It might seem like Marvel Comics characters are everywhere these days, what with recent franchise and feature film treatments of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Electra (ahem), The Incredible Hulk, The Punisher, and (soon) Iron Man. The comic book industry has established itself as prime source material for mainstream entertainment…so why are comics themselves largely relegated to niche shops and out-of-the-way stores? Comic book publishers would like their wares to be present where young people live—and these days, that means on the Internet.
To that end, Marvel Comics has taken the wraps off Marvel Digital comics, currently featuring some 2,500 issues (with 20 more issues being added each week), featuring back issues of current titles at least six months after they’re released in print, as well as serious back issue archives that mark the first appearances of mainstay Marvel characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men.
But there’s a catch: the back issues can only be viewed in a Web browser (and when the site is running: Marvel’s digital archive seems to be having SQL server issues at the moment), and access is via paid subscription: fans can tap the archive for $9.99 a month, or $4.99 per month if they’re willing to shell out for a year in advance. However, for a limited time, Marvel is offering free access to a sample of 250 titles, including a mix of classic and new stories. The site also features a recommendation engine that offers new selections based on member feedback and ratings, and users can customize their use of the service with sharable reading lists.
"We are truly excited to be able to present in one location such an expansive treasure trove of Marvel Comics’ favorites to a mass market audience," said Marvel president Dan Buckley, in a release. "With Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, we believe we have built a state-of-the-art online destination that will not only engage comic book readers of all ages, but also serve as the ultimate complement to our primary comic hobby market print business through which all new Marvel Comics monthly titles will continue to be released before their availability in digital format."
Marvel isn’t the first comic publisher to go online: Dark Horse recently started offering content via MySpace, and rival DC comics has been teasing the first pages of upcoming issues online, as well as offering PDF versions of selected issues when compilations and anthologies hit the market.
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