The Kindle has truly reinvented the publishing industry and the comic business.
Yes, some of us still love the thrill of going to the comics store and going through rows and rows of the best from Marvel, DC and many others, but so far it seems the business has been able to co-exist with digital pretty well.
As we reported on TG back in 2011, when DC rebooted a number of their classic characters, it did gangbusters business in downloads, as well as bring kids to the stores in droves. Now for a limited time, you’ll be able to download 700 debut issues of Marvel’s best superheroes for free.
In fact, this special deal only lasts until 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and you can download the great Marvel debuts of the past from the Marvel Comics Digital Comics Shop. But once the free deal is up, don’t despair. You’ll be able to download these great back issues for $1.99 to $3.99 an issue.
You’ll also be able to check out the first issues of Spider-Man and Iron Man, as well as The Astonishing X-Men and so much more. An executive for Marvel told writer Todd Cunningham of The Wrap, “We hope that new fans find their favorite big-screen heroes and see what’s inspired all the hit films, but also hope longtime fans take time to discover a new series or character they’d never considered.”
This deal is also a way of announcing that Marvel will be adding music to downloads of some of their comics, which could be a pretty cool idea with the right tunes. In addition, Marvel has more good stuff in the works, including the upcoming release of Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted, which will coincide with the release of The Wolverine movie on July 26, and they’ll also be expanding their streaming service so you can download six issues you can take with you and read when you’re disconnected.
So this is a pretty cool once in a lifetime way to go through the incredible history of Marvel from square one for so many of their greatest characters. After all, every hero has an origin story and had to start from somewhere, and even if you know those origin stories already, it’s going to be great fun to revisit them free of charge.
