Morning Glories Mid-Week Sale

Class is now in session for the next three days thanks to Image comics and comiXology. Beginning today and ending 10/6 Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma present Morning Glories at 50% off!

Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, but behind it’s hallowed doors something sinister and deadly lurks. When six brilliant but troubled new students arrive, they find themselves trapped and desperately seeking answers in a place where nothing is what it seems to be!

A break-out Digital Hit and Harvey Award Nominee Morning Glories is available this week for half-off the normal download price. It’s the perfect time to check out this new great series or get caught up with some of the issues you might have missed. Whatever you do don’t miss out! This is one sale you don’t want to be late for, download Morning Glories #1-12 today!

We’ve Named Our Podcast Now Find Out What It Is!

It’s here! The podcast finally has a name! What is it? Well you’ll have to listen in on this week’s All-New #1 broadcast to find out.  Jake and Slim join forces to talk about the books that tickled their fancy this week. Titles included Venom, Spider-Man, Justice League: Dark, and, yes, Aquaman!

They were then joined by comiXology’s own Kevin as he talked about being honored to be in the running for MTV Geek’s contest to join forces with Stan Lee! (17.29)

A chat about Journey into Mystery closed the very first show (24.30). Feel free to email the show at podcast@comiXology.com.

Click on Aquaman for the Podcast!

And don’t forget to Check out Kevin’s Entry in MTV and Stan Lee’s The Seekers Contest!

Yes, More Books Came Out Same Day As Print Today!

It seems the comiXology collection just keeps getting better with age! This week the collection hit an all time high with more Same Day digital books from ALL your favorite Publishers! so here is a quick guide spotlighting some of the great offers out this week from comoXology:

Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X #1- There are two kinds of people. Those who love Atomic Robo and those who haven’t read it yet. What’s that? You don’t want to start on the sixth volume? Well, good news! Every volume is stand alone. Boom. You can start with this one and know what’s going on from page one. Ka-Boom.

Spider-Island Avengers #1: All of Manhattan has been transformed into an island of Spider-Men… and it’s up to the Avengers to contain the chaos. ?But when a spider-powered Ultimatum attacks the United Nations, the Avengers are spread too thin… and must turn to the one man who can save them all: ?FROG-MAN. No, for real. ?We were just as surprised as you. ?PLUS! ?Squirrel Girl takes on the most unlikely foe of all!

Kirby: Genesis #3: The explosive cosmic world-changing event picks up speed! As Silver Star, Captain Victory and the Glory Knights form an uneasy alliance, their foes unite as well — and make their move to claim the all-powerful Proto-Seed. Meanwhile, young Kirby discovers the secrets of the Phantom Continent — and comes face-to-face with the Primals! And what’s the Wanderer’s role in all this?

Mystic #2: Giselle must find her place among Master Alexander’s new apprentices–and stay ahead of the lovely Felice’s vicious plots. Meanwhile, Genevieve finds herself the unwitting new protege of a charismatic revolutionary…and her destiny takes an unexpected turn.

Transformers #25: ‘The Last Story on Earth’ part 1 of 3! While there is much ‘CHAOS’ on Cybertron, there’s no less bedlam here on Earth as our remaining Autobots investigate the accusation that Spike, their trusted human ally, murdered a TRANSFORMER in cold oil(?) Now it’s up to our heroes to find the truth and decide the fate of human/Cybertronian relations for years to come! Prowl and Jazz take center stage!

Also of Note:

Scud: The Disopsable Assassin: The Whole Shebang: ‘BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END’ Scud is programmed to destroy a basement monster but he will self destruct if he does, so the robotic assassin puts the wounded creature on life support and becomes a freelance assassin to pay for the hospital bills. Collects SCUD #1-24, plus the super-sweet one-shot DRYWALL: UNZIPPED. 794 Pages!

Madman: All-New Giant Sized Grinchy Special!: ‘IF I SHOULD LIVE TO SEE THE DAY THAT I DIE,’ an all-new epic written and drawn by MICHAEL ALLRED, leads off this monster special. Frank ‘Madman’ Einstein faces his most challenging test as one of his dearest friends is met with horrific violence. Revenge, anyone? This special also includes amazing back-up stories by up-and-coming superstars MATT KINDT, EMI LENNOX and TONCI ZONJIC! Plus new pin-ups from comicdom’s finest!

Alec: Years Have Pants: For the first-time ever, the groundbreaking autobiographical comics of master cartoonist Eddie Campbell are collected in a single volume! Brilliantly observed and profoundly expressed, the Alec stories present a version of Eddie’s own life, filtered through the alter ego of “Alec MacGarry.” Witness Alec’s progression “from beer to wine” – wild nights at the pub, existential despair, the hunt for love, the quest for art, becoming a “responsible breadwinner,” feeling lost at his own movie premiere, and much more!

Infinite Kung-fu: The Martial World is ruled by a mysterious emperor whose five armies are each headed by a cruel and highly skilled kung fu master. Lei Kung, a soldier in one of these armies, grows tired of his master’s evil ways and seeks enlightenment elsewhere. However, he soon finds that he’s been chosen as the one who will put an end to the emperor’s tyrannical rule, personally! Allegiances are blurred, techniques are perfected, fists fly, limbs are lost and blood vessels burst in this tale of furious rivals, supernatural masters, walking corpses, and above all, raging kung fu! 459 pages!

With well over 9,000 different digital comic books to buy and plenty of FREE comics available to try comiXology is your digital comic book haven! Remember all our books are “buy once, read anywhere” download them from our apps, or check in with your local comic shop’s digital storefront! While you’re at it why not gift a new comic for a friend? Whatever you do don’t miss out and make sure to keep an eye out for more great comics coming your way.

comiXology Goes Live With Over 100 Comics Stores Through Their Retailer Digital Storefronts Program

Comic Stores Can Now Prosper From the Sale of Digital Comics From Top Comic Publishers

New York, NY- August 23^th, 2011 – comiXology in partnership with ICv2, today launched over 100 online storefronts to sell digital comics as a result of its Digital Storefront program for retailers.  Participating comic retailers have gone live with their deployment of a comiXology-powered store and reader, enabling them to prosper from the sale of digital comics from top comic publishers, including DC Comics, Image, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite and many more. Also, in conjunction with DC and their Relaunch, all participating retailers will be able to sell all the same day as print comics.

Announced in January, the Digital Storefront program enables retailers the ability to sell digital comics with a simple integration into their existing site while tapping into comiXology’s vibrant digital marketplace. Any comic book fan will now be able to purchase digital comics online from their local comic store’s digital storefront with a portion of each purchase going directly to the retailer. All digital purchases will be compatible with the Comics by comiXology platform, providing fans the ability to enjoy their comics on their mobile devices (iOS and Android) and on the Web at their retailer’s websites by way of cross-platform synchronization.

“These retailers have put their trust in us from day one and we’re excited to make good on our commitment to bring them into the vibrant digital marketplace leveraging comiXology’s technology as a backbone for their success,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “We have been working hard with our retail and publishing partners to make this program a reality for the benefit of the comic industry and take pride in starting to see it come to fruition.  We look forward to continuing on this important initiative and celebrating its success with all our partners.”

comiXology’s participating publishers DC Comics, Image, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite benefit from comiXology’s Digital Storefront Affiliate program through wider distribution on the Web and by strengthening the relationships between publishers, comic stores, and fans that have so successfully made comics a major force in world culture.

Wanted 3-Day Half Off Sale

Everyman Wesley Gibson just discovered that his father is dead and that he is in line to take his place in a secret fraternity of super villains. And Wesley’s life will never be the same!

Get ready for superheroes as you’ve never seen them before. Forget The Authority. Forget The Ultimates. Mark Millar has taken the genre to a whole new level with his first American creator-owned book. Find out what happens when white-collar worker Wesley Gibson discovers the truth behind his origins and who’s REALLY been running organized crime since 1986, in a story that takes place in the world outside your own window. Described by the London Sunday Times as “Watchmen for super-villains”, WANTED is Millar’s finest work to date with astonishing pencils and inks by artist JG Jones (Black Widow) and colors by Paul Mounts (The Ultimates). Sex. Money. Super-powers. Costume. You know you want it.

The Fox has opened Wesley’s eyes in a hail of bullets and blood, and Wesley learns he is heir to incredible powers and incredible fortune. All he has to do to claim them is become a killer, and one of the most vile supervillains the world has ever seen. You know you want it.

This week get the first issue for FREE then pick up the rest of this rocking creator owned series for half-off the normal price! It’s a mid-week sale that will blow you away. Whatever you do don’t miss out, add WANTED to your digital collection today!

Digital Comic Recommendation: Sam & Twitch

Sam & Twitch are back on the force! And they have one hell of a case…

Somebody’s killing people. Somebody’s leaving body parts at the scene of the crimes. Four of each. Thumbs, ears… other stuff. And they’re from the same person.

A rare gem from the early days of Image Comics. This week comiXology added Brain Michael Bendis’s killer crime classic Sam & Twitch to the collection. Two buddy cops who are anything but friendly when it comes to taking down the bad guys.

Get the first three issues of this critically acclaimed series right now. Follow the misadventures of homicide detectives Sam Burke and Maximilian “Twitch” Williams straight from the pages of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn and ready to kick-ass in the seedy underbelly of good ol’ New York City.

Sam & Twitch is more than a good crime comic. It’s a study in scarlet, blood red and  action packed, as well as a study in how to make a comic that breaks the rules, changes the game and doesn’t look back.

Download the first issue for FREE, then pick up issues 2&3 and keep an eye out for more Sam & Twitch in the coming weeks because this is one series you don’t want to miss.

Image Comics Partners with comiXology to Relaunch Their Website

Berkeley, CA – 29 July 2011 — Image Comics is pleased to introduce a completely redesigned Website, which includes many additional features and improvements. ComiXology, who created and continues to maintain the Image App for digital comics, has once again partnered with the publisher for the redesign of their Website.

Some of those exciting features and improvements include:

• A new online database which will help fans search for their favorite comics and discover new favorites by allowing them to search by creator, series title, or even genre.

• A live RSS feed, inviting fans to keep abreast of the latest Image Comics news and participate in the Image Comics community via Twitter and Facebook.

• A section devoted to digital comics for sale, including some downloads that are even available for free! Read all of Images Comics digital comics at comics.imagecomics.com.

• The Image Comics Forums, which will continue to give creators, retailers, and fans alike an online home for questions and discussion.

“A company’s Website represents your business when you can’t, so Image took proactive measures with us to ensure that their online presence represents them well,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “Their new site functionality will ensure that all of their comics are easily discoverable by their community, and allow them to directly interact with them as well.”

“Imagecomics.com has been due for an overhaul for some time, but we’re all extremely happy with the latest iteration of our site,” added Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. “How comics are marketed, sold and read continues to change at a rapid pace, so there’s always more work to be done, but the comiXology crew have given us a fantastic framework to move forward with.”

Some of the features that Image Comics fans can look forward to in coming months will include:

• An exclusive retailers-only section that will offer assets and information for retailers to assist them in sales, and will require a log-in code to enter.

• A section for libraries and educators that will offer assets, plans and information to aid them in their quest to get people reading and enjoying comics.

The new Website at www.imagecomics.com is live now, so please have a look, and you may just discover your new favorite comics there!

ABOUT COMIXOLOGY

Since 2007 comiXology has been developing the technological infrastructure to bring comics into the digital mainstream and expose new audiences to the rich history and culture of the industry. Through partnerships with top comic book publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Archaia Entertainment, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment and Image Comics as well as their own mobile and web apps which hosts over 10,000 digital titles, comiXology has become a leader in digital comic book proliferation. Also focused on creating strong ties with retail stores through its technology solutions, comiXology continues to transform the previously fragmented comic ecosystem into a vibrant and cohesive marketplace.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

The Eisner’s on comiXology: Check out Chew

Continting our look at the Eisner winning books currently available for download from comiXology Chanelle is back with her take on Rob Guillory’s and John Layman’s long time Fan favorite series Chew. Chew won this Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series this year and if you at all curious as to why read the review below, download issue #1 for FREE and then check out the rest of the series!

By Chanelle Reyes

Chew is one of those stories that has even the toughest stomach crying for mercy. Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning he receives physic images with everything he eats except for beets. Yes, beets. He could eat an apple and see pesticides or eat bacon and see a slaughter house.

Though its horrendous for him, he can solve any case with some evidence to chew on. Now this fact didn’t drop my jaw until I witnessed him devour a serial killer’s face apart. I began to think I was crazy for wanting to see what other incapacitated human he’d eat next!

He is thrown into a variation of life or death situations when his secret lands him a job in the FDA force. He now faces dangerous enemies due to the chicken ban from the “bird flu epidemic” all while swooning over a food reporter.”Chew is a book where almost anything can happen, and one of the fun things is the process of revelation of the world it takes place in.”said series creator Rob Guillory in an interview for Mania.com

Chew is able to bring such gross humor with its mix of unique illustration and food-fighting crime. With all the dark superhero comic books today, it is truly a nauseating yet enjoyable time in Tony Chu’s world. “Comics are supposed to be fun. And we’re bringing it back in a way that people have never seen before—ironically, via some pretty dark subject matter.” If your itching for a good story, then you should chew on this.

Kicking It With Jim Zubkavich Part Two

It’s been a big week here at comixology HQ with lots of great books hitting the apps and big news from some awesome publishers. Earlier this week we brought you a few answers to the questions you’ve had about the totally awesome Image Comics series SkullKickers! now with issue six readily available from comiXology we’re bringing you the rest of those questions curtiousy of super star creator Jim Zubkavich! Skullkickers has quickly become a fan favorite comic worthy of respect and admiration all around. Now with the exciting conclusion to series first arc avaiable for download Jim is here with the low down on what’s to come.

comiXology: With the sixth and final issue out on comiXology this week, what has your experience working on the digital front been like?

Jim Zubkavich: It’s not our final issue! Don’t leave us yet! Believe me, we have more adventures to tell. Although Skullkickers was originally announced as a mini-series, we’ve been given the go ahead by Image for more monster mashy goodness and I assure you that we’re hard at work on the second story arc, which will be arriving late May/early June.

Having an easily accessible digital version of the book is wonderfully flexible. Having a free zero issue available to as a way to bring readers in the door and get them used to the Skullkickers style has been invaluable too.

Misty’s moody color palettes look fantastic, with bright magic effects and lush environments really popping well on screen.

Probably my favorite aspect of the digital issues has been playing with the formatting options that are possible. In our third issue there was a four page spread of the dwarf hallucinating that we had to split into two double spreads for the printed book. In the digital version it’s just one giant panoramic view that pulls in the reader that much more; Very satisfying and engaging.

comiXology: With the collected trade out in stores and the first story arc completed, what’s next for the guys as they continue on the road to fortune and glory?

JZ: We’ve played with some of the fantasy tropes I love but there’s a wealth of other material we can still poke holes in. The second story arc, called ‘Five Funerals and a Bucket of Blood’, is centered around the Skullkickers’ troubles in the capital city. They get themselves embroiled with politics, a thieves’ guild, nature spirits and plant monster. If you enjoyed our first adventure I know you’re going to be equally pleased with what we have planned in the coming months.

comiXology: On that note what’s next for The Skullkickers creative team, any new projects you can tease us with?

JZ:I’m working on a few other story pitches I’m hoping will solidify enough that I can announce them during the summer. Skullkickers is my main priority at this point though, and I want to make sure that we keep the momentum we’ve built so far.

Be sure to check out issues #1-6 right now in the image comics app, the comics by comiXology app. and our web store or you can pick up the trade paperback at your local comic shop. Keep an eye out for more cool news and creator interviews to come, it’s all right here on the comiXology blog!

Kicking it With Jim Zubkavich of SkullKickers

The sleeper hit of 2010 concludes this week on comiXology with issue #6 readying for release tomorrow! In honor of this occasion series creator and writer Jim Zubkavich was nice enough to answer a few questions about the series, it’s creation and the rpg games of olden days that helped influence the awesome comic that is Skullkickers!

comiXology: Thanks for your time, Skullkickers is quite possibly one of the most exciting fantasy comics to hit stands in the past year!  What do you think of the representation of High fantasy and sword & sorcery in the sequential art medium currently?

Jim Zubkavich: Fantasy is generally underrepresented in the comic market, which always boggles my mind, but I’m hopeful that we’re heading in to a new trend of increased demand for fantasy-centric books. The genre is tailor-made for comic storytelling with big colorful visuals and imagination-laden settings.

comiXology: How did this project come about in the first place and how did you first meet your fellow creators?

JZ: Skullkickers originated as a couple short stories put together for Image’s Popgun anthology series, and they’re available for free on comiXology as Skullkickers #0. Those two self-contained short stories were about a pair of monster killers without any morals and readers responded well to them, so Erik Larsen (Image Publisher at the time) expressed interest in seeing more. It took a couple years to finally pull together the creative team and get the book organized, but I’m obviously happy now that we’re putting out regular issues.

Edwin Huang, our line artist, is a recent art school graduate who originally applied for a position at the UDON studio, where I work on video game and movie art projects, and I was impressed with the quality of his work and professionalism. The studio didn’t have a space for him at the time so I stayed in touch and gave him extra feedback on his portfolio. Soon after he and I were teaming up on Skullkickers.

Misty Coats, our colorist, came on board the team after being recommended by another illustrator I’ve worked with named Emily Warren. Misty’s sample pages were so on target and perfect for the series that they’re actually in the first printed issue practically untouched.

Marshall Dillon, our letterer, is an old friend who has lettered comics at UDON for years. His natural sense of storytelling and well thought out sound effects make the whole ting come together.

Working on a creator-owned book like this is a delight and having such professional people to collaborate with makes it even better.

comiXology: Often it seems that traditional table-top gamers and comic book fans stand at opposite ends of the same spectrum, any chance you could elaborate on the balance Skullkickers seems to so effortlessly achieve in appeasing both sides of fandom?

JZ: I think the key to Skullkickers straddling that divide is that we’re tapping in to the feeling of RPG-style adventure rather than focusing on stats and specific in-jokes. The book is purposefully inclusive and plays with bigger fantasy and action movie tropes instead of catering to gaming fans only. Readers who game will enjoy the familiar elements we poke fun at while non-gamers can just dig into a wild action-filled ride.

comiXology: The characters of Baldy and Shorty are a great fresh take on the traditional mercenary duos of old. How were these guys created?

JZ: It’s not a very dramatic origin, I’m afraid, but that’s oddly appropriate given how the characters tear holes in standard epic fantasy tales.

Chris Stevens, the original artist on the Popgun short stories wanted to draw a fantasy short story, but didn’t want it to be the typical ‘knights in shining armor’ kind of stuff. I came up with the idea of these two mercenary morons and we were off to the races.

Although they have similar violent attitudes, I wanted to make sure they otherwise contrasted each other – different sizes, voices, outfit colors, hair choices (or lack of hair)… easy to describe and easy to visually pick out on the page.

comiXology: In a standard d20 gaming system how would their stats read?

JZ: Funny you should mention that – I actually got Robin Laws, RPG designer guru, to stat up the boys as bonus material in the back of our fourth issue. They’re stated up more like a pair of monsters than heroes, which is pretty on target considering the havoc they cause.

We’ll be back with Jim later this week. Luckily we were able to score a copy of Baldy’s steller stat sheet. Check it out and go download issues #1-5 while you wait for issue #6 to drop this wednesday!