Comic Collector iPhone App: Clz Comics
The iPhone App for Comic Collector 4 is now out. If you use the Comic Collector software to keep track of your comics collection and you have an iPhone, buying this app is really a no-brainer.
I was more than a little surprised to see at least one person actually complain about the $9.99 price. Ten bucks seems like a small price to pay for the ability to take a complete record of your comic book collection with you everywhere you go.
Before this app, the only way you could take a record of your collection with you on your iPod was if you exported collection as a text file and used a notes program on your iPod to access it. I did just that a few years ago when I went to the Pittsburgh Comic-Con and it turned out to be more cumbersome than I thought it would be.
I don’t think that will be a problem with this app. It looks extremely easy to use.
Comic Collector 3.0 Pro
I thought I would follow up my review of the comic book software that is touted at the world’s #1 comic book collecting software with a review of the program that actually deserves the distinction.
It’s Comic Collector produced by Collectorz.com. It is hands down the best piece of comic book collecting software I have ever used. Though it doesn’t (as of yet) support a barcode scanner for adding comics to your collection, it does allow you to make entries automatically. Enter the series name and then select the specific issues you want to add. Comic Collector will then download all of that comic’s data, including the cover images from the extensive Collectorz.com Comic Database.
If you don’t want to go that route, you can still add comics the old fashioned way. Add one comic at a time or add an entire series. The choice is yours.
You can also edit the information you have for your comics. You can either edit the information for one single comic or edit multiple comics all at the same time. For instance, you can highlight all of the comics stored in a single long or short box and then do a group edit changing the location of these comics. That’s something you cannot do with ComicBase.
You can also view your collection any way you want to. The possibilities are limitless. You can view your collection by series, genre, publisher, location, or even by inker or colorist. Once again, you cannot do this with ComicBase.
You can also print very detailed and robust reports with Comic Collector. You can print reports showing comics you want to purchase or ones you already have or anything else you want a report of. It’s up to you.
My favorite feature and the thing that makes this software such a killer app is the ability to export your entire comic collection to your iPod. I made use of this the last time I went to a comic book convention and was able to pick up a lot of comics I did not have. I exported my entire collection to my iPod before I left for the con. All I had to do to access my collection was to click on Extras>Notes>Comic Collector and I would see a list of every comic title I owned. I would then scroll down to the specific title I wanted and select it. I would then see a list of the issues I owned. I was able to fill a lot of holes in my The Walking Dead collection by using this and I didn’t mistakenly purchase comics I already owned.
Not only can you export to an iPod, but to a PDA or Pocket PC. I’ve never tried this feature, but its there for people that want to use it.
You can download a fully functional trial version of this program to try. The only restriction is that you are limited to 100 comics. If you decide to buy the program, you have up to 30 days to change your mind. If it turns out that you don’t like it and wish you hadn’t spend the money on it, you can get a full refund.
When you compare Comic Collector to ComicBase, it’s really hard to figure out why ComicBase is the world’s #1 software for managing comic book collections.



