Further research for Capstone
I guess in wanting to re-create something as big as a comic book database, you have to look at the main players in the field. This would include Marvel comics, DC comics, Image comics, and Darkhorse comics. There are tons of other publishers out there, but I think that these four would have to be included. This would be a good starting place for a comic book database, and would entail alot of work.
Marvel comics is the industry leader. If you think about comics surely you think about Spider-man, and the X-men, and Iron Man to name a few. The Marvel comics site is super clean, informative, and very artistic. The nice flow is what I would like to incorporate into my comic book database. The amount of artwork shown is not overwhelming, but represents good design. I do like the flash banner under the header.
DC comics is the traditional comic book company. Over the many years they have been very predictable and sturdy. This company features the all-time greats Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. I love the design of this website. It is very clean, not a lot of scrolling, and the flash scroll at the top of the page is great. This site does feature a community type of portal, with videos and other items, which focuses on their own products. I would like to incorporate these items into my database as well. I also like their global navigation, and categories. A new to comics feature is a great idea.
Dark Horse Comics features a little more off the wall type of comic books. Their titles consist of Hellboy, Star Wars, an Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their website has a nice community sense to it. There are features offered here that I would consider adding to my Capstone project. Including the message boards page. I really like this idea. I would like to include a message board on my site, as well as a page for fan created artwork.
Finally, Image comics. When this company came out, they took an enormous amount of DC and Marvel fans with them. They became a very big player in a really short period of time. Their most notable contributions are Spawn, Witchblade, and The Savage Dragon. This site is a bit awkward, but it does have a sense of community to it. There are a few items that are of interest to my capstone idea, including the schedule page. This is a must have, and will be alot of work to keep up with.
