Valentine’s mis-steps in the court of the Dawn Country cost him dearly. Hidden in the words of these spiteful, gossiping nobles are grains of truth… if only Valentine were listening. The dazzling end to the first part of the Valentine series.

• Title: Valentine #8
• Credits: Alex de Campi (writer) / Christine Larsen (illustrator) / Tim Durning (colors)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US

Preview

Download

Valentine #8 is available for download on the following platforms:

Android

Valentine #8 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine” on the Market.

The gate to the Dawn Country is forced open again… but with dangerous consequences. As Valentine waits for the one person he most wants to appear, the fabric of reality begins to rip apart.

• Title: Valentine #6
• Credits: Alex de Campi (writer) / Christine Larsen (illustrator)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• License: Creative Commons

Preview

Over 40 free comics will be offered to users of the ARCHOS 5 internet tablet to inaugurate the Books & Comics category in AppsLib, the Android application marketplace for Archos devices.

The offering includes the first issue of all Robot Comics series and ongoings, and also complete stories and one-shots. These comics will span a variety of genres, for all tastes and ages: Valentine, the fantasy epic by Alex de Campi (Smoke) and Christine Larsen (Shrek), American Terror, the sci-fi war drama by Alterna Comics and Jeff McComsey, Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest, illustrated by Steven Sanders (S.W.O.R.D.), or Jason James‘ ghostboy, an all-ages ghost story, are only a few of the many titles that will make Archos’ users rediscover the joy of reading comics.

Also offered, alongside the free comics, will be the free app Droid Comic Viewer, the leading Android comic and manga reader, which allows users not only to read Robot Comics releases, but also any comic in CBZ, CBR and ACV formats. Droid Comic Viewer has a growing community of more than 100K active users worldwide and supports all Android devices, from the affordable HTC Tattoo to the powerful Google Nexus One, and now the versatile ARCHOS 5 High Resolution Internet Tablet.

The added “Books & Comics” category of the AppsLib market creates a new layer of entertainment for the ARCHOS 5 internet tablet , which already supports a wide range of traditional media and games. Following this initial release, Robot Comics will start publishing free and paid comics weekly both in the Android Market and on AppsLib, for ARCHOS 5 internet tablet users.

About Robot Comics

Robot Comics publishes mobile comics for all Android devices, and also iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Nintendo DSi and the Amazon Kindle. It is one of first and few mobile comic publishers who offer titles specifically designed and formatted to be read on mobile devices.

Jonathan Liu of GeekDad fame posted a comprehensive review/overview of Robot Comics as a mobile comics publisher.  He pointed out the exact strengths and weaknesses we’d give ourselves.

Here’s a snippet:

One of my favorite sources of comics for the iPhone (and iPod touch) is Robot Comics. They have a decent catalog of titles, and the best part is that most of them start off free. For comics with multiple issues, the first one is usually free and the rest are available for $.99 each through an in-app download. There are several single-issue comics that are free as well, including several adaptations of Cory Doctorow stories. (”Craphound” is one of my favorites.) When you purchase a later “episode,” as they call them, it simply shows up in the index. Each comic has its own app icon on your home screen which contains all the issues. It might be nice to be able to combine them into one Robot Comics viewer app, though I suppose the new iPhone OS will allow you to group them if you choose.

Some of the comics I’ve reviewed previously have been through Robot Comics: Erfworld and Robot 13, for instance. A more recent release is Valentine, a fantasy-horror set during the War of 1812, which was simultaneously released in about a dozen languages. I compared the English and Chinese versions, and was pretty impressed with the way both of them looked.

Read More http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/04/the-first-ones-always-free-robot-comics-for-iphone/#ixzz0lI3mZhMd

Thanks, Jonathan and GeekDad!  And just for your info, Jonathan (and also to you readers out there who care), a single iTunes viewer to store all the comics is coming very, very soon. So stay tuned.

Roland and Valentine receive unexpected help in their desperate fight against the enemies who have beset them. As they reach the end of their night flight, Valentine discovers more about the sword’s purpose, and Roland’s intentions. By Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen.

• Title: Valentine #5
• Credits: Alex de Campi (writer) / Christine Larsen (illustrator) / Tim Durning (colors)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• License: Creative Commons
• Screens: 80

Preview

Download

Valentine #5 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Valentine #5 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Valentine #5 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Valentine” on the Market.

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.

We got a nice little mention over at Scott McCloud’s site.  Apparently we aren’t the only ones releasing a series in multiple languages simultaneously.

Here’s the article from scottmccloud.com:

Zahra’s Paradise is a new comic being offered online by First Second. From what we’ve seen, it promises to be an absorbing true story and I like the art. It’s being released simultaneously in English, Farsi, Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutchs—seven languages in all. Eight, if you count the language of comics.

Zahra’s release follows closely on the heels of Robot Comics’ Valentine, released in a whopping twelve languages simultaneously. If this is a trend, I like it.

Understanding Comics has been translated over the years into 16 languages, but like any book project, the process of getting it printed and distributed from scratch in each country requires an enormous amount of effort for its respective publishers.

The idea that all these dammed-up rivers of art and story might start breaking free all over the world soon is encouraging.

That’s the whole article, but feel free to check out the original source here.

And you can find VALENTINE by Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen on the iTunes market by clicking here or on the Android market by searching for “Valentine the Comic”.

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.

This week

Valentine #4 by Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen. Learn more and download the first issue for free here.

Erfworld #4 by Rob Balder and Jaime Noguchi. Learn more and download the first issue for free here.

Next week

Adventures in Formera #6 by Andrew Dobson, originally published by Alterna Comics. Learn more and download the first issue for free here.

Bear Beater Bunyan #4 by Josh Hechinger and Jorge Muñoz. Learn more and download the first issue for free here.

In two weeks

ghostboy #3 by Jason James. Learn more and download the first issue for free here.

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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