View From the Phlipside - iPhone and Marvel

These are the scripts from my weekly media commentary program on WRFA-LP Jamestown

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media. TV, Radio, the movies and more. I love 'em and I hate em' and I always have an opinion. Call this the view from the Phlipside

Oh am I in trouble now. It's not as if my iPhone doesn't tempt me with a hundred thousand apps to waste my time and lower my productivity. No, now they are prepared to reach deep into my youth and lure me away with the siren song of one of my boyhood joys. The comic book has come to iPhone.

And not just any comic books, oh no. They've landed nobody less than Marvel Comics themselves. And when I was growing up Marvel was THE comic book line to read. Marvel heroes like Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America, The Fantastic Four, Thor and many many more were a staple for me. The denizens of the Marvel Universe were conflicted, flawed and very, very human. They struggled with acceptance, bodies that changed, sometimes against their will and relationships with members of the opposite sex. I can't imagine what attracted a growing boy to such stories.

As an adult I must admit to still having a guilty pleasure out of the occasional foray into the world of comics. In a lot of ways that's a very different world than it used to be. Comics have grown into graphic novels and the heroes are even darker and more conflicted than every before. But I will admit that I was ready and rarin' to go when I heard that they'd made a movie of Iron Man. I was even pretty pleased with the version of the shellhead that ended up on the screen.

And now I can get a Marvel fix right on my iPhone. A trio of free comic apps (Comixology, iVerse and Panelfly)have landed a deal with Marvel to sell special runs of various books. This includes a 24 issue run of Joss Wheeden's Astonishing X-men story line, a Captain America run of 30 issues (are you as amazed as I am that the old Cap is still around?) plus several others. The comics will be available at two dollars an issue. Panelfly was offering them at just a dollar but no one is sure how long that might last. Marvel has also jumped into the video arena for iPhone as well. They have a pair of "motion comics" that can be snagged at the iTunes store. One is a version of that Wheedon Astonishing X-men and the other is Spider woman.

So if you see me engrossed in my iPhone sometime soon I may NOT be researching the latest trend in media. I may be hanging with Spidey or on an adventure with Tony Starke. Oh I can feel my productivity just slipping away already.

Call that the view from the Phlipside