Technically, Madefire doesn’t make comic books. They make “motion books” for tablets and smartphones (although currently only available on iOS devices). Launched in June of 2012, the Madefire app is a new way to experience graphic storytelling. Sure, digital comics aren’t precisely new, but the medium is still finding its place, not just in the marketplace, but in the way creators approach it and in the hearts of fans. Madefire may just be the company that changes that last part. Madefire, according to a quote from Dave Gibbons on their homepage, “are creating a new grammar for an ever-evolving medium.” That’s a bold statement, but there is something to it. In order for digital comics to really succeed, they need to convince the old soldiers, the folks who love the feel of a book in their hands and who treasure the experience of reading a comic, to get on board. As someone who likes the physical, tactile experience of collecting (when I’m not buying comics, I collect records), I found the Madefire approach to comics unique, intuitive, and entertainingly slick. To familiarize myself with the Madefire App, I carefully made my way through the first installments of three titles; Treatment: Tokyo, Mono and Captain Stone is Missing. These titles made full use of my iPad’s screen and looked great both horizontally and vertically. The Madefire App will adjust the size and layout of the art based on how you prefer to hold your device. The art and colors are truly stunning and each title I sampled was an absolute joy to look at. If a book would look better “widescreen” (as Treatment: Tokyo did) a small icon in your lower left-hand corner will let you know if you’re holding it the “wrong” way, but they all can be enjoyed from any angle. It took me about ten minutes to read Treatment: Tokyo and Mono and about twenty to make my way through Captain Stone is Missing, so these are all fairly substantial installments. Occasionally a panel will contain some light animation as a character or object will move through the panel, but for the most part, the bulk of the images are static. Sound effects will appear at the appropriate time and dialogue balloons also appear in sequence as you touch the page. What this does, which is really quite effective, is it frees the dialogue balloons from traditional left-to-right reading. Even the most experienced comic book reader has, from time to time, found themselves reading dialogue in the wrong order, especially when word balloons are cramped into a panel. The Madefire app eliminates that. Dialogue appears as it is meant to be read, which means that, even with multiple characters on the screen, regardless of where each character is placed in the panel, each will “speak” in the order that they’re meant to be read. For example, Treatment: Tokyo opens with a crowded bar scene, but there’s never any question about which character speaks when. Madefire books contain some ambient music, some background sounds and the occasional sound effect, but nothing obtrusive. The sound design, especially while wearing headphones, is atmospheric and pleasant and, at least in the three titles I sampled for this piece, was devoid of any “shock” sound effects designed to make you jump, even during action sequences. In other words, reading, not watching or listening, remains the key point when experiencing a Madefire title and you’ll get just as much out of the book without sound, if you choose. Perhaps most importantly, the folks at Madefire make it easy for you to get started. The app is free and so is all of the content! You download the app, pick which books look interesting and off you go! The Madefire App looks like a legitimate evolution for digital comics. With the kind of talent Madefire currently is boasting, the variety of titles, the ease of access to the content and the intuitive, immersive reading experience, the future is bright! http://www.madefire.com/ http://www.madefire.com/madefire-app/
