Digital Comics General Discussion

[Ravenblade86]

This may have gone unnoticed by some yesterday unless you follow @psncomics on Twitter, but a new publisher was announced. Though you won't actually see the name Orb Entertainment on the Publishers list on the store, as they are acting a middle man to help other smaller companies digitally distribute their comics.

It seems to be similar to what iVerseComics are meant to be doing for Red5Comics and Image Comics to name a few, but already just from the first week of releases from Orb I would say they look like a company who are going to support PlayStation Digital Comics much more actively.

Here is the PR announcement about Orb Entertainment joining PlayStation Digital Comics:

" Orb now converts and distributes some fantastic graphic novel and comic content via the Playstation Network.

We have teamed up with some brilliant book publishing houses, indie comic houses, and indie comic writers/artists to offer PSP users something a little different. Check out the links on the top right - as each publisher goes live, a page will appear there to tell you all about their releases.

We're extremely selective about the projects we work on - quality and relevance is paramount, as is offering something unique.

Everyone already knows how great the likes of DC Comics, Marvel and IDW (the list goes on) are, but here at Orb we also see a path for brilliant, literary graphic novels, indie comics and new material from rising stars and even graphic novels for reluctant readers.

So, we're kicking off in the next few days with a great slate of content, with much more in the works, and we hope you enjoy the lineup. In the meantime, if you have any requests for graphic novels or indie comics that you feel need an audience on the PSP, use the contact form on this site or hit us up at comics@orb-entertainment.com

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Paul

Owner, Orb Entertainment Ltd"

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and some details about what they are releasing on the store this week, and the three new publishers they have brought to PSN

"Well, it's Orb's first week on the PSP Comic Store.

Kicking off on 6th October, the first title in a new collaboration between Faber and Faber and Orb Entertainment Ltd, sees classic graphic novel from internationally bestselling author Paul Auster, City of Glass brought to life on the PSP™.

Placing at No.45 in The Comic Journal’s ‘Top 100 Most Important Comics of the Century’ feature and described by The Times as ‘alight with beauty, compassion, love and scintillating intelligence’, the 144-page beautifully drawn and epic ‘City Of Glass’ will provoke, engage and move in equal measure. Everyone involved in the project truly believes that it brings something unique to the PSPtm Comic Store, so we hope you enjoy it.

On the "unique" train of thought, I'm delighted to be working with Canongate to bring the quite brilliant Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence to the PSPtm Comic Store. Already over 83 million YouTube hits, me simply describing the genius of Simon Tofield's feline cartoon creation will never do it justice, so I won't even try. Instead, please head over to the Playstation blogfrom the Simon's Cat team themselves to find out what they feel about the PSP project, check out this video, or hit their website. The PSP release is a digital version of Canongate's new book, Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence, and contains every hilarious page from that hardcover edition.

Rounding things off neatly for this week are a handful of titles from Twistory Studios - Dust Wars #1, Dust Tactical Field Manual (both free!), and 13 Chambers #1 (not free, but awesome). Twistory are a great indie publisher based out in California, and are home to Dust, 13 Chambers. Shinjuku and Dust Wars amongst others. All their comics feature superbly strong visuals and the storytelling is of a very high standard. In addition - Christopher "Mink" Morrison, who runs the studio, is a massive PlayStation fan, and if you want to chat with him or even challenge him to a quick game of bowling, he can often be found wandering around PlayStation Home under the name "moviemink". Say hi! We'll be bringing you lots more from Twistory over the coming months.

That about wraps things up for this week, but I will say this: it's been a very exciting journey so far to get this content onto the PSPtm Comic Store, and here at Orb Entertainment we're not going to stop there. We have a load of stuff bubbling in the background that I'm dying to tell you about but revealing details would probably mean my grisly demise.

However, you guys are a discerning bunch, and I trust your judgement....so if you have any favourite comics or graphic novels that you'd like to see on store, hit me up on twitter @rhodesythebear, find me on PSN on the same username, or go all old-fashioned and email me at comics@orb-entertainment.com. I can't promise anything, (rights/approvals can be a nightmare!!) but if enough of you yell about the same thing then I'm duty-bound to check it out.

Happy reading!"

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[TastyHalloween]

Awesome! even though I'm having a hard time keeping up with the publishers on the store now, I can't wait to see what new items get brought in by new digital peeps like this. Always good news! We win again! lol

[Ravenblade86]

I started reading Simon's Cat from Cannongate lastnight and I'm enjoying that, but the best thing so far for me that Orb have brought to the store is the new publisher, Twistory. I've not actually read anything from them yet, but their sort of historical based type of comics sounds like something I will enjoy. 

[Ravenblade86]

The new publisher that launched on the store today, Ransom Publishing, is coming PlayStation Digital Comics via Orb Entertainment as well. I've been very impressed with Orb so far, much more so than what iVerse have done in a similar situation.

Ransom Publishing are a bit different though, some details below:

"Ransom Publishing

Ransom is the leading publisher of books for reluctant and struggling readers. Their high quality, visually stimulating, age appropriate material has achieved wide acclaim for its ability to engage and motivate those who either can’t or won’t read.

The link-up with Orb Entertainment should help place Ransom's great range of titles in the hands of younger readers everywhere - and should mean that pupils can legitimately take their PSP's into the classroom....don't hold me responsible if the teachers don't quite agree though...

Initially focusing on the Boffin Boy and Dark Man ranges, Ransom will be on the PSP Comic Store from the 27th October 2010.

Dark Man

The Dark Man series is carefully designed to appeal to very poor readers (or even non-readers) who have probably never successfully managed to read a book.

Each book features Dark Man, a shadowy, brooding loner who has been recruited to play a part in a secret, cataclysmic struggle between good and evil. He inhabits an underworld. He shuns society and lives in the cellars of abandoned buildings. He is, by nature, a creature of the night, always in the shadows.

The Dark Man books may appear to be rather 'on the edge' for 'educational' reading books, but in fact it is all surface: in terms of darkness / horror elements, the books imply much more than they actually show (or say).

The Dark Man books are all self contained stories, all of which reveal a little more about the Dark Man mythology. They don't need to be read in any particular order, and present not only a great introduction to storytelling for non-readers, but also a tense and brilliantly structured read for those already further along.

Boffin Boy

The Boffin Boy stories feature Rick Shaw, a 14 year old science whizz who uses his skills to fight evil - as Boffin Boy!

The books appear in a comic-style format, featuring superb high energy, full colour, manga-style illustrations. Unlike most comic books, however, the Boffin Boy books have carefully chosen language, font and simple layout which make them accessible to less able readers.

The simple speech bubble text and captions appear in a clear, ledgible font on a yellow background to assist dyslexic readers. The vocabulary and word count is carefully controlled throughout.

A lot of attention has also been paid to the positioning of the speech bubbles and captions to ensure they do not confuse the reader, and create an obvious flow through the story."

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