comics nextra initiative

The Comics Nextra Initiative is my push to explore the motion comics and digital media. My pursuit in this region is to find what I call a "sweet-spot" between comics and animation and to discover the software tools to make it happen.  I want to see if using software that is not fully identified by industry will work for my purposes.  I am aware that motion comics generally use two types of software- Image creation and processing and motion graphics- on the main stream this means Adobe Products like Photoshop ( which can create and process images) and After Affects (for compositing and motion affects). Yet there are growing competition for comics like Manga Studio  which is trying to be the full comic package solution and alternative to photoshop. Also for content creation which is the key point for motion and digital comics- sketchbook pro is a lightweight alternative or companion to photoshop . For image editing the free alternative to Photoshop is Gimp

After Affects is still the leader in terms of motion comics- most motion comics are traditionally made this way in industry.  I have looked at the possibility of using 2.5D tricks with motion graphics which also is more advanced in after affects which can be seen used most creatively in the works of Daniel Gies in which he gets a 3-D feel using only 2d elements and 2d puppets... So what is the alternative- Note- an actual 3d program using 2d elements- a true 2.5 D solution- and I wish to utilize the most inexpensive program of its kind- Blender.
My mind believes I can create motion movies based from comics and with some of the 3d features now in play expand the storytelling beyond the panels using sketchbook pro, Blender, and maybe Gimp for some image processing.... The technology in my mind is there- the application  and learning curves need to be better understood for production or it will be just development and experiments..
But what of digital comics or moving to APPs that can be supported by players and phones.
this will require a software partner.... so looking online I noted Madefire, a software developer working with independent artists through the Deviant Art community...All needed for this solution are bringing in the assets to the Madefire servers for creating the digital comic with animation and sound.  They also provide a marketplace to promote your motion comics that could be fed to Iphone and Ipad APPtores. Sounds promising to move this direction as well...
My point again is to stretch the venue to a potential competitive  option for public consumption. To give them a little more and not kill your resources in the process...

I have always been a fan of comics and animation and feel I can use and develop both skills... I have seen some cool stand out in this mix.. ie. Bottom of the ninth by Ryan Woodward animations and  Glen Keane's Duet

This work as many others from Disney, and Warner brothers has captured my mind and heart; however, looking at credits for just one piece of work virtually needs large groups of people, lots of software, and computers to produce -and at this point its only me so maybe the way pushed by  Daniel Gies which employs only a couple of well trained individuals armed with state of the art software may work- but what if you can't keep up with that software account- that's me too.... which means I have a lot of training and work arounds to develop to make sense of this directive- my fingers are crossed....