Disney Digicomics is a bright, colorful and straightforward digital comics app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that kids and kids-at-heart will love.
The first thing you'll notice when you download Disney Digicomics is an option to read the comics in either Italian or English. This is because the bulk of the stories on the app were (at least, as of this writing), originally created by Italian writers and artists; Disney comics of the Mickey and Donald variety are still quite popular in Italy.
Another thing to keep in mind about the content is that a good portion of them are action-adventure oriented. You'll read the adventures of the Ultraheroes --a realm where Superduck and Superdaisy fight crime; the super-spy Doubleduck; and the fantasy-style Wizards of Mickey. Plus: tons and tons of Uncle Scrooge adventures.
Having read a bunch of these stories in print form, I think they're great for kids and have just enough sophistication to hold the interest of adults. But enough about the content...let's take a look at the app!
Disney Digicomics read great on the iPhone: the individual panels are cropped well and flow beautifully as the story unfolds. Whoever puts these books together for the app obviously understands what makes an effective smartphone comic. I haven't yet seen Disney Digicomics on the iPad, but I have to imagine it looks fabulous. Part of the appeal is really just the nature of the content -- big bold colors on a glowing screen.
Prices for the Digicomics range from $0.99 to $1.99, with "specials" priced at $2.99+. I wonder if $1.99 might be too pricey for a single issue, unless it's a brand-new release. While they didn't offer free comics, I received a free download of the complete first issue of a Disney Christmas Carol the second time I checked into the app on my phone.
All in all, a nice app to share with your kids! I'm really interested to see if in the future Disney expands the offerings on this app, or ends up trying something completely new. Remember: Disney owns Marvel now. Will their digital comics goals sync up at some point?
"still quite popular in Italy" = the comic book Topolino sells ~300000 copies every week :)
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of how The Phantom is also a hugely popular comic book internationally...and not just popular with comic book fans, but across-the-board popular.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, The Phantom is popular especially in Scandinavia...makes one wonder what it is that causes things like that, that something becomes a runaway hit in other countries. It also took a while to get used to the fact that when talking about Disney characters and stories without specification, Americans usually talk about movies and Europeans about comics...
ReplyDelete