At the very first Marvel panel of New York Comic Con 2012, a number of those involved with Marvel’s cutting edge technology came together to talk about how the House of Ideas is thrusting forward into the future with their Marvel ReEvolution program.
People like Mark Waid, Steve Wacker, and Ryan “Agent M” Penagos all spoke about ways that Marvel is evolving the medium of comics. One of the big things that were talked about was digital comics. First, they made clear their intention to still help print comics and local shops thrive by including a free digital copy with their books a no additional charge and then giving retailers $.50 for every digital copy redeemed. Then, they spoke about the Digital Comics Unlimited program, which is like a Netflix for comic books. Basically, it gives fans access to Marvel’s archives so that they can read a number of back issues on any of their mobile devices. Also, starting in December, one can access their Digital Comics Unlimited account on their iPads.
The two most interesting things to come out of this panel though were the talks about Infinite Comics and the Marvel AR app. I had no idea what an “Infinite Comic” was until very recently because some of our readers had pointed out that Nova was featured in one during AvX. I guess that one went under my radar, but had I known of it’s existence, I probably would have embraced it. Written by the great Mark Waid, this Nova Infinite Comic is a comic made especially for a mobile device. With a swipe of your finger, you’re exposed to a whole new reading experience on your iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and Android device. To better show off what an Infinite Comic really is, Marvel is offering a free one set in the universe of the Disney XD show ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ featuring Mayor Bloomberg until the end of NYCC. I highly recommend checking it out.
Finally, the panel discussed the Marvel AR app. Basically, whenever you see the AR symbol, which was heavily featured in the recent AvX books, you would use the app to access special features of the comic, similar to those features of a DVD. Anything from sketches to vignettes, these AR features give a reader yet another way to enjoy their favorite comics. At the panel, they revealed a new video that would be activated with Marvel AR from Waid’s upcoming ‘Indestructible Hulk’ featuring former WCW Champion Diamond Dallas Page. You can check out the video below:
In addition to revealing that DDP had contributed, Agent M revealed that the legendary Hulk Hogan also stopped by Marvel’s offices to film AR content as well. A wrestling fan like myself, Penagos was certainly on cloud 9 that day on the job.
If you liked this bit of NYCC 2012, be sure to check back periodically for the rest of my coverage right here, at ScienceFiction.com
