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Marvel Unveils Digital Plans at SXSW

Now we can talk about what Marvel #1, Project Gamma and more is all about.

Marvel recently released some teasers that left people scratching their heads more than usual. These teasers were some planned announcements at this weekend's SXSW.

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One of the announcements was for Project Gamma.

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Basically Project Gamma plans to give digital comics a 'smart soundtrack.' According to Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, Project Gamma isn an "adaptive, non-repetitive score" that will change with each swipe from panel to panel on your tablet or smartphone. Marvel will be working with production companines Momentum Worldwide and CORD. Their composers have worked on Harry Potter, Drive, The King's Speech and Looper. Due to the adaptive nature, the score will change depending on the speed at which the reader flips through the panels.

== TEASER ==

Here is a video teaser Marvel has released:

As for the Marvel #1 teasers we've seen, Marvel will be making 700 of their #1 isues available for free so you can determine if you want to give the series a try. Make a note that this runs until 11 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, March 12. 700 is a lot of free comics.

Other announcements include weekly Infinite Comics. The first series is WOLVERINE: JAPAN'S MOST WANTED, written by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour with art by Paco Diaz.

Marvel Unlimited is now avaiable on mobile devices with an all-new app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with an app coming soon to Android devices.

There are also plans for more Marvel original video to go along with their existing programs such as The Watcher and Marvel Super Heroes: What The?

Stay tuned for more information on all of these new announcements.

Source: Marvel and cnet.

60 Comments

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Mrgreenlantern

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Edited By Mrgreenlantern

This sucks royaly im walking home right now without access to both my marvel library and wrestling catalog :'(

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shackle

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Edited By shackle

I have to say, Marvel had the right idea, but a small percentage of people royally screwed up the whole endeavor by being greedy a-holes and snatching up every stinking one of the comics offered--effectively killing the site/downloads for everyone else--instead of just picking out the books they were most interested in. So, thanks a lot, a-holes; you completely defeated the whole purpose of Marvel's generosity.

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thenexusrebound

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Edited By thenexusrebound

@CrashBang: Marvel does offer a free digital copy with their hard copy which is nice. I like digital for when I'm on the go since i can load up my kindle. That being said splash pages are not the same digital they are broken up and harder to enjoy. I think the world needs both hard and digital copies. I hope that Marvel keeps supporting the free digital comic idea since it is a smart idea.

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Mrgreenlantern

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Edited By Mrgreenlantern

@thenexusrebound said:

@dondave:

Comixlogy, but at the moment this free comic thing broke the site. They are working to fix it according to their facebook page.

thank goodness

@CrashBang said:

@sagejonathan said:

This is cool, but makes me worried that comics will soon become digital only.

This really scares me. I like the idea of going digital but I don't find digital books/comics as fun to read/collect or as secure. I like hard copies because they're then mine; I always have them.

agreed 100% ive lost an issue of superior spiderman in this mess, time to contact support

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CrashBang

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Edited By CrashBang

@sagejonathan said:

This is cool, but makes me worried that comics will soon become digital only.

This really scares me. I like the idea of going digital but I don't find digital books/comics as fun to read/collect or as secure. I like hard copies because they're then mine; I always have them.

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thenexusrebound

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Edited By thenexusrebound

@dondave:

Comixlogy, but at the moment this free comic thing broke the site. They are working to fix it according to their facebook page.

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akbogert

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Edited By akbogert

I am pretty sure all my "purchases" went through, so I'll be able to download a couple hundred issues eventually, but yeah, this completely killed Comixology, including all other paid issues and anything else tied to the account (yet another reason why the comic industry will need to get its act together in terms of what you actually buy, because paying $3.99 for an issue that can become inaccessible this easily is ridiculous).

I cannot believe no one saw this coming.

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leokearon

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Edited By leokearon

@sparty-dbq said:

Is anyone else still experiencing problems with this? I actually did try at 4 AM like I joked about (I was already up for work related stuff) and I'm still getting the "Cannot connect to comic store" error.

Same here and it is still down so much for getting free comics :C

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owie

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Edited By owie  Moderator

Well, I either downloaded a whole lot of comics (via my phone app) or I didn't.  I can't access them now for whatever reason(or old ones I had previously gotten), but they are listed in My Comics.  We'll see tomorrow, I guess.

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Mrgreenlantern

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Edited By Mrgreenlantern

anyone else having one hell of a time actually accessing comics youve PAID for...let alone our accounts? this smells of terrible planning i mean free + internet = crash

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Lone_Wolf_and_Cub

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As usual DC is lagging behind Marvel.

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CTG

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Edited By CTG

@blackkitty said:

Did they really add a random soundtrack cause... I see this getting extremely annoying very quickly. Not to mention, marvel's digital comics are just too expensive. I don't understand why they're pretty much the same cost as a regular issue with printing costs, distibution, etc. makes no sense...

Bandwidth to power the downloads costs money. Comixology is also getting a cut. Digitizing the comics to the appropriate format also costs money.

So while there are no costs involved w/ printing, there are definitely costs of going digital.

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sparty-dbq

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Edited By sparty-dbq

Is anyone else still experiencing problems with this? I actually did try at 4 AM like I joked about (I was already up for work related stuff) and I'm still getting the "Cannot connect to comic store" error.

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impossibilly

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Edited By impossibilly

@webling said:

If you can, use Comixology or Marvel apps instead of the websites. The Comixology app is downloading a bunch of Marvel NOW! for me while the website won't even let me log in.

I agree. I keep getting server errors on the Comixology website, but my transactions are all going through on my iPhone app.

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impossibilly

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Edited By impossibilly

If you have not read Hawkeye yet, here's your chance to get issue 1 for free.

I'm blown away by the titles being offered here: Miller and Claremont's Wolverine, all the Marvel NOW!, classic 1st appearances from the 60s, they're even including annuals! Once Comixology's techs have their server issues worked out, I am going to go on a downloading spree!

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thatlad

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Edited By thatlad

@G-Man: no worries, wouldn't expect you to either family first. Sorry if it came across critical

I've said it already but what a great promotion, just read 5 marvel now comics on the way to work and I'll probably pick up two of them.

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webling

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Edited By webling

If you can, use Comixology or Marvel apps instead of the websites. The Comixology app is downloading a bunch of Marvel NOW! for me while the website won't even let me log in.

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DarklyDreamingDeadpool

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great i can't even log in to download something...............

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saoakden

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Edited By saoakden

I tried buying all the Marvel NOW! books and the website acts all weird. It makes it act like I didn't buy any of them. I tried it on the Marvel website and it says I have bought the comics but its not there. I tried it on comicxology too but it failed too.. What the heck is going on?

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RedheadedAtrocitus

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More ways to make us comic readers lazy huh? lol Ah well, I like it...though I have a Kindle so it doesn't really matter to me...

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gmanfromheck

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Edited By gmanfromheck

@thatlad: Sorry dude. I work seven days a week on the site. I was trying to actually spend time with my family when this news was announced.

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KingHippp0

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Edited By KingHippp0
Marvel Unlimited is not avaiable on mobile devices with an all-new app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with an app coming soon to Android devices.

Sorry, but is this supposed to read "now available"? Otherwise, why are you talking about this?

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sparty-dbq

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Edited By sparty-dbq

Damn, am I gonna have to get all those freebies at 4 in the morning when there's less traffic?

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ComicAddict2814

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Edited By ComicAddict2814

If Marvel is giving away all these #1 issues for free digitally, please stop charging us 3.99/comic just for a digital code. I would prefer the option of paying an extra dollar for a digital copy if I want one. On a side note, does it devalue your comic if you tear that sticker off to reveal the code?

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mattwing87

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Edited By mattwing87

Wow! Marvel is becoming very innovative in the comic industry and trying their best to gain new readers as well as keeping existing readers interested in comics. I wonder if DC will try anything?

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moywar700

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Edited By moywar700

Madefire comics have already done this.It's sounds what Marvel is trying to do.Check out this example of a holocaust story.It sounds good.I expect DC to be doing this as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeMma6vXyxg

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sora_thekey

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Edited By sora_thekey

Excuse me... I need to head to Comixology.com right now!

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Overlander

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Edited By Overlander

I downloaded Marvel Unlimited on my iPad. Not sure how I feel about the UI, but I've been enjoying using the Marvel Comics app (powered by Comixology) for the last 6 months. Digital is definitely the way to go.

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thatlad

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Edited By thatlad

I don't think comicvine are giving this promotion the attention it deserves this is massive it includes one shots, preludes, epilogues...I just got all issues of The List, collected that would cost over £10. We all know the comic industry needs to bring in broader customers, well get the word out. iPhones and iPads are near ubiquitous, tell people to get the comics app and get some freebies. Hopefully people will get hooked. Yes the comics app has had freebies before but not this many and this high quality. Well done marvel this is much better that any reboot gimmick

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AWeekInGeekdom

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Edited By AWeekInGeekdom

Free stuff is always great :) !! Now please ppl, pause your downloads so I can finish mine hehe!

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spidershamrock

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Edited By spidershamrock

I would never be able to read and listen to music, too distracting. Reading anything is the one thing I cant multi task with

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blackkitty

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Edited By blackkitty

Did they really add a random soundtrack cause... I see this getting extremely annoying very quickly. Not to mention, marvel's digital comics are just too expensive. I don't understand why they're pretty much the same cost as a regular issue with printing costs, distibution, etc. makes no sense...

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blur1528

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Edited By blur1528

@CombatSpoon86: This with the combination of the iOS app updates has it completely broken. The iOS interface is now like the Android one which I always detested. I'd rather see a list of comic issues that I own rather than comic series.

I made the mistake of trying to redeem codes today... Those aren't showing up...

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Hector

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Edited By Hector

@dondave said:

@thenexusrebound: @longbowhunter: what sites do you download the comics from?

https://www.comixology.com

Have fun reading free issues.

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CombatSpoon86

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Edited By CombatSpoon86

Download error. I don't even know if I can download all of it ugh.

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mrzero1982pt2

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Edited By mrzero1982pt2

i can not download a comic! marvel is trying hard! heh

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akbogert

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Edited By akbogert

I'm making my way through a lot of downloads. I'll have to recheck at some point though to see whether I actually got all the ones I tried for, haha.

Having this only run for three days was a surefire way to screw over Comixology's servers though. Should've given at least a week. Can't imagine how bad it'll get when people actually catch on.

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dondave

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Edited By dondave

@thenexusrebound: @longbowhunter: what sites do you download the comics from?

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CombatSpoon86

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Edited By CombatSpoon86

Already downloading. It's a lot of work and patience. Think I've only cracked around 30% off the free stuff.

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haydenclaireheroes

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I thought this announcement was going to be totally different

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z3ro180

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Edited By z3ro180

YAY FREE STUFF :D

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Mr. Kamikaze

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Edited By Mr. Kamikaze

Project Gamma sounds like a waste of time...

But I don't like noise while I read, so I just don't like the idea. But hey, whoever is into it...hope you like it. (but really...who is gonna actually do that?).

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Alcamin

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Edited By Alcamin

The 700 #1's offer seems to have caused comiXology some real server head aches. No big surprise. There's obviously high demand.

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ptigrusmagus

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Edited By ptigrusmagus

cool.

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webling

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Edited By webling

I get why they want to add an auditory component to reading comics but that demo just sounded like low-effort techno. I usually just listen to my library on shuffle which I can still keep doing. It's not for me but does anyone find Gamma interesting?

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CrimAldan

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Edited By CrimAldan

Welp, I guess now I have a real reason to purchase a tablet. Suggestions anyone? (I've been thinking Asus Transformer or MeMO)

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Phaedrusgr

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Edited By Phaedrusgr

First?

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nappystr8

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Edited By nappystr8

This all sounds really cool. I'm still a print guy, but it is nice to see that Marvel is working so hard to embrace new technology and a changing market. And 700 free digital issues...I best get busy downloading!

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Hector

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Edited By Hector

Ugh. Just found out about this and ComiXology's servers are down. :/

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LifePool

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Edited By LifePool

So awesome!!

I may go digital, will make the transition smoother this way.

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