War Stories: A Graphic History

My husband came across the book at the library and brought it home. It's not for kids, but teenagers and above who are avid comic fans will find it a treasure chest of art and information. It includes seven chronological chapters: Historical Hostilities; American Blood, American Soil; World War I; World War II; Britain Goes to War; Korean and Vietnam Wars; and Modern Day Conflicts. This is a comprehensive look at the nature of comics and historical events. It has a comprehensive index of both artistic credits and historical content. It includes pirates, the American West, and Iraq. This is a trade paperback published in 2009 by Collins Design an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing. Look at the Browse Inside feature of their website to see examples of this fine work.

The author, Mike Conroy, is a well known comic journalist and historian. He is the news editor of the U.K.-based trade paper Comics International, and the founder of the Eagle Awards, one of the comics industries major international prizes. His previous books are 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes and 500 Comic Book Villians.

All Ages Manga: Legend of Zelda Vol 9

On Feb. 2, 2010 the 9th volume in the series, A Link to the Past, was released. The author of the Legend of Zelda series is Akira Himekawa. The name is a pseudonym for two manga-ka, A. Honda and S. Nagano, who together have created the series based on the highly popular Legend of Zelda Nintendo game. The series first began publication in the US in 2008 and is not an exact replica of the game. As the series grew the authors seemed to focus on the personalities, thoughts, and history of characters.

A young man with swashbuckling swordsmanship, Link, is involved with Princess Zelda, ruler of the kingdom of Hyrule. Himekawa brought to young readers fast-paced swords and sorcery action with all the artistic flare of traditional manga in 200 pages. The Legend of Zelda is published by Viz Kids. These are appropriate for the young reader and are only available in paperback. The appeal may be more for young women who enjoy romantic fantasy. For those young female reluctant reader manga fans this might be just the series to get them interested in reading.

uclick: Good but Expensive Comic iPhone Apps

The publisher uclick has many graphic novel apps. Be aware that some of the apps are just for one chapter, therefore, making the total book as expensive as the physical book. Some are for the graphic novels loved for ages 8-12, for example, Bone. Each panel is in excellent full color, slide page turn, and very easy to read. However, you do not get a look at the total vertical page and you end up with 6 or 7 icons on your iPhone representing each chapter. In a pinch it is easier especially when traveling than dragging around the physical book.

They also have the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Ghostbusters. Many are $0.99 per chapter, but some are the full issue. Read carefully before you download. Chapter by chapter takes up a lot of app space. When your iPhone apps are on page 11 as is mine, you have to really want the book to allow it to take up your precious space.

You can get Manga on the Kindle for the iphone through Amazon.com, but it is also expensive and not that easy to read. Download the first chapter or so for free just to see how it works. It's tricky to zoom in to make the print readable. If the young ones have to have Manga, the get light Manga such as the Oz series available on iverse. The horizontal display makes it easy to read. For those who want serious Manga, there are companies such as Digital Media Productions working on making Manga displays easier to read on the iPhone, but right now it's a work in progress.

Two More Comic iPhone Apps: Sadly No DC

As I started looking at comic apps I began to realize there were no Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, or Justice League comics. DC comics is not on the bandwagon for the iPhone apps. Hopefully, as these apps become more popular, DC will jump aboard. I can hardly wait. Right now I think the companies are just trying to figure out the best format for their brand.

Comic Zeal is rated with 3 & 1/2 stars and cost $3.99. It has two categories in their library, Flashback Universe and the Golden Age of Comics. The golden age are comics that are in public domain from 1930 to 1960. There are many free ones, but you can also connect online to get more. However, you must be connected to WiFi to do so. The reader was difficult to use, however, Comic Zeal, has a cool feature. You can easily save a page to your photo album.

Panelfly

Panelfly is free and rated with 3 stars. I found it to be very slow loading. When I did try to load, I got a message saying I was trying to load a deleted issue. When I came back the next day, it was loaded. It does not work well on the 3g network. Works much better with WiFi. They do have some free samples. Some of the free samples just give you the first chapter then you have to pay for each remaining chapter. Most range from $0.99 to $1.99, however I found some for $6.99 and another for $9.99. The price is not listed on the graphic novels until you go to buy one. The app lists featured, top tens, and genres. You can also search. The reader is easy to use. Just tap for zooming in, move around the page, and slide to the next page. You can also view all the pages at once. Panelfly is working on a little different app for the ipad.

Top iPhone Comic Apps

I was a little reluctant to have the youngsters use my iPhone, but my grandchildren, ages 7 & 5, love it. The main rule is they have to stay sitting down when they use it. The unspoken rule is I am either sitting with them or in the same room or place keeping an eye on them. I don't want them in my email or making phone calls. As long as you don't give your child your iTunes password, you have control over what the child can read. It's handy for a break when they get bored on a long trip or just need some quiet time. There are beginning to be some good book apps for kids also which they loved but not as many high quality books as I would like. My absolute favorite iPhone book is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It has a Read to Me and a Read it Myself section. It's beautifully presented and a model for others adapting books for the iPhone. Using the iPhone for children's reading is just as handy as any adult e-reader. You don't have to carry tons of books around. Comic reading is one available alternative at little cost.

Archie Comics

Archie Comics for free is the best comic iPhone app that I could find for young children. There also are a couple of paid Archie series also by Iverse. The free version is rated with 2 & 1/2 stars. The paid ones get higher ratings one even getting 4 & 1/2 stars. There are no hacker/slash comics on the free version. They have Archie, Sabrina-Manga, Betty and Veronica, Young Salem, and Jughead. You get four free titles. After that its between $0.99 to $1.99. Iverse uses a format that can be either vertical or horizontal depending on the rotation of your iPhone. It's difficult to read in the vertical format but having both layouts is important to get the feeling for the flow of the panels. I found the reader very easy to use.

Iverse

If you have children who are into superheros and you want a lot more variety, go to Iverse. The app itself is free, has a new release section, top paid, and top free. Many of the Archie and his friends series are also here. It has 2 & 1/2 stars and both the vertical and horizontal layout for easy reading. This is a big site. It also has the the usual hardcore horror, fantasy, sci-fi, Manga, and romance genres. It also has the all ages genre which includes Archie, Oz, Sabrina, the New Alice in Wonderland etc. The Marvel titles, such as spiderman, X-Men, Captain America, and Iron Man are in the superhero genre. If you pick a paid comic, the prices range from $0.99 to $1.99. Remember you have control of what they read because you have the iTunes password.