The Comic Column App

The Comic Column

The Comic

Column

"In comics at its best, words and pictures are like partners in a dance and each one takes turns leading."

Scott McCloud (Writer/Artist of Understanding Comics)

An intro to my love of comics

My first comic and how you can have your first one too

I’ve been a fan of superheroes ever since I was a kid. However, I never used to read (like at all). I was what comic fans of today would call the “Wikipedia fan” as I would get my knowledge from Wikipedia and whatever movie or game was out.

That all changed back in 2012, I stumbled upon a The Amazing Spider-Man behind-the-scenes disc set. However, the coolest thing in that set was the fact that it came with a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #6, the first appearance of The Lizard. Steve Ditko’s amazing art style paired with Stan Lee’s hilariously dated, but charming dialogue hooked me and from then on, I have been a massive comic book fan.

Sadly, I didn’t know anyone in real life that also read comics

Quite honestly, comics are not that hard to get into. You don’t have to be an expert, you don’t have to read everything, and there are so many places where you can go to find your first book. To add on to that, it’s easier now than it ever has been to get into them.

Key issues

So what’s the issue anyway?

To understand the problem with getting into comics, it’s important to dive into the key issues (I will not let this bit go) with the current perceptions on them and how things are changing for the better:

Manga’s accessibility
People feel overwhelmed with the sheer number of comics
The success of the movies don't always translate to sales

Manga is considered more accessible because of its much simpler and affordable structuring. It was the “Volume 1” of manga versus “Issue #1, but not THAT Issue #1” of comic books. Even with this being said, there is a clear rise in sales over the years and that is thanks to the increased credit given to comics (look at the release of 2025’s Superman for example). How do we take advantage of that?

Manga’s accessibility
People feel overwhelmed with the sheer number of comics
The success of the movies don't always translate to sales

Going to the batcave for a competitive analysis

There are multiple ways to talk about comics online whether it be Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc. There are also several community based apps where discussion is had on various forms of entertainment.

Letterboxd (Influencer)

Great app, but it's only for movies
Considered the staple of online discourse for film

Kyle Fletcher vs Will Ospreay at AEW Revolution 2025

Reddit (Indirect)

So many communities to choose from
Great place to ask any question you have

League of Comic Geeks (Direct)

The current go-to for comic book discourse
A slew of features

Key takeways from analysis

When coming up with a tech solution to navigating the world of comics and analyzing some of the competition, I set some goals of what I believed the app needed to have or accomplish:

The ability to interact with a community of comic readers hardcore or casual (a pro of Letterboxd & Reddit)
A clear and easy to understand UI (a negative of League of Comic Geeks)
Tailoring the app for the unique needs of comic readers (a pro of League of Comic Geeks)

When coming up with a tech solution to navigating the world of comics and analyzing some of the competition, I set some goals of what I believed the app needed to have or accomplish:

The ability to interact with a community of comic readers hardcore or casual (a pro of Letterboxd & Reddit)
A clear and easy to understand UI (a negative of League of Comic Geeks)
Tailoring the app for the unique needs of comic readers (a pro of League of Comic Geeks)

Coming up with a secret identity

What is a comic column?

Comic columns (or letter columns) have existed for decades and are a huge part of the community. It allows readers to send letters with feedback to their favorite creators on ongoing series. Just like how those letter columns create community between creators and readers, why not bridge the gap between the hardcore fans and casuals?

From pencils to inks to colors

An early focus on helping people

As soon as I began wireframing, I kept my mission statement in mind. This app is for fans AND newcomers. I have to cater to both. The accessibility of this app was important to me so I did not lose sight of that. See below for early stages of a page where users could find their local store, online stores, and even learn comic lingo.