Marvel Digital Comics Expands Availability to comiXology Web Store

The top-selling comics publisher expands digital offerings

New York, NY / August 10^th 2011 –comiXology announced today that they will now be selling over 3,500 of Marvel digital comics through their Web Viewer at comics.comixology.com as they continue to expand their digital presence. Comic fans can now enjoy one of the largest Marvel digital comics’ libraries online whenever they want.

comiXology’s Web Viewer empowers comic readers with the same Guided View^TM reading experience as in their iOS apps but with the added ability of being able to add comics they want to purchase into their personal shopping cart. Advantages to the web store include a feature for those readers who want to purchase comics series all at once along with “Send as a Gift,” to share a passion for comics with friends and family.

“As a lifelong comic collector and reader, partnering with Marvel to distribute their amazing comics is a dream come true,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “Bringing Marvel Comics digitally to our Web Viewer builds on the success of our relationship with Marvel.”

All purchases will sync automatically with the Comics by comiXology App for iOS so that any purchases are available on the go.

“We’re excited to expand our Marvel Digital Comics offerings through comiXology,” said Peter Phillips, SVP & General Manager, Marvel Digital Media Group. “The Web Viewer offers a great reading experience and some cool features that further enhance our existing digital media offerings.”

Enjoy comiXology’s library of Marvel Digital Comics online at comics.comixology.com/marvel

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 Marvel:

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.

For more information visit www.marvel.com

Marvel Monday 5/9 Behold the Power of Thor!

“Whosoever holds this Hammer, if he be worthy shall posses the power of Thor!” The words resonate across the world as Thor swept the box office this weekend. Last week Marvel Monday hooked you up with two great Thor mini series at half-off the normal price. Today we’re letting the hammer drop once more with another helping of half-off Thor stores this time featuring the mighty avenger himself.

Right now get the first 13 issues of The Mighty Thor for only $0.99 featuring the jaw-dropping art of comic icon John Romita Sr. along with long time Thor scribe Dan Jurgens. It’s a new Thor for a new era and it all begins in these first 13 issues. Add them to your digital collection today and keep an eye out for more mighty surprises throughout the week!

Marvel Monday The Ultimates 4/25

Re-imagined for a new generation of readers and comics fans The Ultimates are the premier superhero team of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. This Marvel Monday issues #1-14 are available at 50% off the normal price.

It’s Captain America like you’ve never seen him before! See the Sentinel of Liberty imagined in a whole new light during one of the biggest battles of World War Two!

The Hulk has been unleashed in the streets of Manhattan! As the body count continues to rise, The Ultimates continue to fall at the hands of the unstoppable Hulk. But a last minute save from an unexpected visitor may turn the tides of battle!

Find out what happens in this exciting series from legendary creators Mark Millar and Brian Hitch at half-off the normal price. They’ve pulled out all the stops in this no-holds bared slug fest of iconic Marvel Hero’s for a brand new era. No digital comics collection is complete without these modern classics and there has never been a better time to grab these issues than right now!

Marvel Monday Half-Off Astonishing X-Men Sale April 18th

This Marvel Monday comiXology is pulling out all the stops to deliver twleve totally awesome X-Men issues for only $0.99 a piece.

Dream-team creators Joss Whedon (creator of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and fan-favorite film Serenity) and John Cassaday (Planetary, Captain America) bring you an explosive  all-new flagship X-Men series! As part of X-men: Reload, the first issue marks a return to classic greatness, the beginning of a brand-new era for the X-Men and is avialble along with the rest of this astonishing partnerships run for half off the normal price!

Cyclops and Emma Frost re-form the X-Men with the express purpose of astonishing the world. But when breaking news about the mutant gene unexpectedly hits the airwaves, will it derail their new plans before they even get started? Find out today!

Marvel Monday Half-Off Sale: The Eternals #1-7 for $.99!

In a universe built on myth and legend, origins often change with the seasons. Who are The Celestials? The Eternals? The Deviants? And why are they at war with each other? It’s the saga of The Eternals, the seven issue mini-series from master storyteller Neil Gaiman and dynasty artist John Romita Jr. and it’s available for only $0.99 an issue.

When Ike Harris begins having bizarre dreams about strange love affairs and fantastic adventures no one seems to believe him. When two mysterious strangers appear bent on doing him harm, things go from strange to out of this world! What is the one thing Ike, Mark and Sersi have in common and can they figure it out before it’s to late? The answer will shake the Marvel Universe to its very core and change the world around them forever.

The Eternals #1-7 is simply a must have for any digital comic library and for a limited time each issue can be downloaded at half-off the normal price. Take advantage of today’s unbelievable sale and see for yourself! Hurry though while these hero’s may be immortal today’s sale expire will be over before you know it.

Marvel Monday Half-Off Sale of X-Men #1-7 for $.99!

Marvel Monday mixes it up with some merry mutant mayhem this week as the now classic first seven issues of Chris Claremont’s and Jim Lee’s run on the  iconic 90′s X-Men series comes at you for only $0.99 cents a piece! Nuff’ said.

With the X-Men’s greatest enemy back and deadlier than ever. It’s up to an all new team of Xavier’s finest to bring him down in a battle among the stars! Then as if things weren’t bad enough a new threat emerges from the shadows of Wolverine’s past. That’s right included in the sale this week is the landmark issue marking the debut of Omega Red, one of the biggest and baddest villains the X-Men have ever faced.

The X-Men secret past collides with the teams uncertain future in these awesome issues! It’s all here and available for half-off all day long. So you better hurry this is one Marvel Monday you don’t want to miss!

Invincible Iron Man Half-Off Sale!

Hot off the heels of one of our biggest sales ever we’re shelling some saving of the shell-head variety just in time for the weekend! As now through March 13th the first 13 issues of the Eisner awarding series The Invincible Iron Man are available for just $0.99 a piece!

Collecting both the ground breaking Five Nightmares and World’s Most Wanted story arcs. These first thirteen issues mark the debut of Superstar scribe Matt Faction’s run on the series accompanied by the stunning visual of Salvador Larroca. Today this creative team has come to dominate the industry and right now you can check out their early work for only $0.99!

What happens when the son of Tony Stark’s long time rival Obadiah Stane seeks vengeance on the industrial billionaire by reviving his father’s evil legacy? And how will the one time head of S.H.I.E.L.D. fare under the Norman Osbourne’s Dark Reign? Find out in these exciting thirteen issues. Hurry though this sale is set to end faster than a blast from a repulsor-ray!

Marvel Monday’s Sale: Ms. Marvel #1-8

Monday got you down? Why not make it Marvelous with another Marvel Monday sale this week featuring none other than Ms. Marvel herself. Right now you get the first eight issues of Brain Reeds awesome original run on the series. Witness Ms. Marvel quell the tide of a Brood invasion just time for the biggest Marvel event of them all Civil War!

Issues #1-8 are available for download on any iOS device at 50% the normal price, that translates to $0.99 per issue! Hurray though, this is an offer that won’t last long. Start the saga of Carol Danvers from the beginning with new villains and classic Marvel action. The sale ends at midnight tonight so don’t waste anymore time. Do yourself a favor and download this great series while you can!

A Curtain Call For Comic Books

Despite technical woes, legal disputes, and more bad press than even the Daily Bugle would care to print, the Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark continues to swing onward towards becoming one of the biggest musicals in history! It’s officially scheduled to open next month after over a year of false starts and while many have claimed the production seems doomed to fail, it is still anyone’s guess as to whether or not the web-slinger will hit the jackpot with theater goers.

One of the projects biggest hurdles has been it’s production. With a budget busting $65 million expense spread out across it’s massive cast, crew and elaborate effects and set design critics have argued that comics and superhero’s have no place among chorus lines and cat walks. True the high flying antics of many a spandex clad super-hero may not be the most practical choice for a Broadway musical, however that doesn’t mean the medium is without dramatic merits. Check out the list below for some awesome comics worthy of the spotlight but won’t break the bank in the process.

1. Little Nemo in Slumberland: Forget Little Orphan Annie, this classic Winsor McCay strip has the making’s of a sleeper hit. Worth it almost for The Marquee art alone this comic from the early 1900′s serves as a charming reminder of the magic of childhood and the dreams that go along with it. With the right set design and a proper score McCay’s timeless tale could speak to a whole new audience of all ages eager to dream once again on the great white way.

2. Jenny Finn Doom Messiah: Imagine if Oliver twist had been adapted for the stage buy H.P. Lovecraft.  Forget happy go lucky Street Urchins and get ready for a macabre mystery of the highest order. Seeing Mignola’s art translated to a stage production would be spectacular, and just imagine the stage directions “Exit pursued by an enormous tentacle monster” that’s just theater magic waiting to happen.

3. Pinocchio Vampire Slayer: Traditional Puppet Theater pre-dates the modern musical by several hundred years, and while current Off-Broadway hits like Avenue Q have reinvigorated the genre for a new generation, the most famous marionette of all time could use a bit of a re-boot. The SLG graphic novel would provide the perfect source material for an action packed take, savvy among the disturbing trend of vampirism fanatics on the up-swing of late. check it out today!

4. Tom Strong: A role tailor made for a true leading man of Broadway and with the success of Moore’s other work across different mediums Tom Strong seems a likely choice for the next disowned adaption. Tom ,Tesla and The Modular Man!  A homage to the science hero’s of pulp and dime novel’s past would work well in an industry known for revivals.

5. Archie: Speaking of revivals, a lot has been going down in Riverdale lately, a wedding, a funeral and the arrival of a brand new character helped finally bring this classic title up to speed with the rest of the industry. Sure Archie and the gang have have had their share of Musical endeavors in the past, but why not go out on a limb and do something a little different? maybe exam the genre mainstay in a darker light? or perhaps give it the Mel Brooks treatment?

6. Batman/Superman: Without a doubt DC will likely cook up something cool to stake their claim in the theatrical world (although it should be noted there was in fact a short lived superman musical in the sixties, seriously!) but rather than rely on over-top stunts and an expense score, why not go in the direction least expected. Opera. Think Gotham City Soprano’s mixed with a fresh take on the Kryptonian Space Opera!

7.  Hawkeye & Mocking Bird: What’s not to love about the drama of star-crossed lovers unfolding before a live audience? The comic event that brought Marvel’s unlikely pair of Love birds back into lives of mainstream readership seems to operate on an almost shakepearean level. For comic relief just add Deadpool after all who needs aerial acrobatics when you can break the fourth wall and go “meta” with a little gunplay?

Of course these are just simple ideas offered up in the wake of the media frenzy that is Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark. As of this posting it’s scheduled to open on March 15th 2011 fans of live theater, comics and U2 should check it out. In the meantime however, check out the awesome comics hitting the app this week and while your at it why not tell us which one’s you’d love to see get the ol’ razzle dazzle treatment?

Recommended Digital Comics: Thor

I was treated to a timely surprise when I worked on the first few issues of the Dan Jurgens/ John Romita Jr. “Thor” that came out on the Marvel Comics application earlier this week. The late 1990’s series, from Marvel’s Heroes Reborn era, is a great contemporary forerunner for two of the books I’ve got on my pull list for the weeks to come: Robert Rodi’s “Thor: For Asgard” and Bryan Glass’s “Thor: The Last Son.”

The Jurgens/Romita Thor story delights with magnetic Kirby-esque art but remains grounded in the twin lives of the almighty Thor and Jake Olson, his modern host. In both this tale and Glass’s (which follows former Thor host, Donald Blake) we see the essential duality any and all Thor books should contain. We have entwined characters, a shared godliness and humanity at once. But don’t be mistaken. The Jurgens book is jam packed with the celestial, too.  It plumbs the cosmic politics of Asgard that we get a taste of in Rodi’s current book and taps into the classic sibling rivalry of Loki and Thor.

If that wasn’t enchanting enough, the first two issues have Thor teaming up with Captain America and Iron Man, giving us a companion to the dynamic John Romita Jr. art we’ve got on the stands right now in “Avengers.” The Jurgens/Romita “Thor” does it all. With Marvel’s Thor movie on the horizon is great to see such strength and variety in Thor books new and old.