Seeing “issue #1” on a comic book is gold to collectors. Marvel announced Monday it’s giving away 700 digital copies of first-issue comics as the next wave of promotions for its digital products.
This is the second time the Disney-owned publisher has offered free digital copies of its #1 issues, including titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Astonishing X-Men, which are sought-after in print. Last month Marvel announced the same deal at SXSW and it was so popular that it crashed the publisher’s servers. Now Marvel is relaunching the promotion in hopes of driving another stampede of new customers to its digital products.
From brokering movie deals starring its franchise heroes to online games and original video content designed for the web, Marvel has been slowly redesigning its business for the digital age as revenue for its legacy print business drops. The latest promotion is an effort both to attract new, young, increasingly mobile readers as well as getting long time comic fans to embrace digital comics, according to David Gabriel, senior vice president of sales at Marvel.
“This is aimed at attracting fans from all walks of life – those who know our characters from the big screen, those who were readers but fell out of the habit and our long-term fans too,” Gabriel told the Associated Press. “We believe that if we get those fans in the door, they’ll stay and help grow this industry both in comic stores and via digital comic outlets.”
Only first-issue comics are available as part of the promotion, meaning consumers will be introduced to new characters and franchises but will have to pay if they want to keep reading. The deal follows the debut of Marvel Unlimited, an app and subscription service Marvel released last month. For $10 U.S. a month (or $60 U.S. annually), Marvel offers online access to 13,000 comics as well as six downloads customers can read offline at any time.
The release of Marvel Unlimited pleased many comic fans who had long been waiting for a buffet-style all-you-can-read comic service, though it has been criticized for only offering back issues – new comics aren’t available through the service until six months after their street date to protect sales of print issues.
When Marvel announced the first round of the promotion last month, it also revealed more about its digital strategy, including an emphasis on video that includes a new weekly web show, Marvel’s Earth’s Mightiest Show, hosted by Blair Butler (of G4’s Attack of the Show).
In addition to the new series and the promise of more video content, including behind-the-scenes Marvel footage and reality programming, Marvel introduced Project Gamma, an initiative that pairs digital comics with music and backgrounds that react to both story lines and reader behaviour.
For more insight into print media companies evolving in the digital age, check out the May 20 issue of Marketing.
