Marvel to put comics online - some for free, some for a fee

[Rkolter]

Definately comic related, and interesting news.

http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNew ... 2220071113

Apparently they plan to make 250 full comics free as enticement, and then put some 2500 up online for a fairly reasonable fee, with 20 or so new comics a month.

[Warren]

Cool. More readin'.

[Cope]

Yeah, that sounds pretty neato.

Um, as long as they don't use a crappy Flash viewer, that is.

[Bustertheclown]

Wow. They'd made the leap quicker than I'd expected. Online archiving sounds like a win/win to me. They get to squeeze as much money out of their product as possible by redistributing six-month-old issues, and people who might not otherwise access their comics might actually like to take advantage of the bargain reading opportunity. Personally, I'm not much for collecting Marvel comics, but the chance to read as many as I want for a monthly cost of less than the standard price of two or three issues? That's really not a bad deal. It might actually get someone like me excited enough about Marvel product to start paying $3 a pop to read the fresh issues, and own the comics I grow to like.

So, now I wonder how long before they do online-specific content?

[Dr Neo Lao]

Yeah, it seems like a good idea all round.

And some of their street cred will rub off onto 'regular' webcomics...

[McDuffies]

Cool. More readin'.

Now only if it wasn't all superheroes.

[Phact0rri]

depending on whats being offered, I might throw some change their way.

[Fishies]

Oooh, looks interesting! I'll probably check some of it out, but likely just the free ones. (I only ever read one of their series, and it got sorta-cancelled over a year ago then the characters were messed with so...)

[Jim North]

Wow. They'd made the leap quicker than I'd expected.

This shouldn't be so much of a surprise considering . . .

So, now I wonder how long before they do online-specific content?

. . . they already have. I don't remember the specifics, but they put out a few online-only comics a few years back. Most - if not all - written by Stan Lee, if I recall correctly.

And in general, Marvel has been seeking to spearhead the movement of comics and graphic novels into the Online Age for quite some time now. An online archive of their collected works has been a looming possibility for years.

[Debcooper]

ooh this sounds interesting. i shall use it as an opportunity to get caught up on my reading, hoping it pans out.

[Doomsandwich]

im surprised to see a company like marvel actually bridge that gap, its kinda cool

[Alschroeder]

I've asked for a year's subscription as a possible Christmas gift to me, and ANYTHING that puts out mid-sixties Kirby, Lee, and Ditko out for the masses to read has to be a good thing. I've been having fun just going through the preview pages they allow me for free. I was around when this stuff originally came up (before I lost a lot in a fire) and it's a MUCH better deal than spending the same amount for ONE Marvel Masterworks edition---or three collected volumes in black-and-white.---Al