The future of comics and graphic novels may be on the screen—a computer screen. While Hollywood is quickly turning comic books into feature films, Intec Interactive has signed licenses with comics publishers Marvel and CrossGen to produce digitally enhanced versions of their comics on DVD.
The Florida-based interactive entertainment company has developed what it calls Digital Comic Books (DCBs). The company is using a version of Chameleon, a secure DRM, multiplatform software viewer originally developed by CrossGen, a three-year-old comics publishing house, that allows DVDs to be played on any kind of device. Intec's digital comics will play on DVD players, X-Box, PlayStation 2, Mac or PC computers.
Intec spokesperson Tony Panaccio told PW that Intec Interactive is a new division of Intec, a company that develops video game accessories, and was launched specifically to develop DCBs. The disks are available for sale from Toys R Us, GameStop, Hastings, SamGoody.com, SunCoast.com and other video/ DVD retailing outlets.
Intec's DCBs offer a collection of the completed story arcs of recently published print comics on a DVD disk with digital enhancements that include sound, music, voice-over readings of the dialogue, background on characters and much more. Intec president Claudio Osorio said the DCBs are intended to appeal to a generation that has grown up with computer-based entertainment.
Intec has already released editions of such CrossGen series as Way of the Rat, Meridian, Negation, Scion and Sojourn, priced at $9.99. DCBs licensed from Marvel include X-men, Incredible Hulk and Daredevil.
