If you watched that preview of "The Black Panther" animated series I showed you last month you would have witnessed a more traditionally animated version of what is referred to as a "motion comic."
In that case, the actual artwork of John Romita Jr. on the "Black Panther" comic was captured and manipulated by a crew with motion graphics software (usually Flash but not always) and hooked up with a sound track, cut, edited and BINGO -- an animated program from a comic book.
While the Panther will debut on BET, Warner Bros. is making their move with the comic "Batman: Black & White" and offering it in episodic fashion on iTunes for .99 cents. I think the preview above via MTV Splashpage looks pretty good.
This style of animation saves on the expense of having a full team of animators and also translates the comic book experience to screens large and small. It's hard to explain, but to watch one of these is not quite the same experience as a fully-animated project or even a comic book -- it is obviously something else. Done carelessly it can be stiff. Done well and you may have something like the "Batman B & W" clip above.
I am curious to see how it fares on iTunes. There have to be newer means of bringing an audience to the comics medium other than print and in a more affordable way. This motion comics venture with the Batman project is something I plan to check out.
I'm sure there are numerous smarties in the comics industry who know they can't rely solely on guys my age to purchase the increasingly expensive print product forever.
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