DC Comics Introduces Two Types of Interactive Digital Comics

DC Entertainment unveiled two new digital initiatives today aimed at increasing the interactivity [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Batman 66 #1

DC Entertainment unveiled two new digital initiatives today aimed at increasing the interactivity of the reading experience. DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson and Co-Publisher Jim Lee unveiled DC2and DC2Multiverse at the opening of Time Warner's "The Future of Storytelling" exhibition at the Time Warner Medialab in New York. "Since we made the game changing decision to go Same-Day-Digital with the launch of DC COMICS – THE NEW 52, we very strategically built our digital business to have the broadest distribution and most extensive Digital-First content line-up, and now we're at the forefront of innovation," said Nelson. "DC2and DC2 Multiverse leverages technology to make iconic characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern even more relevant through highly interactive storytelling." The DC2 function seems mostly to function like Marvel's Infinite Comics, allowing for the apparent passage of time within a static panel and a more fluid reading experience. It's not unique to Marvel, of course; people like Scott McCloud and Mark Waid have been experimenting with such options for years, although it's really in the recent past that big strides have been made in terms of influencing the market in a big way.

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A statement from the publisher also says that the DC2 Multiverse technology allows readers to determine a specific story outcome by selecting individual characters, storylines and plot developments while reading the comic, meaning one chapter of a digital comic has dozens of possible story outcomes. That sounds a bit like a "choose-your-own adventure" story or a simple role-playing game, with a number of fixed outcomes that readers will find based on the choices they make along the way. Without seeing the technology at work, though, it's hard to say just how it will function or how well fans will adapt to it.

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"Digital comics have proven to be a driving force in attracting new readers, in fact, since the onset of Same-Day-Digital our print and digital sales have both risen by double and triple digits, respectively," said Lee. "With Digital-First titles we've created a successful formula of pairing comics with other media forms like TV shows and video games. Today's announcements demonstrate how we can tie innovations that organically fit and enhance comics – for example with Batman: Arkham Origins, you can choose the destiny of your character by playing the game and reading the comic." Rumors have swirled that with changes to upper management at Warner Bros., DC would be expected to dabble more in the interactive; current Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara was a champion of DC's earliest digital comics experimentations. This, though, appears to have been in the works for significantly longer than that; Tsujihara was just installed. You can check out some panels above that show the way the technologies will work; Batman: Arkham Origins will be the title that rolls out the DC2 Multiverse technology, while Batman '66 will be the first comic with DC2. That should look great with the "Pow! Bam! Zap!" sound effects. Yet another reason that being the letterer on that book is one of the best jobs in comics.

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