If you’re a fan of old-school Marvel Comics, then this next bit of news will undoubtedly be music to your ears. The so-called “House of Ideas” has finally come up with a good one.

Marvel has announced that they will soon be making an archive of around 2,500 back issues available for online viewing. Included, reportedly, will be the first hundred issues of landmark series like Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Uncanny X-Men, The Avengers and more.

Now, of course, this is hardly the first time Marvel has made their back catalog available in digital format. They’ve already released more or less complete collections of key series on DVD-ROM (usually as a tie-in with whatever movie with a Marvel license was hitting the multiplexes at the time). Plus, some unscrupulous types have made such archives available through, shall we say, nefarious means via the seedy underground of the Internet… I’m sure you know what I’m referring to without my having to spell it out. (…I only just noticed the pun. No, it wasn’t intentional, but I’m keeping it regardless.)

This, however, will be your first opportunity to legally download some of the classic Lee-Kirby stuff from the ’60s, or to experience the early Steve Ditko Spider-Man without having to shell out almost fifty bucks for the DVD archive. Unlike Marvel’s on-again-off-again run of cheap “Essentials” omnibus TPBs, these digital editions are in full color, and include letters pages as well as the famous “Bullpen Bulletins” and “Stan’s Soapbox” columns.

Additionally, Marvel will be releasing its current stuff in digital format as well — on a delay cycle of about six months after an issue’s dead-tree release.

Of course, all of this costs money, but it’s actually somewhat reasonable. You pay $9.99/month for access to the archive, or a flat fee of $59.98 (which Marvel is advertising as $4.99/mo) for a full year. So for about the cost of a Supreme Pan Pizza, you can glom onto some of the reasons why Marvel Comics used to be so damned good… and why so many of us old-school fans can only shake our heads at the stuff The House that Jack (and Stan) Built has been pumping out lately.

As a promotional tool for the new service, they’re making a mini-archive of about 250 issues available gratis for the proverbial Limited Time Only, so if you’re interested, check it out while it lasts… but be advised Marvel’s website is getting hammered at the moment as word of this offer spreads. Patience is advised…

If you liked that, try...

1. Comic Rundown: Marvel Monkeys Around
2. Comic Rundown: Marvel Gets Dark and Dirty
3. Comic Rundown: I Hate Marvel Zombies . . .
4. Warner Bros backs Blu-Ray, HD format war continues to annoy
5. Comic Rundown: Marvel Monkeys Abound

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