Top ten non-superhero iPhone and iPad digital comics

Superheroes are all well and good but if it’s pure sci-fi, fantasy and horror comics you’re looking for, the usual crowd of leotard-toting do-gooders don’t tend to fit the bill. Much as we at Spectra Magazine love spandex clad heroes thwacking evil villains, the we can’t help but feel as though the superhero genre is oversubscribed.

To bring about some much needed balance in this tumultuous universe, we’ve charitably assembled a top ten of the best non-superhero comics available on the iPhone and iPad. We’ve combed the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres and selected the digitalized inky sheets of awesomeness that you simply can’t be without.

But before we get into that, a brief lesson on where to get comics on the iPhone and iPad and what apps you’ll need. If you already know exactly what your doing with digital comics on the iPhone and iPad, you can skip straight to our list below. Enjoy!
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What, here, how and how much…

There are three main comic book apps for the iPhone and iPad – DC, Marvel and Comixology. Each of them works in exactly the same way. You create an account, supply your iTunes details, then buy comics using your iTunes account to pay for them. Simple.

The only difference between the apps is they each have a different roster of comics. The Marvel and DC apps sport swathes of their most famous titles. The Comixology app offers both Marvel and DC comics side-by-side and deviates slightly from the usual superhero fare to provide a spread of lesser known, or at least, slightly less ubiquitous titles.

All three apps are free to download from the App Store and all feature lots of free introductory comics to various series, giving you the opportunity to try before you buy. Most comics tend to cost between £0.59/$0.99 and £1.19/$1.99, so they’re generally cheaper than buying them in print (which you can do from within the apps) but soon mounts up if you are buying a 10 part series.

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iPhone

DC
Marvel
Comixology

iPad

DC
Marvel
Comixology

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Magician: Apprentice Riftwar Saga (2006)

This gorgeous slice of fantasy has a lineage dating back to a popular series of novels first published in the early eighties and has often been hailed by critics as second only to the Lord of the Rings in its genre. High praise indeed, so what’s it about?

The story begins in the fictional town of Crydee, a frontier outpost in the tranquil Kingdom of the Isles. An orphan boy, Pug, and his friend, Tomas, dream of becoming soldiers in the fight against the alien invaders sweeping through their lands. Pug’s fate takes a different turn however, when he is apprenticed to a master magician who leads him through a rift in the fabric of space and time and grants him a powerful command of a strange new magic.

A perfect antidote to those who’ve read The Lord of the Rings to death and want something new – beautifully drawn too.
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Death of Dracula (2010)
Issues: 1
Genre: Horror
Author: Victor Gischier
App: Marvel
Price: £1.19/$1.99 per issue

Vampires, vampires, everywhere you look, vampires. Gone are The OC and 90210 replicants and in their place, a steady stream of sweater wearing, mournful looking pasty pin-ups for today’s horny teens to lust after.

Not so in the Marvel Universe. As dark and gothic as you might expect, the Death of Dracula is a good old-fashioned tale about the battle to wrestle control of Earth’s Creatures of the Night and there isn’t a single sweater to be seen. Beginning with a huge vampire convention, where the different sects of bloodsuckers from the Marvel universe are explored, the story soon moves on to wooden stakes, silver bullets and lots of and lots of immortal betrayal.

There’s only one issue out at the moment on the Marvel App, so this is one to get in on the digital ground floor with, as further issues are sure to follow soon. Marvel is really throwing its weight behind this series so expect big things to come.
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Night Owls (2010)
Issues: 3
Genre: Fantasy
Authors: Bob Timony, Peter Timony
App: DC
Price: £0.59/$0.99 per issue

A bit of an oddity this one. The story is about the Night Owls private detective agency, comprised of the rambunctious young Mindy Markus, the strictly nocturnal science wiz Ernest Baxter and the hot-dog munching, wise-cracking gargoyle, Roscoe.

Set in the roaring 1920s in New York, Night Owls blends caricatured historical set pieces with an unreal fantasy world, in which encountering vampires, Ghosts and other supernatural beings is less surprising than catching sight of a sewer rat.

It has a light-hearted almost Scooby Doo like feel at times, but with style and sassy characters to spare. The biggest surprise is how the authors, the Timony twins, have taken so many well known elements and crafted something that continually feels fresh. Night Owls is wildly original, but with enough craft on show to put the well-word platitude, ‘they don’t write them like this anymore’ firmly to rest.
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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (2009)
Issues: 12
Genre: Science fiction
Author: Phillip K. Dick
App: Comixology
Price: £1.19/$1.99 per issue

Everyone knows about the film, Blade Runner, and science fiction fans will also have long since dug out the film’s original inspiration, Phillip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. But did you also know that the literature classic has also been made into a stunning graphic novel?

If not, then you are in for a treat as this impeccably realized collection, thanks to delicious artwork from Tony Parker, tells the story of Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter tasked with tracking down six rogue replicants. Serialized in 12 parts, reading the story in this way certainly isn’t cheap, but having been voted one of the best comics of 2009 by The Village Voice, it’s hard to imagine anyone will feel short changed by this sublimely re-imagined masterpiece.
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Fringe (2008/09)
Issues: 7
Genre: Science fiction
Authors: Julia Cho, Michael Johnson, Danuelle DiSpaltro, Kim Cavyan
App: DC
Price: £1.19/$1.99 per issue

The elephant in the room is obviously the JJ Abrams penned television series, which has been chewing up the tubes for a couple of years now. The comic book however, is no quick cash-in and delivers some sterling science fiction happenings with style and aplomb. The comic series is semi-canon and has been written to weave in and out of the TV series, delivering background and supplementary information on the notorious mad scientist, Walter Bishop, his son, Peter, and FBI Agent Olivia Dunham.

There’s secret government experiments, time travel, sinister astronaut training programs and even a mysteriously dangerous boy, raised in government captivity. As madly unpredictable as the show and with some beautiful artwork, the Fringe comic is not just for fans of the show, but any comic book hounds looking for sci-fi thrills.
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Deadly (2010)
Issues: 3
Genre: Horror
Author: James Fosdike
App: DC
Price: £0.59/$0.99 per issue

The sad tale of a desolate Australian land, where anyone with any sense has fled to avoid the toxic wasteland and its new carnivorous inhabitants. Everyone except the aborigines determined to heal the broken earth and Vaughn a lone wanderer.

The story gathers pace when Vaughn discovers a strange lone, aboriginal boy, who can breath the toxic air without suffering any harmful effects and seems to spread improbably life in his wake. The only problem is, he won’t talk and it soon becomes clear that Vaughn’s new companion is special enough to attract the wrong kind of attention.

Armageddon is a fairly tired theme, but Deadly’s mix of antipodean horror and pseudo-religious Christ-like overtones make for a compelling narrative. It’s exquisitely drawn too and well worth a look for people tired of the usual post-fallout America.
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Victorian Undead (2010)
Issues: 3
Genre: Horror
Author: Ian Edginton
App: DC
Price: £1.19/$1.99 per issue

The world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful man-servant, John Watson, get the chance to take on a shuffling horde or undead brain munchers in this gory Victorian romp.

Mixing up Arthur Conan Doyle’s best loved duo with zombies is a master-stroke, but rather than turn Holmes and Watson into one dimensional zombie slayers, author Ian Edginton has remained true to their nature and made this tale as much about mystery as undead mayhem. Sherlock and Holmes need to use all of their investigative cunning to uncover the mystery behind why London’s dead are coming back from the grave. A clever zombie caper if ever there was one.
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Grimm Fairy Tales (2006 – 2009)
Issues: 15
Genre: Fantasy
Authors: Ralph Tedesco, Christian Beranek, Joe Brusha, Mike Kalvoda
App: Comixology
Price: £0.59/$0.99 per issue

Don’t worry, we haven’t gone all soft on you by suggesting a bunch of kids stories – Grimm Fairy Tales may seek inspiration from popular children’s takes, but it is strictly for adult audiences. The premise for this series is simple. Take a load of the brothers Grimm fairytales, add a heavy dose of sex and violence and viola, classic tales with added gore and buxom maidens in distress.

It may sound a little base, distasteful even, but the love and respect for the original subject matter is obvious in this collection and the horror tinged fantasy really suits the stories. There are also loads of them, fifteen in total so far, so this is one to really get your teeth into.
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Valentine (2010)
Issues: 6
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Alex de Campi
App: Comixology
Price: £0.59/$0.99 per issue

With the advantage of having been specifically created for reading on a digital device, Valentine is big on vindicating its digital platforms with one panel per transition and some clever effects. Panel transitions go beyond the usual page flick, to include simple animations layered on top of a page (such as snow gathering) or even just dramatic build-up, with successive frames zooming in on a piece of detail.

But that’s not to say its story is left wanting. Set during Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in 1812, the main character Valentine, finds himself and his fellow cavalry officer, Oscar, separated from the main army by a punishing blizzard. In their search for shelter, the soldiers end up uncovering an ancient conflict between unimaginably powerful beings, in a war that threatens to destroy the entire planet.

This prompts many a fight scene, but the characterization is still good and the clever visual pacing make it a breathless and beautiful experience. A glimpse at the potential future of comics authored specifically for digital devices and packing a rollicking story to boot, Valentine is nothing short of essential.
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Y The Last Man (2002)
Issues: 4
Genre: Science fiction
Author: Brian K. Vaughan
App: Comixology
Price: £1.19/$1.99 per issue

One of our favourite comic series of all time from the eminent Brian K. Vaughan, Y the Last Man is high-concept science fiction at its best. The story revolves around Yorrick and his pet monkey Ampersand, the last two remaining beings on planet Earth with a Y chromosome.

After a mysterious plague wipes out every being with a Y chromosome, the women of Earth are left to pick up the pieces. The slacker magician, Yorrick, is humanity’s last hope and he is soon intercepted by Agent 355 from the mysterious Culper Ring, who’s job it is to keep humanity’s only chance at survival safe from harm.

Rather than descend into a binge of half-baked sexual politics and lurid orgies, Vaughan takes the high road with this expertly paced series, exploring the grander scientific and social implications of such a disaster. All the while, the very human characters keep the narrative grounded delivering one of the most thrilling story arcs of any comic book in the last ten years.

There are only four issues available on Comixology at the moment, but hopefully the rest of the series will be added before too long.
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