Read comic books on your Nintendo DS
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Oct 11th 2006 at 3:00PM }
Joystiq's sister site DS Fanboy recently posted about a homebrew effort called Comic Book DS that lets you transfer comics from your computer and read them book-style with the DS flipped on end. You don't have to conceal issues of Action Comics underneath an old copy of Newsweek that you swiped off your dentist's waiting table on your commute any longer. Now people will think you're doing some serious work on your stylish PDA while you secretly use the touchscreen to pan and zoom on comic panels -- pure genius. Comic book fanboys can rid themselves of their secret shame.
If you're wondering when pr0n will start appearing on your DS so it can catch up to the PSP, you either have to wait for the browser -- available only in Japan, or else check out the ... educational effort from Ubisoft's Heather Kelley. Will that thing support multiplayer?
What are some real-life things you'd like to see migrate to your DS? Personally, we'd love a Checkbook Lite program to keep track of our finances, since the DS is so checkbook-ish looking already. Maybe even turn it into an RPG so we could level-up our savings. If someone made balancing finances fun, more people might actually do it.
Final Fantasy XXXIV: Tax Time, here we come.
[Thanks AF]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MR_COW @ Oct 11th 2006 3:12PM
Now, I hate to pimp. But like it said in the article, I am making a index at homebrewcast.com/comic.
Also, if you want to know what you need to get this working, check out the tutorial episode of the podcast at homebrewcast.com/nds or search itunes for DS Homebrew.
IanC @ Oct 11th 2006 3:13PM
You don't have to conceal issues of Action Comics underneath an old copy of Newsweek that you swiped off your dentist's waiting table on your commute any longer.
People do that? I couldnt care less what other people on the train/tube/bus think of what im reading.
dvnt @ Oct 11th 2006 3:15PM
Marvel, Image, TokyoPop, etc. Are you listening?
That right there is huge. But utilizing Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection to distribute content could be tricky. Maybe Opera DS could be tweaked to view content. How many books could you store on a DS cart? Would you need a memory peripheral of some sort? Could also be a new way to distribute eBooks and other traditional media.
The Milkman @ Oct 11th 2006 8:34PM
"Comic book fanboys can rid themselves of their secret shame."
Their is no shame in reading comics. You write for a frigg'n gaming site...you should know better.
dantebk @ Oct 11th 2006 3:18PM
Can this be used with PDF files? I have a few (legally purchased) DVD comic collections from GITCorp, like 40 Years of Avengers and 40 Years of X-Men, that would be sweet to read on my DS when I'm on the go.
And if not, can PDFs be converted to whatever this thing uses?
(sorry, I'd check it out myself, but I'm at work and joystiq.com is one of the few websites that are not blocked for me)
Brandon @ Oct 11th 2006 3:20PM
V for Vendetta! Better than that movie that came out. It wasn't bad, but the "graphic novel" *cough* comics are better.
Trevor @ Oct 11th 2006 3:23PM
>> "wait for the browser -- available only in Japan"
The DS browser has also available in Europe since October 6th. I got one coming my way for a pricey $54, but it's in English, so that's a nice bonus.
Todd @ Oct 11th 2006 3:31PM
I wish more games would use the "book" layout a la Brain Age.
Also somebody call a Waaaambulance for DocWho, it seems the T.A.R.D.I.S landed on his head.
crono141 @ Oct 11th 2006 3:28PM
Somebody ban DocWho
maduin @ Oct 11th 2006 4:02PM
"If you're wondering when pr0n will start appearing on your DS so it can catch up to the PSP, you either have to wait for the browser -- available only in Japan, or else check out the ... educational effort from Ubisoft's Heather Kelley. Will that thing support multiplayer?"
Porn has been availble for quite a while on the DS. Any homebrew capable DS (which you need for Comic Book DS) can play videos, all you have to do is convert them to .dpg, open up the Moonshell media player, and there you go, porn on your DS. And the DS Browser is also available in Europe, not only Japan.
Brian @ Oct 11th 2006 4:04PM
OH MY GOD - Checkbook DS would be incredible. (I know it sounds lame, but it would be an exceptionally powerful piece of software. So long as it could talk to my Quicken.)
ZB @ Oct 11th 2006 4:16PM
I think some credit to 4 Color Rebellion would be nice, seeing as how your link is actually a link to the 4CR story, and that's also where you nabbed the pic.
I'm just sayin'.
http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2006/10/09/comic-book-ds-homebrew-impressions/#more-3930
Anyway, this looks awesome. If only it were much simpler to make it work. Geezers like me just don't have the time to pimp out our DSs enough to get this to work.
ttr @ Oct 11th 2006 4:25PM
Using the DS to read comics isn't the same experience as reading the real thing or even reading them on the computer. With such a small screen, you'll have too scroll through each panel to read the words. It's especially annoying on long horizontal panels or large panels in general. The fullpage view is great for action, but anything with a lot of reading is just so much scrolling.
Pat @ Oct 11th 2006 4:42PM
Interactive comics like the MGS PSP comic would work fantastically on the DS. Some kind of touch functionality. Hey, just being able to drag the image around the screen like on a PDF would be great.
airpolgas @ Oct 11th 2006 5:04PM
Real life things?
I want my DS to have the stuff I though my PSP would have prior to pucrchasing it.
On top of being a sweet gaming machine, I want
Contacts (ability to sync with Outlook or Mac address book)
Calendar (ability to sync, see above)
Email
Checkbook balancing is cool as well.
and I want Food Network to publish all their recipes on a DS cart!
Chris Lawton @ Oct 11th 2006 6:37PM
As the owner of a independent comic book company, this sort of thing excites me. We created our company to look for alternatives to traditional print format, so everytime I see a story about a shift to a different format, I get giddy.
It makes me feel like we haven't missed the boat completely.
subVert @ Oct 11th 2006 8:38PM
The DS might make a pretty cool controller for home automation systems. A dedicated gadget with a touchscreen might cost hundreds, if not thousands.
Or maybe popping in some sort of IR cartridge and turn it into a slick universal remote.