comic

Comixology continues to dominate the mobile comics-reading app market with new features for its iOS app, including high-definition comics that take advantage of the new iPad's Retina Display.

Updated earlier this week, Comixology's Comics 3.1 (download) lets you read comics on the new iPad with double the resolution of comics on previous models. It also supports sharing your comments on comics via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail; and offers a Read Now button which lets you begin reading a comic before a comic has fully downloaded.

Support for the Retina Display almost didn't make it into Comixology 3.1, said Chip Mosher, the company's vice president of marketing. "Our developers turned around HD support in about five days. That's a testament to how dedicated they are."

The difference in resolution is apparent when holding a new iPad next to an iPad 2 and looking at the same comic. If you've downloaded a comic for the iPad 2, Comixology will let you download it again in HD at no extra cost.… Read more

A Marvel digital-comics sale in January came with an unusual perk: a $5 coupon for a print comic book. As a lead-in to its Avengers versus X-Men story starting in April, Marvel is giving the coupon a second chance to power up both digital and print comics sales via its iOS (download) and Android (download) comics apps.

"The coupon bumped [digital comic] sales about 25 percent," David Gabriel, senior vice-president of sales for Marvel, said in a phone interview yesterday. Peter Phillips, the general manager and senior vice-president of the Marvel Digital Media Group, added that it was &… Read more

This week's comic pays homage to one of the classic film trilogies of our time, all while poking a little fun at Instagram's uncanny capability to make perfectly good photos look like they were shot 40 years ago. … Read more

QR codes were effective when there was no context surrounding them. If you saw one subtly stickered below an enigmatic poster, there was an incentive to do some research and figure out what was going on. It was like a secret game. Now QR codes are no longer cool. They're everywhere. Corporations have stripped them of their street cred and now they're the advertorial equivalent of getting a "like" from your grandmother on Facebook. … Read more

Marvel Comics unveiled a new way to read comic books today at South by Southwest Interactive that involves an augmented reality app and the physical comic itself.

The app, called Marvel AR, is half of the entertainment company's new push to further integrate digital and print comics, an effort it's calling Marvel ReEvolution. The other half is a digital-only line of comics called Marvel Infinite Comics, which will be available to readers from the standard Marvel Comics app for free when they buy the print comic with a digital coupon, when they buy the standard digital comic, or separately as a 99-cent digital download. The first Infinite Comics story will tie in to Avengers versus X-Men and be written by Mark Waid, with art by Stuart Immonen and colors by Marte Gracia. These are big names in the comics business, so Marvel's clearly not publishing throwaway stories, even if they are digital-only and feel more disposable. … Read more

If you're one of those people who loves the tactile feel of a physical comic book and the convenient portability of a digital comic, Marvel Comics wants to make it easier for you to get your hero on.

The publishing company revealed today a plan to include a free digital coupon with all paper comics priced $3.99. Starting in June, books such as "Avengers versus X-Men," "Spider-Men," "Invincible Iron Man," and "Ultimates" will include the coupon. For some readers, you'll no longer have to choose between print or digital for Marvel's big-ticket titles. For other readers, like CNET's Bonnie Cha, this is unlikely to sway them since they're interested mostly in reading only the digital copies.

Not all Marvel books will have the dual-copy deal, but the ones that do will cover all of Marvel's top-shelf comics. The full list of the June titles that will offer the deal is below. Currently, books that cost $3.99 retail at that price in digital and in print. Marvel has yet to reveal a similar value incentive for readers who prefer digital-only, but it wouldn't be surprising if the company came up with one sooner rather than later given their recent history of incentivizing their comics. … Read more

What did you think of the new-iPad announcement? Impressed? Confused? Uncertain? Sure, the unveil may not have had the bells and whistles of previous Apple keynotes, but when your company is trading at more than $500 a share, you don't want to fix something that isn't broken. … Read more

Tablets have never interested me much, but for the first time ever, I'm entertaining the idea of getting one. It's not because of yesterday's iPad announcement, either; it's for a reason I never imagined would come out of mouth. But more on that in a bit.

First, a little about my apathy for tablets. My reason for not buying one is simple, really: I just don't need one.

When I'm at home and want to check my e-mail or social networks or play some games, I just reach for my laptop or smartphone. They're usually never more than an arm's length away. Also, as I've written before, I like to unplug a bit during my free time.

Before bed, I'll grab a book (a physical book, not an e-reader) or magazine. The same goes for my commute to and from work or if I'm traveling anywhere, because after spending most of my day in front of a computer, I don't want to look at another screen for a while and need an escape from my always-on connectivity.

So why the change of heart? Well, believe it or not, comic books. … Read more

A mobile phone with a built-in projector? That's crazy! Or is it? When we initially heard about the Samsung Galaxy Beam, we had visions of people crowding around someone who's projecting the last minute of a sports game on a street corner. Of course, our minds quickly devolved into how the Galaxy Beam could be used to cause havoc in the classroom. … Read more