Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Created and Written by: Enrique Corts & Mar Hernandez
Art/Graphic Design by: Enrique Corts
Colored by: Mar Hernandez
Lettered by: Enrique Corts
Cover Colored by: Fabian “Monk’ Schlaga
English Translation by: Paul Gravett
Publisher: Satellite Soda Studios
It’s easy to see why the comic industry is doing so poorly. Printing costs are astronomical, there are probably fewer readers today than ever before, and readers simply don’t get their money’s worth with most comic books. Honestly, ask yourself how many of the comics you’re reading are worth between $2.50 and $3 a month? It’s nothing short of a rip-off for a piece of entertainment that lasts for ten or fifteen minutes to cost that much. Somebody has to find a way to bring value in comics in line with the price, or the industry is going to sink deeper and deeper into its niche ditch.
You certainly can’t consider me a proponent of the videogame. I enjoy playing occasionally, but I also think many people spend a ludicrous amount of time sealed into a fake existence instead of participating in the real world. Yet, how can you compare $50 for a brand new video game that should give a man, woman, or child anywhere from six to one-hundred hours of entertainment compared to the cost of a weekly comic run. If you only buy ten comics a week you’re looking at $20-$30. For what? An hour and a half of enjoyment! Not a good bargain at all.
Why would parents buy these pamphlets for their kids? Why would adults other than diehards? Simple answer: They don’t!
The business is being helped by trade paperbacks in book stores, but that’s still not enough of an answer.
Enrique Corts and Mar Hernandez certainly have an intriguing option. Hitpack Volume #1 is a thirty-page comic book designed to be exhibited on your computer. It’s not one of those wretched comics-on-dvd that were tried a few years ago, or a .PDF file that’s impossible to read. This is a comic experience set up for the computer with huge graphics and easy to read balloons.
I’ve been exploring options on my own that move away from the traditional printed paper format for my own creator-owned work. Corts and Hernandez have me intrigued. Hitpack is an absolutely stellar example of what can be done with technology to make comics better. I’ve been liquidating a small portion of my collection over the past few months on eBay. Who needs all these comics? I have so many they’re just taking up space. Most get read one time and never looked upon again. I’m ready for comic books that can be stored on a CD. I’m past needing physical pieces of paper in my hands or cluttering my home.
The biggest question regarding this new format: Is the book any good?
Obviously a brand new technological breakthrough is meaningless if the book’s quality is not up to published standards. I’m happy to say that Hitpack #1 is an inspired debut. The story follows a girl named Amy that gets pulled into a war between heaven and hell.
Cheap plug time: My first published work was recently released in the prose anthology Contagion: War Stories. I only mention it here because the world of Contagion also concerns a war between Heaven and Hell. If you’d like to pick up a copy you can at Lulu.com.
End of cheap plug.
Amy is granted amazing powers by the mysterious Lilith, which makes her more than a match for God’s priests. Yes, that’s right, God’s priests. It seems, in the world of Corts and Hernandez, God is cast as the villain, while Lucifer is the hero.
Beyond the holy issues that are contained within, Hitpack contains weighty elements involving domestic abuse. I have to hand it to Corts and Hernandez, they aren’t going for easy-to-swallow pabulum. The story is fast moving, there’s lots of action, but there’s also some nice characterization, not to mention the deeper issues within.
The other huge question: How well is the technology carried out?
Well, it’s done flawlessly. Once you’ve downloaded the zip file containing the issue, all you need to do is click and begin. What you get is a nice opening graphic leading to a well laid out menu. The menu offers you all the necessary options we’ve come to expect in a comic. Hell, the authors have included extras normally only seen in trades. Not only is there a thirty-page story, you also get an introduction on the idea behind Hitpack, a large collection of pinups, and a making-of section featuring various stages of the artwork, sketches, and other goodies. It’s a great package.
The last factor is cost. The “book” can be purchased from hitpack.com for $1.70. Not a bad price. I received a review copy gratis, but I will return to purchase volume #2 when it’s released. This was a great product well worth $1.70. Optimally, I’d love to see a comic like this put out for $1. I think that’s the point where something of this ilk could be massively popular. Still, $1.70 is a good deal cheaper than almost any book I’m reading. It’s actually about half the price of most of the books on my pull.
You can bet I’m going to be back for issue #2. Do me a favor, go check out the site and see if you like. I think you’ll be surprised.
