By: Russ Burlingame on January 22, 2013
As with most of the Marvel NOW! single issues, the publisher announced today that upcoming Premium Hardcover collections of Marvel NOW!-branded series will come packaged with a redemption code for a free digital copy of the book.
The first book to be packaged this way will be All-New X-Men Volume 1: Yesterday’s X-Men, which goes on sale in March.
“Marvel’s committed to not only bringing fans the best comics with Marvel NOW! but to also bringing the best value, which is why we’re the first publisher to include free digital copies with the first volumes of our top hardcover collections on this scale,” said David Gabriel, SVP of Sales, Publishing & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment. “We’ve seen an overwhelmingly positive response from retailers and fans to the digital codes included—at no cost—in many of our monthly comics and select graphic novels. The universal support and praise for this initiatives makes it clear that including these codes with our books drives customers into comic stores on a repeated basis.”
Back in November of 2012, Marvel announced that they would be taking a more DC-like approach to their Premium Hardcover line, releasing only their “core” titles in the format with almost everything else heading straight to paperback.
“Moving into Marvel NOW! we’re approaching collected editions in a slightly different fashion than we have been in the past,” said Gabriel in his column on Diamond’s retailer website.
“One thing you’ll see right off the bat is the limited number of Premiere Hardcovers that will be arriving on store shelves. These Premiere Hardcovers will be reserved for our core titles, with a few exceptions.
“So you can definitely expect to see Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, All New X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny Avengers, and Indestructible Hulk in the Premiere Hardcover treatment, and then followed by the paperback edition – 6 to 8 months down the line.”
At the time of those remarks, Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy seemed a bit out of place in that list, but with Guardians of the Galaxy‘s film adaptation getting ready to kick into high gear, the two titles were seemingly confirmed as taking part in a massive, multi-title, universe-wide crossover beginning with the launch of Nova.
The following Marvel Premiere Hardcovers in 2013 carry the Marvel NOW! branding and will includes codes for free digital copies of the collections via the Marvel Comics app:
Those titles all publish their periodical issues at the $3.99 price point, meaning that single issues of these comics will also come packaged with digital redemption codes for the “chapter” purchased.
