Red Giant Entertainment, Inc. (fka REDG)

[rickn23]

Review Time!: PowFolio- The Free Comic App

http://comicplug.com/powfolio-app-review/

Greetings comic fans! Today I want to talk to you about something a little different. Something I found completely on accident in fact. It’s this smart phone app called: PowFolio. As of today it’s available on IOS devices, and apparently they’re working on the Android version. It has hundreds upon hundreds of FREE (yes, truly FREE) comic books right at your finger tips. No, you won’t be seeing DC or Marvel on this (at the moment at least), BUT there is old school golden age books, like the original Captain Marvel (before he was scooped up by DC). There is also a little Image (albeit much older titles) sprinkled in there. There’s also Antarctic Press, and Arcana; which are some of the more “well known” (if you are a real comic junkie) independent publishers. But mostly it’s stuff I’ve never heard of, from publishers I had no idea even existed. Yeah, a lot of this was already free online if you knew where to look. But now it’s all packaged in one app, which is great. There’s also a kid’s section! Which is really cool too!

DISCLAIMER: I’m not getting paid for this. My opinions on this are merely my own. I have never even talked to anyone who works with this project. I found it completely on accident because there was an ad for it in one of my smart phone games telling me if I download it- I get free coins for the game. Seriously.

This is awesome for someone like me, who really likes finding random things at comic shops, or online. A lot of times these writers, artists, and colorists aren’t making a dime off these books. There’s no glory, no money, and no comic cons. They’re just doing it for a labor of love. And that’s when you get good stories. When writers put their hearts, and souls into something. Not for anything other than their love of doing it. One of my favorite graphic novels is a book called- CLASH: Citizen’s League Against Super-Humans, (which I suggest you all read if you get the chance), published by Moonstone, another small publisher. You can find good stories with these publishers believe it or not, all you got to do is give them a chance. And as someone whose dream is to write a comic, apps like this give me hope of reaching an audience.

As for the app itself; the interface is really nice, and the navigation is simple. There’s a search feature, which is nice to see, especially for when their library inevitably gets larger. It saves the issues, and titles you’re currently reading (like the Netflix recently watched section), it also bookmarks the page for you! Which is really great, especially for a free app. The page turning is smooth, and there’s almost zero load time or lag. Everything is broken down into genres, which is also quite welcome. The app has a very Netflix/Hulu like feel to it. Which is also quite nice, because when I first opened it up, I felt familiar with it. Like I’ve used it a thousand times before. I have zero complaints about anything thus far. I’m sure there’s going to be hiccups down the road, like all apps have. But all and all, it’s quite good. Very user friendly.

Conclusion
Score - 9
9
Awesome

This thing is awesome. I really hope they continue expanding their library with other small publishers, and writers. It's time for those people to have their moment too. While a lot of this stuff is free elsewhere, it's still nice to have it all in once place.