Needless to say it’s been a hectic couple of months.
The iPad is just perfect for Comic Zeal, there was never a question that I’d be creating a version of Comic Zeal for it.
There are three things I’d like to address today, first I’d like to take you through the Comic Zeal 4 interface, then we’ll talk about importing comics and we’ll talk about upgrading and versions last.
Interface
Let’s start with the interface and look at our first screenshot:
You’ll notice a lot of familiar elements there. The pop-up view holds what used to be the main navigation screen from the iPhone version. Adam has designed new icons for each of the categories and these are shown at the top of the screen.
You’ll also note that the comic title and page number are shown on the same toolbar as the icons. There is no longer a distinction between reading and selecting comics like there is on the iPhone app. It works really well, as you end up selecting the little covers on the pop-up to see the larger version on the main view. It’s a very effective way to browse and if you’ve started to read a comic the bookmarked page is shown instead and serves to give you a quick catch-up on what you’d got up to while choosing a comic.
At the moment we’re still showing the ‘hide interface’ arrow on the top right, Adam has come up with a better option for this but it’s not made it into the first release.
We’ve moved most of the controls to the top of the page because if the iPad is on your lap then it’s going to be awkward to reach buttons on the bottom of the screen. You’ll end up having to thrust your elbow forward and be tempted to press the buttons with your thumb (try it now, pretend to press a button just in front of your belly). When the controls are at the top of the screen you can use your index finger to press them.
We’ve made an exception with the page turning controls, those should be and are accessible by thumb.
Naturally, the reading interface can still be dismissed by a double-tap to give you a full-screen view of the comic.
When the interface is hidden you turn the page by sliding the current page left or right. Sliding it to the bottom of the screen stops the reading of the current comic, shows the interface again and displays the comic selection pop-up.
To finish off talking about the interface I just want to show you what this all looks like in portrait, in case you’ve not seen them before, some of the other comic display options and the splash screen:
Importing Comics
Comic Zeal 4 is able to read CBZ,ZIP,CBR and RAR files natively. So you can just fire up SyncDocs on your PC or Mac, drag in a whole bunch of CBZ files and import them into Comic Zeal. *** Please note you no longer need to do this! this was only when CZ 4 was first released, have a look at the iTunes file description for instructions on how to use iTunes file sharing to sync your files ***
Comic Zeal will still need to process the comics and resize the images, although they’re now 60% larger than they were before. This process is going to be optimised and tweaked once we get our hands on a real iPad. At the moment we have no idea how long it will take to process the comics and it could be that on release, using Comic Zeal Sync is still the best option.
You’ll still need to use Comic Zeal Sync to read PDFs, we don’t know how the iPad will deal with opening the huge PDF files that a lot of you have.
At the moment we can’t talk about any other options for transferring the comic files into Comic Zeal so please don’t think I’ve forgotten to mention it, I just can’t talk about it.
Pricing and versions
So why is this called Comic Zeal 4 and not Comic Zeal iPad?
The plan at the moment is to have both versions on the app store (this means that Comic Zeal 4 will be an additional purchase).
As the tools to do it become easier we’ll make version 4 iPhone compatible too and at that point we’ll stop development of version 3. Whilst both versions are on the store I’ll do my best to ensure that any big version 4 features that are feasible on the iPhone also make it into version 3.
So Comic Zeal Version 4 isn’t just for the iPad, at some point it will also be available for the iPhone, just not yet.
Notes
I hope you’ve enjoyed this preview, before you return to your wandering through the internet I’d like to mention some things:
First, thanks to Jim Shelley for allowing us to use his Flashback Universe comics to promote Comic Zeal and make them available for download. All the landscape screenshots are from his comic ‘Paladin’.
Second, please keep in mind that the images you see here are taken from the iPad simulator, the real device has a much larger bezel.
Third, you can click on any of the images on this page to see them full size.
Any idea if you transfer those marvel collection Cds of comics over? They’re PDF files (I have the fantastic four collection) but I’m having no luck. Tried converting with the sync program and each comic took a long time and then when I put it on my iPad I could see it but not open it.
Oh and I tried in Goodreader and they open fine BUT with that Marvel watermark. Would love some help! Any one else dealing with this conversion?
Neil
Just chiming in to say that I saw similar speedups when not being on the ipad Apps tab while updating comics with a large-ish library (~4gb, ~200 issues). Not sure if it’s polling the file contents interface as it updates, but it definitely seemed to be actually usb-speeds after switching.
Emiliano, I absolutely LOVE your app. comics are the main reason I got my iPad. I use ComicZeal 90% of the time on my iPad. I have the iPhone version and I love having the wooden background because it reminds me of iBooks. Could you please implement that in your iPad version? Maybe add shelves as well. It would look so much warmer with it.
I also have the same problem as few other guys with the app crashing on big comic books, but if I use your shrinker they become smaller than the iPad native resolution, and they don’t look as good. Any suggestions on how to shrink my 2000+ wide comics to let say 1500 without having to extract them first, then shrink them in PS and then repack them?
Thank you for an amazing app!
Jaremy..just rename your files before syncing without having to deal with the # problem. I use a freeware program called renamer. I don’t think is an issue the developer should have to deal with really
Neil, I’ve heard of this problem and have a sample problem file to look at, I’ve not had a chance to yet but will soon.
Attila, the update that’s just come out will shrink the pages as you read them so you won’t have the crash problem any more, sorry for the inconvenience. The wooden background with shelves is tricky, a lot of people don’t like it and making it an option places limits on what you can do on non-shelved backgrounds. I would personally like it but it’s always a balancing act.
Could you then just enable the option to use any page in the comic book as a wallpaper – like you have in the iPhone version 3? That way I can make a custom comic book with wooden background, import it and then save one of the pages as the wallpaper.
I love the new update! Great job. I’m excited to see the new features.
By far the best comic book app on the iPad/iPhone available!!!
A great application Emiliano, thank you for your hard work.
Now a couple of things that I offer to your attention.
1- I loaded more than 20 gb of comics in ComicZeal Library.
I found that, with a large library, trying to move a single comic in a existing folder cause the application to close without completing the operation.
2- Is it possible to have a “Fit to Width-Fit to Height” switching option (ex. by tapping the screen with two fingers)? This way I could get an optimal zoom ratio instead of selecting it manually every time I open a new comic.
Thank you for your attention…..
an happy italian user
Is it possible to sync comics with the comiczeal sync program remotely? I’ve tried setting up port fowards to the port 5353 and also the port specified in the syncdocs program (port 89) and then added my ip address to the domains tab of the sync feature in comiczeal 4 but it seems to just hang at “Searching for syncdocs services”.
Could you just make it to read PDF files?
Are you looking into my question or just ignoring it? Some feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Gualtiero, 1. Does it happen when you try to move ANY comic or a particular one? 2. Coming (hopefully!) in the next update. Thanks for commenting!
Kevin, it’s not intended to be used that way. It may be possible to get it to do that, I just don’t know.
I’m not sure what you mean Neil.
It took me two days to Answer your question Kevin.
Emilano, the first problem reported happen to me with every comic I try to move.
I tried 6-7 times with different comics and with the updated version of ComicZeal 4 too.
It does not occur if my library is smaller. But when I upload 2000-3000 comics, unfortunatly, I find impossible to move a single file to an existing folder.
Waiting for the next update
Thank you for your reply.
I’m having the crashing issue as well. When I try to move individual issues into folders, it always crashes before moving the issue. Not a huge issue, as I can still read it, but annoying.
Thanks for the updates. It’s a great program as is.
Overall, great app. I have a fairly large library of manga in CZ but after I endured two or three 8-10hr iPad backups in itunes, I have resolved to minimize changing the comic library as little as possible. One feature request I have is the ability to navigate chapters/volumes within a series without having to go back to the drop-down list. Some of the series that I have on my iPad span hundreds of chapters. It would be nice if the program could remember the last chapter read and had the ability to flip to the chapter previous or chapter following without having to use the “Collection” drop-down menu and scrolling past 200 or so titles to find the next one to read.
I was just asking if you could make the app be able to directly read PDF files.
Emiliano-
Second question for you, is there anything you know of with your app that would make the back up time for the iPad go extremely long (longer than 36 hours)? I was told that it is probably being caused by a poor database on an app, and since I have about 150 comics uploaded to it with your program, thought this could be it. Have you seen or heard about this other places? Thanks, and the update to the program you just released has been great, wonderful program!!
Gualtiero, can you move them to a new folder? can you move them to another existing folder? (ie. is it just the one folder you’re having problems with?)
William, how big is your library?
Ehegi, going to the next issue is a problem I’m looking at addressing. I don’t want to have a ‘go to next comic?’ dialog, and I also don’t want it to happen automatically as I think it would confuse people. I think the best option at the moment is to streamline the process of selecting another comics. So when you turn the last page of the current comic the collection pop-up appears and the current comic is already centered. As soon as you tap another comic it is displayed and the interface hidden. That way it’s the same amount of taps as a dialog but more flexible, specially if the comics are out of order. What do you all think?
Matt S, I’d be interested to know why someone thinks that the structure of the database would affect the backup times, any more info?
Emiliano,
I can move comics to anew created folder but not in an existing one.
The problem seems to appear with every existing folder.
Emiliano, thanks for the reply. Your idea about the collection popping up with the current issue centered does sound like a workable solution and certainly would be a boon for people whose collections are out of order. Would a simpler solution would just be 2 new buttons, prev and next chapter? I know it’s always a balance trying to keep the UI useful while not too cluttered. However, I think that the utility these two new buttons would add would outweigh the clutter. Currently, with the improvements you’ve made to page turning, I have no issue with a hidden UI most of the time and bringing up the UI when I want to do some serious navigating. Another situation where prev/next chapter buttons would be useful is when finding the right chapter to read in a collection of hundreds of chapters. In those situations, I often start with the chapter I think is in the right area, skimp the first few pages, then figure out whether what I’m looking for is in prev or later chapters based on the plot of the issue I’m on. Would be nice to be able to just jump to the next chapter directly from within the current chapter in that situation. Anyways, thanks for your work on this product! I really enjoy it.
Emiliano – I’m not saying it is your programs fault, but when I spoke to apple support, they said that the long backup times are caused by programs that put too many individual files in the backup set. I will post a link below to a forum thread that talks about it. Again, nothing said specifically about your program, I was just wondering if other users with around 100 comics in the program are having a similar issue.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2387381&start=15&tstart=0
Awesome, awesome app. Definitely my most used iPad app. Latest update made it even better. My only major complaint at this point is also the long backup times. I know you previously said something about wanting to make sure users data is protected, but I would rather the comics were not stored in the backed up app data since I have copies on my computer anyway, or at least offer the user a choice if possible. Not only do the back up times get more obscene as my collection grows, but now I have unnecessarily duplicated data. Also, once the comics are imported into the back up data, they disappear from the File Sharing list in iTunes. I’m pretty sure Apple intended apps to just load from File Sharing temporarily, not copy everything into back up data, when they implemented the system. I certainly wouldn’t mind waiting a few seconds for each comic to load if it makes content management and backups easier.
I’m thinking about getting an iPad and one of the biggest attractions is reading comics on it. Do people find they need to zoom into panels or is the iPad display big enough to read each comic with the full page displayed?
Thanks, really enjoying using the App on my iPhone.
Mike, it’s not about the data being protected, like you say, most people have a backup. The issue here is that all the comics in the device could be deleted during a COMIC ZEAL UPGRADE. If that were to happen then we would get killed in the reviews.
Matt, there is one file per page and some thumbnails. That’s it. I can’t believe that that is ‘too many individual files’ as you were told. Specially as you can drag and drop the whole ‘Imported Comics’ directory from iTunes to your desktop in just a few minutes.
Ehegi, I’ve just finished working on the first option and I’m relatively happy with it. We’ll see what the beta testers think in a few days. I’ve added the buttons to the to-do list for a later release as I think they would be useful too. Thank you!
Gualtiero, thank you. I’ll see if I can reproduce it.
What will the option “on next start delete comics” do exactly (settings on the iPad)? Delete all finished comics? All comics?
I want to be sure before testing something I will regret!
arg — the backup times are killing me!!
Steve, it will delete ALL comics and bring CZ back to the default state. Sooooo, yeah, you don’t want to press it if you want anything less.
Raj, I’m sorry, there really isn’t much I can do about it right now apart from recommend you file a bug report with Apple.
Looks like I was ahead of the curve on the backup issue.
Anyway, based on other apps I’ve used which allow data importation, this doesn’t seem to be Comic Zeal specific. All of the other apps seem to have the issue to one degree or another. And it seems to have more to do with the number of files involved rather than the size of the files (though size is a factor.)
In short, this is something Apple needs to look into for all app developers’ sakes.
A hint for those people having trouble organizing comics within CZ: the file names for the issues of a series all need to have the same format, especially where underlines are concerned. CZ doesn’t display the underliines, but it does see them and organizes files accordingly — and usually CZ will close when an attempt is made to combine files with different naming formats.
My personal preference is to remove underlines from file names and to put issue numbers in a two or three digit style so everything is consistent. It’s a little extra up front work, but assures that CZ’s automatic organization works at its best.
Hope that helps.
Emiliano – Can you please answer about people who have the GIT company Marvel compilations? I’ve got FF and the Avengers, and I want them on my iPad!
I been using the Cloudreader thing and it’s good… but I have the watermark on there and the organization of it is just a big long list of file names.
I like all the screen shots of your app and want to use that… but if you don’t support .PDF files… or have a good way to convert and/or shrink them… then I can’t use it.
Seems like two people have been asking but you’ve sort of not been answering.
Maybe other people here can answer what they’ve done?
Thank you very much,
Peter
Peter, I try to answer most of these posts, I didn’t know I’d missed some. You can import pdf files in to cz using Comic Zeal Sync available from our website. The iTunes description for CZ 4 mentions this.
Converting PDF via the synx program is a pain, I currently use goodreader for the pdf’s I have, but i’d rather just have them all under comiczeal, are there plans to make it import pdf’s directly liek it does with cbr, etc (Ipad)
Carlos, yes definitely, I haven’t done it yet as there have been things that have detracted from the user experience more. Also, I’m fairly sure that it’s not going to be as fast as processing the files with CZ Sync first.
Just wanted to add my 2 cents about the 2 page spread request – its essential! A lot of 2 page spread artwork in comics is meant to be taken in as one whole artwork and then read panel by panel. Imagine looking through an art book and finding Davinci’s “last Supper” split into 2 separate pages on different sides. This is the one missing feature for me that prevents comiczeal4 being a “killer” app. But you’re almost there guys! Thanks for the hard work and I await your updates with great excitement!
Gene, the issue here is how to implement this within the CZ user interface. I personally like working with and seeing one page at a time, I’m not a fan of presenting pages as one long strip of images. I’ve got one idea but before I say anything what do you all think? how do you want to see it done?
I have comics with 2-page speads (stored as a single image, not 2 separate pages). Has anyone else noticed that the pages are reordered so the 2-page spreads are at the back of the comic? Seems to happen with directly imported comics and with CZ Sync shrunk versions. Very confusing. Is there a workaround?
Found the reason of slowly backup with many comics in ComicZeal.
The program decompress each CBR and CBZ file in single folder.
1.000 comics of 25 pages each become 25.000 files.
Backing up 100 files for a total of (example) 5 gb take a lot less than than 2500 files for the same amount of data.
I tried to import 25 GB of comics in Comic Reader Mobi. This program keep on the ipad the original CBZ and CBR without decompressing.
The backup process took 3 hours.
With the same amount of comics in ComicZeal, afrter 12 hours the Backup was at 20-25%.
Is there a way to decompress the files once loaded in memory Emiliano?
Hi all, am after some help…. the author talks about file sharing via itunes…. i cant find any info anywhere on how to do this with the ipad, I also cant seem to get this “Syncdocs” thing to work either, it comes up as a winrar file, but doesnt expand into anything except gibberish…anybody give me some pointers? i just want to put my own cbr files onto my ipad and view…that why i bought this app.