New to the app store this week comes Scrollon an innovative new digital comics apps from the folks at Literate Imagery, Inc. Scrollon offers original, color illustrated content presented as a seemingly unending image which is advanced by scrolling with your finger or tapping the screen. Download it from the iTunes Store here for free and you can try out the Scrollon experience to see what it is like to not only read stories, but travel through them.  

Unlike comics that are repurposed from other mediums, each Scrollon story is crafted for digital viewing. This means artwork never needs to be cropped to make text readable, layouts are not reformatted, and the creators’ vision is never compromised. Scrollon provides a uniquely intuitive way to experience visual storytelling.  The app is easy to navigate, has search functions, automatic bookmarking, and features an expanding library of fantasy, science fiction, superhero, steampunk and more, covering all genres. Previews are provided for each story installment available through the In-App Store.

Scrollon is the creation of film maker Doug Lefler, who was inspired by an ancient Chinese scroll painting. At the time he was attending California Institute of the Arts (with fellow classmates John Lassiter, Tim Burton and Brad Bird). “I found a large roll of paper and began to draw a comic book without pages,” says Doug. “I got far enough to convince myself it was good idea, before I considered the issue of distribution. This was the late seventies and I couldn’t think of any printing method that would allow me to publish a document six inches high, and fifty feet long.” The idea followed Doug for years as he pursued a career in the film industry.

He directed second unit on Army of Darkness and Spider-Man, and Doug advanced to main unit director and went on to direct the pilot episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princes , and the feature film The Last Legion (starring Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley). “I never stopped drawing,” he says. “I used to joke that the only reason I would direct movies was so I could draw my own storyboards.” Eventually technology caught up to his idea. “I filed a patent, hired programmers and set about creating the visual grammar needed for what would become Scrollon.” It was finally possible to make a digital comic book without pages. “Some ideas are worth waiting for,” he says. “This one only took me thirty five years.”

The Scrollon App is available on the App Store to download here!