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Amazon assembles a high-profile cast for low-key superhero series
Amazon has recruited a glitzy crew of Hollywood stars for its animated superhero show Invincible, based on the eponymous comic book co-created by The Walking Dead scribe Robert Kirkman. Leading the voice cast is TV's The Walking Dead alum Steven Yuen as protagonist Mark Grayson, who inherits his alien superhero father's almighty powers. Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) will play the dad, while Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Seth Rogen (who's reportedly working on an Invincible film adaptation), and Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) will also lend their oratory skills to the upcoming series.
DC Universe's expanded comic book catalog includes 'Wonder Woman'
DC Universe only has so many original shows to go around, and that means you'll need something else to do if you're going to justify that subscription. Thankfully, more is on the way. The service has unveiled the first major expansion of its comic book collection since launch, and it's vowing to "more than double" the size of the catalog by the end of March. It's not dumping obscure titles, either -- these are frequently comics aficionados will know.
DC Universe starts streaming on Amazon's Fire TV
DC Universe just closed a glaring gap in its device support. The comic-based streaming service is now available through Amazon's Fire TV devices, giving you another way (and in some cases, a cheap way) to catch up on Titans in the living room. It's best-suited to video, of course, but DC and Warner Bros also say that you can read comics, shop and socialize while you're lounging on the couch. A subscription will still cost you $8 per month or $75 per year.
Switch-only 'Netflix for comics' launches December 17th
You might not turn to your game console to read comics, but InkyPen is determined to change that. It's launching a comic subscription on December 17th that's arriving first for the Nintendo Switch. It will offer "thousands" of indie comics and webcomics (and eventually manga) on the hybrid console for a $8 flat rate (€8 in Europe). The initial service is focused on English readers, but "almost all" of the catalog is available worldwide.
Marvel legend Stan Lee dies at 95
Pop culture is in a state of mourning today. Stan Lee, the famous Marvel publisher, editor and writer, has died at the age of 95 after a spate of illnesses over the past year. To say that he had a significant impact on the media world would be an understatement -- the franchises he created (and helped create) are virtually ubiquitous in modern society, including in the digital realm.
Netflix chooses Mark Millar's 'Prodigy' as its second comic book
Netflix already has a second comic book lined up mere weeks after its first one hit stores. The service has unveiled Prodigy, a Mark Millar-penned comic book due in both digital and paper forms on December 5th. The series revolves around Edison Crane, the "world's smartest man," who has virtually everything he could want but is fueled by an endless drive that leads him to solve problems for governments around the planet. As the artwork from Batman visualizer Rafael Albuquerque suggests, Crane will have to rely on both his mind and some firepower to get things done.
DC's comic streaming service beta launches August 2018
After a seemingly never-ending series of teases, DC is ready to formally unveil its comic book-themed streaming service... most of it, anyway. DC Universe is now official, and will launch beta access this August with a wider debut in the fall. It'll be available on the web, Android and iOS as well as living room platforms like Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. There's still no mention of pricing, but you'll at least know what to expect when the service goes live.
Marvel comics arrive in Hoopla's public library app
Comic books are a brilliant medium, but keeping up with the latest releases can be expensive. If you live in the US, it's worth checking out Hoopla; the service is supported by more than 1,500 public libraries, and offers free digital access to DC, Image and IDW titles. And starting today, another major publisher is joining the platform: Marvel. More than 250 collections and graphic novels will be available, including Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet book one — by author, journalist and comic book writer Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates — Civil War and X-Men: The Dark Pheonix Saga.
Netflix's first comic book is Mark Millar's 'The Magic Order'
When Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book empire in August, many assumed the streaming service would just adapt his various works for the screen. That isn't quite the case: Netflix announced today that it will publish The Magic Order as a comic book, with art handled by Olivier Coipel. Millar is on writing duties for the six-issue dark fantasy series. In a somewhat surprising move, the story will be available in print in addition to digital starting with the premiere issue next spring.
Marvel joins Madefire's digital comic book collection
Madefire's digital comic book platform is a good way to spice up stories that you may have read countless times, but its catalog has always had a conspicuous gap: namely, there were no Marvel comics. That ends today. Madefire has added Marvel to its collection, giving you the likes of The Avengers, Black Panther and X-Men through its Android, iOS, Windows and TV apps. There's no mention of taking advantage of Madefire's pseudo-3D Motion Book format, but having access is clearly the big deal here. You don't have to switch apps when you're ready to jump from Wonder Woman to Squirrel Girl.
How the internet embraced a 'Simpsons'-'Akira' mashup
In the spring of 2013, Ryan Humphrey was lying on his bedroom floor, searching for inspiration. He had been looking for a way to contribute to the Simpsons Drawing Club, a blog on Tumblr dedicated to unofficial fan art. Run by a tight-knit group of illustrators, it featured colorful, funny and occasionally terrifying depictions of Bart, Homer and the rest of the Springfield populace. Humphrey wanted to be a part of it. He had, at one point, considered an original story about Ralph Wiggum and a dead body that could somehow talk back to him. But he didn't see himself as a comic book artist and slowly cooled on the idea. Suddenly, he spotted a copy of Akira, "Volume 1" in his room. Inspiration struck like a thunderbolt. He would redraw parts of Akira, the iconic Japanese manga series written and inked by Katsuhiro Otomo, but with characters from The Simpsons. By blending the two worlds, he would create something not only truly bizarre and unexpected but also stylish and instantly recognizable. "I just thought, 'This will be funny. This will be such a laugh,'" he recalls.
Comic books come to VR through an app
You may have felt immersed in a comic book before, but never quite so literally as this. Madefire has released a free Gear VR preview app that lets you read its Motion Books in virtual reality. As you might guess, it's all about depth. Pages now fill your view, and creators can add 3D layers to individual panels. While it's not real 3D (your childhood dreams of exploring comic universes will have to wait), it beats staring at completely flat pictures on a PC or tablet.
Hulu cozies up to Marvel, starts working on a 'Runaways' series
Netflix has been milking its relationship with Marvel with great success, churning out critically acclaimed -- and badass -- series like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Now Hulu's getting in on the action, too. As first reported by Deadline, the streaming service inked a deal to turn Marvel's Runaways into a series co-written by (gulp) the folks who adapted Gossip Girl for television.
Public library app Hoopla adds DC comics to its lineup
DC comics have been available digitally for a while. But while some public libraries have carried physical DC titles, you couldn't check them out digitally. Starting today, though, fans of reading comics on glowing screens will be happy to learn that DC has partnered with Hoopla to bring some of its titles to the digital version of your public library. At launch, Hoopla users will be able to borrow 25 of DC Entertainment's top titles including Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Superman: Earth One, V for Vendetta, Final Crisis and Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood. Whether you're a hardcore comic fan or just want to catch up on some of the best stories DC has ever published, it's a pretty nice list of graphic novels. Hoopla will add additional titles every week and a company spokesperson tells Engadget that it will add 200 over the course of the summer. The caveat is that you need a library card and your local library system has to support the Hoopla system and its new e-book and comic offerings.
Marvel's universe gets a dedicated search engine for comic queries
Since Marvel opened up its API to developers, creative types are able to leverage the company's massive comic library for apps and the like. One dev, Filix Mogilevsky, took it upon himself to create a search engine for the collection of characters and issues. iMarvel serves up character and comic book descriptions based on what you input with auto-complete suggestions to boot. For example, inputting "Thanos" provides a short bio with links to different sections of Marvel's site for more detailed info. Search for a specific title like The Avengers & the Infinity Gaunlet and you'll be privy to a brief synopsis, characters, a few images and a list of creators. Sure, it's more of a quick reference tool than anything else -- and yes, it's piping in content from Marvel's own site -- but I'll admit to spending more than a few minutes pecking around. Give a go for yourself via the source link below. [Image credit: PatLoika/Flickr]
AR comic book spreads awareness about sexual violence in India
An augmented reality comic book called Priya's Shakti aims to open people's eyes to how badly rape survivors are treated in India. A life-sized version is now coming to the US, and you'll have the chance to see it at the City Lore Gallery in NYC on May 7th. Priya's Shakti tells the tale of rape survivor Priya, who was chosen by Parvati (the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion) to become her envoy in the fight against gender-based violence. The 32-page comic has hidden AR animation and videos in its pages that you can see through the Blippar app for iOS, Android or Windows. Blippar also helped creators Ram Devineni, Vikas K. Menon and Dan Goldman add AR content to the murals painted in several locations around India to promote the project.
Read thousands of comic books with a Scribd subscription
Scribd's monthly subscription includes unlimited access to its library of audio and e-books, and as of today, you can add comics to that list. The service announced that it added over 10,000 comic books for leisurely reading, and the more visually striking reading material will be included in the regular $9/month plan. Comics from publishers like Marvel, Archie, Valiant, Dynamite and more are available, meaning titles like Captain America, The Avengers, Harbinger and others can be read both on the web and that trusty mobile device. Not sure if you're ready to commit? You can try Scribd for a month free of charge before opening your wallet.
Recommended Reading: a brief history of female superheroes
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Suffering Sappho! The Tortured History of Female Superheroes by Molly Lambert, Grantland With the truckload of recent comic book movie announcements, female superheroes are poised to make a big splash at the box office in the years to come -- including Gal Gadot (above) as Wonder Woman. However, previous female-led efforts in the genre haven't done well, and the biggest films continue to have dudes as the lead actors. Grantland takes a look at the troubled history of female superheroes as both Marvel and DC Comics prep to give the ladies another shot at Hollywood glory.
French students built an interactive celebration of Marvel comics' 75-year history
Keeping tabs on all of Marvel's superheros is pretty challenging work -- the company has been publishing comics for 75 years. Over 2,500 characters have lived in its pages, spanning more than 3,000 individual issues over more than 440 series. How did I know all that? Well, I stole the stats from Ultimate 75th, a student-made website that pilfer's Marvel's own database to celebrate 75 years of comics. Students at the Hétic school in France built the site in just four days using the REST API used on Marvel's official site. This allowed the group to pull comic and character data directly from the publisher's database. The result is impressive, but it isn't perfect.
Marvel's giving you the key to over 13,000 comics for 99 cents
To celebrate the start of Comic-Con tomorrow in San Diego, Marvel is kicking off a promotion that provides an all-you-can-have pass to its entire digital library for less than a dollar. There are a few caveats, as expected, but not enough to make the offer seem any less attractive. According to Wired, Marvel Unlimited, which is home to more than 13,000 comics, can be accessed over the next week with a simple payment of 99 cents. The deal will only give you an in to the service for one month, but the renowned publisher is hoping that's plenty of time to keep you locked in beyond said period.
