Not That Enthusiastic About Reading Manga On A Cell Phone

September 7, 2007 in Manga by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments

In an AP article about “Thunder Road”, the first comic to be released exclusively for US cell phones, there was a bit about Tokyopop and their offerings through GoComics:

Mobile comics have been a cellular mainstay for years in manga-crazy Japan, where some titles already begin life on cell phones before going to print.

Stu Levy, chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based TokyoPop, one of the leading U.S. publishers of manga, said the domestic market is still way behind Japan. But he said he could see comics being released in the U.S. on mobile phones before coming out in print regularly in the next few years.

Levy, whose company provides most of GoComics’ manga titles, said his company already is experimenting with adding animation and other cinematic touches to manga stories and tying in manga-themed games, ring tones, wallpaper and other content.

“I think that we’re all still in the experimental stage,” Levy said. “But I think with video and with technology that will allow the experience on the cell phone to become more engaging and more involved, we’ll be able to touch more customers in a number of areas.”

I tried out the service on my Verizon phone and the first chapter of DramaCon looked pretty nice with a couple instances of cropping and focusing on speech bubbles. However, I don’t think I would do it regularly because I like to have the whole thing in my hands and be able to admire two-page spreads or flip through the pages. Another excuse is a reluctance to paying a monthly subscription of $4.49 and using airtime to access something that I can’t view on anything else. It’s similar to my stance on ringtones and wallpapers – I’d rather make my own for free and have a lot of options instead of paying for a limited selection.