Marvel Opens Its Comic Book Vault to the Masses for the First Time Ever Today with Innovative Online Digital Comics Destination at MARVEL.COM/digitalcomics
MARVEL DIGITAL COMICS UNLIMITED
Ground-Breaking Subscription Service to Offer Exclusive Online Access to Marvel’s World Renowned Comic Book Archives In One Easy-To-Navigate Location
Site To Offer Highest Resolution Digital Versions of Each Featured Book; Multiple Online Viewing Options; User-Friendly Search Capabilities; and Personalized Features
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time ever, Marvel Comics, a division of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), is opening its comic book vault to the masses and making its legendary Super Hero™ adventures available in one location with the launch today of its online subscription service Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
Curated by Marvel editors, this ultimate digital comic Internet destination allows unparalleled access to thousands of titles from Marvel’s historic comic book archives – from the first issues of Amazing Spider-Man, The X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four and other favorites, to unforgettable recent storylines, mini-series and special issues. The easy-to-navigate Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited site presents each digital comic in the highest-resolution ever available and offers innovative viewing options, user-friendly search and recommendation features, and personalized reading list tools. Accessible by both PC and MAC users directly through Marvel.com/digitalcomics as well as via the www.marvel.com homepage, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited will have subscription rates as low as $4.99/month -- making it affordable to new readers and longtime fans.
Also, for a limited time only, Marvel will offer audiences the opportunity to experience Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited at no cost with a special free sampling of 250 titles. Featuring a mix of epic classics and current favorites, the free sampling program will enable users to get a true sense of this highly appealing and unique Marvel Comics online service.
“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. We wanted to make sure we presented a site that would set the standard in digital comics and offer readers an affordable way to experience our vast archive of content,” said Dan Buckley, President, Marvel Publishing. “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.”
At launch, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited offers more than 2,500 comic books. Each week, Marvel will add at least 20 additional titles to the site that will be chosen based on editors’ picks and subscriber requests. The initial offerings will run the gamut from unforgettable classics, to current favorites, to titles designed for young readers.
Selected highlights include:
Unforgettable Classics
The first 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man
The first 100 issues of The Fantastic Four
The initial 66 issue run of Uncanny X-Men
The first 50 issues of The Avengers
The issues marking the first appearances of such Super Heroes as Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, Thor, Daredevil, and Silver Surfer
The issues marking the first appearance of such renowned villains as Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, and Dr. Doom
The issue that showcased the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black costume
Recent and Current Favorites
Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men
Selected titles from the Ultimate line including: Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates
The House of M
Amazing Spider-Man
New Avengers
Young Avengers
Runaways
Young Reader Series
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
Spider-Girl
Spider-Man & Power Pack
Marvel Adventures Avengers
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius
Each Marvel digital comic will be presented in the highest resolution ever available. To ensure this, Marvel has gone back to the original source material and optimized it for the web by painstakingly re-coloring and re-digitizing select content.
To further enhance the online reading experience, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited will offer three distinct viewing modes. Subscribers will be able to read the books in traditional single and double-page formats. Additionally, Marvel has developed an innovative, patent-pending “Smart Panel” viewing feature. In this mode, viewers will be presented with an unequaled experience as they are taken panel-by-panel through the comic book in a smooth, action-packed progression.
The user-friendly nature of the site enables subscribers to easily navigate this ultimate Marvel Comics collection. Readers can search in a variety of ways, including by character, creator (writer and illustrator), specific book title, mini-series, and date of publication.
The site’s recommendation engine will also provide subscribers with top selections based on member feedback and ratings. Additionally, subscribers will be able to customize their experience by building personal reading lists that can be shared with other members.
John Dokes, Vice President of Online Operations and Marketing, Marvel Entertainment, commented, “With Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited we have created the simplest way for fans to have instant access to our comic book content. All someone needs is an Internet connection and a computer. We have made it so that our content can be read seamlessly online, without the need to download material.”
