As game developers where quick to embrace the iPhone and App Store as a platform for games, so too have other media producers. Bands have launched music apps that let you explore additional content from art to videos and interviews, authors have been selling books as stand alone apps and now comic artists have also started to embrace the iPhone as a distribution channel.

Today we’ll be looking at a new series of comics called Fallen Justice, which is based around a league of Guardians that protect the people and help the less fortunate to build and develop their homes and societies. The Guardians are lead by Justice Theta, a super hero who’s addicted to helping people but is suffering from overload with too much to do.

Fallen Justice is an interesting idea if a little samey. I’ve read a lot of comics with similar story lines, but if you look at all the major comics, even Marvel/DC comics, plot lines are all very similar between the various comic series. It’s no Watchmen but it is relatively entertaining and has potential.

The first of a set of seven planned episodes is currently available in the App Store for free, a hook to attempt to peak your interest, with a second episode planned for launch next week which for a very limited period will also be free. The apps themselves are simple self contained comic reader apps with no options to speak of. There is a draggable progress bar that you can bring up with a tap (shown below) that lets you see where you are and jump to a certain page. Normal scrolling is achieved by the now standard swipe, however because the app is orientated in landscape only, a decent swipe to least halfway is required to turn the page. This means that one handed reading is certainly difficult with the pane bouncing back because you can’t swipe far enough with one hand. I’d much prefer a portrait set up personally, or at least the option, but that would mean having to totally reformat the artwork. Other comics such as the new Star Trek movie prologue, using the iVerse comic reader, I feel got the combination of app and art design right being able to turn the page with a small flick and giving you transition options, but if you can deal with the Fallen Justice app it has well drawn and imagined characters.

Will Fallen Justice be a hit? I guess it’s early days with the first in the series. A comic lives or dies by it’s story lines and art direction. The art is reasonable and the story is ok. The first episode is free so you’ve got nothing to lose. The second will also be free initially so I suggest if the first one peaks your interest you quickly download the second to see if the plot maintains your interest. The normal pricing once the promotional period expires will only be $0.99 (£0.59) so I guess it’s not exactly breaking the bank but whether it deserves your cash I guess is up to you. Worth a look if you ask me. The one thing that comes to mind however when reading this comic, and others on the App Store like it, is that having separate apps for each episode is stupid and clutters up your home screen. With in-app purchasing enabled with the 3.0 firmware, why have we not seen a universal comic reader app that lets you buy episodes right within the app? Make the reader free and sell the content, simple and effective. Maybe I’m over looking something crucial here, but I’m hoping iVerse or Graphics Lab can get their act together and make a comic reader app with store built-in in the near future so we can get rid of the app clutter.

Fallen Justice episode one is currently available free in the App Store.