We must make kids want to read before we can make them read what we want. Jacquelyn McTaggart. Graphic Novels, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Teaching Visual Literacy. Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, Editors.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

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.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

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.