[From Gizmodo; a 1:08 minute video is at BoingBoing; more examples of this type of augmented reality are available at Victor Petit’s web site]

Talking Comic Books Take All Of the Imagination Out Of It

Andrew Liszewski
Jul 7, 2012

We’re not ones to hold back the march of technology, even when it comes to our beloved comic books. Having them electronically delivered to our beautiful retina display devices is a dream come true. But we can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Valiant Entertainment’s new talking comic book cover.

Created for issue #1 of the company’s X-O Manowar comic, to be fair, the comic doesn’t actually include any kind of speaker technology like a musical greeting card. Instead, readers are encouraged to place their iPhone on the cover, where—thanks to augmented reality tricks—the character’s mouth is replaced with an animated version that provides a prelude to the comic’s story.

At this point it’s more of a marketing gimmick than anything, but how long before augmented comics start to become more popular? What do you think? Is this a novel stunt, or is it taking comic books down a dangerous path?