MARVEL Comics’s New AR App: How Will it Affect Comic Reading?

With the new AVX (Avengers vs. X-men) storyline at Marvel, the comics publisher has also launched a new app. MARVEL AR is a free app available from the iTunes Store and Android Market; the AR stads for Augmented Reality. It works with your camera-enabled mobile devices to bring the comic book to life when certain pages or panels display the AR logo.

By pointing the camera at the page you want to enhance, readers can see pencil sketches of the same images on the page, hear voiceovers from writers, or watch a short clip of Marvel editor Alex Alonso as he introduces the app and the AVX story. If you’re familiar with the AR on the Sony PS Vita, which can put a tank on your coffee table or helicopters in your bathroom, then you know the idea. Marvel’s AR is not quite as advanced as Sony’s but it promises a lot. It is the smoothest step towards behind-the-scenes glances that has ever been employed in the comic book industry. Hearing Brian Michael Bendis discuss the story that you are currently reading is a thrill and excitement that is setting a precedent for the industry. In no time, we’ll be able to see the illustrations come to life on our screens via Marvel AR much like the digital comics you can watch on DVDs and Netflix.

The app does take some getting used to though. Instead of pointing the camera at the AR logo and getting the easter egg, users must make sure to fit the whole panel onto their mobile device’s screen. This can get tricky with smaller devices, especially when the panel is a two-page spread that all has to fit. Getting the device far enough away from the page to fit it all on the screen can make it difficult to hold so that you can still see the screen. I found it best to set the comic on a desktop or table and then stand over the table holding my iPad at the midpoint between us. It worked well enough, but it was just awkward enough that I wouldn’t want to use the app for more than a few minutes. Hunting for AR easter eggs might feel more like a chore than a game for those who collect multiple titles featuring the app.

Awkward angles aside, the app is free and a ton of fun. Marvel is definitely mastering the art of multimedia integration with their comics. When you combine the fact that many of their titles feature a free digital download in addition to the AR app, you get a comic book publisher that is definitely treating its fans as more than just dollar signs; they’re treating them like friends. It’s definitely a good time to be a Marvel fan.

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