Recently I’ve been catching up on a bunch of episodes of my favourite video podcast, The Totally Rad Show. I’ve seen a few previous episodes where the trio reviewed some comic books and graphic novels, and it sparked an interest. Sure, I read a few random comics as a kid, mostly Marvel comics like the X-Men and Spiderman, but never really took it seriously. For some reason, I never found superhero comics very interesting. I guess I didn’t quite ‘get it’ with all the men and women running around in capes and tights. Perhaps that influenced my opinion of comics in general, which is why I never fully got into them. However, I’ve just made an interesting discovery.

There are many, many, more comics and graphic novels that aren’t about superheroes than I first thought. In fact, there’s a whole bunch of comics with more adult themes and weird, dark and fascinating stories that really appeal to me. A lot of them are from DC’s publishing line called Vertigo, but there’s also plenty of others as well. I was simply amazed with the sheer amount of non-superhero books that are out there.

Why hadn’t I heard of these earlier?! Well, probably because I fell into the trap that is “comics = superhero stories”. It’s a common misconception. I’d imagine most people who aren’t into comics think of them this way, and I was no exception. Comics have a lot of prejudice against them. I never thought about it enough or was interested in it enough to bother doing any research, and because of that, I missed out on a lot of good stories.

So, recently I’ve been doing my research. iFanboy, another great podcast from Revision3, really helped me in figuring out what comics I should start with, and the kind of stuff that’s more suited to my taste. They have a couple of episodes called ‘Five’ and ‘Another Five’ that give a short review on the must-read comic books out there.

Needless to say, after hearing of all these titles, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I now have a list of comic book titles that’s almost a metre long, and I plan to read them all at some point. I wanted to dip my toes into the vast sea of comics with something that would really pull me in. So, I ordered the first two trade paperbacks of Y: The Last Man. They should arrive sometime this week.

I’ve also made a decision to buy trades as much as possible, as buying individual issues could get a tad expensive and harder to store. And I’ll be honest, I’m impatient and would rather read multiple issues together at once.

After I’ve finished Y: The Last Man, and possibly a few others (such as Preacher) then who knows…. I might even try some superhero comics. Perhaps Batman or the X-Men. The only problem here is that there’s already so much history in the Marvel and DC universes, it’s often daunting and feels impossible to catch up. I’ve decided I don’t really care about the continuity, and I don’t mind (and probably prefer) reading standalone stories, as long as they’re good stories. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, right?

I feel like a kid again, and it’s great.

Since the iPod Touch has been released in Australia, there have been very few cases available for it. For the few cases that are available, finding information on them has been extremely hard. So, I thought I’d write a short review on the Belkin Leather Folio case that I recently purchased.

Aesthetics

This is a flip-cover style case. It’s made of leather, and the one shown here is the Black/Chocolate version, with the leather case being black, and the leather trim around the edges being brown. The inside material is also brown. I think it’s very nice looking, professional rather than an eye-grabber (less attention to a device is good when using public transport). There is a honeycomb design on the front and in the inside cover, which gives it a bit of flavour instead of being completely plain. It would suit the fashion conscious as well as anyone who wants a professional or conservative looking case.

Practicality

The Belkin Leather Folio was definitely made with practicality in mind. There is complete access to all iPod buttons and functions while still in the case. The top on/off button and bottom cable and headphones ports are exposed. Lifting the cover, you can see the iPod’s main button is also exposed. The iPod Touch slides into the right hand side of the case, and fits snug and secure with no risk of it falling out as far as I can tell. It can easily be removed from the case when needed. This case also comes with a clear screen protector as an optional extra (I chose not to use this).

The flip-cover style case obviously isn’t for everyone, however. My reason for wanting a flip-cover was to protect the screen from dirt and dust while it’s in my pocket without having to use a screen protector, since the screen is scratch resistant and doesn’t really need it. Since there are no buttons on the iPod Touch to change the volume and switch tracks, you need to physically look at the screen anyway, so the flip-cover doesn’t really hinder the process. In my opinion, the flip-cover style case is not nearly as practical for the iPod Classic and Nano.

The only changes I would like to see made to this case is to scrap the velcro fastener and use hidden magnets to keep the cover closed instead, which can be found in the same Belkin case for the Nano. I’ve no idea why they opted for the velcro instead for this case. It adds a little more bulk to an otherwise slim case. Also, there is no hole in the front for the ambient light sensor, meaning you’ll need to change the manual brightness setting each time you enter a different environment with different lighting. This may be a dealbreaker for some people.

Build Quality

This case is definitely well made and very durable. It does not feel like a cheap case in any way, shape or form (and it wasn’t, at AU$40, but obviously you do get what you pay for). The leather used is tough but still very flexible. There is no loose stitching on mine, and the velcro also fastens well. The edges and corners around the screen don’t inhibit the user viewing the screen in any way. Everything matches up and aligns perfectly well. It doesn’t feel like this case is going to break any time soon. Mine did come with a bit of a scratch or graze on the front, even though it was fully packaged in plastic. This shows that the case will mark and get a bit scratched up over time, as it is made of leather. However, I feel this is half the purpose of the case, and would rather the case get scratched up than my iPod.

Conclusion

I recommend this case to anyone looking for a flip-cover case for their iPod Touch. I’ve had cases for other iPods and devices before, and this is the best one I’ve seen. It’s durable, looks nice, and protects my iPod very well. It does add a bit of thickness to the anorexic iPod Touch, but not so much that it’s too big for my pocket. A magnetic closure would be far better, but the velcro isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Most importantly, it completely protects the extremely scratchable chrome back casing of the iPod Touch. I don’t see my iPod getting scratched any time soon using this case. Good job, Belkin.