Happy Thursday Folks,

This week DC comics finally got on board the digital comics train, and since most big name comic book publishers are now viva-ing the digital revolution, I thought that I would rate each publisher on how they are doing with bringing comics into this new medium. Let’s take a look shall we?

Marvel: The house of ideas has really been pushing the envelope since they went digital a few months back. Marvel was the first publisher to have it’s own dedicated comic book app, as well as having a presence on Comixology, iverse, and Panelfly. Marvel runs it’s app on the Comixology engine, which not only allows readers to go page to page, but panel to panel if they so wish.  The app is also very easy to navigate, with a wide variety of search options to help someone find what they are looking for. The quality of the books in the store is spectacular (especially on the high res display of an ipad). Marvel also allows readers to access the largest online catalog of any comic book publisher, giving readers a cornucopia of choices. most of their downloads are a pretty standard $1.99, but the publisher does offer a large number of free titles to get new readers hooked. The only hiccup that Marvel has had was their rather douchey release of the INVINCIBLE IRON MAN annual digitally on the same day that it came out in print (I went on a rant about this a few weeks ago).

GRADE: A– With a huge catalog, great app, and presence on several other digital purveyors, Marvel has really done a great job of not only embracing digital comics, but making easy for Marvel zombies to do the same.

DC: DC just began their digital comics push this past week, so they are a little late to the game. DC has quickly made up for lost time though, releasing a dedicated DC comics app, which also uses the Comixology engine. DC has also released their digital comics onto the Comixology store proper, as well as making titles available for download on the Sony PSP. While the available catalog is fairly small at the moment, Jim Rood (the man behind the DC digital push) assures fans that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Marvel did the same thing when it came onto the scene, so it makes sense. DC prices their comics at $1.99, $.99, and free, but the free comics available at this point are very limited.

GRADE: B+ DC was late to the party but seem to be doing their best to make up for lost time, still the tardiness and current lack of available issues dings their grade. The comics look good, and are reasonably priced, and with over 80 years of comics to choose from, DC could quickly have more digital comics on the market than anyone else if they wanted to. DC also gets kudos for getting comics onto the PSP, something their rival, Marvel has yet to do.

Image: This publisher was one of the first publishers to go digital, but their situation is a messy one. With each book being owned by different creators, royalties are a bit of a problem, so Image comics are strewn across a variety of different digital comic sellers, which the overall brand quality. As an example, Comixology (which, if you can’t tell has become the big papa of the digital comics world) has 29 Image series, including INVINCIBLE, CHEW, and THE WALKING DEAD, but iverse comics only has six Image titles, the most popular of which is PROOF. Image doesn’t have a dedicated app, but their comics are almost all $.99 per download across the board.

GRADE: C– The lack of a dedicated app really puts Image behind a lot of other publishers. With reading quality dependent on the program that readers may be accessing the books, it’s hard to rate readability. Image has done a good job of keeping their prices low, which does count for something, but they need to catch up to the other big boys.

Boom: These guys went balls-out a few weeks ago, releasing their whole catalog digitally, as well as introducing a dedicated app, using (can you guess?) the Comixology engine. Boom doesn’t have a large catalog, so “the whole catalog” sounds more impressive than it is, but no one else has come close to doing that. Boom also paired with Comixology and iverse to have comics on their sites. Comics will run anywhere from $1.99 to free.

GRADE: B– There just aren’t enough Boom comics yet. However, with titles like IREDEEMABLE, it won’t be long before this company pulls a huge digital market share.

Dark Horse: Going a different route than everyone else, Dark Horse allows readers to download their comics directly from the App store. The quality is fine, but the strictly panel to panel reading is a pain. DH recently began putting their books up for sale with the usual suspects as well, with prices again ranging from $1.99 to free.

GRADE: D+ If for no other reason than originality, but for goodness sake DH, get yourself an app!

IDW: These folks were right behind Marvel in releasing their own dedicated app, which actually runs on an engine other than Comixology (it looks like an iverse engine) . It turns out that this is a mistake, as the zoom feature isn’t nearly so intuitive as the panel to panel functionality that the Comixology app allows. IDW also has distribution deals with digital sellers, and has a fairly large collection of books for sale on line. The prices still run $1.99 and lower.

GRADE: B The lack of a Comixology engine has really hurt their app, but the company has been on the forefront of the digital push, and their extensive online catalog sets them apart from a lot of other publishers.

That’s it for me this week folks. Thanks for stopping in, and don’t forget to check in tomorrow for more supernatural awesomeness from Dr. Cellus.

Greetings readers!

This week I wanted to try something a little different and recommend some books that you might not be picking up every month. Why? Because you can only handle so many AVENGERS and GREEN LANTERN books before your head explodes. So feel free to try one (or all) of these instead:

IRREDEEMABLE (Boom):

What’s it about? According to writer Mark Waid, the basic idea of the series is this:

“What if you go from, you know, Captain America to Doctor Doom? What if you go from Superman to Lex Luthor? How do you go from being the greatest hero in the world — someone that everybody knows, and everybody loves, and everyone recognizes — to the greatest villain in the world? What is that path? It’s not a light switch, it’s not an on-off switch, it’s not something that you wake up one day and just become evil.”

The series focuses on the world coming to grips with it’s most beloved (and most powerful) hero going rogue. Waid examines what it takes to make a good man evil, and the effect it has on those around him.

Why should you read it? Waid is a master when it comes to writing super baddies (see EMPIRE) and ensemble casts (see KINGDOM COME). Peter Krause (the penciller) is spot on when it comes to showing character emotions. The book is two trades deep and shows no signs of stopping. Get on board with this title while it’s still early.

THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo):

What’s it about? Well, I can’t do a better job of summing it up than Wikipedia can, so I’ll just hand it over to them:

“The plot revolves around Tom Taylor, son of Wilson Taylor, an author who disappeared without a trace at the height of his career. Wilson wrote a series of books about a boy wizard called Tommy Taylor, filled with fantasy, even being compared to the Harry Potter series. During a comic convention, it comes to light that Tom Taylor may not be Wilson’s son at all. Conspiracy theories about identity fraud become prominent with fans of the books, becoming outraged that they may have been lied to all this time. Other fans in New Zealand that form a cult, create a theory that Tom Taylor may in fact be Tommy Taylor made flesh from words, and that he will be their messiah. This theory gains credibility when other characters from the Tommy Taylor series begin to involve themselves in the real world. Tom then sets out to find out the truth behind all of this, while a covert organization looms in the background.”

Why should you read it? Writer Mike Carey (LUCIFER) writes a character in Tom Taylor that is both sad and sympathetic. Artist Peter Gross is bold in his layouts, and his simplified line work helps give the book it’s own unique feel. The book is only 13 issues in, but is ramping up for a great second year.

CASANOVA (Image):

What’s it about? The book,  by writer Matt Fraction and artists Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, is a crazy espionage thriller with secret agents, shadowy bandaged benefactors, alternate universes, freelance thieves, fun gizmos, oh, and of course, sexy ladies!

Why should you read it? Did you not read the description? If that isn’t enough for you, let me remind you that Matt Fraction is the guy who made Iron Fist cool, and Ba makes Gerard Way look good in THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. This book has two trades out already with a third “season” gearing up for later this year, so now is a good time to get caught up.

MOUSE GUARD (Archaia):

What’s it about? Let’s hear it straight from Achaia:

“The mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed. After persevering against a weasel warlord in the winter war of 1149, the territories are no longer as troubled. True, the day to day dangers exist, but no longer are the Guard soldiers, instead they are escorts, pathfinders, weather watchers, scouts and body guards for the mice who live among the territories. Many skills are necessary for the guard to keep the borders safe. They must find new safeways and paths from village to village, lead shipments of goods from one town to another and, in case of attack, guard against all evil and harm to their territories.” They are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather, they are guides for the common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrols borders, finds safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watches weather patterns, and keeps the mouse territories free of predators. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live.”

Why should you read it? If for no other reason than bad-ass medieval rodents and the interesting format (8″ x8” as opposed to 6.5″ x 10″). It also helps that writer/ illustrator David Peterson has managed to write characters so good that you often forget that you are reading about a colony of mice.

GHOST PROJEKT (Oni Comics):

What’s it about? Well, the official series pitch from Oni goes a little something like this:

“Russia is often remembered from the shadow cast during the Cold War-era when every stranger was a spy, but now that the Cold War is long over, some things left behind from that era may not stay lost. An abandoned Soviet research facility somewhere in Siberia has been home to a strange and dangerous weapon that is now in the hands of thieves claiming it for their own. U.S. weapons inspector Will Haley has been assigned to find out what dangers the weapon poses and with the help of Russian agent Anya Romanova they will find the answers, but it will be far from easy.”

Basically think X-files in Russia.

Why should you read it? Joe Harris lays out one creepy-ass mystery and Steve Rolston makes it even better. You can see the fear in a character’s eyes and feel a shiver down your spine when you catch a glimpse of a distorted footprint in the snow.  Also, the book is only five issues long, so you can probably grab the whole thing in trade format soon.

And one to grow on! Ok, this one is just debuting today, but I have high hopes…

MYSTERY SOCIETY (IDW):

What’s it about? Nick Hammond and Anastasia Collins run The Mystery Society, a group setting out to debunk myths and right covered up wrongs. The first issue sees the duo break into Area 51, and it just gets crazier from there (or so we are told).

Why should you read it? You have Steve Niles (30 DAYS OF NIGHT) writing a book about creepy conspiracy theories, so you know you have a good starting point right there. Add to that Ashley Wood (ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS, SILENT HILL) , who can be as macabre as anyone throwing down pencils, and this series sounds like it will be read-with-the-lights-on awesome.

That’s it for this week folks! Stop in tomorrow to see what interesting paranormal goodness Dr. Cellus gleaned from his trip to the desert. Thanks, as always, for stopping in.