The future of printed matter and how it relates to our increasingly digital world is still sort of up in the air, but that hasn’t stopped an enterprising Kansas City company called uClick from offering comic books for cell phones.

But it touches on two strengthening trends: Comic book creators looking to leap to the digital arena, where production and distribution are cheap, and the demand by wireless providers for data-rich applications to drive future revenues.

“Obviously comics have a pretty large following,” said David Oberholzer, associate director of content programming for Verizon Wireless, which offers GoComics along with competitors AT&T and Sprint Nextel. “You want to mimic what’s out there already and have that on your deck.”

For $4.49 a month on Verizon, or $3.99 a month for AT&T and Sprint, subscribers can view nearly a dozen different traditional comic books. There’s also a separate subscription service for Japanese comics called manga.

The comic books range from well-known names like “Bone” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to up-and-coming books, such as crime noirish “Umbra” and Hindu-folklore-inspired “Devi.” The comics site adds new chapters or issues for each title every week.

It’s an interesting idea, but I’m not convinced traditional comic books would translate to mobile phones all that well at the moment. Maybe somewhere down the line.

Comic strips on the other hand seem tailor made. Could this be a new outlet for them? Newspapers barely carry them anymore, and they can be a bit of a chore for most people to hunt down online. But if there was a subscription service that sent a new strip to your cell phone every morning…

Spread the word!