IDW To Create All-Ages Comics Featuring Marvel Characters Spider-Man, Black Panther, and The Avengers

IDW Publishing will launch a new line of all-ages comics featuring Marvel Comics characters, the publisher announced today as part of their run up to Comic Con International in San Diego later this week.

According to a press release, the two companies will develop middle-grade comic books designed for younger readers. Featuring some of Marvel's most popular characters, the monthly issues and trade paperback collections, published by IDW, will be available for sale at local comic book shops and book retailers across the country, expanding opportunities for the next generation of Super Heroes to experience the Marvel Universe.

"From Iron Man to Captain Marvel, from the Hulk to Shuri — the Marvel pantheon has something for everyone," said John Barber, editor-in-chief of IDW. "With this team-up, Marvel and IDW aim to bring exciting, all-new comics to a generation growing up in a Marvel world."

IDW has been publishing Star Wars Adventures, featuring characters from the Star Wars universe, for a little over a year now. Star Wars and Marvel are both owned by Disney, which raised some eyebrows at the time of the Star Wars Adventures announcement.

Launching in November 2018, the Marvel and IDW collaboration will kick off with a Spider-Man series featuring both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, followed by an Avengers series beginning in December and a Black Panther series in January 2019. The idea is that the titles will serve as an easily-accessible jumping-on point for younger readers to follow the adventures of characters casual fans and kids may recognize from the movies and other media, even if they have never read mainstream comics before.

"Marvel is excited to work with IDW to share these brand-new stories with our younger fans," said C.B. Cebulski, editor-in-chief of Marvel. "Characters like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and the Avengers inspire us through their strength and determination, but they resonate with readers because of the struggles they face and the challenges they overcome. We want to share their journeys with our younger fans first-hand."

With comic shop audiences dwindling as readers from the bookstore and digital markets growing over time, Marvel's chief competitor, DC, has launched a number of efforts seemingly aimed at increasing their footprint outside of the direct market comic shops. Besides new, exclusive comics published for and distributed in Walmart stores, DC also announced plans for young-adult and middle-reader comics lines recently. The idea, like Marvel's here, appears to be to help make it easier for people to "find" their first comics and be lured into comic shops.

"Marvel is committed to delivering unique and accessible content for our younger audiences and fans," said Sven Larsen, director, licensed publishing of Marvel. "As one of our most valued partners, IDW is the right fit to help us feature some of our most popular characters and publish stories created especially for the next generation of Super Heroes."

"This partnership reflects the true spirit of collaboration at work," said Greg Goldstein, president and publisher of IDW. "As comic book publishers, IDW and Marvel are able to produce high-quality visual storytelling experiences for fans both young and old. By combining our efforts, along with Marvel's ever-increasing presence in popular culture, the results will be spectacular."

There are no specific creative teams or story details available yet.