ReadWriteWeb

I remember distinctly the moment during the official unveiling of the iPad last year that I knew I'd be buying Apple's new tablet device: it was during the demo of the comics app. I was sold. It seemed clear that this was the future of the genre.

Now there are a number of different ways in which fans can buy and read comics online - on their iPads, on their mobile phones, and on the web - as much like the rest of the publishing industry, comic publishing is undergoing a digital revolution. One major nod to this upheaval was the announcement last week by DC Comics that it would be distributing digital versions of comics the same day that the print issues arrive on store shelves.

But back to the iPad for a minute: while the future of comics is clearly digital, is it necessarily via a native app?

And to that end the digital comics platform Graphicly says it's "doubled down on HTML5," revamping its Web interface to greatly improve the reading experience. Graphicly says that it's worked closely with Google's Chrome team to build a site that not only makes the most of HTML5 but that also uses Chrome's offline file API and in-app payments system.

Before anime torrents, World of Warcraft and even before the internet itself, fantasy seeking geeks were fortunate enough to pour over the genius and inspiration of writers and artists like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With the exception of Ben Affleck's lackluster display in Daredevil, almost every classic Marvel title has produced an equally epic blockbuster movie hit. The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Wolverine and The Punisher are as thrilling to audiences now as they were in their comic book form. And this past weekend, Marvel announced plans to offer its products via a number of iPhone applications.

Bitstrips for Schools makes us want to go back to the third grade.

Bitstrips is an online tool for quickly and simply creating web comics, and the company has just launched a new product custom-tailored for the classroom. Kids get to be creative; teachers get a new, interactive tool to reinforce learning; and everyone goes home smarter and happier.

While Steve Jobs just told the New York Times' David Pogue that Apple isn't interested in creating a single-purpose eBook reader and that he doesn't think that eBooks are a big enough market right now, one eBook-like format has already made it into the iTunes store: a comic book. Tyrese Gibson's Mayhem! is now available, together with one song, as an iTunes LP album for $1.99 (iTunes link). Mayhem! was first released as a three-issue mini-series earlier last month.

Online comics service Bitstrips will be one of the startups hoping to become SXSW Breakout App of 2008. In fact they responded to our Breakout Apps post by creating a special comic strip for ReadWriteWeb (see below). So what is Bitstrips? It's an online comic strip that you can create and run as a series, kind of like a visual blog. I think this has a great chance of gaining traction, because a lot of people think visually and everyone enjoys comics.