A Monstrous App

Monday, Feb 23rd: Daniel M. Davis launched what appears to be the first comic-viewing iPhone app created specifically for webcomics. Daniel and his definitely human programmer buddy Ross Cooper share their apps with the world here. Daniel’s version of the app is completely FREE and allows you to receive instant updates and view the latest dozen strips of his comic Monster Commute on your iPhone. Another version of the app, Kapow v1.0, gives you access to an ever-growing library of comics via their RSS feeds. When we downloaded KAPOW v1.0, it was a little buggy. It locked up several times, and we had to restart the iPhone (the smaller Monster Commute app did not have the same problem). However, the potential for KAPOW as a method of exposure and ease of viewing is great. With promises of software updates and additions to the comic selection, we are looking excitedly at KAPOW’s future.

Daniel M. Davis, admittedly raised by yetis in the great Pacific Northwest (all that mist and that up there), has now been living and working in Phoenix, Arizona for a number of years, which is exactly 5 years, illustrating several projects through his company, Steam Crow. Monster Commute is Daniel’s second venture into webcomics and is inspired by the formidable highways of Phoenix on his commute to work. Daniel has just started Chapter Two of the comic and plans to move from gag-a-day format to a longer, story-driven form. This comic drips with style. Daniel’s retro vectors and practiced eye for design paint a deeply textured world of monsters perpetually stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on their way to work. And it’s hilarious.

On the subject of preparing his comic for the iPhone, Mr. Davis commented, “I wanted a free way to make my work more ‘discoverable’. I’m always looking for ways to turn my work onto new folks, and the iPhone seemed like a perfect fit. If you notice, my strip is almost perfectly built for a landscape iPhone. This wasn’t accidental, as I wanted my strip to really work well on screens of all sorts.” When asked how it felt seeing the app hit iTunes and his comic being downloaded, he decried “It’s nearly as great as riding a red sasquatch into battle against the centaur hordes. But it smells much, much nicer. I’m just thrilled that we aren’t stuck in a world where we have to make 19 versions of everything to fit the end device. One of the iPhone’s revolutions, I believe, is that it scales TO the CONTENT. That’s a +7 ability if I’ve ever seen one, and I hope that other devices follow.”

Download the app, and check out Monster Commute , you’ll be glad you did.

Daniel M. Davis will be exhibiting at: WonderCon, Emerald City Comicon, San Diego Comicon, and the Alternative Press Expo under the name “Steam Crow Press”. You can also buy Steam Crow’s books here.

Thanks for reading this installment of BRAINSTORMING: Digital Comics. You can email Kyle and myself at brainstormingcomics@gmail.com with questions or comments.

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