to read digital comics they have already downloaded. These can be especially handy, since Marvel.com digital comics subscriptions (for example) can't be read yet on the Marvel Comics iPad app.
Comic Reader Mobi and Comic Zeal are two options for people who already have large digital comics collections. According to Gizmodo.com, Comic Zeal has a better user interface and price ($8 versus $15), but Comic Reader Mobi is a speedier app with more innovative zoom features.
More Comic-Book iPad Apps Coming Soon
Comics choices for iPad owners will only grow in the coming months. PanelFly, which already has a reader app for the iPhone, will release an iPad version in summer 2010. Meanwhile, ComicBookLover is developing an iPad edition (currently available for download in alpha) of its popular desktop comics reader as well.
As the number of local comic shops shrinks, digital comics have been a growing alternative way for fans to read the latest titles. New iPad comics apps point towards growing flexibility, customization, and choice in reading comics on mobile tablets.
Update July 2010: DC will now publish via ComiXology, and among its free digital comics will be short stories from the excellent limited series Batman: Black and White.
Luke Arnott - Luke Arnott has a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Western Ontario, where he is currently enrolled in the ...
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