Darn, That ‘Motion Comic’ Name Is Sticking

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September 1, 2009

Yet another company jumps on the “motion comic” bandwagon…

Eagle One Media sent out a press release announcing that they were producing “animated motion comic productions” of Street Fighter (formerly a video game) and Voltron: Defender of the Universe (formerly an anime series) to air on Syfy starting September 28.

Since the Eagle One website prominently pushes their cartoon DVDs of the same titles, I guess I know where they’re getting the content. I find it amusing that, although they mention that the DVDs were based on Udon (Street Fighter) and DD Publishing (Devil’s Due? Voltron) comics, they’re sort of irrelevant at this point. Anyone interested in these limited animation videos will likely come from the other, more popular media incarnations, not from comics that were themselves licensed properties.

6 Responses

Kenny Cather writes:

September 1, 2009 at 8:05 pm

I *really* dislike motion comics….

Dan Traeger writes:

September 2, 2009 at 4:18 am

I agree. The whole motion comics trend is really starting to wear on me. They’re sort of like those Free Credit Report.com commercials on TV. The first time I saw one it was interesting but mildly annoying. Now, I’m starting to equate them with the anti-christ. The Watchmen motion comic just destroyed every bit of what Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were trying to do with the story they were presenting. I have yet to see a motion comic that actually enhances the original source material.

Charles RB writes:

September 2, 2009 at 9:04 am

…wait, they’re now calling cartoons “motion comics”? Why?!

Jonathan L. Switzer writes:

September 2, 2009 at 8:47 pm

What are these nitwits trying to pull here? The first Voltron “motion comic” DVD came out two years ago; the second about a year and a half ago. The Street Fighter one came out over six months ago. They are not making these now; they’ve ALREADY MADE THEM. Either the copywriter shouldn’t be writing copy or he’s trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes. The only thing BRAND NEW about these “motion comics” is that they’ve managed to trick an idiotic cable outlet into putting them on television.

As an aside, they’re not jumping on the bandwagon — Eagle One BUILT the bandwagon, but back when they tried to get it rolling, nobody wanted a part of it. Dig around on their website; they’re the ones who made all those CrossGen, Ultimate Marvel, and Daredevil “motion comic” DVDs nobody wanted that littered anime DVD sections for years in the early 2000’s.

Charles RB: These AREN’T animated cartoons. These are comic books — actual comics, which you can go out and buy and read yourself — with the panels all cut apart and thrown up on your TV screen or monitor with limited animation and actors doing the dialog. A cheap-to-produce way to convert pre-existing work into another bloody revenue stream. The only one I’ve ever watched was the one that came free with the standard version of Michael Bay’s Transformers movie on DVD at Wal-Mart; heaven knows I’d never pay money for one. If I want to watch a cartoon, I’ll watch a cartoon; if I want to read a comic book, I’ll read a comic book. I have no interest in a lazy bastard format in-between.

Digital Strips: The Webcomics Podcast : Links: Flash, print, and motion comics writes:

September 4, 2009 at 8:24 am

[...] has a preview of the Spider-Woman motion comic. Meanwhile, Johanna Draper Carlson notes that Eagle One is also doing motion comics, these ones based on comics based on an anime and a [...]

Rik writes:

October 6, 2009 at 2:13 am

I recently made my very first motion comic: http://www.aniboom.com/competitions/Marvel/399870/SNIKT-versus-RRRaaaRRR/

Prior to starting work on it I didn’t have any opinions either way regarding motion comics. But once I created my piece I realized that it could be creatively satisfying as making a traditional print comic.

Thank you in advance if you check my piece out.