When Planetwide Games created software to let gamers document their gameplay in comic book form, little did they know they were creating a whole new category … the OC Register looks at the growing phenomenon around Planetwide’s Comic Book Creator software:
Scrapbookers snapped up the software. So did some business users, to turn PowerPoint presentations into comic books for less dreary meetings. Paramount Pictures was so enthralled, it joined Planetwide to release a version based on the movie “Nacho Libre.”
Planetwide now will work with Marvel Entertainment to let fans create their own adventures of Spider-Man, Elektra, Wolverine and other Marvel heroes and villains. It also announced a deal with Virgin Comics, a popular publisher in India financed by Deepak Chopra and Richard Branson. The new titles will go on sale in late August.
“We had no knowledge this was going to create a whole new category,” said Kevin Donovan, Planetwide president and a longtime Spider-Man fan. “It’s one of those things that resonate with so many different people.”
And now apparently Speed Racer is getting in on the fun. But besides the corporate PowerPoint users and scrapbookers, is anyone in the comics community using the software? Again with the Register:
Whether the product attracts the comic book community remains to be seen. The company says it has heard from professionals who use it, but others consider it a kid’s toy or a mom-friendly utility.
Lilja Addeman, an aspiring comic book author and employee at Alakazam Comics in Costa Mesa, Calif., was familiar with the product, though the store doesn’t sell software.
“Layout of the pages is just as important as storytelling. It creates flow,” she said, explaining the utility she sees in the software’s layout tool. As an artist who prefers the low-tech route of doodling and making copies at Kinko’s, she hasn’t heard enough buzz to persuade her to spend $30 for the software.
So do any comic fans out there have the software, and if so, what do you think of it?
