Motion comics, and comics that play with voices and sound
A motion comic is a video made from a comic: parts of the art are animated, the camera moves across it, and voices, sound and often music are added, one title at a time. LiveComics is not that. It is the nearby thing: the comic's own panels, one at a time, filling the screen, with every speech balloon read aloud, the drawn sound effects and a soundscape of the scene. Nothing in the art moves. The classics on the free streaming shelf play this way, free with a free account, and so can the comic files you own.
What is a motion comic?
A comic adapted into a short video. The panels are animated a little, the camera pans and pushes in, and a cast records the lines over sound and often music. Marvel and Warner Bros. both released motion comics from about 2008 to 2012, such as Astonishing X-Men from Marvel Knights Animation and Watchmen Motion Comics from Warner Premiere.
Where can I watch motion comics?
Mostly where films and shows are sold. Warner Premiere's motion comics, such as Batman: Black and White, were sold on iTunes, and some are still listed on Apple TV. Astonishing X-Men came out on DVD. YouTube has motion comics too, though many there are fan made.
How is LiveComics different from a motion comic?
A motion comic is a finished video of one title. LiveComics plays the comic itself: the view zooms in so each panel fills the screen, in reading order, then glides to the next panel on the page. The panel's sound effect plays, every balloon is read aloud in a voice matched to whoever is speaking, and a soundscape runs underneath. Nothing is animated and nothing is redrawn, so it works on any comic, including ones that will never get a video.
Can I watch comics like this for free?
Yes. Every issue on the free streaming shelf plays this way, voiced start to finish: pre-code horror, war comics, 1950s science fiction and more. Stream them all with a free account, or hear a sample right now with no account.
Can I play my own comics like this?
Yes, the CBR, CBZ, PDF and EPUB files you add to your library.
- Make a free account at livecomics.to, or get the app from the App Store, Google Play or the Microsoft Store.
- In your library, press + Add Comics and pick your files. You can pick many at once.
- Choose Panels + Audio. Under Audio stages, keep Character voices and Soundscapes & SFX ticked.
- Press Add. The price shows in credits before you press it.
Voices and sound come with a monthly plan or a top-up, and you see the price in credits before you press Add. Adding comics and reading them is free: a free account imports 30 comics a month and holds 1 GB, about 20 single issues, with no card. Choose Panels instead and the comic plays one panel at a time with no sound, free on every issue.
What doesn't it do?
It does not animate anything, and it plays no music: the sound is the voices, the sound effects drawn in the art and the soundscape of the scene. It does not make or export videos. And it does not carry Marvel or DC motion comics: beyond the free shelf, it plays the comic files you own.
Straight answers
Are there motion comics online for free?
Some motion comics are posted on YouTube, though many there are fan made. For comics that play with voices and sound for free, the LiveComics streaming shelf is free with a free account: not animated, but every panel voiced, with sound effects and a soundscape.
Is there a motion comics app?
LiveComics is the closest thing we make: an app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows, and a site in any browser, that plays comics panel by panel with every balloon voiced and the drawn sound effects. It does not animate the art.
Did Marvel make motion comics?
Yes. Marvel Knights Animation made motion comics from about 2010 to 2012, including Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, released on DVD in 2010.
Did DC make motion comics?
Yes, through Warner Premiere: Watchmen Motion Comics and Batman: Black and White came out on iTunes from 2008, and Watchmen Motion Comics on DVD in 2009.
Is an audio comic the same as a motion comic?
No. A motion comic is a finished video with animated art, made one title at a time. An audio comic here is the actual issue, played panel by panel with every balloon voiced, sound effects and a soundscape, with the art left as it was drawn.
Can I make a motion comic with LiveComics?
No. It plays comics with voices and sound; it does not animate them or make videos.
LiveComics is not affiliated with Marvel, DC, Warner Bros. or Apple. They are named only to describe what else is out there.
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