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News & ArtsSaturday, July 18, 2009
Books / Nerd On Motion Comics
Posted by Paul Constant on Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Yesterday, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada unveiled the trailer for Marvel's newest idea, a motion comic starring Spider-Woman. Here it is:
I don't understand why anyone would look at this limited-animation mess of a thing and consider it a significant step up from a comic book. Is it really so hard to move your eyes from one word balloon to another? I can't imagine that this is the future of comic books. Or maybe I'm a grumpy old man.
1
How are they going to get this on paper?
Oh, they're not? So it doesn't replace comic books in any way at all.
Got it. Excellent reportage, there, old chap.
Oh, they're not? So it doesn't replace comic books in any way at all.
Got it. Excellent reportage, there, old chap.
2
DC Comics/WB already did this last year -- they have a few episodes of Batman: Black & White, as well as Watchmen, in 12 chapter length episodes up on iTunes, XBox Live and the Playstation Store, as motion comics. I think the amazing graphic novel "Red Son", about Superman growing up in Stalinist Soviet Union, was slated to be next...
3
Motion comics have been around for a couple of years now, actually. There was a Watchmen one for sale somewhere.
Comics publishers are freaking out, as the market for print overall shrinks. They're trying to find ways to stay relevant in a world where it would appear less people read. I guess we'll see.
I think if they were smart, they'd be ahead of the pack in trying to figger out how to convert their already-existing electronic files into a format compatible with the Kindle/other sure-to-follow electronic reading devices. Thus you'd keep the traditional reading experience of panel to panel storytelling.
Comics publishers are freaking out, as the market for print overall shrinks. They're trying to find ways to stay relevant in a world where it would appear less people read. I guess we'll see.
I think if they were smart, they'd be ahead of the pack in trying to figger out how to convert their already-existing electronic files into a format compatible with the Kindle/other sure-to-follow electronic reading devices. Thus you'd keep the traditional reading experience of panel to panel storytelling.
4
The big difference here is that ASFAIK this comic book is ONLY available online. It's supposed to draw people to Marvel's craptastic online site.
I agree with Paul, I suspect the current implementation of this is a big failure.
I think Eva's on the mark here about some sort of eReader. Marvel would be miles ahead if their site actually offered all current comics too when they're released in stores. BUT they don't.
I agree with Paul, I suspect the current implementation of this is a big failure.
I think Eva's on the mark here about some sort of eReader. Marvel would be miles ahead if their site actually offered all current comics too when they're released in stores. BUT they don't.
5
This seems to me like when Flash came out for the web. People were making everything out of Flash because, well... they could. Not because it made any damn sense at all. So we got a lot of really showy websites that didn't add any value or content through the use of flash.... but damn they sure did sparkle good.
7
@3:
Marvel has been using the "motion comics" technique since the 1960's. Take a look at the old Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Sub-Mariner "cartoons" they produced back then. While technically "animated" most of the movement is done with the camera: zooms, pans, sweeps, etc., rather than in the animation cells themselves; very much like what the Japanese were doing at the time (e.g. Speed Racer).
In fact, if you were to eliminate the camera "tricks" altogether, you'd see very little actual animation, most of which was confined to mouth movement.
Marvel has been using the "motion comics" technique since the 1960's. Take a look at the old Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Sub-Mariner "cartoons" they produced back then. While technically "animated" most of the movement is done with the camera: zooms, pans, sweeps, etc., rather than in the animation cells themselves; very much like what the Japanese were doing at the time (e.g. Speed Racer).
In fact, if you were to eliminate the camera "tricks" altogether, you'd see very little actual animation, most of which was confined to mouth movement.
9
You're really totally wromg Paul. You'll have to deal woth that at some point. Good luck. I wonder how that will fuck you up.
10
Spider-Woman will be available as a tradishional printed comic. I don't know where people are getting the idea it wont.
13
I actually thought the motion comic version of The Watchmen was 12 million times better than the piece of dribble the live-action version turned out to be.
14
I can sum up the future of comics in america:
1. Only mutants will ever pay the kind of cover prices you find in U.S. comic stores.
2. Japanese comics, written for a non-mutant general audience will continue to dominate the sales in normal bookstores.
3. Someone will figure this out and make pile of cash. This might happen while print is still viable. If you look at the massive piles of print comics in a Tokyo subway and consider what happens if you spill coffee on one of those (the coffee is a bigger financial loss), I can see those things continuing to make money for several more years.
4. Nobody's reading anymore, we're all going to die (just kidding, I was channeling all my elementary school teachers back in pre-internet times for a second. Notice how much they sound like slog commenters lamenting the death of print-based businesses?)
1. Only mutants will ever pay the kind of cover prices you find in U.S. comic stores.
2. Japanese comics, written for a non-mutant general audience will continue to dominate the sales in normal bookstores.
3. Someone will figure this out and make pile of cash. This might happen while print is still viable. If you look at the massive piles of print comics in a Tokyo subway and consider what happens if you spill coffee on one of those (the coffee is a bigger financial loss), I can see those things continuing to make money for several more years.
4. Nobody's reading anymore, we're all going to die (just kidding, I was channeling all my elementary school teachers back in pre-internet times for a second. Notice how much they sound like slog commenters lamenting the death of print-based businesses?)
16
@10: But available at a later date? I am trying to remember -- there was something weird about it.
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