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Publishers Weekly Covers Digital Comics

Publishers Weekly has just posted an excellent piece on the rise of digital comics, and GoComics is featured throughout:

With initiatives either launching or under way at nearly every major comic book, manga house and traditional book publisher, digital comics are on the verge of becoming an important part of how the medium is marketed and sold, and suddenly nobody wants to get left behind.

“It's changed from people saying someday we need to do this to saying we need to do this now,” says Jeff Webber, v-p of product development at uclick, a mobile entertainment company that distributes comics content on cell phones.

Besides reading your favorite comic strips on mobile, GoComics also offers the GoComics mobile comic book reader, featuring a wide range of comic book and manga titles from major publishers including TOKYOPOP, Image, Virgin Comics, Devil's Due, IDW and more. As mentioned in the article, GoComics is also breaking new ground by offering IDW's Presidential Material comic biographies of Barack Obama and John McCain on mobile phones on October 8th, the same day they are released in print.

Click here to read the Publishers Weekly article. Click here to check out the GoComics mobile comic book reader.

Post-SDCC Wrap

San Diego Comic-Con International 2008 has wrapped, and it was another fantastic convention for GoComics. We had all kinds of fun, whether it was demonstrating comics on mobile phones in our partner booths, giving away free kajeet phones from our own booth, or just walking the floor and meeting fans. To those who stopped by our booth, we enjoyed meeting you and we thank you for your support!

We hosted our 4th mobile comics panel, and once again we came away with a great feeling of excitement over the future of comics on mobile phones. Thanks to all of those who attended the panel and especially to those who contributed to the discussion.

SDCC was also an opportunity to hang out with our partners, folks whose work you've seen or will soon see on the GoComics mobile comic book reader. Among them, comics legend Stan Lee, whose all-new Stripperella comic book series is being developed exclusively for mobile release through GoComics. Below, Lee shares a photo-op with uclick/GoComics CEO Doug Edwards (left) and Vice President of Product Development Jeff Webber (right).

Just in case you weren't able to attend SDCC, here's a photo of the GoComics booth so you can feel like you were there. Pictured are GoComics Producer Shena Wolf and Creative Director Pete Maresca. You may recognize Pete's name from his gigantic, Eisner award-winning labor of love, Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays. The just-released (and slightly more massive) follow-up, Little Nemo in Slumberland: Many More Splendid Sundays, is on display just behind Pete's elbow. Both tomes are available through Sunday Press Books.

Hey, check out this Flickr photo series from TMNT25. Plenty of Comic-Con action featuring the TMNT Street Team. The Turtles are, of course, big stars on the GoComics mobile comic book reader. And look! Who's that, riding around the Gaslamp in a TMNT-themed pedicab? Once again it's Pete Maresca, maker of giant Winsor McCay books. This time he's accompanied by GoComics' Mobile Product Development Manager Harold Sipe, author of the hit Image Comics series Screamland!

One last photo, this time from the Image Comics booth, where Screamland scribe Harold Sipe and artist Hector Casanova signed copies of everyone's favorite tale of washed-up Hollywood monster-flick stars who band together for one last hurrah on the silver screen. All right, I'll stop plugging Screamland now. Wait - did I mention Screamland will be available in a trade paperback collection on Oct. 29 at fine comic retailers near you? Okay, now I'm done.

From Doug, Jeff, Shena, Pete, Harold and the rest of the GoComics team, thanks again to all of the GoComics fans who made it out to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. We hope to see you all again next year!

GoComics Hits Comic-Con 2008!

GoComics will be everywhere at this year’s San Diego International Comic-Con, offering the best comics everywhere, mobile and online:

• Thursday, July 24^th – Sunday, July 27^th: Catch presentations all weekend long at the GoComics booth, #1217.
• Thursday, July 24^th, 4:30pm (Room 30AB): GoComics will host a panel on the state of mobile comics, featuring creative and business leaders in the industry. There will be presentations of the new mobile comics reader, bringing a true comics experience to the hand-held screen, as well as demos of our online comics reader and a preview of the reader for the new iPhone. We'll also introduce new content from our partners: Stan Lee, TOKYOPOP, Virgin Comics, IDW, Devil’s Due, Papercutz, TMNT and more.
• And finally — get this— FREE KAJEET PHONES with $20 in credits will be awarded at the GoComics booth, the panel discussion and at two of our partner booth locations: Virgin Comics and IDW. Come see the coolest way to get your favorite manga and comics - plus, EVERY DAY you’ll have a chance to win your own FREE kajeet phone!

For more information on our mobile comic books, visit www.gocomics.com/comicbooks and enter your phone number to get started!

Manga and Anime Hit Guilstein Coming to Mobile Phones

Some very cool news from the folks working on our mobile products! ---

Wowmax Media! and uclick mobile announced today an exclusive mobile licensing agreement that will make the awesome power of the manga and anime hit Guilstein available for mobile phones.

The agreement marks the first time Guilstein has been published in any form in the U.S., as well as the first time in English. Guilstein will also be the first manga work introduced for mobile before appearing in print. uclick mobile will be at the forefront of Guilstein’s North American launch, offering a wide variety of mobile content, including wallpapers, videos and mobile comic book readers.

Guilstein is one of the featured stories in GoComics Books, uclick’s new manga and comic book application. Readers can subscribe to a mobile reader that provides new stories everyday from a variety of genres. "The look and feel of Guilstein is going to come through stunningly in mobile form," says uclick CEO Chris Pizey. "The images convey the spirit of this epic story in a way that will thrill longtime fans and bring new fans into the fold."

Guilstein is now available only on GoComics Books. uclick’s mobile content is the first of many new Guilstein-themed products planned for release in North America over the coming months from Wowmax Media!.

"We’re thrilled to partner with GoComics, and the release of Guilstein in mobile format before print media is a new type of strategic launch for Japanese comics in North America," says Wowmax Media! Representative Masaki Kaifu. "This introduction to Guilstein will prep audiences for the animated film and print properties later to come."

The Guilstein project began with both the manga and animated film in mind, however the film includes new characters and a completely different setting than seen in the manga. Dark and complex storylines, conflicted heroes and stunning visuals, created by writer Naoyuki Sakai and artist Hisao Tamaki, have made the Guilstein franchise a huge success in Japan.

First views of Guilstein will be available starting July 20th at Comic-Con International in San Diego, at the uclick booth (#1220). Once service is started in August, new chapters will be made available weekly.

For more details, visit mobile.gocomics.com or wowmaxmedia.com. To learn more about Guilstein, visit http://images.gocomics.com/images/press/guilstein.pdf.

About Wowmax Media, LLC:
Wowmax Media! is a comprehensive production and marketing agency dealing with intellectual property. Wowmax Media! provides unique marketing and production services to companies and individuals engaged in entertainment business, making the most of our connection in both North America and Japan. Wowmax Media! services support creators, animation producers, investors, character and content licensing agents, character licensees, and distributors.