Digital Comics – SMASH PAGES

Marvel + DC surprise release more crossover comics on their digital platforms

‘The Flash/Fantastic Four’ arrives on DC Universe Infinite, while ‘Thor/Shazam’ debuts on Marvel Unlimited.

Marvel and DC’s renewed bromance took a new form today, as both publishers debuted a new crossover comic on their respective digital platforms.

Thor/Shazam! by Al Ewing and Jethro Morales can be found on Marvel Unlimited, while The Flash/Fantastic Four by Jeremy Adams and Adrián Gutiérrez arrived on DC Universe Infinite. Both require a subscription, but if you’re subscribed to one of them, Marvel and DC are offering 30-day trials so you can check out the other if you like. Yes, Marvel is promoting DC Universe Infinite and DC is promoting Marvel Unlimited. Up is down, left is right … dogs and cats, living together, and all that. It’s nice to see them working together again, and these stories look like fun

Digital comics site Neon Ichiban officially launches

Digital comics from Marvel, DC, Oni, IDW and more are now available to buy and sell on the digital marketplace.

Former Comixology executives/DSTLRY founders David Steinberger and Chip Mosher have gotten back into the digital comics game. Today they officially launched Neon Ichiban, which has been in beta since September.

The site is a marketplace, similar to what they launched as a part of DSTLRY back in 2024, where users can buy and sell digital comics from publishers and from each other. They call it “fusing frictionless reading with creator connection, resale and collectible culture” in the press release. The idea is that you own the digital release like you would a physical copy — and are able to sell it and even get it signed by the creators, using their Remarques technology. It’s essentially what they were doing with their own DSTLRY titles, but now includes other publishers.

Currently the site offers books by Dark Horse, DC, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Kodansha, Marvel Comics, Oni Press, Titan Comics, Vault Comics and, of course, DSTLRY, with content from Legendary Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Rebellion and UDON Entertainment coming soon.

“The comics business needs a cutting-edge digital marketplace built by people who care about comics and know how to build a platform that fans want to use,” said Damian Wassel, CEO and publisher of Vault Comics. “It needs to be a one-stop shop offering all the fan-favorite publishers. It’s hard to imagine a better team than David and Chip to get that done. After all, they already did it once. Everyone at Vault is excited to be a part of the launch of Neon Ichiban.”

Shortbox Comics Fair returns with more than 140 digital comics

The annual event is back this October with brand-new comics from creators around the world.

The annual Shortbox Comics Fair has returned, offering digital comics in a variety of genres from artists all over the world. It runs through Oct. 31.

The fair is curated by Zainab Akhtar, who used to run the Shortbox comic imprint, and published and sold print comics up until February of last year. The spirit of the imprint continues with the fair, which offers a wide selection of really cool comics by both veteran and up-and-coming indie creators. You can find previews of each of them on the site.

Disney + Webtoon are building a digital comics site together

Webtoon will manage the site, which will feature comics from Marvel, Disney, Star Wars and more.

Disney and Webtoon have announced a “non-binding term sheet” for the development of a new all-ages digital comics site. The site will be built and operated by Webtoon, and will feature “35,000 comics from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios.”

The press release says this is an expansion of Marvel Unlimited, Marvel’s current digital comics platform that is said to already host 30,000 comics, rather than a replacement. It also notes that Disney+ subscribers will have free access to a curated selection of comics through the site. It will include both vertical and traditional formats for archived comics and current comic book runs, as well as original comics.

“By uniting our unparalleled collection of comics across Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios into a single digital platform, we’re giving fans unprecedented access to the adventures they love – all in one place,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Through our expanded relationship with Webtoon, the global leader in digital comics, we’re opening doors to new audiences and deepening fan engagement.”

Paul Cornell + Lee Harris form Cosmic Lighthouse, announce first project with Comixology

The new company will publish graphic novels written by science fiction and fantasy writers, beginning with Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Paul Cornell and Lee Harris have teamed up to form Cosmic Lighthouse, a new publishing company that’s “devoted to publishing original graphic novels by the greatest modern science fiction and fantasy writers, paired with the world’s best artists.”

And ahead of next week’s San Diego Comic Con, they’ve announced their first project, a digital graphic novel that’ll be published through Comixology Originals. Salvation’s Child is the debut graphic novel by science-fiction and fantasy writer Adrian Tchaikovsky and serves as a prologue to his bestselling book series, The Final Architecture, which includes the titles Shards of Earth, Eyes of the Void, and Lords of Uncreation.

“We at Cosmic Lighthouse are excited to work with the very best names in the field of science fiction and fantasy paired with great comic artists to bring new and longtime readers of the genre more of what they love in a new medium,“ Cornell said. “Launching our first title digitally with Comixology Originals brings us even closer to the future.”

DC Go will add six new titles this year featuring Shazam!, Aquaman + more

Dc’s vertical-scrolling digital line will add new titles by Stephanie Williams, Josh Trujillo, Andrew Aydin, Steve Orlando and more.

DC Go, DC’s mobile-friendly digital comics initiative, will add six new titles to the platform beginning in July, along with “season renewals” for Harley Quinn in Paradise and Nothing Butt Nightwing.

DC announced DC Go, which is available on the DC Universe Infinite digital comics app, last year. In addition to original titles, they’ve also added vertical-scrolling editions of existing material, like All-Star Superman and some of the Absolute titles.

The new titles include:

Warriors and a Wee Wonder by Stephanie Williams, Jane Pica, and Emily Pearson;
Aquaman: Yo-Ho-Hold Onto Your Hook! by Josh Trujillo, Nicky Lelapi, Andrew Drilon, and Bradley Clayton;
Jon Kent: This Internship Is my Kryptonite by Sam Camp, Daimon Hampton, Seraji, and C.M. Cameron;
Taste of Justice by Andrew Aydin, Dominike “DOMO” Stanton, Aneke, and Nick Filardi;
My Little Warlord by Nina Gee, Madlen Mirjam, and Chi Ngo; and
The Magical Mysteries of Shazam! by Steve Orlando and Giopota.

You can find more details on each of them below.

Smash Pages Q&A | Taki Soma on ‘Alienated’

The creator of ‘Sleeping While Standing’ and more discusses her newest miniseries from Comixology Originals.

Taki Soma has shown her mastery of comics several times over in her career, working as a writer, artist and colorist — and sometimes all three. Her previous works include titles like Rapture, The After Realm, Sinergy, The Old Guard: Tales Through Time, Iron Man, the autobiographical Sleeping While Standing and Bitch Planet, for which she was nominated for a Hugo Award back in 2018.

Her most recent work is Alienated, a digital miniseries she’s writing that Comixology Originals launched last month. For Alienated, Soma is working with artist John Broglia, whose most recent work includes Nice Jewish Boys.

Alienated is a different take on the alien invasion story, one that’s less about shady government officials and wide-scale panic, and more about how a specific set of characters — which include a retired teacher and his grandkids — react to finding a live alien.

I spoke with Soma about the title and what to expect from it. The first and second issues of the six-issue miniseries are available now.

Comixology announces four new science fiction titles for 2025

Taki Soma, Marc Guggenheim, John Broglia, Chuck Austen and more have new projects at the digital comics publisher coming this year.

In advance of this weekend’s WonderCon, Comixology Originals has announced four new digital titles that’ll debut between now and the end of July. All four fall into the science fiction category and include two new comic series, a sequel and an original graphic novel.

“Comixology Originals has been releasing compelling creator-owned comic book series and original graphic novels in a variety of genres—fantasy, sci-fi, horror, superhero—since its start,” said Jeff DiBartolomeo, Comixology’s GM and CTO. ”This year, science fiction is back in a big way–from the recent release of the original graphic novel Major Thomás by Omar Morales, to these four new projects, with more underway.”

The line-up includes a new “first contact” miniseries by Taki Soma and John Broglia, and an adventure series set 1,000 years in the future by Marc Guggenheim and Harvey Tolibao, both of which will debut in April. May will bring a third season of Chuck Austen and Pat Oliffe’s EdgeWorld, while the OGN Outer Lands by TV writer Matthew Arnold and Northlanders artist Davide Gianfelice arrives in August. You can find more information on all four projects below.

NYCC | ‘The Comixology Originals program is here to stay,’ declares the head of Comixology

The digital comics platform held an event during New York Comic Con to announce new Originals titles and talk about the future of the platform.

During an event at Amazon’s New York office this week, Comixology’s Jeff DiBartolomeo announced the next wave of Comixology Originals titles as well as teased 17 newly acquired projects.

More than that, though, he showed that the original digital comics program — and Comixology itself — is still alive and moving forward inside Amazon.

“The Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line plays a key part in our business,” said DiBartolomeo. “The Comixology Originals program is here to stay. We’ve been busy signing deals for 17 new creator-owned projects with new teams joining the family and some fan favorite creators returning to work with us again. We’re thrilled to help both new faces and industry veterans bring their stories to the public through Comixology Originals. To say we are excited about the future is an understatement.”

It’s been almost two years now since Amazon laid off a large portion of the staff working on Comixology and a year since Comixology announced plans to retire the stand-alone Comxiology app. Since then, we haven’t heard much from Comixology about its future, although they have continued to announce and release new additions to the Originals program.

DC Go brings original webcomics to DC Universe Infinite

The vertical scrolling comics include new stories featuring Harley Quinn, Nightwing and Raven.

In the days leading into this weekend’s New York Comic Con, DC has announced DC Go, a new initiative that will bring mobile-friendly comics about Harley Quinn, Raven and Nightwing to their DC Universe Infinite digital comics app. They also plan to add “vertically reformatted DC and MAD Magazine classics,” starting with Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman: Hush.

Wayne Family Adventures, one of several comics DC launched on Webtoon in 2021, has found great success, which I’m guessing has led to DC turning to their own app for this new line of vertically scrolling webcomics.

“DC has the largest library of comics on the planet, going back nearly 90 years, and with the addition of DC GO! to DC Universe Infinite there’s now a new collection of webcomics for fans to read,” said DC’s GM Anne DePies. “Our goal with the DC GO! collection is to create fun, compelling, reader-friendly, mobile DC stories that readers will enjoy on the go. Like DC Compact Comics and DC Finest, this is another example of our commitment to finding new ways to engage with fans and readers.”

Previews of the first two original titles, Harley Quinn in Paradise and the cheeky-titled Nothing Butt Nightwing, can be read now, both in the app and on the web for members and non-members alike. The comics will officially launch on Nov. 20. A preview of Batman: Hush will be available later this week, with the full comic also coming in November. The press release says it’ll soon be joined by All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.

You can read more about the original titles and their creative teams below.

More than 100 digital comics went up for sale today on the Shortbox Comics Fair website

The annual event features brand-new comics from creators around the world.

The annual Shortbox Comics Fair kicked off today, offering more than 100 new digital comics from artists all over the world. It runs from today through Oct. 31.

If you ever attended a small indie comics show — Small Press Expo, APE in San Francisco, etc. — this is basically the online equivalent of walking down the aisles and seeing just a ton of really cool comics by both veteran and up-and-coming indie creators. Only the creators are from around the world and you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to read their stuff.

SDCC | Comixology Originals announce ‘Groupies’ by Helen Mullane + Tula Lotay

“Our story is a blood-soaked and acid-drenched journey into the heart of darkness …”

Superstate writer Helen Mullane and Somna co-creator Tula Lotay will turn it up to 11 in Groupies, a five-issue miniseries about sex, drugs and the “true cost of rock’n’roll.”

The supernatural tale set in a world of parties and excess will arrive in October from Comixology Originals.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of groupies,” Mullane said. “The daring fashion, devil-may-care lifestyle, and the girls’ determination, getting their kicks despite most people’s censure and judgement. It’s a world of glamour and darkness, where some people have their wildest dreams come true, while others are chewed up and spat out. Our story is a blood-soaked and acid-drenched journey into the heart of darkness, where most people are out for what they can get. But just because the girls are living in a world that sees them as disposable, doesn’t make them any less extraordinary.”

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