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Printheads: The LongBox Digital Comics thread
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CommentAuthorBrad McLoughlin
- CommentTimeAug 8th 2009
Hey rantz, I really love what you're doing. If all works out, you're basically going to reinvent the way I read, sample and store comics, and from my end, it can only be an improvement. Just a quick question, I've recently taken to reading digital comics on my netbook rotated 90 degrees, so I can read it like a book (which made me 150% more interested in the medium distributed this way) and I was wondering if Longbox will support this? -
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CommentAuthorProfessor Imagine
- CommentTimeAug 12th 2009
oooh! good question. naturally, the LongBox Reader should be "full-featured", right? -
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There's a reason (other than the aforementioned netbooks) to take into account screen orientation... without violating NDAs, I'll leave it at that.
Also, screencast of LongBox (barring complications like another unplanned root canal) should be up by the end of the week. I'll be sure to post the URL here -
Been looking forward to this screencast, myself.
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one of the things that bothers me is the fact that I and many others are use to the simple method that CDisplay uses to read cbr files. You've shown that cbr files can be read on longbox but will it be vice versa or maybe having a cdisplay style setting in longbox itself? I think it would go a long way for getting that crowd to come.
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one of the things that bothers me is the fact that I and many others are use to the simple method that CDisplay uses to read cbr files. You've shown that cbr files can be read on longbox but will it be vice versa or maybe having a cdisplay style setting in longbox itself? I think it would go a long way for getting that crowd to come.
One of the features demonstrated at SDCC, but not shown in the video, is the "minimum UI" mode as well as "No UI" mode. So for users who prefer to have 'just the pages', that is available to them. -
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CommentAuthorBrad McLoughlin
- CommentTimeAug 18th 2009
Stunning work, Rantz. You really seemed to have covered all bases, while keeping the UI simple and good looking. -
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- CommentAuthorhelloMuller
- CommentTimeAug 19th 2009
Thought this was interesting, only to hammer home the point that Longbox is indeed the future: apparently Sony is releasing their own comics/digital reader for the PSP -
- CommentAuthorBrianKellett
- CommentTimeAug 19th 2009
There's a reason (other than the aforementioned netbooks) to take into account screen orientation... without violating NDAs
If I were to read something on a reader something like, say, a 10" aluminium 'media tablet', it'd be nice to be able to lock the orientation so that I could read it while laying in bed. For I am lazy and the way the iPhone automatically re-orientates the screen can be annoying in the circumstance.
I like the 'bulk discount' of comicblocks - my brother buys around £300 of comics per month (Mostly Marvel/DC) and so I can see that alone saving him a shedload of money.
Has the dynamic zoom been used elsewhere - because if it hasn't would it be worth patenting it? Because it seems really intuitive.
Yet again you whet my appetite, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Rights/Regions/Publishers is as large as possible. I also look forward to the Reader support, if only to see how you do it...
Will there be support for user skinning of the Longbox client? I only ask because the neon blue wouldn't fit in that well with my minimalist Mac desktop. -
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CommentAuthorChris Hodge
- CommentTimeAug 19th 2009
@ Rantz
This is pretty much the complete opposite of what you are doing, but...
Could you ever envision a time when LongBox users could print comics on demand and have them shipped to them? I know it sounds ludicrous considering what LongBox is intended to be, but I think there could be a market for this, especially with out of print or rare comics. -
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Has the dynamic zoom been used elsewhere - because if it hasn't would it be worth patenting it? Because it seems really intuitive.
It hasn't (in this manner) and the application has been filed.
Will there be support for user skinning of the Longbox client? I only ask because the neon blue wouldn't fit in that well with my minimalist Mac desktop.
Yes, there will. Documented support. As opposed to 'sure you can skin it if you can figure out what file "X_3ZMM_64x_STFU.png" relates to'. Crazy concept.
There is also a 'minimum' UI mode and a 'pages only' mode (for the reader)
Could you ever envision a time when LongBox users could print comics on demand and have them shipped to them?
Shipped? In some cases (such as collections, OGNs, etc) yes. POD? Highly unlikely. -
Just wondering what is everyone's expectations during the first month of longbox going online? How many downloads you think will the top comic you think have? Who do you expect to join in from the other publishers?
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- CommentAuthorBrianKellett
- CommentTimeSep 9th 2009
So now the question is - have the recent changes in DC and Marvel made more work for you? -
Actually no, it hasn't. Can't go into more than that due to NDAs and the like...
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Is there another thread that I'm not seeing? Since this just seems to have gone into private beta, I guess agreements/ndas are keeping folks from commenting?
The sales interface was by far the part of the application I thought was the most interesting... it looked like the type of interface necessary to make this thing viable, which is a great thing. I keep hearing rumors of future strategic partnerships - obviously you can't comment on those, but perhaps you can say whether or not the software is basically the same as above for Win / OS-X.
Another question: A while ago, I read something that claimed the format was vector-based. I assume that was a botched quote (if you folks have a way to turn raster -> vector with that type of quality, you might want to look into another market :) The vimeo video above wasn't really clear enough for me to tell.
Will it be up to the publisher to determine what resolution its pages are? I actually like having a bunch of horizontal resolution, which is something marvel doesn't deliver (one of many things). What about multi-page spreads? One of the greatest things about digital comics is the way gorgeous artwork isn't broken up by the book's crease... is the goal to try to go with the "comic look" with the crease, or will your software support that?
Avatar has some of the sweetest wrap covers in the business - I'm a big fan of Juan Jose Ryp's work on Avatar books, especially No Hero & Yuggoth Creatures. Would LOVE to see that kind of spread in high res glory on my screen, rather than seeing it with a crease in the middle and a couple staples. :)
Anyway, best of luck with your beta program! I'm psyched to see where this goes - my perfect scenario = all new comics released in this format, with trades and hardcovers released as usual... still can't beat a nice hardcover for the books you truly love, but after moving several times, I really can't stand issues anymore, aside from a few that are important to me.
-b -
Hey BTX
I'll try to answer this tonight, after food and caffeine... -
OK, answers...
The sales interface was by far the part of the application I thought was the most interesting... it looked like the type of interface necessary to make this thing viable, which is a great thing. I keep hearing rumors of future strategic partnerships - obviously you can't comment on those, but perhaps you can say whether or not the software is basically the same as above for Win / OS-X.
The app is HW/Platform agnostic... there isn't a "Mac Version" or a "PC version"... it's all the same code base that has a graphic UI wrapper that allows of OS-specific issues. We've walked away from two partnerships, after months of discussions and negotiations because it would have meant limiting what platforms/HW that customers could use LongBox on, and that's a go/no go line for us.
Another question: A while ago, I read something that claimed the format was vector-based. I assume that was a botched quote (if you folks have a way to turn raster -> vector with that type of quality, you might want to look into another market :) The vimeo video above wasn't really clear enough for me to tell.
It's a botched quote, the files are not vector-based.
Will it be up to the publisher to determine what resolution its pages are? I actually like having a bunch of horizontal resolution, which is something marvel doesn't deliver (one of many things). What about multi-page spreads? One of the greatest things about digital comics is the way gorgeous artwork isn't broken up by the book's crease... is the goal to try to go with the "comic look" with the crease, or will your software support that?
You're actually talking about aspect ratio... publishers/creators can designate BOTH resolution (dpi) and aspect ratio (forced single page, double page, multi-page, etc) at export time. It's entirely up to the creator/publisher how they want to present the pages and layouts.
Avatar has some of the sweetest wrap covers in the business - I'm a big fan of Juan Jose Ryp's work on Avatar books, especially No Hero & Yuggoth Creatures. Would LOVE to see that kind of spread in high res glory on my screen, rather than seeing it with a crease in the middle and a couple staples. :)
Yep, and going off of that, having access (again at the publishers/creator's choosing) to have all the 'alt' covers as well... -
- CommentAuthorBrianKellett
- CommentTimeJan 31st 2010
Have you seen www.graphic.ly ? Seems that they are doing a similar thing. -
There were rumors circulating that LongBox was having discussions with Apple for their tablet(Ipad) that has now been released. I understand that you can not say yet until an announcement has been made whether that was just a rumor but when do you believe this will be announced on who the large company you are working with will be?