So.
I just flipped through my first comic using Marvel’s iPhone comic reader app. I haven’t read a mainstream comic in a long time, favoring more independent stuff and manga (that’s another story). I have to say, it’s very good looking. The comics are clear and easy enough to read. Navigation is pretty straightforward and easy. There are a bunch of settings you can use to customize your reading experience.
But I don’t know if I like it.
I’m no luddite, and I’m not opposed to technological progress (though I am skeptical about usage, but, again, that’s another story). But when I read comics, I want to read a story that was designed with the reading format in mind. Granted, Marvel is offering print comics in a digital format that is small enough for your pocket, and they’ve done a decent job of circumventing the problems of the iPhone as a comics reader. But, I’m missing a few things that I love about the comics artform in print:
1. Layout
When I read a print comic, the first thing my eye sees is a page layout. I get to see how the next part of the story was designed overall, how it will flow from one sequence to another, and to see how that layout affects the emotional conveyance of that point in the story. Whether it’s a simple, grid layout or something with more of a dynamic, flashy design, the layout has an affect on how the sequence will be read and it can impact how the reader interprets the sequence emotionally. In order to gain this experience in the Marvel app, you have to go into settings and elect to see the full page upon entering each new one, otherwise this is lost in the app because, by default, we see one panel at a time, and for big splash pages, we see one section of the page at a time until we’re done reading the page, at which point the reader then shows you the full page. Then, at least for me, “letterboxing” needs to be turned off, which will unhide the surrounding panels of the page as you go from panel to panel. This way, you can read through the page with the knowledge that you are, in fact, reading a comic page.
The problem here is that, by default, full page view is turned off and letterboxing is turned on, both by default. I wonder if the designers think that this type of setting is supposed to provide a better digital reading experience. Maybe it’s just me. But, from my point of view, I know that what I’m reading was designed to be read in print, and therefore, since I’m not reading a story designed specifically for the app, my expectation is to read the comic in a manner that is as close to reading a print comic as possible.
2. Navigation and closure
Even after turning on full page view and turning off letterboxing, there is still navigation to consider. The iPhone is pocket-sized, so there are going to be some concessions when reading these comics. By default, animated navigation is turned on. This involves sliding from one panel to another, fading, and zooming. I personally hate any kind of motion in comics, even navigational transitions (comics is a static medium. This boundary helps define the medium. Yet another story), so I turned off the animation, which means each new readable section is presented almost instantaneously. The latter is much more tolerable. With the animation turned on, my pace of reading is very much in hands of a) my own reading pace, and b) the time it takes to animate the transition. With animation turned off, I read at my own pace and transition at my own pace.
We do lose a bit of closure here, in terms of seeing how one panel is separated from the juxtaposed panel(s). The length of a panel, the space between them, and the borders all affect closure and interpretation of time. By transitioning from one panel to the next, or one section of a panel to the next, our sense of closure is affected: we can’t always read the entire wide panel because it’s too wide for the screen – unless you turn the iPhone to view it in landscape mode, but you’ll just have to turn it back again – and our sense of panel proximity is lost once the reader zooms in so that we can read the comic.
3. Non-linear reading
Ever read a comic and want to go back to a previous panel on the page? You can’t do that instantaneously, at least not that I’ve found. You can use gestures to scroll up and down the page. You have to press “back” (left side of the screen) until you get to the panel you want to see again. This omission bugs me. If I can view the whole page at once and read it because the iPhone is so small, at least let me scroll through a page freely if I want to in addition to clicking forward and back.
I will say that browsing through the pages is easy. You can easily flip through pages much like you can flip through albums in artwork view in iTunes. However, the app automatically goes to landscape mode in order to do this.
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Marvel did a decent job trying to bring the printed comic to the iPhone. I don’t have an iPad, so I can’t comment on that version of the app. I will say that, if you need a Marvel Comics fix, and you’re on the road, this app might do it for you. However, I wouldn’t use it as a default reader. Moreover, I’m not the type of guy to get my entertainment and pleasures any way I can get it: if I can’t have a good beer, I’ll go without; if I can’t watch a television show in my home on my actual television, I won’t default to a computer screen unless I can hook it up to the TV; if I can’t read a printed comic because I can’t afford to buy it, I’ll wait.
There are some webcomics that I really like. I don’t read them because they’re webcomics. I read them because their good. They don’t necessarily take advantage of digital technology in terms of their layout and design, but they aredesigned to be read on a webpage on a computer monitor and easily transferable to print. They’re also archived, which gives readers access to past strips for free (in many cases). I don’t have to read them by viewing one panel at a time because I can see the whole thing on my monitor. Even though they’re comics delivered in a digital format, I still wouldn’t want to read them on my iPhone.
For me, what I want to see out of portable digital comics is better use of the technology. If a creator has a webcomic or a print comic, perhaps there could be some exclusive portable content that is designed to be easily readable on a pocket-sized device while taking full advantage of the the size and technology, something that might read a little differently if it were to be delivered on a full webpage or in print. I think boundaries and limitations define a medium. Comics are static and silent. They use borders and space between panels to influence the perception of time and emotion. They use page layouts to affect the emotional impact of the page. When designing a portable digital comic, there are boundaries and limitations of the format to consider, too, just like there are for print. For portable digital comics, those include navigation, transition, resolution, and screen size. Creators should take advantage of these boundaries and limitations in order to have a much richer, fuller impact with their comics in a portable, digital format. Preparing a comic meant to be in print or for a large webpage isn’t necessarily going to translate well to the iPhone. The iPad, maybe, because the screen is bigger, but there are still other issues to consider.
Print is still my number one choice when it comes to reading, whether it’s the written word or comics. I like the experience better. It’s more intimate, more tangible. However, when I do read digital comics, I want to read something designed specifically for the format. I would have a much better reading experience in that case as opposed to trying to read a comic designed for a 6 X 9-inch printed page on a screen that’s about 2 X 3-inches in size.