The New York Times, the place for comics publishers to announce initiatives, has word of two online-exclusive titles from Marvel Digital Comics: Iron Man: Fast Friends and The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files.
Billed as spin-offs of the movies, the comics apparently will pick up on plot threads from the summer films. They’re weekly series, updated each Wednesday. Both are tied to the release of the movie DVDs.
Iron Man: Fast Friends, which debuts tomorrow, focuses on the friendship between Tony Stark and James Rhodes. It’s written by Paul Tobin, with art by Ronan Cliquet and covers by Dave Bullock.
The Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files, which debuts on Oct. 8, “picks up when Nick Fury receives intel that Thunderbolt Ross’ Super Soldier program has finally produced an unstoppable engine of destruction. When Fury decides to see this ‘hulk’ for himself … stuff starts breaking!” It’s written by Frank Tieri, with art by Salva Espin and covers by Steve Lieber.
You can find more information here.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:10 am
nice, go marvel! hope such a story about the x-men will follow too!
September 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Online comic. Sounds cool…
Wait. They want us to PAY????
September 16th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
This is gonna be big, big, big.
These are just test runs.
Goodbye monthly pamphlets!
Heeeello age of TPB-only!
September 16th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Here’s hoping this takes off. Big change usually happens in inches so any little progression away from the Direct Market system that stifles the industry towards the internet, which might be a huge new frontier is commendable.
DCU exclusives is a really ballsy move. I’m surprised they did it this year. Hopefully it pays off… if anything, it’s an indication that Marvel has faith for this format and bigger plans.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Why is everyone so excited to see the demise of monthly comics? And may the individual who coined the term “pamphlets” burn in eternal hell.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Monthly pamphlets, if you haven’t noticed, are expensive to an extent that fans are dropping off the map like flies. Moreover, comic book shops are too rare and hard to find (for much of the population between NY and LA) and when they do exist, they aren’t necessarily good. It’s a system that keeps comics out of the hands of many people who should normally be into them (like, I dunno, children for example).
Notice how well comic book movies do. Notice how well comics themselves do (hint: they sell 100,000 copies per issue if they’re lucky). Why aren’t people reading comics? If my guess is right, it’s because they can’t find them, they aren’t located anywhere normal people typically shop, and they cost too damn much.
The solution to all of these problems is the internet. Sure, we can cling to comics as a weird specialty item that only a thin niche of society is interested in, but we do it at the medium’s expense.
September 18th, 2008 at 2:46 am
You guys should google the “widescreen” edit of Old Man Logan by the Minutemen group. *That* is how digital comics should be done. Ethical and legal considerations aside, it’s a revolutionary experiment in presenting and reading comics. They completely changed how the reader experiences the gutter–the space between comic book panels.