Who Watches the Watchmen? We Do!

To coincide with the debut of the Watchmen movie trailer, Warner Brothers released what they are calling a "motion comic" on the iTunes Store.

You might remember TDL discussed the possibility of comic books for the iPhone and iPod a few month ago. Now this isn't exactly what we had in mind, but we do think it's fantastic.
Warner Bros. has literally brought the panels of the original graphic novel to life. The effect is very similar to the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons that debuted in the 1960s, except with higher production values.

Do yourself a favor and get part one FREE today on iTunes.

Now if only Warner would give The Dark Knight Returns the same treatment.

iTunes Comic Book Store?

Next weekend I'll be taking a trip to NYC to check out the New York Comic Con. Long before I had computers and the internet and video games to take up my spare time, I had comic books. Back then I spent countless hours and dollars on comic books, but now I only occasionally pick up a random issue or graphic novel. Why is that? Is it because there are too many other choices of entertainment? Have I simply out grown them? Or perhaps it's the way I acquire my entertainment that's changed.

This got me thinking. Is there an untapped market for digital comics on a device like the iPhone? Imagine if your favorite comic book series was available via the iTunes Music Store. Apple could ofter a digital comic subscription similar to the season pass that they currently offer for television shows. Issues downloaded to your iMac before they even hit your local comic shop.

Others has discussed the possibility of Apple one day offering e-books through the music store. While the current screen size of the iPhone / Touch would probably hinder using it as an e-reader, I believe it is workable for the comic book medium. To prevent the user from constantly pinching and zooming to readjust the comic book panels, issues would need to be "remixed" into lesser panels per page to allow for a simple and elegant interface. While this remixing wouldn't work for all back issues, it would work for enough to sustain the service, and also open the door for companies to create works designed specifically for the touch screen.

I certainly don't see a service like this ever eliminating traditional comic books, but like downloadable music and films, it's just another way for people to discover and consumer entertainment.