More Comics Going Mobile

Ever since the iPhone was released, there's been a lot of talk about how it could change the mobile phone market, in much the same way that the iPod changed the music market. But there's another affected market that no one's really spoken of: comics.

Actually, it's not just the iPhone. The increase in larger, higher-resolution screens -- not just on smart phones like BlackBerries, and Treos, but on, say, Motorola RAZRs -- is motivating comics publishers to increase the number of downloadable comics they're making available. This Publishers Weekly article talks about how uClick and TokyoPop, who already offer newspaper strips and manga by subscription, are looking at adding more titles and exploring ad-supported comics. DC Comics is also scouting the territory, though you won't be seeing Batman on your phone soon: they've only announced plans for Flex, a Japanese manga production company they recently invested in that had already caught the mobile bug.

A little comics trivia: When Charles Schulz started Peanuts, he designed it with four square panels so that newspaper editors could fit them into any space, and with simple illustrations so that they would survive newsprint's terrible print quality. Both of those traits make them perfect for mobile phone screens. I'm kind of surprised that United Media has stayed out of the mobile comics game so far, since their flagship title works so well for mobile use.