We’re officially on the Amazon Kindle!
After becoming the world’s first comic publisher on the Nintendo DSi and having our Droid Comic Viewer rise to the top (most-used) comic viewer slot on the Google Android platform, conquering the Kindle seemed the natural next step!
All of our Kindle releases will strive to have the best clarity of image and readability of text possible – two hurdles that have long plagued Kindle and Kindle 2 users when it comes to comics. This was particularly tricky because we sought hard-to-find or out-of-print comics to fill our initial Kindle library! Comics that were hand-lettered, and not at all created with digital adaptation or multi-format presentation in mind.
“Due to the fact that reading on a Kindle is the closest that any mobile user can get to reading a printed book or comic, we wanted to offer readers something truly special – not just a digital version of what they could already read in print, but instead a number of titles that were made for print but no longer readily available in printed form.”, states Robot Comics‘ Deputy Director for USA, Dave Baxter.
Our first release
Our first Kindle comic, now available for purchase, is The Desert Peach #1 by 80’s comix writer/artist Donna Barr. Originally published in 1989, now long since out of print, The Desert Peach #1 introduces readers to Oberst Pfirsich Rommel, the fictional gay younger brother of Erwin Rommel – The Desert Fox! Along the way we also meet Pfirsich’s aide, Udo; the entire motley crew of the Halftrack 469th Support and Grave-Digging Battalion, and readers are ushered into the exotic and harsh climate of 1940’s North Africa. It’s history and humor with not just a dash of true-to-life dramatics.
Extras include:
- A new author introduction to the series by Barr
- A new “DER KAUZ” letters page with never-before-published letters
- Preview for The Desert Peach #2.
Throughout its 20 years of publication, The Desert Peach has won the Inkpot Award, the Xeric Grant, and the Washington Press Association Award for Humor. Now Robot Comics is proud to re-introduce modern readers to this lost gem of 80’s and 90’s comix history.
Free custom screensavers for Kindle
We’re also offering Kindle users a free download of custom-made Desert Peach screensavers for their Kindle 1 or 2 (they’ll be a mite small on the DX), courtesy of us.
Upcoming releases
Future Kindle releases will include the 900-page, out-of-print fantasy/horror epic Armageddonquest by Ronald Russell Roach – a work that took the artist 10 years to complete! And the independently produced first work of writer/artist Steven Walters, titled Suburban Folklore.
Kindle 1 or Kindle DX?
Currently, we’re only focusing on comics for the Kinde 2 device. If readers would like to see comics for their Kindle 1 or Kindle DX, they can email us with their rabid demands at contact@robotcomics.net or leave a comment below.
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July 22nd, 2009 at 8:55 am
This is SO cool! I’ve had the pleasure to know Donna Barr and she is always pushing the envelope. It looks like Robot Comics is a perfect partner in that aim. Excellent job of adapting and leveraging the technology guys. I just may go but a Kindle now!
Best,
-Luke
Creator of ROKetship
July 24th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Thanks Luke! Like Donna, we’re all about pushing the envelope.