SDCC: FOG! Talks With LIAM SHARP About Comic App MADEFIRE

As far as comics go, digital seems to be the way of the future, and no company is making it look as good as Madefire.

The new app for iproducts brings original comics from big names like Dave Gibbons, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gary Gianni, and Mike Carey into the highly contested digital era. We talked with Liam Sharp about the new company, the stories coming out and where the app is headed.

Liam is behind the new series Captain Stone with Christina McCormack, he's previously worked on all the big titles like Batman, Superman, Hulk, Spider-Man, X-Men, and in 2008 he illustrated the Gears of War comic adaptation.
 
The daunting task of creating a new publishing house for comics started with the idea that something new needed to be done. Sharp said that he and many of the other artists and writers at Madefire, who have been in the industry for decades, wanted a challenge and an opportunity to push the limits of the comic book world.

With passionate writers and and artists with backgrounds in concept art at lucas, anthologies, and big name series, the app was really created with the creatives in mind. Rather than having a print comic and just animating it, everything on Madefire was created specifically for the app and always keeping the reader in mind.

Focusing on creator based work, the app was designed with the intent to let artists and writers realy focus on storytelling. Primarily they wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a gimmick. Throughout the interview storytelling was hotword and Sharp said many times that while artwork and technology may change, the storytelling needs to evolve as well and take advantage of the new technology to make an engaging and interactive experience.

There are at least 12 new stories lined up for the app with a trade paperback collection potentially coming after the digital series are ended, or reach a story arc conclusion.



The app launched with three big titles including Mono, Captain Stone and Dave Gibbons’ Treatment. At Comic-Con they also showed off two new titles called The Irons and The Engine. Right now the app is free and so are all the issues of each title, right now there are no plans to monetize the app or sell the individual issues. There are plans for a potential trade paperback collection

With an open SDK allowing creators and artists to be create what they really want they creatives have the opportunity to determine exactly when there is shock, or humor, or suspense. And with a motion comic sort of app that Madefire has created, timing is key.