Traditionally, DC and Marvel comic books have remained the “Big Two” in the comic book industry. No one could reach the levels of success these two behemoth dinosaurs had experienced. However, a rogue publisher has galloped into the forefront of this series evolution mangakakalot. Dark Horse Comics have published “300, ” “Barb Wire, ” “Sin City” and “Hellboy, ” and has now teamed with Columbia University in New york city to create the Comic Book Project, aimed at inspiring students to read comic books and learn at the same time.
Dark Horse says libraries and schools are their fastest growing markets, with 25% increases each year. Research suggests such books are teaching kids to write, listen and speak better. Dark Horse releases material to schools aimed at vocabulary skills, managing money, conserving the environment and creating peaceful resolutions to conflict. Truly, graphic novels are evolving.
Many fans just want to read them for free. After all, that’s what the internet and peer-to-peer is all about, right? There are a few databases offering graphic novels for free. Manga comics, like Naruto, Bleach, Love Junkies, Pokemon and Vampire Knight can be found at Manga Fox and Manga Volume, for instance. More than three hundred conventional classics from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Vertigo, Wild Storm and Oni can be found at Loren Collins.
Fans looking for “Golden Age” cartoons can find comic book series like “Tales of Horror, ” “Out of the Shadows, ” “Jumbo Comics, ” “Exciting Comics” and “The Perfect Crime” (with characters like Ibis the Invincible and Blue Beetle) at Comic Web. Other comics from that time period, like “Baffling Mysteries, ” “Strange Fantasy, ” “Underworld, ” “Famous Funnies, ” “Forbidden Worlds” or “Whiz Comics” can be viewed at Golden Age Comics. Additionally, for fans of DC comic book characters, the first five issues of each major series are being offered as free PDF downloads at Ugo.
The $1. 99 “ComicZeal” program allows iphone and ipod touch users to download, convert and read comic books on their portable devices! The program is fast, smooth and versatile, allowing easy resizing. Comic book series can be viewed in “landscape” or “portrait” mode and changing the page is as easy as tapping a button at the bottom of the screen. If the reading gets interrupted, “ComicZeal” remembers where the reader last left off. One of the best features is that the program comes with a converter so all files can be quickly converted to the resized format.
One more way to read comic books is in “Motion Comics” format, which includes limited movement, music, pans and zooms to bring the story to life. “We want people to see these stories through as many distribution points as possible, ” explains Marvel Comic Books. Marvel has teamed up with Stephen King to create “N, ” as well as the character “Ultimate Spider-Man. ” DC Comics have released “Watchmen” and “Batman Adventures” as Motion Comics. These issues can be purchased for Microsoft Xbox and Verizon VCast! The world of comic book art and story telling is always growing, and it seems the new technology compliments this genre quite well. The story of Naruto began when sixteen years ago a Nine-tailed demon fox attacked the ninja village of Konohagakure. Its power had the ability to flatten mountains and bring forth tsunamis. It was destruction, chaos and death rolled into one.
Konoha, the strongest of the five shinobi nations, was on the brink of destruction. In order to save the village from total annihilation, the village leader known as the Forth Hokage gave his life to seal the demon fox into an infant Naruto.
Before dying, the Forth Hokage asked that Naruto be treated as a hero. But people in Konoha were suspicious. Instead of granting the Fourth Hokage his dying wish, people began to shun Naruto and treat him as if her were the demon fox himself. Naruto grew up without friends of family. He expressed himself by pulling pranks on other people as a way of getting attention. His school work suffered and as a result he failed three times in the ninja exams.
A teacher at the ninja academy, Mizuki told Naruto that there was another way to pass the test. That is to steal a scroll from the Third Hokage. All Naruto had to do was to master a technique from the scroll and he would pass the test. Unknown to Naruto, Mizuki was tricking him. He only wanted the scroll for himself as this scroll contained hidden and forbidden techniques important to Konoha.
But Iruka found out Mizuki’s plot and intercepted Naruto and Mizuki. During the confrontation, Naruto found out that he was the container of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, and finally knew why the villagers hated him. Mizuki urged Naruto to release the demon fox’s power and to kill Iruka. But Iruka intervened and told Naruto that he was not a monster. Enraged, Mizuki attackes Iruka but before he could strike, Naruto unleashes the technique he learned from the forbidden scroll. He creates hundreds of clones and attacks Mizuki. Shocked that such a prankster and failure could master a high level technique in a short time, Mizuki is stunned and finally defeated by Naruto.