Dial C for comics

Comic book characters are frequently brought to life off the page; but superheroes and heroines are now about to find their way onto mobile phones.

Sean Demory's adventure story Thunder Road is the first comic book to be released in the US through a mobile phone by Go Comics. Go Comics is a reader that enables a comic to be uploaded onto mobile phones and read one panel at a time, simply by pushing the phone buttons to move ahead. Already attracting 55,000 readers a month, the mobile phone is on the way to replacing printed comic books.

Australian comic artist Anthony Woodward, who has contributed to and produced both print and online comic collections praises the initiative. "I think this is a fantastic development for comics and certainly creates a desperately needed and updated platform," he said.

Rather than spell the death of the artform, Woodward believes that a mobile phone is an excellent medium for self-publishing. "Mobile phones actually make more sense as you can send and receive content whilst on the move and it allows creators a chance to gain some reimbursement for their work - even if it is only 2 cents per comic," he said.

The printed page is no longer as engaging as electronic media, according to Woodward, who believes that mobile phones could be just the thing to revive comics from their stale, stereotyped state.

"The comics in newspapers today are basically a dead medium in that form," he said. "Newspaper comics have become so bland and dull, just so they can reach everyone - supposedly. Meanwhile, contemporary comics are made obscure and hard to find."

Technology isn't always good for everything. Pictured: a scene from Anthony Woodward's comics.