Over on the Good e Reader blog Brigid Alverson interviews Russell Willis from Panel Nine about their approach to the recently launched digital version of the excellent British kid’s anthology comic The Phoenix, which is a comic we’ve covered on here a number of times, discussing the pros and cons of the interface for the younger users, why only iPad at the moment when Android tablets are selling so hugely and Russell also touches on some of Panel Nine’s interesting early digi-comics history, drawing on his past publishing the Infinity fanzine, which included work from the likes of Hunt Emerson and Eddie Campbell, which lead to him later digitally publishing work by those creators (the brilliant Terry Wiley’s Vanity Fair, another solid fave on here, is getting the digital treatment very soon too):
“Brigid: How did you find out about The Phoenix, and how did you come to be their digital developer?
Russell: Well, The Phoenix is famous in the British comics community, partly because it features some of the best comics talent in Britain and partly because it is one of the few serialized story comics for kids still going in print. I’ve been an advocate for “literary graphic novels” for adults since the 80s but I also know we need more gateway drugs like The Phoenix to get kids hooked on comics as an art form. The Phoenix is a best-of-class publication and so I got a contact, flew over from Tokyo to Oxford in the UK, and sold them on the idea of doing a digital version for the iPad using Apple’s Newsstand service. We’re immensely proud to be involved with such a marvelous publication!”
(tip of the hat to Garen Ewing for the link)
Mon, Jan 21, 2013
Comics and cartoons, Interviews