Well my goodness will wonders never cease – a full length review of a mobile comic on a major comic book news site!  Hopefully this trend will continue.

Big, big, big shout out to Chris Kiser (reviewer) and Matt Mclean (editor) for giving VALENTINE a nice fat spotlight review over at COMICS BULLETIN.  And a glowing review to boot!

Here’s an excerpt:

Valentine #1 – #4 Review

(via Comics Bulletin)
By: Chris Kiser

If comics are to thrive and grow as a medium in the 21st century, they’ll have to find their place somewhere in the midst of the digital world. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that. It seems like everyone with a blog, column, or message forum login has offered his or her opinion on how online comics will (or won’t) work. But while these pundits drown themselves in speculation, a few innovative creators are actually putting their digital comics on the market.

Valentine, by Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen, is one such effort. It ventures into the era of Napoleonic France’s ill-advised invasion of Russia, focusing in on young Valentine Renaud, one of the failed campaign’s few surviving soldiers. As Valentine seeks to make his way home, he finds himself embroiled in an ages old conflict involving a supernatural, demonic foe, and a mysterious, powerful sword.

The series has been created specifically for reading on an electronic mobile device, meaning that it’s not simply a regular comic book scanned onto your computer screen. Following an iTunes-like sales model, episodes of Valentine may be purchased for many of the popular smart phones as well as for an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle. The specific restrictions of these formats, as well as their unique capabilities, contribute to a reading experience that couldn’t be replicated on paper.

Read the rest of it by clicking here.

In the forest of Metz, Valentine is saved by an old acquaintance from Russia. But as they gallop to a secret assignation to deliver the sword to its ultimate purpose, the full wrath of their mysterious foe waits for night to descend upon them.

• Title: Valentine #4
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• License: Creative Commons
• Screens: 76

Preview

Download

Valentine #4 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Valentine #4 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Valentine #4 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine” on the Market.

BOING BOING’s Jessamyn West gave Alex de Campi’s beautiful multi-lingual VALENTINE (which we are publishing in 14 different languages, by the by) a gorgeous nod over at that most popular of blog sites.

Here’s a snippet:

Valentine: A supernatural thriller published in 14 languages, and multiple digital reading devices, simultaneously. Creative Commons licensed. Multilingual peeks over at Robot Comics.

Valentine is a fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by writer Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen. It is available in 14 languages and counting. You can’t buy it in a comic book shop because it’s not a traditional comic; it’s a project which has been tailored specifically to be enjoyed on wireless devices.

First one’s free, cheap after that. Full-color digest edition available in print format when the run’s done. From an interview with de Campi:

The thing you also need to keep in mind is that comics overseas are far, far bigger than they are in America. In France and Japan, there are single issues of a bande dessinee or a manga tankubon that regularly outsell in volume the entire US comic industry’s output for the year.

Read the whole thing HERE

And be sure to subscribe to our NEWSLETTER for updates on VALENTINE!

And Download the first issue for free right now:

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Wounded in Russia, Valentine falls into an icy lake… and awakes, hundreds of miles away. Having mysteriously escaped the Enemy, Valentine is immediately charged with desertion by his own side. The French Army wants him dead, and there is nowhere left to run.

• Title: Valentine #3
• Credits: Alex de Campi (writer) / Christine Larsen (illustrator)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• Screens: 72

Preview

Download

Valentine #3 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Valentine #3 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Valentine #3 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine” on the Market.

Valentine, the the acclaimed fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by Eisner nominee Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen, has been released by Robot Comics for both the iTunes and Android marketplaces!

Fully adapted for multiple mobile platforms – including iPhone & iPod touch, Android, Amazon Kindle and various additional eReaders- Valentine has additionally been translated into Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Irish (Gaelic), Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian (Serbo-Croatian) and Spanish !

Synopsis

During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in the War of 1812, cavalry officers Valentine and Oscar are separated from the main army by a brutal blizzard. They think the worst thing waiting for them out there in the snow is Death.

They could not be more wrong.

The two soldiers stumble across an ancient conflict between beings more powerful than humanity can imagine, a conflict which now threatens to consume the Earth and all upon it – because those who have stood in the horror’s path, the few bastions of light, are going home.

An acclaimed fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by comics writer Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen.

Continue reading »

During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in the War of 1812, cavalry officers Valentine and Oscar are separated from the main army by a brutal blizzard. They think the worst thing waiting for them out there in the snow is Death.

They could not be more wrong.

The two soldiers stumble across an ancient conflict between beings more powerful than humanity can imagine, a conflict which now threatens to consume the Earth and all upon it – because those who have stood in the horror’s path, the few bastions of light, are going home.

The debut episode of the acclaimed fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by comics writer Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen.

• Title: Valentine: The Comic
• Credits:
  • Written by Alex de Campi
    
  • Adapted by Christine Larsen
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99
• License: CREATIVE COMMONS

Preview

Download

Valentine: The Comic is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Valentine: The Comic on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Valentine: The Comic is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine: The Comic” on the Market.

During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in the War of 1812, cavalry officers Valentine and Oscar are separated from the main army by a brutal blizzard. They think the worst thing waiting for them out there in the snow is Death.

They could not be more wrong.

The two soldiers stumble across an ancient conflict between beings more powerful than humanity can imagine, a conflict which now threatens to consume the Earth and all upon it – because those who have stood in the horror’s path, the few bastions of light, are going home.

The debut episode of the acclaimed fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by comics writer Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen.

• Title: Valentine: The Comic
• Credits:
  • Written by Alex de Campi
    
  • Adapted by Christine Larsen
    
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: FREE
• License: CREATIVE COMMONS
• Screens: 65

Preview

Download

Valentine: The Comic is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Valentine: The Comic on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Valentine: The Comic is available for free in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine: The Comic” on the Market.

Links

VALENTINE WEBSITE

Valentine is the fantasy / thriller graphic novel by writer Alex de Campi (the Eisner-nominated Smoke ) and illustrator Christine Larsen. The series is not only an original mobile comic book, but it’s also the very first to be independently translated into 14 different languages!

See below for samples of both the opening panorama of Valentine #1, plus synopses of the series in the different translations and download links.  More will be added as future translations are completed.

English

English Language Opening Panorama of VALENTINE #1 - click to enlarge

During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in the War of 1812, cavalry officers Valentine and Oscar are separated from the main army by a brutal blizzard. They think the worst thing waiting out there in the snow for them is Death. They could not be more wrong.

The two soldiers stumble across an ancient conflict between beings more powerful than humanity can imagine, a conflict which now threatens to consume the Earth and all upon it – because those who have stood in the horror’s path, the few bastions of light, are going home.

The debut episode of the acclaimed fantasy / thriller graphic novel series by comics writer Alex de Campi and artist Christine Larsen.

Download

Click on the button below to download the free Valentine app in English from the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

The first episode of Valentine in English is also available for free in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to open it in the Android Market.

Alternatively, search “Valentine” on the Android Market.

Spanish

Spanish Language Opening Panorama of Valentine #1 - click to enlarge

Durante la retirada de Napoleón de Rusia en la Guerra de 1812, los oficiales de caballería Valentín y Oscar se separan de las tropas por una brutal ventisca. Ambos piensan que lo peor que los espera en la nieve es la muerte… pero se equivocan.

Continue reading »

Valentine, the fantasy / thriller graphic novel  series created by Alex de Campi (the Eisner-nominated Smoke ) and Christine Larsen, will be the first original mobile comic to be released in a mind-shattering 12 different languages!

Fully adapted for multiple mobile platforms – including the iPhone, Android, Kindle, various additional eReaders and even laptops – Valentine has additionally been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Irish (Gaelic), Polish, Hebrew, Serbian (Serbo-Croatian), Japanese, and Chinese!

As a non-traditional comic, Valentine was conceived right from the start as a screen-by-screen reading experience, taking advantage of mobile transitions and the flexibility offered by devices that allow for left-to-right languages (traditional Western) as well as right-to-left (such as Japanese).  Nevertheless, for those who love print, Valentine was made with an inevitable print release in mind, and will be a collected into graphic novel form late next year.

For both a sample of the comic and synopses of the series in the numerous different translations, visit the Many Languages of Valentine page!

BREAKING NEWS!! – This just in, as I type up this Press Release, author Alex de Campi has confirmed a 13th Language for Valentine – Dutch.  As if the series wasn’t already breaking foreign language debut records across the board!

Creative Commons

Valentine is being released under the Creative Commons license, meaning that if any savvy readers should manage to get their hands on a shared or otherwise free copy of the comic outside official channels, please enjoy the book with our blessing!  And spread the word (and the comic) everywhere you can.  If you really like the comic, then please consider supporting the creators by purchasing the book on the marketplace of your choice, or by offering a donation at the Valentine website.

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