Suvudu Universe

Welp, it was bound to happen. Marvel is converting the well-reviewed Daredevil series, written by Mark Waid, from print to digital. Daredevil: Road Warrior will debut in February as the company’s newest “Infinite Comic” (following Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted and the mostly-ignored Iron Man: Fatal Frontier). Marvel uses “Infinite Comic” to describe a work that is (according to their PR) “designed specifically for mobile devices and fully embraces the technological opportunities”. In practice, it means very limited animation.

Daredevil‘s final print issue is #36, and Road Warrior, launching the week following, will have a new artist. Chris Samnee provided a distinctive look to the print version, while Peter Krause will handle the digital version. The plot will feature a “coast-to-coast journey from the Big Apple to sunny California… with thrills aplenty.”

It’s been said, and generally demonstrated, that the print comic audience doesn’t significantly overlap with the digital customer, which makes experiments like this one all the more interesting. Does Marvel want to encourage more print readers to try their online comic shop? And of course, I have to wonder about the finances. The Wolverine digital title was $2.99 weekly. No word yet on how they’ll price Daredevil. Is a book that isn’t doing all that well in print (I actually don’t know how Daredevil is doing, so this is just speculation) easier to balance the books for online? That is, might digital save fan favorites? Or are the costs relatively equivalent, no matter the format? Marvel’s been known for releasing popular books more than monthly as a way of driving up revenue; is weekly the end result of that trend?

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