DC Universe Confirmed To Include Digital Comics

Confirming a rumor that has been around almost as long as word of a DC Entertainment-branded streaming service has, the upcoming DC Universe service will feature digital comics as well as TV and movies.

This morning, DC Entertainment revealed the broad strokes of DC Universe, an app available for mobile devices, personal computers, Roku, Amazon Fire, and more. Among other things, it includes access to thousands of "curated" and "rotating" digital comics in a program that sounds quite a bit like the Marvel Unlimited plan.

"We wanted the DC Universe comic reader to be a blend of art and technology that would further enhance fans' experience of the live-action and animated programming on DC Universe," said Dan DiDio, publisher, DC Entertainment. "This hand-curated selection from our decades of comic creations gives fans a thematic digital longbox to carry with them on the device of their choosing or lets them watch exclusive video content on a big screen followed by the comic that inspired it."

According to the official release, the DC Universe comics reader "will include native, untethered access across devices from a smartphone or tablet to a living room screen, rendered in vivid detail. Fans can scroll through some of their favorite comics from the comfort of their couch with family or friends and see this vibrant art form come to life like never before. A curated selection of thousands of DC comics will be available to DC UNIVERSE members from a library that includes decades of comics creations."

As with Marvel Unlimited, DC appears to be building a massive library of back issues, but do not expect everything to be there. Also like Marvel Unlimited, it seems things will come and go, so don't sell those back issues and figure you can stream it all just yet.

Members can read "some of the most famous stories in comics history such as the first 1938 Action Comics book that introduced Superman to the world as well as Detective Comics #27 which first introduced Batman in 1939," the release states. "Other titles include Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's iconic Justice League (2011), Swamp Thing (2011) written by Scott Snyder, and Harley Quinn (2013) written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. Rotating selections will cater to members new to comics and passionate fans looking for hard-to-find titles. Comics can also be downloaded for reading offline on a smartphone or tablet."

There is no set date yet for the launch of DC Universe, although it is coming in late 2018.