IDW Publishing

Posted 07/23/2011 at 3:24pm | by Andrew Groen Even if you've never stepped foot in a comic book store in your life, you don't have to sit out on the action. Comic book readers for iOS let anyone indulge in stories of adventure and superheroes. In honor of Comic-Con, we found 10 of the best -- some are free apps that let you buy comics as in-app purchases, and others are paid library apps where you upload digital comics you already own. But at least one should suit every true believer's needs. 1 of 10 ComicsComics, more commonly referred to as Comixology after its developer, is notable for one specific reason: it's the only place where you can buy comics by DC along with publishers, which makes it a must-have for comic fans. The free, universal app may not be the best software for reading, but when you've got the weight of the world's finest comic book library in your download store, that becomes a bit less important. Panelfly Free iPhone app Panelfly isn't flashy, and doesn't have the biggest library, but it's dependable. You probably won't want Panelfly to be your only iOS comics reader, but its a great addition to any list of comic apps. Its reading experience is one of the best on iPhone, and it gets bonus points for being perhaps the speediest of the stores we tested. Graphic.ly Graphic.ly, free for iPhone and iPad, is all about community. Each book has its own forum, and readers can share comments specific to each issue. Whether you thought the artist dropped the ball on one specific page or you want to discuss conspiracy theories about what's coming next, you can share on Graphic.ly. IDW Comics Let's face it: you're never going to need or want 10 different comic book apps taking up space on your iPad or iPhone. That makes it tough for the indies to compete, but free, universal IDW manages to make it work, offering a vast library of independent books. IDW specializes in licensed properties like G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Transformers and more unique fare like Locke & Key and Zombies vs Robots. Star Trek Comics Quite a few standalone comic apps are available for specific series; IDW Publishing in particular puts out several, like free, universal Star Trek Comics. These are a great solution if you're a huge fan of a single series and Read More

By Chris Kirby on February 1st, 2011 Comics writer/artist Ben Templesmith is now an app! Great comic book writer/artists, it seems, deserve their very own storefront. So following this rule, IDW Publishing has created another in their series of iVerse-powered storefront comic book apps (including licensed properties such as G.I. Joe, Star Trek and Transformers, along with IDW’s own IDW Comics app), but the twist this time is that the store isn’t built around a property or license. It’s built around a creator. Ben Templesmith’s work has graced comics including 30 Days of Night, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who as well as his own creations such as Singularity 7, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse and Welcome to Hoxford. Now, fans and newcomers who want easy access to Templesmith’s comics work can find it in one repository – the free to download Comics universal app for iPhone and iPad. The app comes with three free comics up front, plus the ability to download (for $0.99 to $1.99 a piece) over 30 other original comics by Templesmith. More will be added as the writer/artist’s catalogue continues to expand. IDW and Templesmith are forging new ground with this app, drawing attention to the writer/artist rather than the publisher. How long before more creator-focused apps begin appearing on the App Store? Anyone up for a Jack Kirby app? FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2010-12-22 :: Category: Books Read More

Comic Viewer for the iPad is just another generic comic reader app. Or is it? We’ve seen eReader apps like iBooks, magazine apps like Time and Wired, and comic reader apps like Marvel and IDW Comics. But although all of these apps seem to dominate their respective fields, what we haven’t got is a King of comic reading apps. Currently, iBooks seems to be the dominant eBook reader, and Wired is still the smoking hot magazine app on the block (for now). Yet the comics region, however, is still pretty much unclaimed – debatably until now. Comic Viewer, which was released yesterday, is a new contender. The application is priced at $4.99 and works pretty much in the same way as iBooks. A library view is implemented which shows your entire collection – a collection that can be added to either through iTunes, or through in-app purchasing over Wi-Fi or 3G. This in-app purchasing, however, is quite different from anything we’ve seen yet. Users now have the option of surfing the web and downloading any CBZ or ZIP archive comic you might come across. If you’re a comic fan then your list of go-to sites probably have an extensive library ready for the download. The app uses a comic-style typography for the library and settings buttons, which is a nice added feature that adds to the comic theme. However, alongside all the pros, there are a couple of cons. A lack of PDF support is a major issue, along with the inability to swipe towards your next page: tapping is the only option, and as iPad owners we rather enjoy the option of swiping. Overall, Comic Viewer seems to be a pretty concrete app, and (in comparison with the other comic readers available) it’s quite cheap. A few updates are needed to make the app perfect, as it is undeniably flawed at this moment in time. Otherwise a whole new app, developed with the hindsight of Comic Viewer and Marvel (among others) might be a better option. Check it out now from the App Store. Read More

Panelfly isn’t the only iPhone and iPod touch comic book reader officially making its way to the iPad at launch. IDW Publishing will also be making iPad-optimized versions of their comic book readers available just in time for the device’s arrival in late March. IDW believes that the iPad is the perfect format for full-color comics since its screen size so closely resembles the size of print comics, allowing users to have a full-page experience. The company will offer a customized panel-by-panel view as well, just like the iPhone and iPod touch versions of their apps. IDW is also working on several new features and presentation modes that will take advantage of the added screen size, although we aren’t sure what those will be at this time. IDW intends to have the new iPad-optimized versions of all of their apps available at launch, not just the main IDW Comics shop, like Transformers, Star Trek, and G.I. Joe. Digital comics have helped IDW expand their audience over the past year simply by giving readers more options. Their digital sales in 2009 were off the charts, which helped the company achieve their best year ever in print distribution. Long live the comic book! Read More