After reading part of this Weird City article about the new USA Today Spider-Man Infinity Comic and the issues the writer is having with reformatted print comics to vertical scroll comics. I’m at the point where I’m starting to prefer reading my Big 2 (Marvel & DC) comics in this format, even if they aren’t originally designed for this format. While the comics made for this format by Marvel and DC, like Wayne Family Adventures on Webtoon or any of the many Infinity Comics Marvel puts on their Unlimited app, I end up defaulting to their current popular comics like Absolute Batman or Hickman’s Ultimate Spider-Man more often than not.
Honestly, the main reason is convenience. While I subscribe to these services and still buy print comics, my life is full. Finding time to read comics of these universes I love in print doesn’t always fit, and honestly, even taking the time to read a comic on my iPad is at times too much to do. Most of my free time to read is when I’m on mass transit, like the subway or the bus. A lot of these comics, I’ve never really looked at them to know if the formatting is weird or, honestly, any different than looking at some new title on Webtoon or any other platform.
I’ve never read Ultimate Spider-Man from a few years ago in any other format, so the writing and art are as compelling for me in this format as they were for those who read it earlier off the rack. Dragotta’s art on Absolute Batman is just as incredible in this format as reading Lore Olympus each week. I think with the bigger, more marquee titles, they are putting more work into formatting these. Having the backgrounds flow throughout a section and making sure the reveals hit just the right way.
I’ve checked out some older Marvel catalog titles on Webtoon, and I don’t think they work as well. Reformatting those widescreen-style comics from the 2000s needs to be more thought-out. Yet I think the positives of getting people who never read these stories are a better upside than not doing it. I feel vertical scrolling comics are a major part of the future of comics. It’s taken over half the world, and this format is doing a great job of bringing new generations into the medium. Reformatting older and current Western comics is a great way to bring previous generations into the future if they are willing to take the chance.
