My favorite comic experience for the iPad.
Apps that provide content can be tough to review: do you talk about the content, or do you talk about how good the app is at providing the content? Fortunately, it’s easier to review the 2000 A.D. app because both are fantastic.
Initially, the app had a few bugs to work out (I had to jump through some hoops every week to get it to confirm I was a subscriber) but they’ve been gone for a while now (at least with a current gen iPad): every Tuesday evening I get an alert there’s a new issue for download, I get it downloaded and can have a fistful of top-notch science fiction action and lunacy in mere minutes. For a long-term comic book junkie who has spent most of his life having to wait for the comic store to open to get his fix, this is the very ideal of the posh life.
On top of that, the app itself allows for bookmarking, text searching, and pages & panels that can expanded with just a reverse pinch. I know some people are a fan of the “guided view” panel-to-panel experience other comics app offer in which case they might be disappointed that it’s not offered here: but as a long-time comics reader reading on my tablet, I much prefer the above-mentioned features to guided view.
Additionally, the app has gotten better at selling material to me in an easy fashion—after a year of the weekly 2000 A.D., I started in on the Megazine, then bought some digital trades of my newly favorite characters on sale, and now am setting aside a small monthly budget to pick up trades that interest me. I may be atypical of old school comic book fans—I don’t really like having issues cluttering up my rooms and shelves—so having a “shelfless” library of classic material is tremendously satisfying.
Finally, I should mention the content itself (although it’s obvious I’m a fan): I wasn’t really a fan of Judge Dredd, the staple character of 2000 A.D. and the Megazine, but figured it couldn’t hurt to try a month subscription, especially as the big Trifecta event with writers I knew and liked was getting underway. Now, of course, I’m a huge fan, as the weekly magazine works its best to keep a constant stream of different types of content flowing through its covers, most of which run for five or six parts. If you don’t like a story, they’re kind of like buses: another one will be around sooner and it’s rare where I’ve read an issue where I was lukewarm about all of the week’s contents. (Much more frequently—although still infrequent enough to feel like a delightful surprise—I’ve loved every story in a particular issue.) Also, as someone who’s gotten burned out on the listless feel to a lot of American superhero comics, I really enjoy having a five page installment that has to build to a dramatic point quickly. It’s not surprising British comics writers who started their careers writing for 2000 A.D. are so formidable in the current American marketplace.
So yeah. A great app delivering great content that I use every week (and frequently, when I’ve got a trade purchased or a new Megazine comes in). If you want to give it a try, I think you’ll be rewarded, although I heartily recommend you don’t just buy a single issue—the real magic of 2000 A.D. is around the third week when you’re hooked on two or more storylines and you know the new issue will be waiting when you get home. It’s a real joy and feels like the future of comic book reading, one far less brutal and much more enjoyable to live through than any of the anarchic distopian ones explored in the pages of the magazine itself.
J. Lester about The Weekly Prog
