These Superheroes Like Their Eggs HARDBOILED!- Sparks (Part 1) Impressions

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenJanuary 27, 2009
34 804 1 minute read

Sparks (Part 1) is a iPhone “motion comic” quite similar to the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel
released for PSP a while back. I can’t, nor will I, pretend to be any
sort of expert on comics or film noir. That said, Sparks was clearly
created by individuals (Catastrophic Comics) who aren’t just experts, they’re huge fans. There’s a lot of heart put into this.

With your download of Sparks (Part 1),
you receive an app that allows you to view the comic in still image
form or in motion comic form. This essentially means dramatic panning,
some movement, sound and music. It’s a comic that essentially shows
itself to you in a cinematic way. The motion comic contains excellent
sound work as well as voice acting done by known professionals. The
music adds a lot to the dramatic noir feel although one song was
slightly anachronistic. Perhaps this was intended to add a timeless
feel. The storyline gives its “supers” a decidely vulnerable existence,
making for a much more believable plot.

This is not just an issue of a comic, but a motion comic for only $0.99 USD,
cheaper than most physical comic books. It leaves you guessing about
certain things, and of course has a cliffhanger ending, but that’s what
one should expect from a noir comic, no?

(Note!: Anyone without an iPhone interested in this comic should contact Catastrophic Comics.
It’s also possible to purchase the iPhone app via iTunes and extract
the comic images and motion comic video for viewing on other platforms.
Anyone interested, ask me how in the comments below!)

Photo of Robert Allen Robert AllenJanuary 27, 2009
34 804 1 minute read
Photo of Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

34 Comments

  9. I subscribe via e-mail to the site; I just wanted to let you know Ive been receiving these articles twice.

    As for the comic, I intent to support it. Regular 99 comics on the iphone would be great.

  15. I have purchased and downloaded the Sparks app, but can’t watch it as I don’t have an iPhone. I would love to learn how I can view it in another format. I am using a Mac, and can run most video formats.
    Thanks!

  16. This is a great app! If you don’t have an iPhone / iPod, then I’m sure you know someone that does …. Give the 99 cents and view it on their device. It’s so worth it.

  18. Sorry for the delay! I thought I was subscribed to these comments.

    Here’s how…
    1. Purchase and download the app.
    2. Obtain an archiving program like 7-zip (http://www.7-zip.org/).
    3. Open the app’s file with 7-zip (or another archiving program). On windows machines, the file is located at C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\Mobile Applications\SparksPart1 1.1.ipa. I’m not sure where it is on a Mac.
    4. Now that you’ve opened up the ipa file, navigate inside the file to \Payload\SparksPart1.app\.
    5. There are several jpg files named “Image0.jpg”, “Image1.jpg”, etc. These are the still images from the comic. Copy them wherever you like!
    6. Find the file named “movie.m4v”. This is the motion comic movie file. Copy it wherever you like!
    7. You now should be able to view the images and movie file on all kinds of platforms including video iPods!

  22. Thanks, TideGear. I tried it but had to use Stuffit. It almost worked I got as far as the Payload file but couldn’t open it. It said it is not supported in this architecture.

  26. It’s excellent and even has some game-like elements. Yes, they used the same voice actor.

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