As a media consumption device, two of the great things that the iPad is prefect for is reading comic books and watching video content.
The NARR8 app combines the two perfectly, by creating a portal through which iPad owners can enjoy variety of free motion comic series. Right now NARR8 offers nine different series which range from sci-fi, horror, fantasy to nonfiction. The content is episodic, with new content delivered on a bi-monthly basis, ALL FOR FREE!
Individual episodes are downloaded right within the app. Depending on traffic loads, this can take a little time, so you’ll need to plan accordingly if you are going to be taking this with you for the morning commute. Each episode takes roughly 15 minutes to read through using the app’s simple navigation controls.
NARR8 currently has eight development studios responsible for the content and are continuing to expand, with a number of additional series still on the way.
As for the current crop of enticing fiction content, there are soul-saving monster hunters (Fear Hunters), body-hopping coma patients (Prodigal Angel), Greek Gods trying to restore mankind’s faith (Final Feat), robots, goblins, ninjas, pirates and zombies (Jam), a man who can ‘fix’ anything (Spin), a band of creatures, each with unique abilities gained from time spent in captivity in mysterious lab (Subject 9) and finally a team of special agents who travel between universes (Multiverse).
As you can see there are some really great storylines and plots that will appeal to any sci-fi geek. I’ve found myself thoroughly enjoying nearly all of the series.
The non-fiction content is the bigger (and rather pleasant) surprise as it is not something generally found in this format. Paradigm, a really cool non-fiction science series which takes various “fields of research, technology, art, and life sciences and presents them as a captivating, and highly interactive, experience.” For instance, there is one episode that takes you through the history of the camera. An unexpected treat, this has become one of my favorite of the offerings. The other is Chronographics, a series which dives into a specific event or culture from the past and brings history alive.
I know what you are thinking, if all this content is free, it mustn’t be very good, but you’d be VERY VERY WRONG. The production values of these motion comics is top-notch. Crisp visuals, nice voice work and perhaps most important, great storytelling. Though, as you can imagine, there is no way the company can keep up this high level of quality and continue to offer the content for free. When asked, the folks at NARR8 said that they will have more info on how the monetization works early next year, but for now, all the content is free.
In Conclusion
If you are and iPad owner who’s into comics or just a fan of really good sci-fi stories, then you do not want miss out on the vibrant characters and universes which NARR8 have created. The serialized nature of the content makes it easy to consume anytime or anywhere, but the stunning the artwork and well-crafted storytelling will keep you coming back for more. The title has also just been recently updated with special Holiday-themed content. Its FREE so what are you waiting for?
