Using the iPad to read CBR/CBZs? I don't know enough about it, but I'm going to guess not directly. I really doubt "there's an app for that," given the entry barriers. I also don't know what the "disk space" is like.
However, there's an obvious workaround: Unzip and upload the images to Flickr or a similar "cloud" service, and use the web browser. Which means sort of closing your own open content for the purpose...
I'll repeat my usual comment, though: The absolute best device I've found for reading comics is the XO Laptop from the One Laptop per Child organization. The screen's a bit on the small side, but certainly big enough for most reading, and the image rotates into nearly proper page dimensions for a Golden Age comic. It weighs about three pounds, which is heavy, but the extra plastic makes it pretty near indestructable. And the screen does backlit color AND has a reflective mode (like an old calculator LCD panel) that's super-sharp. Seriously, just the fact that it's readable in sunlight made it worth the money. Sit in the park and read comics on a sunny day without worrying about glare? Sure!
It's NOT a complete solution out of the box, though. Until recently, there wasn't a formal program to integrate in that'd handle the files (and "View Slides" seems to only work with zip/cbz files, from what I read--I haven't tested it), which means farting around on the command line to make things work, albeit with great instructions on the OLPC News forum. It also can't access Windows shared folders do to an Intellectual Property issue or external hard drives, so you need another route to grab the books (like downloading them or putting them on a USB "stick").
Plus, it's a laptop. When I had two computers die on me at around the same time, all I needed was an OpenOffice installed to a USB drive, and I was able to work entirely from that machine for about three weeks. That's including software development (on a remote machine, of course) and preparing lecture notes.
And to answer bchat's question, the studios were expecting to do better in a down economy, because their model is that poor people spend on entertainment before meeting expenses. They assumed that people who grew up "middle class" would fit the "poor" model, whereas middle class folks are instead more likely to panic and tighten their purse strings.
They also neglected to account for the fact that they're simply producing crap that nobody cares about and hoping that "star power" can save everything. Probably the fact that television can now get the same sorts of results for a fraction of the cost has eluded them, too. Why would I go see a generic action movie in the theater or on DVD when, say, the Human Target turns in a better script, better effects, and much better music every week? (How I Met Your Mother also hits a lot of the romantic comedy notes better than most movies and still leaves me time to do something else, rather than sucking up two hours.)
