Funny faces pop up on the screen at the slightest touch. Little bubbles containing text, smoothly appear and disappear. Quirky sound effects correspond with exclamation marks.
From good-old nostalgic days of cherishing a Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha copy, comics have embraced technology with their digital avatars.
At the 2nd Comic Con, the trend was more than visible. With tablets and smartphones lapping stall space. Level 10, Ashee Media and Fenil Comics took a similar route.
Explains Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India, “People have realised the print model might not work in itself. In the Indian market, there are challenges of distribution.
“There is less physical space. E-books reach more.”
Manish Dhingra, director of Mediology Software, a firm offering 360 degree publishing across web, mobile and devices, informs: “The trend is across publishing. Be it newspapers, magazines or comics.
“Each publication has a niche. Today, the consumption pattern is changing. People are comfortable acquiring content online. On iPhones.”
He outlines three advantages e-comic books have over their print counterpart.
“It enhances distribution of content, which helps in monetisation. Secondly, there is the advantage of adding animation, and creating what we call motion comics.
“It also helps introduce interactive aspects, like contests. For instance you create a blank picture, and ask users to add colour,” Manish explains.
He refers to the use of social networking mediums to market newer comics.
“We tell customers if the print version of your comic costs Rs 30, keep the price at Rs 15 for the e-version and save cash. Since there is no physical cost of paper and printing.
“Besides, it can be used to showcase comics in schools.”
Fenil Comics, which publishes most work in Hindi and regional languages, launched two titles — Crime Fighter— and — Faulaad — on iPad, and plans to launch its Android version in a month.
Fenil Sherdiwala, owner of the Surat-based publishing house, took the plunge to give a, “boost to the otherwise dying industry.”
But there are challenges. “First, lack of awareness. Many people are stuck with old methods of accessing content,” says Manish. “Besides, there is the issue of mobile penetration. Most people have mobiles. Not all have iPads and smartphones to access such content,” he says. Manish mentions that a lack of payment gateway systems, make purchasing tough.
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